From Tech-Lead to Trailblazer: Anupam Thombre's Evolution in Wildlife Photography

Showcase is an effort by 58Miles to bring beautiful journeys of some of the amazing photographers of India & aboard . You will read about their journey , techniques , style and can see the outcome of their art in stunning frames. We asked them some questions to deep dive in to space and here we are....

Introducing 58Miles showcase photographer Anupam Thombre from Pune

Can you tell us a bit about your background and how you got started in photography?

Well, I am Anupam Thombre, a full time wildlife photographer based in Pune, Maharashtra, India. My love for photography started at a very tender age of 7 years when I was gifted a 1964 Rolleiflex 3.5F by my grandfather. I didn’t have an Idea of what it did, how to operate it; perhaps I still have it as my most prised possession and a remembrance of my Grand-father. The life moved on and I continued my studies completing my MS from Durham University, UK in
Communications engineer. That iis when I started getting attracted to photography having got exposure to beautiful landscapes and architecture in UK. I remember getting my first digital camera, the beautiful Sony Alpha Nex 3N. I used to spend all my side income on investing in various lenses and accessories for it. I remember that I used to actually research about each planned investment on the internet from channels like Fro knows photo and Tony & Chelsea Northrup YouTube channels. I was fun days.
After getting back to India, I started my work as a tech-lead in SAP and photography took a sideline. After working for 3-4 years, one fine day I put down my resignation and started with commercial photography (Weddings, new-born, maternity, events, advertising, interior and architecture, food, fashion etc.) I also led photography learning tour to Japan during this phase with almost 8 participants.
Covid hit hard on all of us in 2020and tight is when I decided to stop commercial photography and start Wildlife and nature photography professionally. I had been going to some wildlife hotspots like Bandhavgarh, Tadoba, Pench, Bharatpur and Masai Mara while I was doing commercial photography; probably this is what made me change my genre for good, for the love of nature, wildlife animals and teaching. I invested heavily in the best range of Sony equipments available in 2020; The Sony alpha 9 II and FE 400mm f/2.8 G Master OSS. I started teaching post-processing online and crossed 1000 student mark in covid lockdown itself. After the lockdown was lifted I went full out exploring the national parks in my bucket list. People liked the way I taught and explained photography concepts; many urged to accompany me on my personal tours to learn. And that is how I ended up starting my own startup to cater teaching services to enthusiasts and novice photographers. Here I am today, standing in-front of you all as a Sony creator, Zeiss Influencer and lots of awards and publications under my name. However the feather in my cap will always be that Rolleiflex which kindled the fire of photography in my soul !

What inspires your photography, and how do you choose your subjects or themes?

I get this question asked a lot ! Who are my inspirations in the field ? Whose work I adore ? What drives you ? Etc. etc. Well I follow all the stalwarts which you all follow, observe and study their work and all. BUT, what inspires my photography are my mistakes, my old work and my best work ! I rarely participate in any competitions and awards, but I keep my work framed in-front of me where I sit and work in my personal space, to always remind me about WHAT NOT TO DO to IMPROVE !
How do I choose my subjects and themes ? Hmmmm… well I do not. Whenever I go into the wild, whatever catches my attention, I photography it. Planning about the species to shoot does form a crucial step in wildlife photography and choosing the locations. Perhaps, my mind and eye is now aligned to give me a final outcome when I see the subject through the viewfinder, even before clicking it ! Very recently a year back, I started taking interest in macro-photography and Herping. Hence I started visiting various hotspots to photograph them. When you say Herping I see many enthusiasts running to Munnar, Coorg, Agumbe, Costa Rica, Vietnam, Cambodia etc. I still haven’t gone there…because I am still learning from my mistakes and want to be prepared when I visit these holy destinations.

What has been your most memorable photography project or shoot, or any inspiring story around it, and why?

Again a very frequently asked question ! What is your best image till now ? My answer remains the same - Well I haven’t created my best image yet. YES, I do have some of my favourite creations which you will see in the gallery with this blog post. The reason for not having the most memorable shoot is very simple ! India alone is extremely very vast and consists of innumerable opportunities when it comes to species of animals, birds, amphibians, spiders, snakes etc. One lifetime also falls short to photograph everything in India, and I haven’t even seen 1% of it all. I hope one day will come when I just close my eyes and start narrating that most inspiring story.
But yes, I did rejoice when I photographed The Tira (Pseudo-melanistic zebra foal in Africa, and a very very few photographers all around the globe got this chance), a peregrine falcon in flight with a kill in its claws (Peregrine falcon is the fastest bird in flight on earth), an Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher in process to perch clicked by me landed on National Geographic magazine back page, Rosy Pelican in flight got framed and put up in Sony Camera Lounge (The first camera lounge in India) and many such accomplishments.

What is your photography kit ? or we would say, what is in your camera bag? 

My kit is very compact ! I have seen enthusiasts and rookie photographers having more range of equipments than me…not kidding !
I carry the following gear when shooting big cats, mammals and birds:
A Sony alpha 1 body, a Sony alpha 9 iii body, FE 400mm f2.8 G Master and a 70-200mm f2.8 G Master
For Macro and Herping, I carry:
A sony alpha 1 body, Sony 90mm f2.8 Macro G lens, Godox V860 III S flash and a Beetle diffuser pro large by Varun HB along with a small led light by Godox (R1). Other accessories consist of a UV flash light and a Godox Remote trigger. Planning to invest in a wide angle macro lens now ;-)
My bag also consists of my laptop, few TB of SSDs, card readers, a cleaning kit, my Tripod, and a sensor cleaning kit. I hate it when I get dust on my sensors. I use a ThinkTank International V3.0; I am looking for a nice compact bag to take on field when I am not carrying my 400mm prime. Thats a cue for you @58 Miiles wonderful people :-)

What advice would you give to photographers who are just starting out and looking to make a name for themselves?

I will note down the points I followed since my early wildlifing days.
Probably you can pick out what makes sense :-)
a. Having idols and inspirations is ok for everyone, but till the time I accepted and registered what mistakes I have made in past, correcting myself and bringing a change became very difficult.
b. I do not work with a lot of gear ! LESS is more for me. It confuses minds when on field. Keep less BUT perfect gear for that situations, and get the best out of it.
c. I always remind myself to remain humble and grounded, in-spite of whatever accomplishments come my way. I love to remain like a sponge, accept whatever knowledge I get from everyone around me. After analysing I filter out what remains the best for me and discard which does not suit me… Simple !
d. I print my favourite creations and frame them in-front of me to empower myself !
e. I remain very loyal with my brand of gear ! My brand has given me lots of opportunities which cant be even dreamt of ! If you give quality to your brand, you will be rewarded !
f. BUILD BRIDGES…NOT WALLS ! 

You can find Anupam Thombre on :

Instagram : anupam_thombre