WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE

Wildlife photographer Parag Bhatt's stunning images pose intriguing challenges for him in the field

- Amit Dixit

Parag Bhatt was bitten by the photography bug thanks to his father who had a darkroom at home where he would develop film and enlarge print, but his love for wildlife comes from his mother, who was born in Mombasa, Kenya. She would regale him with stories of how wildlife could be encountered in Kenya when travelling by road. Bhatt's first trip to Kenya was in 1994 and marked his debut as a wildlife photographer. Since then, he has travelled across the world for the perfect wildlife shot, but Kenya remains a favourite hunting ground. "It has diversity, endless plains, dramatic skies, and beautiful sunsets and sunrises, which provide great opportunities to capture wildlife in its natural habitat," he says. In 2023, his image of a tusker in Kenya titled 'The Gentle Giant of