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Dhritiman Mukherjee

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Dhritiman Mukherjee
Born (1975-01-01) 1 January 1975 (age 49)
NationalityIndian
Occupation(s)Nature, Wildlife and Conservation Photographer
Parents
  • Sadhan Mukherjee (father)
  • Sandhya Mukherjee (mother)

Dhritiman Mukherjee is an Indian professional nature, wildlife and conservation photographer.[1][2][3] He is a certified advance open water diver, certified ice-diver and certified mountaineer.

His works are regularly published in several national and international prints and digital media including BBC, National Geographic, New York Times, Lonely Planet, WWF, London Geographic, Outlook Traveler,[4] Telegraph, and The Guardian.[5]

Dhritiman is the ambassador of Roundglass[6] and the founder of Saevus Magazine.[7] He was appointed by Sony India as a Sony Explorer on 28 August 2019.[8] He was also one of jury members of the professional category in the 6th National Award Photography Awards hosted by the Government of India.[9]

Career

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Dhritiman started his career in nature, wildlife and conservation photography in the year 2000. Since then, he has traveled extensively to cover wildlife across India and the world. Photographers in India, at that time, largely focused on larger mammals. However, as Dhritiman had the added skills of mountaineering and adventured to lesser known areas such as the Himalayas, mountains of north east, etc. he started the journey of capturing rare and difficult species in India such as the Bengal Florican, Lesser Florican, Tragopans, Orange Bullfinch and Narcondam hornbill to name a few. He, therefore, pioneered the way for photographers in India to focus on rarer and lesser known species. His philosophy is to contribute to science and create awareness on conservation of wildlife, natural resource management and environment protection through his work.[10]

In 2010, a team of eight people including Dhritiman traveled within the Great Himalayan National Park to observe rare peasants and the brown bear. On this expedition Dhritiman captured an image of the Western Tragopan, making him one of the first wildlife photographers to capture the Western Tragopan in the wild at that time.[11]

He spends more than 280 days every year in the field and he has been doing this for last 20 years. He has dived in the frozen Baikal lake in Siberia to capture the elusive Nerpa seals. He has photographed giant American crocodiles off the Mexican coastline in the Caribbean Sea. He has dived with Anacondas in the swamps of Brazil. He has shot all the five sharks that are considered most dangerous in terms of human casualties — the Great White Shark, the Tiger Shark, the Bull Shark, the Oceanic White Tip and the Hammerhead. His photograph of an Orange Bullfinch taken at Dachigam National Park is the only clear photo taken of the species. He has scaled Congolese mountains to get haunting images of the mountain gorillas, swum through icy Norwegian fjords to shoot Orcas, captured the American crocodiles in Banco Chinchorro off the Mexican coast, and photographed almost every kind of predator in its natural habitat.[12]

Dhritiman is one of the very few nature, wildlife and conservation photographers who has dived in frigid waters of the Arctic and Antarctica to capture the aquatic life.[13] He has traveled to Svalbard and Greenland and captured the wildlife and aquatic activity in great detail.[14] He has captured Crab-eater Seals, Orcas, Penguins to name a few.

He has also taken iconic pictures of the Snow Leopards in Spiti Valley and in Ladakh which are arguably the first detailed pictorial documentation of the most enigmatic animal in the wild (non-camera trap).[15]

Dhritiman undertook a 100-day journey across the Himalayas in 2016 along with Shantanu Moitra which was documented and published on YouTube called "100 days in Himalayas" produced by Roundglass.[16]

He is a frequently invited by several educational organisations to speak about conservation and wildlife to their students. Dhritiman has given talks to several policy makers, students, wildlife enthusiasts and photographers in institutes like Institute for Scientific and Engineering Research, Wildlife Institute of India, University of Pittsburgh [17] etc.

Personal life

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Dhritiman was born in Barasat, sub-urban Kolkata, to Sadhan Mukherjee, an employee of Government of West Bengal,[18] and Sandhya Mukherjee. His father was also a social worker and a humanitarian. He worked extensively to uplift his community and people in dire need. Dhritiman has been found often accrediting his humility towards his work to his father's humanitarian work. Dhritiman has two older sisters i.e., Nandini Mukherjee and Malini Chakraborty and is the youngest of three siblings. His parents have been a constant source of inspiration since his childhood, so much so that, quite unlikely for his time and upbringing, he was left to himself to choose his career or, rather, follow his passion.[19] A reflection of his parents support reflected when they sold off a portion of their family home to help Dhritiman buy his first camera.[12]

Apart from his parents, Dhritiman has also accredited Moushumi Ghosh, who has been a guardian and second mother and largely instrumental in him becoming a successful nature, wildlife and conservation photographer.[12]

Dhritiman's formative years in developing his interest in wildlife also took place from to his association with Climbers Circle - an institute where he learnt his mountaineering skills and with Prakriti Samsad - a council of nature observers and research activities.

Education

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Dhritiman completed his higher secondary from Barasat Peary Charan Sarkar Government High School. He went on to graduate in Bachelor of Science from Barasat Government College. He has had no formal education in photography and is a self-taught photographer.

