Nature is a calming phenomenon when it comes to meditation and Tapan Sheth uses Wildlife Photography as a medium to meditate and find an escape. A software engineer by profession, Tapan successfully pursues this art as a hobbyist all by self-learning and surfing through the internet and he has become skilled in his expertise. Collected several accolades such as Nature’s Best Photography Asia award 2016 where his artwork was exhibited in Smithsonian Museum of Natural History at Washington DC. Balancing work life and passion is indeed very well managed by him.

Team imd1 feels great to share the insights of a passionate artist like Tapan Sheth.

We are really keen to know; how did your journey begin?

There was nothing special, like I did buy my first DSLR which was Canon Eos 550d to click pics while I was on vacation with family. After that when I saw the result of photos which I took on the beach in Goa, I was like wow! From there I started exploring other photographers on the internet and out of all the genres, wildlife photography is something that attracted me a lot.

Know me Beyond Photography

What were the hardships / hurdles you have encountered during your journey? How did you overcome them?

There weren’t many but as I run a software company, I hardly get time to learn about cameras and photography. The biggest challenge for me was to how to learn, practice and get more in-depth knowledge about photography. And luckily internet was there which is the master/guru I can say. Mainly, I learnt most of everything from internet (YouTube videos, Facebook and fellow photographers).

What's your success mantra?

Keep Learning, that’s what I always say.

Do you think photography and its learnings can be helpful in life even if one does not want to consider it as a career goal?

Yes, I must say that it is very much helpful. It is something like healing or the best meditation. It is a hobby for me, and it has helped me a lot when it was a tough kind of period of my life, photography healed me.

Who has been the main influencers in your journey & how?

My friend and my Guru Mr. Yogendra Shah, who has helped me a lot to learn about wildlife, animal behavior, camera learning, etc. He is the only one because of him I am at this stage. Also, there are many other photographers like Saurbah Desai, David Arrow, Kalyan Verma, Dhritiman Mukherjee, etc. whom I follow to learn.

Which was "that" moment when you considered yourself as "I Am The 1"?

Oh that is when I won the Nature’s Best Photography Asia award in 2016. I was on a photography tour when I came to know that I won an award and my image was exhibited in Smithsonian Museum of Natural History at Washington DC. Many Indians visited that exhibition and I got phone calls, messages and love from all over. I just cannot explain how much overwhelmed I was!

Did you get any formal training in Photography? Kindly tell us about it.

Nope, I have never gone for any kind of training in photography. Whatever I learnt was all self-learning by myself and the best teacher if I can consider is the internet as I have surfed lots of other photographer’s work, YouTube tutorials and many other things.

What are the pre-coaching essentials e.g. right age, mindset or anything else?

There is nothing specific about it as I have seen 10-year-old kids to 60-year-old men doing well in photography. This field always want you to keep learning more.

Technology is changing the way people get trained in Photography. What's your take?

Upgradation in technology is really a good change. When you have advanced gears, it really helps a lot to improve your photography skills. But at the same time, I really feel that you must have the basic knowledge of what you are looking for. Higher technology and gears will give you good results in photography, but it is not the only thing. Proper vision, knowledge and use of camera are much more helpful.

What qualities must one look for in a 'Guru' for training in Photography?

There is nothing like a special quality for me but yes one should have a sound or technical knowledge of camera, that is the very first thing which we need to know.

What do you suggest for better accessibility of Photography training in remote parts of India?

For remote areas, I insist that well known organizations or photographers should spread their knowledge and as I mentioned earlier about internet, it is the best source of knowledge. Many times, it happens that I do have to travel to remote kind of areas where there are very basic amenities available. I always make sure that if I found any guide, driver or a person keen to learn photography, I do share my knowledge with them. So, this kind of learning process helps them lot.

Your piece of advice to parents and new generation especially when some people are skeptical about career in extra curriculum…

To be honest, there is no source of much income in Wildlife Photography but yes one can opt for photography career in Events, Product Marketing, Weddings, etc. Don’t stop children and always support their talent. There are many areas where they can make their career apart from engineering, banking, IAS etc.