THE ALLURE OF THE WILDERNESS
The most cherished memories of my childhood days were the journeys into the jungles of Sri Lanka and the many jungle tales I’ve heard about the journeys my father and grandfather had embarked, in the days of lesser technology, when camps were lit by lamps and fires instead of high end lighting. Days when off the grid was an everyday endeavour and communications was through verbal messages passed on. Little did I know that these stories and experiences were moulding my mind and soul to engender a passion for the wilderness. I never got enough of spending time in the wilderness, be it a national park, a remote forest area or a montane forest in the central highlands the love and attraction overwhelmed my senses, succumbing to the urge to explore every inch of the forest that lay before my vision I would set out to fulfil my addiction of the wilderness.
My love for photography began with the first Canon EOS 650 that my father had purchased back in the 90’s. Taking this on the countless journeys to the wilds of Sri Lanka is where the passion for wildlife photography began to take root. Armed with a 70-210mm f4 Sigma lens the learning of photography began, many reels of under exposed, over exposed or blurred images later. I was able to teach my self the science of photography and take a decent image that could be put in an album.
Several years later I moved to the United States to pursue my higher education although never having lost the love for the wilderness and photography it was a single flame of passion still burning within me. I managed to enrol in an photography course where I learnt the science of composition, the art of an image and the science of developing film which brought more perspective to photography and its beautiful way of telling a story.
After graduating in 2009 with a degree in Finance and Operations Management from the University of Massachussetts, Amherst, I found myself in the middle of a financial crisis and a degree in finance, hopelessly seeking employment. It was then I decided to take a chance and move back to Sri Lanka. I found my way into the hospitality industry, where I was able to work in remote locations where the wilderness was at my doorstep. My photography commenced, back in the wilderness, back in the roots of where it all began, armed with a Canon 20D and Sigma 300mm F4 lens I started photographing my encounters in the wilds of Sri Lanka.
The love for wildlife and photography grew exponentially and all my free time was spent in the wilds of Sri Lanka. Together with my wife Kirby, who has stood by me and accompanied me through the most remote areas of Sri Lanka, always being the extra pair of eyes and ears and the moral support when times become testing and waits are long. Every corner of this beautiful island is visited, photographing migrant birds in Mannar, Looking for leopards in Kumana, hiking the Knuckles mountains to photograph birds or visiting villages where human elephant conflict is prominent there is no place untouched.
But, the more time I spent in the wilderness, the more I became aware of the dire need for conservation. I began to understand the tight rope on which the flora and fauna of Sri Lanka were walking on, both people and wildlife were constantly in battle and both were claiming victims. It was then I decided that I need to learn and understand the complexities of nature and how I can contribute to finding a balance to this destructive conflict. With the many years experiencing the wilderness of Sri Lanka I began my Masters in Biodiversity, Environment Management at the University of Peradeniya with a concentration on the human elephant conflict of Sri Lanka. In the hope of better understanding the ways which this can be mitigated or even reduced at the least.
Currently, my research is ongoing on the elephant populations and migrations, my field work takes me deep into the unknown forests for collection of data and information on elephant movements. More months to go for the final conclusion of this endeavour.