Dasari Vijay captures India’s avian wonders through his lens

Dasari Vijay, a Hyderabad-based LIC manager, has photographed over 700 bird species across India. From early macro shots to iconic bird-in-flight images, his journey spans decades, fueled by passion, persistence, and the support of his wife Jyotsna.

Hyderabad: For long, Dasari Vijay has been a quiet photographer but clearly charting his own inimitable style in freezing in the camera some of the most beautiful images of the birds.

Not surprisingly, Vijay loves any bird in motion, be it take-off when the species spread their wings , bringing an aesthetic look, or in flight with the blue skies in the backdrop.

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“I had a niche for photography right from my childhood. I developed this curiosity of observing light and shadows around. I used to pester my parents with umpteen queries about the moving characters on screen {when I get to see an odd movie a year},” says Vijay in a chat with ‘Telangana Today’.

For someone who is a regular during week-ends at most of the birding spots in and around the twin cities, Vijay got hooked to birding as he was a keen observer of every object in varied lighting conditions.

“I started seeing every object in varied lighting. That’s when my Dad gifted me with my first camera Agfa click III way back in 1979. Later photography became my dream and only hobby,” the 58-year-old lensman recalled.

“The first gear which I had purchased was the 16mm Fuji camera, then my Kodak camera and upgraded my cameras with every new innovation. Clicking nature flowers’ macros for a few years reminded me of those moving characters on screen in the movies, that is when I decided to click moving objects, people in motion,” explained Vijay, Manager in LIC (Reinvestment).

“Things changed for the good when I clicked the first bird image – of the sparrow in 1994. That was just the beginning and since then I rarely miss any opportunity to capture them in my camera,” he said.

“Definitely, photography is a very very expensive hobby for me. And, there was a long gap because of financial constraints in upgrading my camera gear before I was back into birding in 2010 when I purchased SonyA 56,” Vijay said.

“Quite frankly, the social media platforms, especially Facebook, helped me a lot in widening my knowledge base and also photography skills, seeing some of the lovely pics of fellow photographers,” he said.

“It has been almost a decade since I purchased my Nikon D7200 that birding has become a real passion. It has become irresistible for sure,” said Vijay, who acknowledges that it would not have been possible but for the great support of his wife Jyotsna. “Of late, she is also joining me on my trips making it even more memorable,” he added.

“I have crossed the 700-species mark in birding and would love to keep going. Having visited most of the birding spots across India, I still look for any new locales and come up with some special photographs,” Vijay said.

“Honestly, I still need to upgrade my skills in photography, I remain a student in my journey of bird photography,” says a modest Vijay.