Following My Dream:

Exhibition of nature photography at the Lionel Wendt

by Kumar de Silva

Nature photography in all its multi-dimensional glory will adorn the walls of the Lionel Wendt Art Gallery in Colombo as Dr. Harin Dias presents "Following my Dream", his maiden exhibition, on March 2 and 3. The chief guest at the opening ceremony will be Justice Shiranee Tilakawardane with Dr. D.B. Nihalsinghe as guest of honour.

"Following my Dream" features a little over 50 colour stills and takes visitors through the magnificence of nature from wildlife and sceneries to bird life and life underwater, mainly taken in Sri Lanka and Australasia.

The target audience is predominantly wildlife and nature lovers as well as lovers of photography, but most of all, young people to whom the photographer wishes to convey the importance of protecting our surroundings, flora, fauna and marine life. "I am inspired by the beauty of nature anywhere in the world, such as, sunsets, sunrises, scenes .... just about anything, hence my love for landscape photography", says the photographer. "I love to travel and I believe that travel and photography go hand in hand. I like to capture on film the images that catch my eye so that I can share it with others and thus reflect on the images and scenes my eyes find fascinating."

Sydney Harbour Bridge

Sunset in Galle

A citizen of Australia since 1991, Dr. Dias has been working as a visiting private specialist anaesthetist, practising in the Central Coast of NSW. An avid animal and nature lover, his hobbies include professional photography, diving, riding motorbikes, canoeing, kayaking, skiing, travelling around the world and adventure. A PADI certified advanced diver he says, "I learnt scuba diving because of my love for underwater photography. I have also previously held exhibitions in Australia and donated the proceeds of the sale of the photographs from one such exhibition to a Tsunami-affected little girl in Sri Lanka" He says that the main reason for his nature and wildlife photography is that climate change, global warming and pollution, both natural and man-made, will cause the loss of such beauty in the very near future. "Many animals we see in the wild today will soon be extinct. All we will be left with will be photographs of such animals to show the future generations".

"It saddens me to see beaches that I visited many years ago in Unawatuna, Matara and Polhena hardly have any 'beach' area left. The sea has come right in, the coral reefs decimated and marine life is in danger of disappearing. Just like those beaches, all we will have will be photographs to remember the sights", he laments. His favourite photograph at the exhibition is that of a Bull Shark he photographed from a distance of just two metres away, while diving in Fiji at a depth of 30-35 metres underwater. The Bull Shark is the third most feared and dangerous shark species after the Great White (Number 1) and the Tiger Shark, the 2nd most dangerous.

"The thrill of adventure makes me dive with sharks, without the protection of a cage. During my dive in Fiji, a Bull Shark did come right at me and was pushed away by another diver with a metal hook! But I would gladly and most definitely, do it again", he says. Another favourite photograph is 'Sunset in Galle'.

"I was fascinated by the natural colours of the sunset where the sky really was in shades of purple, pink and other shades. I shot the scene using a film camera.

Although we are in this digital era, I still use medium format positive film (Velvia) in photography."