Dharwad: Balaveer Prasad Shettar, our grandson in relationship, and a budding architect drove me on his Bullet to the beautiful houses premises of Ashok Mansur, an accomplished photographer in the Saraswatpur residential area. We had to keep waiting for Ashok to handle the bunch of canines, to ensure that they didn't hurt us.
Like a resort in a jungle: After Ashok ensured our safe entry, we entered the sprawling lush green landscape with huge tall trees enabling us an experience of being in a picturesque luxury resort amidst a forest terrain. The pathway all along was like moving around in a botanical garden full of a variety of interesting plants with blooming flowers.
House resembling a studio set: No sooner did Ashok led us inside the wholly transparent glass house full of glass window panes on three sides, it appeared as though we were in a mini bird zoo! The avian creatures were were having a free time, flying in and out chirping in their peculiar sounds. It was a beautiful sight to witness and experience! The only thing that appeared unnatural was the artificial lawn.
A number of species: The types of small feathered doing merry go rounds in and out were multiple and Ashok was constantly giving a vivid description on the names and characteristics of the humming tiny beings. He also informed about their nature of grabbing only groundnut oil based products and totally neglecting the ones made out of refined oil!
Six types of winged visitors: While Ashok was engrossed in detailing his adventure with the wildlife, any number of tiny feathered creatures were freely flying in and returning back with the same pace, intermittently. He pointed at one variety of birds and told them to the typical blue flake birds, which keep coming to have the mixture. The other winged visitors included the Babbler, Bulbul, Robin...About six varieties of birds are regular visitors into the house and the number of varieties residing outside number around 15! Ashok also jovially admitted his home to be a live zoo.
Remodeling the jeep to his requirements: As Ashok was busy explaining the salient features of the winged beings, he was repeatedly called by the artisans working on remodeling his new Jeep. He was compelled to change as the earlier one was finding it difficult to tread the mountainous terrain. So, he was customizing the new one to ensure that he could also cook and rest in the modified vehicle.
Ashok's father, a great hunter: Ashok Mansur's father, was a great hunter. Apart from being an agriculturist and forest contractor, he was also a great hunter during the early 70's and 80's, thanks to total lack of awareness about environmental conservation!
Into the forest, all alone from the age of 12! He used to hunt small animals like wild boar, among many others. His instincts of being a well versed great hunter inspired Ashok, then a young boy to adventure with nature. This way, Ashok developed the practice of venturing into the evergreen forest terrain, when he was barely 12 years old. His association and relation with the lens equipment started way back from 1987.
Life and National Geographic magazines: Ashok's father used to subscribe for magazines like the Life and National Geographic. Articles on wildlife and photography in them made a lasting impression on the young mind, motivating Ashok to pursue his interests of wild life and photography. Ashok Mansur, recalling the journey so far is candid enough to admit that his exposure to nature, accompanied by the inspiring articles of the two magazines took him to the photography passion. In a freewheeling chitchat, Ashok Mansur went down memory lane to recall his picturesque journey so far.
Q: From what age you started snapping photos?
Ashok Mansur: At the age of 12 only I was moving around in the forest along with my father. So, I bought my camera, soon after my post graduation, I purchased my camera in 87.
Q: What type of camera, you started with?
Ashok Mansur: Nikon FE. And the first lens I purchased was 200mm because I was not entirely interested in the wide angle lenses. My first aim was birds only. So, I started my photography with birds. I used to shoot with remote triggers and all because of the limitation of the equipment, because the longest focal length what I was having was only 200 mm.
Q: What about shifting to the Digital camera?
Ashok Mansur: In the year 2010, I switched over to the digital. Earlier I was shooting with the video cameras, that is Canon, that is an interchangeable video camera. But the drawback of that camera was, seeing video requires a team effort from audio as well as post processing. Since I was a solo guy, that was a hindrance for me. My friends suggested me go for still images. So, I switched over in 2010.
Q: How was the experience working with that camera?
Ashok Mansur: That time I purchased the Canon 7D. Somehow I didn't like the performance of the camera. So within a year I shifted back to Nikon. So initially started with my 600mm wildlife, and now I have switched over to the wide angle. And now I shoot whatever that inspires me, that attracts me.
Q: So far how many photographs you might have shot?
Ashok Mansur: See, I must be having not less than 40 TB of images.
Q: And what about exhibitions?
Ashok Mansur: I have done solo exhibition in Dharwad and group exhibitions in Dharwad, Vijayapura, Bagalkot, Bengaluru, and Mysuru. However, I was not interested in competition, only my friends suggested me to participate in the Academy competition. Last year I entered there and got awarded too.
Q: State or Central?
Ashok Mansur: Karnataka Lalit Kala Academy. For the Central Academy, my entry was selected for the exhibition, in the final round. Even this year also it was selected for the exhibition. Since the results have not come, I am not sure about the same.
Q: Since you have been working with the camera right from the age of 12, roughly it is more than 50 years. How do you feel looking back?
Ashok Mansur: Now I am 65 and my association with the equipment is precisely from 53 years. Now because of the advent of the technology, Digital technology, life has become much better for the photographer. See earlier, until and unless it was processed the image, we were not sure what we have shot. Now we can rectify it immediately. We can concentrate more on the composition, light effect, focusing is not at all required because most of the time in the advanced camera, they focus on the eyes. So, we need not have to worry about the focusing. Now, we have to think about the composition only.
Q: You said initially you started with birds. Where else it went on after birds?
Ashok Mansur: The problem is that the lenses were not easily available in those times. I am talking about the 80s. So, after the introduction of the digital camera, the access to the equipments were much easier. So, even 300mm f/4 was a premium lens in those days. For birding and all I went to Bharatpur, then Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, all these Himalayan areas I went for the birds only.
