Nature Photography

Kerala Wildflowers

/ Milo Inman / Leave a comment

It doesn’t take a gardener or horticulturalist to appreciate the beauty of an angiosperm’s blossom – whether a flower felled from dozens of meters above splayed on the ground; a gorgeous splash of color on the forest floor, or purple puffs of perfectly formed pollination mechanisms overlooking the steep slopes of the Western Ghats – Kerala is a bouquet of stunning wildflowers. Continue reading →

Hiding Outside, Hiding Inside

/ Milo Inman / 2 Comments

As mentioned before,  most organisms a link or two down on the food chain rely on at least one defense mechanism to survive. Remaining unseen, looking toxic, and tooth-shattering carapaces are all relatively common on all fronts. The crab pictured above, photographed on Aswem Beach in Goa, relies on the first option – besides measuring under an inch across, it camouflages exceptionally well into the sand it scuttles across – and when feels threatened, dashes into hastily excavated boltholes.  Continue reading →

Bi-Colored Damselfly

/ Milo Inman / 2 Comments

As mentioned in an earlier post, I’ve been developing my techniques for improved macro photography without a macro lens. Tough work, but highly rewarding. Besides areas I will soon explore thanks to a new array of equipment (extension tubes, magnification filters, etc.), I have currently enjoyed a great deal of success with the relatively unknown backward-lens trick. Although you lose the ability to focus and meter light, the technique is excellent for artistic photographs of small things. And if it hasn’t been made clear from my dozens of posts on the subject – I love small things. Continue reading →

Steer Clear

/ Milo Inman / 5 Comments

One of my uncles was visiting Kerala for a few days, and we did what we always do with VIP visitors: trekking together in the Periyar Reserve.  48 hours ago we were in the Gavi sector, and as always my attention was drawn as much to the charismatic micro-fauna as to their mega- counterparts.  In all the places where my family has lived and worked–North, Central and South America, Western and Eastern Europe, and now India–we have always been most impressed by interpretive naturalist guides that can make insects as interesting as primates, pachyderms or felines.

It is not easy, but it is possible.  So I am focusing alot of attention lately on small creatures like the one in the photograph above, hoping to unlock visually what these great guides do with words crafted into stories. Continue reading →