Through the lens: Admire the birds of Sindh

Work of four wildlife photographers on display at PACC


The pictures at the exhibition are for sale and will also be exhibited at the Alliance Francaise on November 18 and 19. PHOTOS: AYESHA MIR/EXPRESS

KARACHI: Four wildlife photographers joined hands to find and capture images of Sindh's birds. Mirza Naeem Beg, Fahad Siddiqui, Muhammad Amjad Khan and Nusrat Ali have so far discovered 130 species of birds in the province.

The four photographers' work went on display in a two-day exhibition titled 'Calling nature lovers and bird enthusiasts', at the Pakistan American Cultural Center (PACC) on Tuesday.

"There are 496 species of birds in Pakistan which have been discovered by the photographers all over the country," said Ali, informing about their work spanning over two years while visiting various places across the country.



Ali, whose 13 pictures are on display, has captured images of the birds from five cities of Sindh: Kot Ghulam Muhammad, Gharo, Kathore, Mirpur Sakro and Karachi. Sharing one of his experiences to capture a flameback woodpecker, he said that he had to wait for almost three hours to capture the pair as they were very restless.

Explaining the story behind another bird captured by his lens, Ashy crowned sparrow lark, Ali said that to capture the species he had to make three trips. "I tried to capture her but she flew away and sat on the ground and then came closer itself. That's when I clicked," he said, pointing towards the picture on display. Exhibiting 12 of his best photographs, Khan's work mostly involves the birds of Karachi. "Most of them are winter visitors and can be seen around the city nowadays," he said, explaining how he captured a female Rosy starling in a house in DHA Phase-VIII.

Siddiqui, who has always been interested in wildlife photography, took a year to capture the 11 pictures which he has displayed at the exhibition. "Except one, all the birds' pictures are from outside Karachi," he said, adding that he travelled to Jati, Larkana, Mithi and Thatta to find specific species that he wanted to photograph. The photographer, talking about the picture of a Pelican, said that he found it in Jati which is a coastal area. "I took this in February when there is fog in the morning and due to that the waves cannot be seen," he said pointing towards his only picture from Karachi.



Beg's most interesting picture that he captured in the last two years is that of a chick. "It took three months to take this as we found the nest and an egg so I waited for it to hatch," he said, explaining that being a wildlife photographer he makes sure he never takes pictures of the nest as it can disturb the birds and they can abandon the nest, leaving behind their eggs.

The pictures at the exhibition are for sale and will also be exhibited at the Alliance Francaise on November 18 and 19. "We have decided to make it an annual exhibition and display the beauty of Sindh's birds," Beg shared.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 2nd, 2016.

 

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