Mangalore: Shivashankar - Capturing Birds, the Creative Way

Mangalore: Shivashankar - Capturing Birds, the Creative Way

Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore

Mangalore, Jun 18: Bird is probably the most beautiful of nature's creations. Capturing birds at the right moment, in their full glory, is an art that Shivashankar, an ornithologist does perfectly.
 
Bird photography is a very challenging hobby, requiring specialized skills and equipment. Shivashankar is a pro at capturing the avian behaviour and their habitats.

Shivashankar is a software engineer by profession and toured countries like US, Singapore and Malaysia on work. He has spent more than two years on data collection and photo editing. In his childhood and growing-up years, he spent his free time on bird photography in his garden in Karkala. This hobby fuelled his interest in birds in the surrounding area.

He says he was inspired by ornithologists Clement Francis and Sudhir Shivram, from whom he has assimilated a fund of knowledge, and so also famed ornithologist Dr Salim Ali who has done a systematic survey on Indian birds, and was a pioneer in the field.
 
Presently he is residing in Karkala, a region well-known for biodiversity forests like Durga Forest Reserve, lakes and valleys. Most of his images are from this region.
 
Shivashankar says bird photography is not easy as one needs to wait patiently for the right moment with the right equipment to capture the flying wonder in all their beauty. He has an experience of 15 years in photography and 7 years in capturing birds through his lens.
 
Being a specialist in bird photography, he is able to grasp and identify bird sounds and their place of nesting. One bird that eludes him is ‘Waynad laughing thrush’, a bird found in thick forests, not visible to human eyes. From past two months Shivashankar has spendt his weekends in search of this bird and is still unable to trace it.

There are 389 recognized species of birds in South Canara, and Shivashankar has captured over 300 of them, making a vast and exquisite photo collection of the colourful creatures.
 
"Initially, when I used to capture birds, all varities would look similar. But with frequent exposure and practice, I am able to identify different types of birds. My goal is to capture the best images of birds in their different postures and angles," he said.
 
He is accompanied by his friends Prashanth, Karthik and Karunakar in his ventures.
 
Exploring different varieties of birds in South Canara, he has spent nearly four years on bird photography and managed to gather an exquisite collection of birds. He has participated in various exhibitions and had his photos published in various books and magazines like ‘India’s Birds’ a quarterly journal, ‘Rainforest Safari’ (Carlton books ltd, UK), ‘Glimpses from India’s Natural World’ (Broadway publishers) and ‘Birds of Kolkata’.
 
He aspires to exhibit his photos in many other places and wants to develop an application on birds which runs on Android software, where huge collections of bird photographs can be added at a nominal price.
 
He has published a book - ‘Birds of Southern Coastal Karnataka’ which is a sequel to 'Field Guide to the Birds of Dakshina Kannada’. In this new edition (Birds of Southern Coastal Karnataka) the illustrations of birds have been replaced by colour photographs. There are 56 colour photographic plates depicting 224 species of birds. This bilingual book is published in English and Kannada and is user friendly for bird watchers of all ages. Ancillary information on bird life, bird watching, bird migration, breeding and nesting of birds is clearly depicted.


To get in touch with Shivashankar, email: shivanayak@gmail.com.

 

Vineeth Monis
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Comment on this article

  • megha, karkala

    Fri, Jul 18 2014

    awesome clicks sir... I am interested in wildlife photography..I want to work with u sir

  • Kiran, Udupi (Manchakal)

    Tue, Sep 25 2012

    Hi Shiva,
    I am an ametuer photographer...I like Bird photography, do u have any places around Udupi or Managalore?

    Thanks,
    Kiran

  • Manoj Kumar, Udupi

    Wed, Jun 20 2012

    Beutiful pictures.... Want to join with you sooooon!!!!!!

  • Sudhir Bhandarkar , Mangalore

    Wed, Jun 20 2012

    Wonderful work Shiva and team. Each of these photographs speaks volumes about your dedication and patience. Wishing you all the very best in your quest for the Wayanad Laughingthrush. Keep up the excellent work.....

