The Beauty of capturing the Creepy Crawlies of Mystical Munnar

Malabar Gliding Frog

Just after my three month internship in Goa got over, I had the fortune of going out on yet another adventure to Munnar with Mr. Vipul Ramanuj and a group of very talented wildlife photographers. I was the youngest by a long stretch in this tour too. But there was just so much to learn. This was my second trip with Vipul sir after Little Rann of Kutch. All I can say is that every part of this trip was absolutely marvellous- even when the flash was not firing or the subject was not focusing. It lived up to the name 'Mystical Munnar'.

Let me tell you a small secret - I was always 'DEAD SCARED' of snakes and frogs. I had never seen a snake in my life before this trip (I used to avoid the reptile section in the zoo too). In my last trip to LRK (Little Rann of Kutch) Vipul sir told me that 'If you like wildlife, learn to love all animals. There is a tiny difference between fear and the fear of not knowing. So let me show you snakes and frogs from my perspective.' So I decided to take a shot, and I fell in love with these beauties.

This trip was more than what I had expected. Shooting during such heavy rains was a challenge. The first thing I learnt was water-proofing my camera gear. Moreover herping trips mainly happen at night which is why we had to use external flashlights and a radiant diffuser. Before this trip I had no idea, what is was. Once everything was set and we went to our first herping walk, I realised that I forgot my power bank which was providing light to the diffuser. But with time I started getting used to the new technique and devices.

Vipul Sir teaching us how to waterproof our camera gear

I did not even realise when I started loving reptiles too. There were times when I did not feel like shooting and just observing them. They were not attacking or doing anything but pose for us.

Gunther's Vine Snake

Jayaram's Bush Frog

Kadalar Swamp Frog

Respendent Frog

I took these photographs with my 105mm macro lens, so you can imagine how close they actually were. We went for long walks with our torches and headlights searching for animals. One of the biggest challenges was using the flash and diffuser. I used to think using a flash was bad because you get a white patch on your subject. After Munnar, I can proudly say that I learnt something new which I can use as a designer.

Enclosed Cicada

Anaimalai Spiny Lizard

After learning the basic art of macro photography, I started experimenting with what we know as 'creative photography'. We have used a flash for most of our trip. But for these two images we used the concept of backlighting a subject and that is what led to magic being created. These photographs were taken using a Nikon D7500 camera body, 105 mm macro lens and the radiant diffuser.

This is just a glimpse of the kind of images we made. I will be sharing more from my other trips. Stay tuned in to know more.