Q: Other than that where all you have gone for photography?
Ashok Mansur: For photography, now I am more interested in the, like as I said, whatever that attracts me, I like the street photography as well as candid photography. For candid photography only, last year, year before last year, I went to Kandali Utsav in Uttarakhanda, which happens once in 14 years, only to shoot portraits and candid images.
Q: What about the Himalayan routes?
Ashok Mansur: I go to Ladakh, I drive to Ladakh, solo drive. Now I am going in the next week again. That's why I am preparing my vehicle. I enjoy driving solo because my kind of photography and my style of living, people get bored. If I find a place, good place, I'll stay there itself for days. If my companion is okay with me, I'll allow, or else it's very difficult to cope up with the schedule. Yeah, not exactly schedule. Like, see, usually my friends who accompany me, they start telling, "It's enough, we'll go further", complaining. Yes, that's why I prefer to go solo.
Q: So what about the photographs? Do you keep selling them or you just preserve them?
Ashok Mansur: If I get a good price, I will sell or else I won't.
Q: What's the mode. Do you do it online or offline?
Ashok Mansur: Online, yes.
Q: How is the response?
Ashok Mansur: It's good, really good. Usually in India it's less, from abroad it's much better. I send the print itself, I don't give the soft copies. I print them on the canvas, you have seen my images in the exhibition.
Q: Can you share your experience, the other day when we met you in Chitrakala Parishat, you were mentioning about spending 21 days or something like that to get just one frame of night?
Ashok Mansur: Yeah, that is 14th night image. See, the problem with Milky Way and my kind of star photography is landscape Milky Way. So, foreground will be, there is some interesting subject, background will be Milky Way. So, I went to capture it near the Ramlingeshwar temple near Khanapur in Belagavi district. I tried 13 times, I could not capture what I required because Milky Way requires dark skies and clear sky. Luckily that is like there is no light pollution or dust pollution but the problem is weather. Either it's misty or cloudy or drizzling kind of a thing. 13 times I could not get it. That place is around 80 kilometres from my place. So 14th time I succeeded in it.
Q: How did you manage; You camped there or you used to go regularly?
Ashok Mansur: No, I used to go in the night around 10 o'clock or so. In the meantime I also kept looking for the time of rise of the Milky Way, and at that time I used to go there. So, it was around 2 o'clock in the morning. I had to trek for about 2 kilometers in the forest, which is infested with bears and leopards, very common. But you are permitted to move around there.
Q: Is it not a restricted area?
Ashok Mansur: That is not a restricted area.
Q: Did you encounter any problems related to wild animals?
Ashok Mansur: Usually they don't create a problem. Only they give a warning. When I was shooting in the Star Trail at Supa backwaters, I encountered a tiger. It gave me a warning call. So, I went back to the vehicle and sat there, setting up my camera for two hours and I went back to my vehicle.
Q: Do the wild cats don't attack?
Ashok Mansur: No, no, no. They will give you a warning, initially. In the instances of sudden encounter, that time they will attack. But if you are far away, they will give you a warning.
Q: How about undergoing any other such instances?
Ashok Mansur: There is one place called as Vajra Falls in Nagaragali. As I had purchased a new lens, I wanted to try that. So I left Dharwad at around 3 o'clock. It was cloudy and slightly drizzling. After parking my vehicle, I had to trek for about 4 kilometers. I went there, photographed it, very little water was there. Again it started raining. So I came out. It was actually horseshoe kind of a thing. I climbed the mountain, suddenly the gushing water came. Because somewhere above there was a heavy shower. These kind of adventures do happen. And lots of gaurs, the Indian bisons were found in the Nagaragali forest region.
Q: Do you keep training amateur photographers?
Ashok Mansur: No, I don't train. But if anyone asks, I'll definitely guide them.
Q: How about your fan following?
Ashok Mansur: I have crossed 5,000 followers on my Facebook account two years back only.
Q: These days everyone is a photographer, thanks to cell phones. What do you like to comment on the photography that is being made and many people dying for selfies?
Ashok Mansur: That is very bad. That is very bad. See the problem is it actually intoxicates you, like those who are behind the selfies, they want to be in a limelight on the Instagram. These things keep happening because some people venture into going to the extreme spots, generally unsafe, to take the images, not following the safety norms, they just get engrossed in their photography and forgetting the safety concern. These kind of things happens. See, people should realize, especially younger generation, they should not inculcate like the selfies and all. You need to be sensible.
Q: Apart from this cell phone craze, there are a number of youngsters who are into serious photography. So going by your 53 years of experience, what is your advice to them?
Ashok Mansur: Get involved in the photography and enjoy what you are doing. See, my kind of photography is I don't immediately take an image. I just look for a composition and the lighting effect. I wait for that moment, then only I capture. I don't shoot and run, shoot and run. I wait for an opportunity. So people should have patience, which is a must, and you should know what you want to capture. That picture if you have it in your mind, then only you can capture. See, because of these like AI and all, they think they can recreate the images. That's not a good thing. You wait for an opportunity. The nature will definitely provide you that kind of opportunity.
Q: These days, thanks to AI, many artists, I mean fine art students, artists and cartoonists, they don't feel threatened. I mean they see something is coming in their way. It could happen with photography also. What do you feel?
Ashok Mansur: People like me, we never cared about the AI generation because my kind of photography cannot be repeated or you cannot create it in the artificial intelligence. And what I do, I enjoy. So, like it's more of a passion for me. I don't feel any threat from the AI creators because most of them are all like they want to be in a limelight very fast. And another thing, you can definitely decipher the image, whether it's a natural or AI.
-Manohar Yadavatti.
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