  • Shiva Shetty, Kateel / DXB

    Wed, Jun 20 2012

    Very nice clicks bro .. too good !

  • Jaison Dsouza, Mangalore

    Wed, Jun 20 2012

    Beautiful pictures Shiva. I also went thru your homepage www.trogon.in. Felt good reading the info and looking at photos. Continue ur work. All the best...

  • Rajmohan M.R., Karkala

    Tue, Jun 19 2012

    Amazing work Shiv you have really elaborated birds world and after looking at these pics even a bird poacher will start loving birds.

  • nasir, karkala

    Tue, Jun 19 2012

    carat camera catch.
    rare to see,its beatiful.

    Thanx

  • Shivashankar, karkala

    Tue, Jun 19 2012

    Thank you all for your feedback and suggestion.

    Dr.Anand & Geeta Pereira, Glad you taking initiative to promote this work. As you mentioned even I have spent time working on conservation work. We tried to bring Anekere a very biodiversity rich lake to be protected and maintained under Biodiversity board of Karnataka.

    What I get finally is just the "Feel good factor" when we work on such projects. I feel that it is also duty to conserve nature as is or better, not making it bad.

  • Sammilan, Belvai

    Tue, Jun 19 2012

    Proud of you sir...!!!! Miles to go......:)

  • Venzil Fernandes, Mangalore

    Tue, Jun 19 2012

    Cool pictures dude..:-)

  • suraj, mangalore

    Mon, Jun 18 2012

    Excellent article on birds and their ardent fans. l have followed their passion and adventures through karthicks facebook pages and know that they are very passionate in what they are doing and wish them all the best in collating the lesser known beautiful gifts of nature .

  • Karthik, Karkala

    Mon, Jun 18 2012

    Have spent lot of quality time clicking with maestro Shiva sir!! Lucky to know him personally and feel proud whenever I go along with him to click.There is so much to learn from Shiva sir!! I remember one instance where,sir spotted a far off bird in Kudremukha and I was clueless!! Like his lens his eyes are too very sharp!! Enjoy clicking with him!! All the best sir!!

  • Karthik, Karkala

    Mon, Jun 18 2012

    Have spent lot of quality time clicking with maestro Shiva sir!! Lucky to know him personally and feel proud whenever I go along with him to click.There is so much to learn from Shiva sir!! I remember one instance where,sir spotted a far off bird in Kudremukha and I was clueless!! Like his lens his eyes are too very sharp!! Enjoy clicking with him!! All the best sir!!

  • Sudhir Shivaram, Bangalore

    Mon, Jun 18 2012

    Great work Shiva. Way to go!!! Wish you many more of these.

    Rgds,
    Sudhir

  • Precilla Dsouza, Karkala

    Mon, Jun 18 2012

    Nice pictures. What is the name of the bird in bird-slide # 4?
    Thanks,
    P

  • VINAY SEQUEIRA (VIVEK STUDIO), BENDORE MANGLORE

    Mon, Jun 18 2012

    HI SHIVA ,ITS AMAZING PICS I KNOW ITS DIFFICULT TO TAKE WILDLIFE. SINCE I STARTED PHOTOGRAPHY IT MY DREAM TO COVER THESE KIND OF PICS .THANK U FOR BEAUTFUL PICS GOD BLESS U

  • Dr.Anand & Geeta Pereira, Sakleshpur/Kadri

    Mon, Jun 18 2012

    Dear Shivashankar, Congrats on a job well done. Every picture speaks volumes with respect to your dedication, love and passion for birds as well as nature. May be if you had kept a log book on your nature trips, it would easily cover thousands of kilometres of wild country. The reward is to see these beautiful creatures in the wild and get inspired to do more to protect them. I am definitely going to pick a couple of your books and gift them to friends who visit me on our ecofriendly farm.

    Eventhough, each of us has a wildlife imprint in terms of occuping wildlife territory ,in terms of human development, we need to have a rethink on new projects which will severely shrink wetland habitats.These refuelling stops are a must for birds flying thousands of miles in order to avoid the harsh winter.Keep writing, so that it will inspire a generation ahead to be committed towards nature.