Awards

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Across the course of his 20 (twenty) years in wildlife and nature photography, Dhritiman has collected several awards and accolades. Some of the essential awards are as mentioned hereunder:

Year Award Category Territory
2020 Wildlife Photographer Of The Year Highly Commended London
2020 BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year[20] Highly Commended London
2018 Siena Drone Awards - Runner up[21] Runner up - Wildlife category Italy
2015 Kirloskar Vasundhara Mitra Award[22] Winner- Conservation India
2014 Natures Best Windland Smith Rice International Awards competition[23] Winner - Wildlife category USA
2014 Royal Bank of Scotland Earth Heroes Award[24] Winner - Inspire category India
2013 Carl Zeiss Conservation Award Winner - Wildlife category India
2012 DJ Memorial Photography Contest[25] Winner - Nature category India

Publications

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Dhritiman has co-authored a book with Dr. Asad R. Rahmani called Magical Biodiversity of India.[26] The book takes the readers through a journey of 15 Indian landscapes.[27] The book represents the biodiversity present in India from larger species to smaller species. Dhritiman's work has also been covered across several known platforms across the globe. Some of the publishers of his works include National Geographic,[28] The Indian Express,[29] The Guardian,[30] The Times,[31] and New Scientist.[32]

References

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  1. ^ Banerjee, Ananda (12 October 2012). "Lounge". Livemint. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
  2. ^ "Kolkata-based wildlife photographer Dhritiman Mukherjee talks about ethics while shooting in the wild". www.indulgexpress.com. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  3. ^ Dutta, Abhijit (2 October 2015). "Into the wild". Livemint. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
  4. ^ "Kashmir: Dachigam National Park". Outlook Traveller. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  5. ^ "Dhritiman Mukherjee Photography | Explore Nikon Pro Gallery | Nikon School".
  6. ^ "Dhritiman Mukherjee, Author at Magazine | RoundGlass". Magazine | RoundGlass. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  7. ^ "Saevus Wildlife-Member Portfolio". www.saevus.in. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  8. ^ India, Sony (28 August 2019). "We are really excited to welcome Mr. Dhritiman Mukherjee on board as a Sony Explorer. His work has been published in many national and international publications like National Geographic, New York Times and Telegraph.pic.twitter.com/QNff0udFbb". @sony_india. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  9. ^ "Photograph is Information with Confirmation: Shri Venkaiah Naidu". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  10. ^ Krishnan, Lalitha (27 July 2019). "Dritiman Mukherjee: The Philosophy of Photography. EP#11". Earthy Matters. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  11. ^ Sood, Ankit (18 July 2010). "Great Himalayan National Park: The First Ever Photograph of the Western Tragopan". Great Himalayan National Park. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  12. ^ a b c "Dhritiman Mukherjee: Photographing India's wildlife". RoundGlass | Sustain. 21 December 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  13. ^ "Ice Age: The Otherworldly Landscapes and Locals of Antarctica". RoundGlass | Sustain. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  14. ^ "The Crabeater Seal's Guide to Surviving Antarctica". RoundGlass | Sustain. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  15. ^ "Ghost of the Mountains: Meet the Elusive Snow Leopard". natgeotraveller.in. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  16. ^ "In Photos: The Second Dispatch From Project #100DaysInHimalayas". natgeotraveller.in. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  17. ^ "Mussoorie Mountain Festival". haniflcentre.in. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
  18. ^ Niyogi, Subhro (10 November 2014). "From seabed to sub-zero, all through the lens | Kolkata News - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  19. ^ "From seabed to sub-zero, all through the lens - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
  20. ^ Amos, Jonathan (1 September 2020). "How many crocodiles can you see in this photo?". BBC News. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
  21. ^ Geddo, Benedetta. "See the winners of the first edition of the Drone Awards". Lonely Planet. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  22. ^ "Awards for Vasundhara fest announced | Pune News - Times of India". The Times of India. 6 January 2020. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  23. ^ "2014 WSRIA Winners". www.naturesbestphotography.com. Archived from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  24. ^ JOURNAL, CSR (10 September 2015). "RBS : Earth Heroes Awards 2014". The CSR Journal. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  25. ^ "Inaugural DJ Memorial Photography Contestsees participation from the country's best talent". Smart Photography India`s No 1 Imaging Magazine. 4 October 2012. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  26. ^ "Magical Biodiversity of India". www.goodreads.com. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  27. ^ "The Magical Biodiversity of India Through 8 Photos". natgeotraveller.in. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  28. ^ "Could Rare Bird on Tiny Island Be India's Ecological Canary?". National Geographic News. 13 July 2014. Archived from the original on 31 October 2020. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  29. ^ "A Bohemian in Bohol: A chance encounter with Chocolate Hills and Philippine gems". The Indian Express. 20 May 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  30. ^ Hilaire, Eric (19 December 2014). "The week in wildlife - in pictures". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  31. ^ Times, The Sunday. "The week in pictures". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  32. ^ Simms, Chris. "Croc dad goes for a swim with 150 floating babies". New Scientist. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
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