Hermis Haridas invites to the world of wildlife
A renowned photographer from Dubai Hermis Haridas changed his job as a computer programmer 14 years ago, and devoted all his time to his hobby.
Today, the 40-year-old photographer is the proud owner of a specialised photography camp in Kenya called Mara Trails Camp, which supports the local school and community. He also takes weekly photography groups, known as Paws Trails, to the UAE.
In November, his shot of a hoopoe at Al Qudra Lakes in Dubai won four international photography awards, including Nature Photography of the Year in the Birds category.
“The most important thing to remember when photographing wildlife is patience,” says Mr Haridas. To get the best shots, he wakes up in the dark to get his equipment ready and is out of the house by 4.30am.
“Wherever I go, I have to be there before sunrise to find a good spot and set up my equipment with time to spare,” he says. For Mr Haridas, the best time to shoot wildlife is at dawn, when the animal life comes to life.
“Once in Masai Mara, I waited nine hours to catch a leopard coming down from a tree. You have to be very careful because in a split second you can miss everything,” shares the photographer.
Apart from the UAE and Kenya, Mr Haridas also visits Sri Lanka, Mongolia and Russia. “I have had many interesting encounters in my travels. In Tanzania and Masai Mara, I had very close encounters with cheetahs,” he says.
“In the northern peninsula of Russia I have also had close encounters with brown bears. I found two very small, cute bear cubs. I got very close to them and lay down to film them, when suddenly a mama bear appeared in the frame out of nowhere. Luckily we had a gamekeeper with us who scared her away, but at some point she was 10 metres away from us,” says Hermis.
Hermis Haridas also cares about conservation and encourages his Paws Trails students to respect the animals they film. “You have to understand animal behaviour and protect their habitat,” he says.
Source: The National
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