  • Saifulla Sulaiman, Gerukatte, Abu Dhabi

    Mon, Jun 18 2012

    nice photos

  • Shivashankar, karkala

    Mon, Jun 18 2012

    Thank you Karunkar for putting down the experience we had in field.

    Rafi,

    books are available at Navkarnataka book store in Mangalore.

    Available online purchase as well

    http://www.ebay.in/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_npmv=3&_trksid=m570&_nkw=Birds of Southern Coastal Karnataka

    and

    http://akrutibooks.com/node/2929

    -Shiva
    http://www.trogon.in

  • shetty, MLORE

    Mon, Jun 18 2012

    Very Nice pictures...Continue your great job

  • Krishna mohan, Moodabidri

    Mon, Jun 18 2012

    Nice article on the passionate work done by great bird photographer amidst us. Wishing Shiva a great success in creating such amazing pictures.

  • Karunakar, Mangalore

    Mon, Jun 18 2012

    @Nagesh,
    To add to the same, while we are into recording information and not fulltime into conservation projects I do believe that a society should have different assets, different kind of talented people who are wiling to spend time and who are dedicated to the craft and also help in nature conservation too.

    Moreover, every single person of the country has an obligation towards wildlife conservation. It is a heritage that we have inherited as a nation, and something which we will leave behind for the generations to come.

    We take photographs of places and surrounding areas of the forests, record bird / animal sightings and their habitat on each trip and over a period of time. Even if not directly - each of the trip serves as a record or for future reference. Of course some of us give passive support - others give full support for nature conservation, participating in seminars and educative ventures, etc. We also talk & gather informaton from the villagers/ fishermen on the coast for bird/ animal sightings inform them of the conservation status often. It is also fascinating to connect to the locals, who are very nice and friendly people.

    A recent survey had shown that India happens to be the least favourable country for conservation activity and also the least informed. So it is great that news outlets like Daijiworld publish articles about birds and nature very often, photographic essays to highlight the need for nature conservation, educate about nature, etc.

  • SIL.SPEC, INDIA

    Mon, Jun 18 2012

    Mr. Shivashanker

    "SIMPLY AMAZING & GREAT"
    I am very much thrilled to see these photographs of the birds.
    KEEP UP YOU GOOD WORK
    Very few are gifted in cultivating these types of hobbies
    GOD BLESS YOU

  • Dexter, Abu Dhabi

    Mon, Jun 18 2012

    Too good pictures...something nice to see and read.

  • Karunakar, Mangalore

    Mon, Jun 18 2012

    Hi Nagesh, You have touched a very relevant point there.

    I often tag along with Shiva and we visit the birding spots across the coast and the western ghats. We are also part of the Indian Nature Watch group and follow the cardinal principles of not disturbing the birds or the wildlife by following a number of precautions. We take utmost great care not to disturb the bird or give away the location of its nest or put the animal/ bird in danger, from us or from its predators.

    We always go fully equipped, with backup & protective gear, medication etc. should something go wrong. It takes a long time to learn this craft. It requires extreme patience - often times there are days and weeks when we do not have a single sighting of birds. The pictures that are shown here are just a glimpse of the successful ventures only!

    I am an amateur and spend far less time. However, Shiva is totally dedicated to the craft and spends most of his spare time birding. It takes countless hours to get a few good shots, and more than 95% of the shots end up for our archives.

    About the money minting part. there are very people who have made money in this field. Shiva would have spent 20x the amount on equipment and going around than what he earned from it.

    It's a tough job, as you have to bear the sun/ leeches/ insects/ physical discomfort. Yet, it's enjoyable! it's like meditation for me, being totally alone and with the birds and nature.

  • Rafi, Kasaragod/Dubai

    Mon, Jun 18 2012

    Hats off Shivashankar for your dedication and talent. You have achieved what people would long in a lifetime.

    Being an avid bird lover, I spent my childhood watching birds in my surroundings, but chosen to be in a place where birds are in rarity (beach birds and mall birds not included).

