Going off track

It is not a prettyfeeling to be trapped in quicksand in a dense forest, when you only have twotribal hunters for company who refuse to take you seriously. But acclaimedAmerican wildlife photographer Steve Winter is almost a magnet for trouble. Hemay have an enviable job, but it involves flying over erupting volcanoes andbeing chased by rhinos and jaguars. Ironically, though, the jungleis where he feels the safest. "Now I have adjusted a little to the city life. Itwas much more difficult earlier," he laughs, as he settles down for a chat atthe Skoda Yeti calendar launch.Stevehas travelled to exotic destinations in pursuit of less-thancooperative subjectslike the endangered single horned rhinoceros deep in the jungles of Kaziranga(Assam) or the grizzly bears of Kamchatka (Russia). He hopes his photographs canplay a part in creating awareness about bio-diversity conservation .It started in the early nineties, when Steve was sent on anassignment to the tropical rainforests in Costa Rica for six weeks. "I walkedinto a rainforest in 1992 for the very first time and was awestruck by thebeauty there. I had never shot any natural history before. That assignmentturned my life, and gave me new focus. I realised that if I wanted the nextgeneration to see this beauty, I have to take an active part in conserving it.That experience changed the direction of my work from social documentary tonatural history and conservation." After that, Steve travelled toIceland to click a volcano erupting from a glacier, tracked down the jaguars inArizona and photographed quetzals in Guatemala.Apartfrom fungus sprouting on the equipment and rain spoiling the expensive cameras(he lost two in Bandhavgarh), watching your back in the jungle is crucial."People always ask me about being attacked by animals I've photographed. But,for me, the most dangerous creatures are the microscopic variety. I had malaria,fever, parasites, worms, dysentery, and various unexplained illnesses. Lastyear, I had worms in my feet twice, it was terrible." Playing downthe dangers of his trade, he says, "An animal rarely wants to attack you unlessit is a female with cubs or an animal that is protecting its meal. Have yourwits about you and you will survive." He recalls a rhino that gave him thebiggest scare of his life by chasing him 400 meters inside the forest. "I wastrying to get a different shot of the rhino. I was on an elephant and I had thecamera suspended from a bamboo pole. The rhino didn't like it and chased us. Myheart was thumping and we didn't even have a gun."Shooting theelusive snow leopards at an altitude of 17,000 feet was the most technically andphysically challenging assignment of his career. For someone who prefers the hotweather, it involved photographing the endangered cat in its frigid habitat inthe Hemis National Park near Ladakh. "It took three days to ferry 39 bags ofequipment. We hired 20 packhorses that made constant trips to transport us toour campsite in the park. At night, the temperature dipped to 30 to 40 deg belowzero," he says. It took Steve three months to capture the brilliant pictures (hecalls it a collaboration between the snow leopard and him). Steve's cook doubledas a lookout. "Luckily, the cats tend to walk the same trails and mark theirterritory every week or two. I found two males who didn't mind posing for thecamera. So I kept a tab on the pugmarks and scrapings and was able to getincredible images." People are important to Steve's work and he never takes on aproject without involving locals, from tribals to the villagers. It helps thatSteve has a phenomenal ability to win their trust. Well, most of the timeanyway. "While shooting at Myanmar's Hukuang Valley, I slipped and sankchest-deep in quicksand. The Lisu hunters with me just stood there and crackedjokes before they pulled me out." Steve's attempts to portray animals asindividuals is remarkable and his picture of the smiling tiger has the highestrecall value. "I am not sure if the tiger was smiling but I was able tohighlight the problems of Kaziranga. If more people can recall the picture, myjob is done," he concludes. Sayoni.Sinha@timesgroup.com