Reminiscences of a Wildlife Photographer PHOTOGRAPHY

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A beacon of light in the field of wildlife photography “... the language of nature ... plain, simple and utterly brilliant.” Anyone interested in wildlife photography must have, in all likelihood, heard of T. N. A. Perumal. He is a photographer ‘par excellence’ and his pictures, whether pictorial, portrait or behavioural, are always technically perfect. He never fails to capture his subject with good composition, correct lighting and sharpness, giving it natural representation in its habitat. I first met him in 1986 at Bangalore, in the house of the great Hanumantha Rao, an icon of his time in wildlife photography. Since then we have been meeting frequently, and my admiration for his depth of knowledge in the art and technology of wildlife photography has always been growing. His interest in wildlife photography was kindled by his chance meeting in 1960 with O. C. Edwards, an English schoolmaster, while walking in Bannerghatta, near Bangalore. Edwards was an early pioneer of photography in India and Perumal became his worthy pupil. Perumal feels that “one good photograph can educate people about the environment much more than a shelf full of books.” He prefers his photographs to talk for him. He believes in the 3 Ps—Patience and Perseverance always Pays. Sometimes it takes long planning to create a ‘chance’ to capture an outstanding picture. His famous picture of the close-up of a barn owl flying with a feed for its chicks near its nest is a living example of his philosophy of the 3 Ps. His present book with his best 252 pictures, both black-and-white and colour, will forever be a beacon of light in the field of wildlife photography. Vivek R. Sinha, ARDS Wildlife photographer, conservationist and author of books of his photography of tigers Long before the digital photography revolution, long before the rationale of shooting wildlife with a camera rather than a gun had become fully accepted ... there was T. N. A. Perumal. Black-and-white photography then was considered an art form, no less than the fine art of painting, forests were undisturbed and it was possible for a man like Perumal to sit for days in hides, machaans, or just quietly by a bird-stocked wetland and wait for the image to fall magically through his lens onto his camera plate. Then, when the work of gathering images would be done, Perumal would take out his equipment and spend hour after laborious-but-meticulous hour, bathed in red light, in his developing studio. This is where the magic all came together, as the brush of sunlight and the palette of film merged to produce the masterpieces that are now contained within the covers of this book. I have known, admired and been influenced by the ethics of Perumal for over almost four decades now. Sanctuary Asia, the magazine I edit, owes him a debt of gratitude for shining a light on the direction we eventually took. “Silence, patience, and respect for your subject are the best ingredients for wildlife photography,” I remember him telling me in Ranthambore where I met him, together with his late friend M. Y. Ghorpade. A traditionalist in terms of his values, Perumal has, however, always been an experimenter. I will never forget the brilliance of the images he shot, using interrupted infrared beams to trigger owls in mid-flight. Even today he brings nature alive in ways that only he knows. I am honoured and delighted that he asked me to pen a few words for this book. Anyone interested in wildlife or in the art of photography should sit with him and by osmosis they will learn. And if you cannot sit with him, then sit with his images. They speak his language, which is the language of nature ... plain, simple and utterly brilliant. Bittu Sahgal Editor, Sanctuary Asia VI VII
He is his own stern critic ... Contents I have known Mr Perumal for over 33 years. We met by chance at Bannergatta which is about 12 miles from Bangalore. He had a gun in one hand and a bird, which he had shot, in the other. I was carrying a camera. I understood his shikaree’s urge quite well since I myself had used both shot-gun and rifle before laying these down to take up the camera for wild-life photography. He greeted me with, “You are Mr. Edwards”, and it sounded almost like the famous words, “Dr. Livingstone, I presume”. After this we met frequently and went out to photograph wild-life. His shikaree’s instinct began to be satisfied with and replaced by wild-life photography. At this he made rapid progress. Mr. Perumal is a mild-mannered man yet one who possesses the qualities which make for success. He is his own stern critic and is not easily satisfied with photographs which might pass muster with the less critical. His developing and enlarging technique kept pace with his improvement in tackling wild subjects. He gave up his job as radio engineer, and was employed by Mr M. Y. Ghorpade of Sandur as chief photographer of his “The Sandur Manganese and Iron Ores Ltd.” As Mr Ghorpade himself is an FRPS and a very keen and accomplished wild-life photographer, Mr Perumal, in his company, has had the opportunity of seeing and photographing many wild animals both in India and in Africa. Thus he has an impressive collection of wild-life photographs of mammals and birds, and also a fine collection of colour slides. He has been exhibiting his work both in India and abroad in international exhibitions with much success. He has won numerous awards and certificates of merit. Mr Perumal is in demand by organisers of exhibitions in India as a judge for the Nature Section. His superb pictures of the Indian Great Horned-Owl were taken with electronic flash synchronised with the camera shutter and activated by the bird breaking a ray of connecting light. This device was of his own making. His distinctions: AFIAP in 1963, EFIAP in 1968, ARPS in 1978, FRPS in 1979. Preface 2 Acknowledgements 5 Reminiscences of a Wildlife Photographer 9 Pictorial Photography 57 Nature Photography—Black-and-white 69 Nature Photography—Colour 155 Notes to Pictures 306 List of Digital Pictures 317 Nature Photography in India: Past and Present 319 T. N. A. Perumal: Profile in brief 326 —An Appreciation by O. C. Edwards ARPS, EFIAP, pioneer bird photographer of India, on the occasion of a “One-Man-Show of Wild-Life and Nature Photographs from India and Africa by T. N. A. Perumal,” organised by A. P. Photographic Society and Max Mueller Bhavan Hyderabad in 1980.
Page 4 and 5: Preface “Some unknown, unseen for
Page 6 and 7: Pictorial Photography In the early
Page 8 and 9: Black white &Photographs
Page 10 and 11: Colour Photographs Analog and Digit
Page 12 and 13: Indian antelopes or blackbucks spar

Reminiscences of a Wildlife Photographer PHOTOGRAPHY

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