All Things Bright And Beautiful. All Creatures Great And Small...

In conversation with Pratik Pradhan, Natasha Desai discovers his inherent need to photograph nature in his own unique way, by bringing his visions to light.

- Pratik Pradhan, Natasha Desai

Author Malcom Gladwell famously propounded the 10,000 hour rule. The gist of the rule is that in order to be a master of a natural ability to do something, one must practice it for 10,000 hours at the very least.

23-year-old Pratik Pradhan has shot religiously and practiced photography for almost 200-250 days in a year, for the last five year. If Malcom Gladwell’s observation is anything to go by then Pratik is well on his way to strengthening his already keen photographic vision.

A Deep Rooted Connection

The natural world always held an allure for Pratik. He would trek and doggedly explore the greenery around him as a school child. When his father gifted him a point and shoot, it opened up a path he never thought he would be on. A stint with an animal rescue group brought Pratik in close contact with urban animals, cementing his compassion and hunger to document wildlife. As a college student, Pratik would spend most of his time obsessively photographing, learning online and honing his skills. A course in photography from the J J School of Arts in Mumbai furthered his knowledge and introduced him to artificial lighting, which Pratik uses cleverly and almost unobtrusively in his photography.