Shreeram M V – Co-founder and Director, Photography Mentor
Shreeram M V is a professional photographer, photography mentor and naturalist. What started off as a fascination for birds in a lake behind his house turned into a journey across the natural world. For this IIM Bangalore graduate, the passion for travel and wildlife enabled him to charter his own course outside the corporate world.
He has explored and photographed places across the world as diverse as the savannahs of Africa, the ice continent of Antarctica, the islands of New Zealand, the rainforests of the Western Ghats, the salt marshes of Kutch, the grasslands of Tal Chapar, the deciduous forests of South and Central India, the high-altitude plateau of Ladakh, the coasts of peninsular India, the forests of North-east India and the islands of Andaman. His approach to wildlife photography has evolved into telling stories about the place and its habitats, biodiversity and human interactions with nature.
He is a well-published and awarded photographer. His articles and photographs have been published in diverse print and digital magazines such as National Geographic Traveller, Sanctuary Asia, Saevus, Lonely Planet India, Terrascape, Nature inFocus and JLR Explore. As a naturalist, he has been associated with Jungle Lodges and Resorts and Karnataka Eco-tourism Development Board in training and certifying naturalists from across the state.
His approach to wildlife photography is to bring back photographs that tell stories – about the place and its habitats, the diversity of flora and fauna and human interactions with the wilderness. Composition and light are his favourite tools in crafting new perspectives of the natural world.
His personalized style of mentorship, where he works with each participant’s individual interests and strengths, has been much appreciated over the years. See some of his work at Shreeram M V Photography and @mvshreeram on Instagram.
Manish Lakhani – Director and Photography Mentor
Few people can boast of having travelled the high Himalayas like Manish has. For more than 15 years, he has explored these mountains extensively on foot, on bicycles and on two and four wheels, often making his own path. He is a versatile photographer with a history of creating brilliant images of culture, heritage and landscapes.
He is renowned for his unique portrayal of remote cultures and traditions. He has photographed the cultural heritage across all the four corners of India, including the Changpa shepherds of the Himalayan Highlands, the native tribes of Nagaland, the nomads of Kutch and the rich traditions of Kerala.
He is Sony Artisan (Ambassador) in India for the mirrorless camera systems and Skylum Global Brand Ambassador for Asia. His works have been regularly featured in magazines across the world. He contributes to Adobe, BBC, WWF, CNN, Lonely Planet and many others regularly.
An avid cyclist, he has done an incredible solo bicycling trip of 15,000 kilometres across India. He visited many states of India, meeting different people, experiencing the diverse cultures and making some incredible photographs along the journey. He has since led many expeditions in the high altitude regions of Ladakh.
He has been mentoring photography enthusiasts for several years now and is known for his exuberant personality, in-depth knowledge of the terrain, expedition organization skills and, of course, his keen eye for photography.
You can follow him on Instagram, Facebook and on his website.