Sudhir Hasamnis

Asia Book and India Book of Records Holder | Wildlife photographer | Mentoring | Management Consultant & Trainer | Author | Blogger | Influencer

Sudhir Hasamnis is a Wildlife photographer and Asia Book & India Book of Records Holder who started Bird Photography after getting a Heart Attack in 2012. This is his 6th year of non-stop posting being on the verge of a world record of 2000 posts without break. 

So, why not get an influence of his creativity inspired from his struggles as we discussed with him about his journey as a wildlife photographer. Let us get to know more about him & his love for birds, as he advises some tips for budding wildlife photographers.

 

How you started wildlife photography?

I started bird photography after my heart attack in 2012. I was double stented and was not allowed to go out of home, so I started doing it from my windows. At that time I had no clues about bird names. I bought a book ‘Birds of Indian Sub Continent’ written by M/s Inskipp and Grimmett and started studying.

 

How did you learn about photography?

In Nov 2015, I attended a 2-day course conducted by Sudhir Shivaram at Pune. That was a real inspiration to me. Immediately I visited Kochi for bird photography and then went to Tanzania with Sudhir Shivaram. That was a turning point for me, then came to self-learning on-field and reading books.

 

What is the significance of wildlife to you?

Basically, I do wildlife photography for my happiness and stress-busting. I do not earn from it. I do free training and consultation for people who get in touch with me. While Wildlife photography is a genre of photography related to documentation of various forms of wildlife in their natural habitat, Wildlife photography to me is nature, landscapes, mountain ranges, birds, mammals, and also the man-wild conflict. I try to capture all these when I am on the field.

 

What did you capture in your initial days?

My photography started in full swing when I took a self-challenge on 1st Jan 2016. I decided to post one image every day on Facebook for one year without break. I still remember that the first species I captured was European Roller and then came to know about its migration. That was my first post for the self-challenge. By the way, this my 6th year of non-stop posting and I am on the verge of a world record of 2000 posts without break.

 

What was your first camera & gear, & what do you use now?

I started with Sony 10X Zoom, which was borrowed from my niece. I bought Canon 600D with 2 kit lenses – 18-55mm and 55-250mm. Now I have Canon 6D and Canon 7D Mark II, Canon 300f4, and Canon 100-400 ISII.

 

How many trips do you take in a year?

Normally I do at least 3 to 4 trips every year, including one abroad. Only one in last year, then pandemic started. That was to Costa Rica in Jan 2020. This year as of now one in Feb 2021.

 

Any favorite wildlife sanctuary or place?

My dream destination was Costa Rica. I had seen images coming from Costa Rica and I had decided that I will make it someday. I had planned it for Jan 2019 but got postponed to Jan 2020. I would love to visit it again. Amazing place and habitat. Lots of birds yet to capture.

 

What will you advise the young budding photographers?

Understanding your gears well. Most important is – Study the place you are visiting, See YouTube Clips, Search the Internet, Refer to books, Look at Facebook and Instagram for the images, study those images, then you will come to know what will be the background available, what birds, type of terrains, weather and habitats are there, Keep your Camera and lenses ready all the time, Plan your shots in advance, Take test shots once you are in the field.

 

So, here we will be concluding Sudhir Hasamnis’ story of being a wildlife photographer. We are thankful to him for sharing his story with all of us which will be of great help to all the young photographers in our country to keep their motivation high.