He is only 22 years- but when you browse through his work, you see the craftsmanship of an incredibly talented photographer who nurtures a genuine love for Nature and her creations.
The Uncommon Box is delighted to present its uncommon photographer Swaroop Singha Roy – a budding nature and wildlife photographer born and based in Kolkata.
The interest for these two genres came most probably because of the love for animals and nature which has been always there since his childhood- he claims.
We caught up with this unassuming and modest talent and shot off some questions to him.
#TUB : When did you start photography?
I started photography around eight years back, with a digital point and shoot camera. It was just another hobby back then, but the interest in this field of art started developing when I got my first DSLR camera (in 2011). That was when I started taking this hobby more seriously and with time, it soon turned into a passion!
#TUB : What sparked off your interest in photography?
I went for a family trip to Corbett National Park in 2008 and that still remains as one of my most memorable tours ever. It was for the first time that I was so close with the wilderness and was totally overjoyed with the enchanting beauty of the forest. I didn’t have a camera during that time; I just had my dad’s camera-phone and a camcorder with which I took casual footages and snapshots throughout the trip. One of my uncles, who is an amazing wildlife photographer was there with us and he showed me the photographs that he had taken during the safari, it really left me awestruck and inspired me a lot.
A year after this tour, my dad bought a digital point and shoot camera. I remember spending hours with it and shot whatever random thing that came across and looked interesting to me. A few years later I got my first DSLR, it was an entry level Canon 1000D. This was when I started learning the various technicalities of photography. Almost every day I used to spend an hour or more on the internet to learn about the basics, watched many tutorials on YouTube and read numerous articles. I kept on taking photos, lots of random photos and gradually my interest in photography kept growing as well.
#TUB : Tell us in brief about your journey so far as a photographer?
The journey so far has been very exciting. I have been able to learn something new each and every time I went out with my camera. Right from day one, the valuable feedback and advice from many senior photographers have helped me to rectify my mistakes and improve my skills. I’ve been travelling across various places in India since my childhood and everything changed from the day I started travelling with the camera in hand.
“Photography to me has always been about expressing my thoughts through images and a way of preserving those intricate and extremely memorable moments.”
My photography trips to forests began from a place called Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary (Odisha). A major breakthrough in my wildlife photography took place in 2012, when I saw and photographed one of the most rare and elusive species at this forest – The Indian Wolf. The photograph played a vital role in the research of this species in that forest and two years later it even won the editor’s choice award in the Sanctuary Asia Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards – this achievement meant a lot and was a big motivation for me, and since then there has been many more such milestones that I was able to achieve.
#TUB : What were the challenges you faced?
Initially, there was one point of time when I thought that my images were not turning out good because of the low-end gear that I used, there was an urge to upgrade the equipment. But, I was soon able to overcome this GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) when I realised that it was not the problem with the equipment, it was me who was going wrong.
“Creativity doesn’t depend on the equipment; better gear would have only given me better image quality”
I started going through many articles and video tutorials on the internet to learn each and every functions of the camera that I had and also tried to know the alternate ways of overcoming its limitations. This helped me a lot, my images improved and instead of thinking about the gears, I could concentrate more on photography.
#TUB : What genre of photography do you find the most challenging, most creative?
I am a freelance photographer and I am mostly inclined towards travel, nature and wildlife photography. Any genre can be a challenging one, but I personally feel that macro (in nature) photography is one of the most challenging and creative of all the genres. It requires huge amount of patience to get a perfect shot and there can be infinite ways of creatively shooting a particular subject. It is not just about taking close-up photographs of a bug or a flower. Creatively portraying the minute details and wonders of the small world is what matters over here.
#TUB : What are your goals, plans and dreams for yourself ?
My goal is to improve my skills and make my images better. As a nature and wildlife photographer, I wish to explore many more wild destinations of our country and creatively photograph the diverse flora and fauna of those places.
#TUB : Any word of advice, as per your experience, for budding photographers ?
The one thing that has immensely helped me to grow as a photographer is by spending a considerable amount of time in seeing photographic work of other photographers and getting inspired by them. The process of learning is a never ending one. The more you see other photographer’s work, the more you will learn. Each and every good photograph that you see will help you learn a new thing; it might be a new technique or can even help you understand where you’re going wrong.
“I always believe that a photograph should have a story in it or something that can be appealing to the viewers”
You should think a hundred times before pressing the shutter button, set an imaginary frame in your mind and ask yourself why you are taking the shot.
In wildlife and nature photography, it’s not always necessary that you need to go on safaris or exotic locations to get better images or wildlife actions. Look around, everything has a story to tell! Even a common bird sitting on a dry branch or a spider in your garden can help you make a good image if you compose it in a creative way.
The following is a list of some of Swaroop’s list of achievements:
- First prize winner in macro category of Olympus Global Photo Contest 2015
- Special Mention winner in Sanctuary Asia Wildlife Photographer of the year awards 2015
- Editor’s choice winner in Sanctuary Asia Wildlife Photographer of the year awards 2014
- Image published as cover photo in Sanctuary Asia Magazine December 2014 issue
- Featured in Sanctuary Asia Magazine, Wild Planet Magazine, Better Photography Magazine and Times of India.
- Photographs exhibited at ChitnavisCenter (Nagpur, Maharashtra) in 2016 and 2017, on the occasion of Raju Harkare Memorial National level Wildlife photography competition
- Photograph of “Buffy Fish Owl” exhibited at Instagram’s first official photography exhibition in India, at ICCR Kolkata from 7th-9th January 2016
- First prize winner in Wildlife Portraiture contest organised by Toehold and Better Photography magazine, 2016
- Winner in Abstract category of Canon India’s Clickotory 2016
- Finalist in Nature Category Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest 2016
- Finalist in World Wildlife Day photo contest 2017, organised by United Nations and CITES.
- Photograph featured on National Geographic YourShot
- Featured on Instagram handles of BBC Earth and National Geographic.
Now isn’t that an impressive list to begin with. We wish Swaroop the very best for an illustrious career. As they say it takes a moment to know your passion and a lifetime to pursue it!
You can find his work on the following links:
Do you have an inspiring role model in photography? Write into us at theuncommonbox@gmail.com mentioning Be Inspired- Photographer in the subject line.
We encourage all kind of talented piece of work whether it’s a writeup’s, articles, poems, sketches, doodling, painting, food styling or about fashion or travelling or photography.
If you are on Instagram follow us @TheUncommonBox and use our hashtag#TheUncommonBox for the same.
You can reach us on FB Page too by following our page “THE UNCOMMON BOX” and can tweet @THEUNCOMMONBOX
