Since I have not been photographing any serious wildlife in the past 6 months, I was getting really bored of the long wait for our favorite wild places to open after part and full closure of our most treasured national parks Yala and Wilpattu. The on going Civil War has not only taken its toll in displacing most of the people living in the north and east, but also on our wildlife photographers. Most of us have not been going there for the past year or so, making our lives bored and now, miserable.

Yala, our famous photographic retreat, is now open for day visits and restricted to the most unfavorable photographic times - between 6.30 am and 5.30 pm. By the time we get to our favorite spots like Meda Para, Diganwela etc., it is way past 7am, and the harsh tropical light is not favorable for any serious wildlife photographer or me. Let alone photography, our favorite subject ?The Leopard?, has already retreated to the shade for its lazy rest. Then, again in the evening we have to leave this area by 5.30 p.m, just when the elusive cats start their prowl - thus we miss the glorious evening light which we all love to capture in our photography.

I have tried making the most of these short periods of time allowed in the Park, to get photographs in the past months, during my, maybe, 3 visits or so after the troubles began in late 2007, but it was just not worth it. It is nothing like being in the lodges inside the park and traveling early morning and late in the evening for photography. My last visit there was in June 2008 and I?ve never set foot there until this date. Even though the Yala Bug is still kicking inside me, I was helpless. My most frequent thoughts are - What on earth are we photographers going to do here in this beloved country of ours, which is so blessed with so much of wildlife??? And yet, we do not have the opportunity to see, photograph or spend time with them at all!!! Our precious, expensive equipment are rotting, and I am not the sort of person to be content with making trips to Sinharaja, Minneriya, or Bundala. It just does not have the appeal that we are so spoilt with! Bundala is a great place for bird photography, but the park authorities are not taking any interest to make the most of the opportunities it has during the migratory seasons. The numbers have dropped drastically in the past years. Conditions have become very bad for migratory birds to visit the wetland. For example, the Flamingoes returned to Bundala in 2005 until 2006 but have vanished since then. But, Wilpattu and Kumana would have been my only choice if I were given one. Yala is perfect for leopards and for the diversity of wildlife, but its habitat is now becoming dirty, ugly and polluted by tourists both local and foreign. It is quite difficult to get a decent looking photograph without mud, gravel or dry sticks from Yala. Unless of course, you want to shoot with a tight 600 or 800mm lens - this I can do anywhere and this is not what I would be happy in portraying. I believe that I don?t need to go to Yala for this type of photography. Besides the close up action that can be photographed in this type of medium, I love to include the environment in my photographs. But Yala?s environment, I am sad to say; it is very messy and not at all appealing to me. I hope a serious photographer reading this, would agree. Why I might be saying this contrary to what I have said about myself missing Yala is perhaps my photography has outgrown itself with all those years of photographing in Yala. It?s the same thing over and over again for me. I love to get more challenging with my photography now.

What do we do now? How long will this wait take? Have this happened for the good of all of us. I am now thinking out of the box in terms of photography and thinking going beyond our beloved country and putting my photography to another limit. I think I will have to look at other places in our neighborhood. India or even Africa is a good bet. I won?t have the comforts of being in our bungalows close to where the action is. It?s going to be more expensive and needs so much of planning, but the results can be worthwhile. Well, I don?t make money from my photographs yet and the budget for these could be whopping. I could make a safari trip for 7 days, which are offered by various travel agents for around about US$2500 including airfare. But a serious trip would ideally be for 10 to 15 days, with exclusive vehicles and an experienced guide. This could cost in the range of in excess of US$ 5000 each, for a group of at least 3 photographers without the airfare, during the Masai Mara Migration period. But it would definitely be worthwhile if I can do a trip once a year with some friends or colleagues.

So, since I am not in a position to budget for this now and I have to leave it for the future, what do I do right now? I thought I would try some Landscape/People photography as we are so blessed with it here in our country. Armed with some expensive Lee Filters, I have now set about trying my luck and skills at it. It?s a lot tougher, and requires huge amounts of patience and results can be very frustrating and also rewarding. So, here I am trying my new found interest on People and Landscapes. To begin with, I have shot some Stilt Fisherman in Galle and Traditional Rope Fishing in Beruwela.

HDR photography is something I am also experimenting right now and it?s lots of fun and can be used mostly with Landscapes. You can check out some of the pictures below which I took at Kalpitiya. The quality is absolutely stunning ? that is, if you don?t go overboard with your processing! What I mean is that, you must process your images with the intention of producing pictures that are as natural looking as possible, as it can look very artificial if you over do it. Shooting HDR and processing them go hand in Hand. You need to know exactly how you want your pictures, evaluating the contrast range of your location and make your camera settings and exposure bracketing to match them and you could produce some excellent looking images. Then on the computer I need to Map them with a specialized software to bring the the most of the effect of the HDR 3 Dimensional appeal.

SO, here I am location hunting. I have to go to a location several times and study the way the light works and affect that particular location before making my pictures provided the light on that day is well balanced and ideal for my intended picture. Landscapes are all about light and Light and Light and Patience. And you need to be physically fit to take the Challenge as well. My 3 times routines per week to the gym and a well balanced diet is keeping me at it so far. I started with the coast close to where I live and visit, Galle. And what better way than with stilt fishing.

Looking forward to my new found Landscape Passion. Until I get the wildlife Kick back again perhaps to photograph somewhere else in this world???..