One of the most frequently asked questions I receive by email or Facebook is, “How do I become a Wildlife Photographer?”, “How do I become a documentary filmmaker?”. I’m not sure I can answer that question or am even qualified enough to answer the question in the direct manner in which it’s been asked. That’s probably because there is no direct path to getting there. One thing for sure is that, whatever the path, it’s up to the individual and their dogged persistence combined with undying passion that will get them through the bumpy, muddy, arduous jungle road that is the path towards becoming a wildlife photographer or filmmaker.

But what I can do is point towards two premier events that can help fuel the passion and perhaps even jump-start one’s career. The first is – Wildscreen – the Mecca for Wildlife Filmmakers. Every two years filmmakers from around the world gather at this Gala event to celebrate and applaud the very best in filmmaking, exchange ideas and pitch stories. Attending this festival, as a volunteer or a newcomer, must be top on your list of priorities if you’d like to be associated with Wildlife Filmmaking in any manner!

So what is it that you can possibly expect to get out of attending the festival:

* the opportunity to network with individuals from every corner of the industry
* pitching opportunities in a crucial marketplace, where films are bought and sold, and where new commissions and contracts are awarded
* inspirational, and sometimes controversial, discussion panels
* in depth filmmaker masterclasses and a unique programme of training workshops
* access to hundreds of the world’s best wildlife and environmental films from the past two years

The other major Photography event is – Wildphotos – a Nature Photgraphy Symposium that brings together people from around the world to talk about new technology, innovative ideas and share their experiences as wildlife photographers. I’ve been to a couple of them in the past and it’s simply inspiring to listen to talks and mingle with like-minded Nature Photographers. This year I’ll be giving a talk about ‘The documentary power of mixing stills and video‘ – which also goes into the new breed of Canon HD-DSLR cameras that i’ve been using to shoot documentaries.

Another very important step is to buy a copy of the book by Piers Warren titled: Careers in Wildlife Filmmaking. This book is a fabulous resource that is packed with advice to aspiring filmmakers who want to get a toehold in the industry. I just found this book available at www.flipkart.com for Rs. 800.

Soon after the launch of the Western Ghats book an idea was born to produce a similar book about the Rio Grande Valley. This region, stretching from Falcon Dam to the Gulf of Mexico is one of the most bio-diverse parts of the United States, yet little is known or written about. When we first conceptualized the book, we realised that it would have to be bilingual – as the book covers topics that stretch across both sides of the river. The next challenge was to get someone on board to take on the challenge of documenting not only the biodiversity but also the many human elements that make up the landscape … enter – Seth Patterson – A talented young photographer with a passion for natural history. Over the subsequent two years Seth worked hard at capturing the images that were necessary to tell the story of the Rio Grande. The full story though wouldn’t be complete without touching on the history of the people who came to inhabit the region and shaped the land that we see today… enter – Lawrence Lof – President of the Gorgas Science Foundation and an ardent historian interested in all things cultural. This combination along with inputs from many contributing authors has now resulted in: El Valle – The Rio Grande Delta,  a 284 page English / Spanish coffee table book of the Lower Rio Grande Valley.

A first of its kind, El Valle takes the reader on a visual journey through the Valley, from Falcon Dam to the Gulf of Mexico, exploring the rich biodiversity and cultural legacy that has taken root along the banks of the Rio Grande.

If you would like to learn more about the book, scroll through a few pages and learn about the authors who contributed to the book click here: http://riograndebook.com/

The book is all set to be launched on September 18th 2010 – 7 PM at the Historic Alonso Building in Brownsville, Texas. Please do attend if you are in the area and meet the authors!

Congratulations to my good friend and colleague Seth Patterson for a highly commendable job in compiling the entire book and my best wishes to Lawrence Lof and the whole team at the Gorgas Science Foundation who some how or the other raise the resources to make sure that such projects come to life. I am glad to be a small part of it!

A few months back I posted a short video clip with the introduction to North-eastern Diaries. I’m pleased and excited to announce that the first chapter titled: Kaziranga – Land of the Rhino and the Tiger has been nominated for a Green Oscar Panda Award at the Wildscreen Film Festival which happens once every two years in Bristol, UK.

The Wildscreen Festival is internationally acknowledged as the most influential and prestigious event of its kind in the world. Its aim is to celebrate, applaud and encourage excellence, and responsibility, in wildlife and environmental filmmaking – films which increase the global viewing public’s understanding of the natural world, and the need to conserve it.

The short documentary is about 20 minutes in duration and captures unique aspects of tiger behaviour. At the same time that this documentary was completed, it was announced that Kaziranga supports the highest density of tigers in the world – nearly 32 tigers for every 100 sq. kms. But this doesn’t mean that seeing a tiger here is easy! The dense grassland combined with the secretive habits so inherent of tigers, makes them nearly invisible.  With the use of camera-trap technology and patient waiting in the hide I was able to document first-hand not one, but several different tigers coming to feed on a rhino carcass. Here’s a short video compilation of my days sitting in a hide and being a spy in the jungle…

The Team: Working on documentaries usually involves a small crew of people in the field and another group of people sitting and working in the studio, editing the rushes. In this case, we had what’s called a micro-crew, which involved mostly Chinmay Rane, Lahaan the forest gaurd and I working in the field to get the shots during the day, and spending the night editing the footage. It was no doubt a difficult process, but the rewards have been more than satisfactory.

The Equipment: Another unique aspect of this particular documentary is that it was all shot on the new breed of HD-DSLR Cameras. The cameras I used on this project include the: Canon 5DMarkII, the Canon 1DMarkIV,  Canon T2i, Canon 450D and the tiny but excellent, GoProHD Cam. More information and reviews about these cameras can be found in their respective linked pages on Amazon.  We did use a Sony Z1 camera for one of the sequences that was shot late last year, but that only comprises a flashback sequence about 2mins in duration.

The advantage of using this equipment, apart from the fact that they’re smaller, more versatile, and higher quality than my High-Definition Panasonic AJ-HDX900 camcorder is that they allow me to film late into the evening, when even with my naked eyes, I can’t see what’s going on. The Canon 1DMarkIV allows you to film with reasonably little noise even up to 12000 ISO. I mean the camera does allow you to go upto a 100,000 ISO, but in the tests I made, the results were best when kept within the limits. Okay, before I digress and go on about equipment, I best stop and save that for a different post.

Other Panda Award Nominations from India:

In the same catogegory as mine, which is Wildscreen’s Award to promote filmmakers from developing countries is The Wild Meat Trail by Dusty Foot Productions (India) Filmmakers – Rita Banerji & Shilpi Sharma

In the Animal Behaviour category is Krupakar & Senani’s  Wild Dog series titled – The Pack, produced for Animal Planet International (USA).  I just had the opportunity to watch the five-part series last night and it’s simply brilliant!! Some amazingly rare moments captured on camera, a testament to the two years of patience and dedication it took to produce the series.