Shraddha Ghai is mostly seen with her head dug deep into a microscopic lens and when she isn’t seen doing that, you would spot her in the jungle glancing and capturing the private lives of the wild beasts. Born in a small town, Maihar in Madhya Pradesh Shraddha was privy to the life of the jungle creatures. Bandhavgarh National Park was just one and half hour-long drive away so a weekend visit was more of a norm for her family. One day during her excursion she saw a tiger walking towards her jeep, charger was the tiger’s name because he would charge at just about anyone. While everyone was scared and wondering what to do Shraddha strangely felt a lack of fright, instead she was almost hypnotized by the beauty of this beast. This incident barely lasted a few seconds but it was an instance that changed Shraddha’s life. “I felt that I had some sort of a connection with the beast. Possibly this was the incident which pushed me further towards wildlife photography. I wanted to capture many moments like this one” Shraddha tells us.
Shraddha works as clinical researcher in a Bangalore based firm and photography is another passion that keeps her going. It was in 2009 that she quit her job without having another one and that was when she got introduced to her true calling. “I was a little confused and was wondering what to do next. I had a small Olympus camera in my house. I don’t know what triggered me but I just picked it up and started clicking pictures in my garden. It made me feel good and then I wanted to learn more” confesses Shraddha. The same year Shraddha enrolled into a photography workshop. Call it luck or just divine connection that her instructor was a wildlife photographer who used to frequently visit Bhandavgarh. She now had someone to help her understand how she could capture the wild on film.
In 2010 Shraddha got her very first DSLR camera and what began then continues till day. Shraddha has clicked some beautiful pictures of the wild which have been showcased at photo exhibitions. One of her work was showcase at the UB City mall in Bangalore for the longest time. She also feels very strongly about nature and wildlife conservation, she practices all caution to preserve the habitat of animals while shooting. “You need to have the love of nature and animals first to be a good wild life photographer. I see people disrespecting the space and habitat of animals just for one click and it disappoints me immensely. We should be more sensitive towards the creatures of the wild” comments Shraddha. A wildlife photographer who is more concerned about the well being of the creatures of the wild than her photographs, that surely is a rarity and something that sets Shraddha apart from many wildlife photographers.
