The Viewfinder by Sanket Reddy beckons you to fall in love with Nature

Bengaluru-based naturalist and wildlife photographer Sanket Reddy on the creation of his book The Viewfinder

What is it about Artisocats, Jungle Book, Stuart Little, The Bee Movie and countless others, that makes them timelessly appealing? Apart from being “cute and cuddly” to quote Skipper of Madagascar fame, it is the human-ness of their characters that makes them unforgettable.

Well, it is not just artistic licence — real animals out in the wild, exhibit human characteristics too, says Bengaluru-based naturalist and wildlife photographer Sanket Reddy. Sanket recently launched his first book titled, The Viewfinder, a gorgeous, coffee table tome that showcases all the species that have strayed into the scope of his lens.

According to Sanket, most coffee table books in India on the subject of wildlife, revolve around tigers, elephants and bigger species. “There are so many animals that don’t get enough attention and I was trying to put together a book that would encapsulate what I’ve learnt from my travels around the world,” says Sanket, adding that most books tend to get too technical either about the species, geographic location or the science of photography.

Now, with The Viewfinder, Sanket certainly managed to land the Goldilocks zone. Sectioned into chapters such as ‘A Drop of Joy’, ‘The Might of Love,’ The Breath of Freedom’ and more, they delve into the characteristics and personalities each animal or bird has exhibited in the wild.

Sanket says the purpose of The Viewfinder was to forge a connect between people and Nature. Since he had photographed all manner of wildlife, his biggest challenge was finding a thread to bring them all together in a book. “I felt one way to get people to connect with Nature, would be by sharing my learnings in the wild. And that is how it materialised — we arranged the images in nine categories.”

“What better way than putting people in scenarios where they have often been stuck?” he asks. “Whenever I go into the wild and spend time observing animals, I try to understand why they do certain things, and connect it to human behaviour as well.”

“That was the reason I tried a different approach to this book so even children would be able to connect with it and see it from a simple perspective.’