Saturday, 30 November 2013 00:03
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By Marianne David
With just a few days for the launch of their book ‘Growing in the Wild,’ Dimitri Goonewardena and Ashvini Jayatilake are understandably quite excited. A long-held dream has finally come true for these two teenagers, whose lives have been intertwined with wildlife for many years.
The beautifully-presented 136-page hard cover book filled with stunning photographs is a sight to behold, vividly showcasing the breathtaking beauty and wonderful wealth of nature in Sri Lanka.
Dimitri (19) and Ashvini (15) took these photographs over the course of the last three years during their journeys in the wild, with Yala and its famed leopards (their firm favourite) taking pride of place in the collection. Dimitri is an undergraduate in Economics and Finance at the University of Melbourne, while Ashvini is a student of Musaeus College.
The duo held a joint exhibition of their work in 2010 at the Lionel Wendt, but the idea for the book only came up a few months ago – and in no time, their dream has been realised.
A dream come true
In an interview with the Weekend FT a few days prior to the launch, Ashvini said: “I came home one day after school to find the book on table… I was so surprised; it was amazing! Finally, a dream that I had for a long time had come true. I didn’t think I would realise it so fast.”
Dimitri echoes her sentiments: “You don’t normally find young people publishing at this age. Our parents supported us in the whole process and it’s been a great experience. I hope people will enjoy glancing through this book, in which Ashvini and I present wildlife photos we took in the course of the past three years, visiting many national parks, especially Yala and Wilpattu.”
Ashvini added: “Sri Lanka is blessed with incredible natural diversity, and this book by Dimitri and myself is our modest attempt to show the world how much our little island has to offer. I hope more children will join us to carry on the amazing work done by avid photographers like Tha (my dad), Uncle Rukshan, Uncle Gehan and others who have inspired us so much. Perhaps now it is our turn.”
Both Ashvini and Dimitri have won numerous prizes and awards, including the Junior Wildlife Photographer of the Year (Sri Lanka) competition and the Yala Village Nature Photographer Competition, with Ashvini having contributed some of her photos also to Moments of Truth (2008), a volume published by her father Chitral Jayatilake – one of Sri Lanka’s most outstanding nature photographers.
Reason for hope
The foreword to the book is by multi award-winning wildlife photographers Jonathan and Angela Scott, and these excerpts from the foreword gives an idea of what the book entails:
“Rarely do people print their pictures and paste them carefully in to a photo album. More often we look, share, laugh with our friends – and then forget. That is why books are such a precious gift. Books linger on, the smell of the paper, the look of the typeface, the design of the layout, all help to give a context to the images. Photographs have their own language; sometimes no words are needed to describe what we see in them. Their meaning is universal; they speak to us, striking a chord with the viewer. You can see this for yourself among the pages of Ashvini and Dimitri’s book: the beauty of an inky sunrise over water; the piercing gaze of a leopard caught mid-stride; a wild creature revealed as part of their natural landscape. It takes dedication and commitment to produce images like these.
“For those who already know Sri Lanka, this book will prove a vivid reminder of what an extraordinary country it is. And for those yet to journey there, it will act as a wake-up call to add the island paradise to their ‘must-see’ destinations. You won’t be disappointed. Knowing that there are budding young conservationists and photographers like Ashvini and Dimitri to help remind us of what we stand to lose gives us reason for hope.”
Dimitri’s story
Dimitri’s interest in wildlife photography began when, at aged 12, he received his first camera, a Canon S3, as a gift from his parents. During school holidays to Yala or one of Sri Lanka’s many other national parks, he would try to film the wonderful animals and scenic landscapes so often taken for granted. Dimitri credits his “photography guru Uncle Chitral” for sharing much of what he knew of the habits of the animals they spotted and the techniques he used to capture their images.
Acknowledging that wildlife photography is one of the more challenging forms of this magnificent art, Dimitri says that some animals are difficult to approach and knowledge of their behaviour is important if one is to predict their actions. However, he adds that a great wildlife photograph can also be a result of being in the right place at the right time.
“I have spent countless hours parked beside waterholes and at times even fallen asleep while waiting, for example, for a leopard to return to its kill. A sudden wake-up call from the driver of our jeep, who intimately knew the in and outs of the jungle, was always a treat. Keeping my fingers crossed for some miracle of nature to unfold before my lens, I came to learn that wildlife photography is a great test of patience, but in the end, it has always been well worth the effort.”
Dimitri stresses on the importance of protecting endangered plant and animal species and their habitats and ensuring that nature will be around for future generations to enjoy “the beauty of wildlife and wilderness, the lands we humans increasingly dominate and despoil”.
Ashvini’s story
Ashvini’s love for photography began when she was about six, when she grabbed a 35mm camera from her father’s huge box of photographic gear and ran about the garden looking for butterflies and other insects to photograph, just as she had seen her father do whenever they went to Yala. Whenever she couldn’t find a wild subject, she would snap her sister modelling their mother’s dresses instead.
“After a year or so, my father allowed me to use some of his more expensive equipment. I regularly began joining my parents on their visits to national parks at about the time I turned seven. I still remember vividly the early morning wake-up call, following which we would wipe the sleep out of our eyes, clamber into the back of a jeep and set off, just as the first grey light of dawn was creeping into the dry zone sky. I would sit there shivering as the chilly early morning air swept through the jeep, excited and expectant: what did Yala have in store for us that day?”
Ashvini says she has always been inspired by her father, who has over the years been not just her coach but also her best friend in the wilds. “Tha was my coach just as my grandfather was his; I felt so lucky as a kid to have so much experience to call on whenever I needed it.”
Photography, for Ashvini, is more than just a hobby: it teaches her concentration, patience in the timelessness of the wild, and the prospect of each safari being an opportunity to experience something new. “I feel completely at home whenever I visit a national park. To enjoy so much freedom, to simply inhale the jungle air, feel the dry dust on my face and in my hair, and then to nurse my bruises after an especially bumpy ride – the simple joys of a wildlife photographer!”
‘Growing in the Wild’ will be launched on Wednesday 4 December at the Cinnamon Grand, Colombo.