    I am visiting Mangalore next week. Where can I get a copy of your book in English. Please provide details.

  • Liza D'souza, Mangalore-Dubai

    Mon, Jun 18 2012

    These beautiful birds of nature's creation as God's creations have been beautifully picturized by Shivshankar.We truly appriciate you and encourage you to keep up creative art by giving the true message to the people around us to know how beautiful our life is, more beautiful than these inocent birds and raptiles.If we live up up to it.
    It reminds me of my childhood at our own land where I use to feel the presence of these beautiful and colourful and different named birds.They use to remind us the time of day and night by their wishpering sound of music. Now we truly miss to watch them and feel them, since we are away from our home country.

  • Dr. Arunachalam Kumar, Mangalore

    Mon, Jun 18 2012

    My privilege to know this talented youngster...we are proud of you Shiva: you are a genius

  • Lydia Lobo, Kadri

    Mon, Jun 18 2012

    'Waynad laughing thrush’, a bird found in thick forests, not visible to human eyes'

    Wow ! I wish you good luck in your endeavors. I am sure you will share with us your bounty once you succeed in it.

    Strange that there are passionate people like Shvashankar at the same time there are poachers of migrating birds.

    Please keep up your mission because we may not be fortunate enough to see these birds live after a decade or so.

  • sathish ira, mangalore

    Mon, Jun 18 2012

    nice photos

  • Amin Bhoja, Patte /Riyadh

    Mon, Jun 18 2012

    Wow! What a picture!.It is livily colourful and is beautiful .Nature and it's creation once again.Thanks to Shivashankar for his creative actions.

  • Francis J. Saldanha, Moodubelle / Bahrain

    Mon, Jun 18 2012

    Awesome photography !!! Mr. Shivashanker.

  • HENRY MISQUITH, BAHRAIN

    Mon, Jun 18 2012

    Mind blowing pictures...............upload more pics please,Shivashankar.

  • Sneha H, Udupi

    Mon, Jun 18 2012

    Simply awesome great clicks !! Well done !!

  • Ismail Shaikh, Moodbidri/Dubai

    Mon, Jun 18 2012

    Nice Eyecatching pictures and the qulity of the photgraphy is fantastic-keep it up Shivashankar

  • nagesh nayak, bangalore

    Mon, Jun 18 2012

    NEED OF THE HOUR IS PROTECTING THE BIRDS, ANIMALS,FOREST & NATURE.

    MOST OF THE PEOPEL ARE MINITNG MONEY & BECOME FAMOUS BY USING ABOVE BUT NEVER THINK ABOUT THEIR SAFETY.

  • Vipul, Someshwar, Sydney

    Mon, Jun 18 2012

    Amazing pictures!!! Great dedication! I wish you more success in your venture. I had no idea that we had such beautiful birds, and I sencerely hope that they grow in numbers.

  • Jerry Rasquinha, Mangalore

    Mon, Jun 18 2012

    Beautiful article and photographs. First thing it reminded of the great bird man Dr.Salim Ali. The photographs of the 'ornithos'are gorgeous. Thank you for the article and all the very best to Mr. Shivashankar.

  • Shiva, karkala

    Mon, Jun 18 2012

    Thank you all for your compliments. Rihan, Yes I do nature photography too so the vine snake was included.

    Sidhartha,

    You can www.trogon.in my homepage for new , I keep posting there.

  • Sunil D'souza, Mangalore/Qatar

    Mon, Jun 18 2012

    Beautiful pictures..

  • Rihan, DXB

    Mon, Jun 18 2012

    Beautiful pictures,amazing quality.By the way there is one snake bird also...lol

  • siddharth, bangalore

    Mon, Jun 18 2012

    Very Beautiful Pictures....Great work comes from great passion...please show us more pics u have taken in your career...Once again keep it going...

  • S.M. Nawaz Kukkikatte, udupi

    Mon, Jun 18 2012

    Yes its nice and creative photography, Weldon Shivashankar


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Title: Mangalore: Shivashankar - Capturing Birds, the Creative Way



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