On a quiet Sunday morning, Deepthi Cheran sets out on a boat journey far away from her everyday hectic work schedule as an anaesthetist.

Over the next four to five hours, Dr. Deepthi along with local fisherman Logu scans the Pulicat lake, with camera in her hand, to capture the winged visitors — a pursuit that she has taken over the last six years.

An associate professor of anaesthesia in a government hospital in Chennai, Dr. Deepthi is a trained liver transplant anaesthetist and was part of the team that performed the first cadaveric liver transplant at the Government Stanley Medical College Hospital in 2009. Subsequently, she went on to be on the team for 33 liver transplants.

ALSO READ

A beginner’s guide to birdwatching in Chennai

It was in 2017 that she learned the ropes of photography from Rathika Ramasamy, a wildlife photographer. Since then, she has travelled to places in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu in search of the winged beauties, and in all, has captured 300 to 400 species of birds so far.

“This is definitely a stressbuster. It is a different world altogether. Nature, breath of fresh air and birds keep me going. When I walk through forests and wade across small streams with my camera in hand and looking for birds, I tend to forget the world outside,” she said.

Being an anaesthetist, the hospital is a separate world in itself, she said, adding, “Work hours are hectic both in the operation theatre and post anaesthesia care unit. So, these are worlds apart.” She along with her husband K. Elancheralathan, professor and head, Vascular Surgery, Government Stanley Medical College Hospital has travelled to places such as Kotagiri, Thattekad and Sattal.

At Pulicat lake, on spotting greater and lesser flamingos, Dr. Deepthi gets into the water and waits patiently before clicking the images. “I have a bird bucket list that includes Rufous-necked hornbill and Black Baza found in West Bengal. Among the birds that I have spotted and clicked so far, my prized possessions are Nilgiri Sholakili chick, Great Barbet at Sattal and Oriental Dwarf kingfisher at Thattekad,” she says.

In a recent visit to the Nilgiris, Dr. Deepthi Cheran spotted the Black-and-orange flycatcher.  
| Photo Credit:
Deepthi Cheran

Dr. Deepthi Cheran has travelled to places in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu in search of winged beauties, and in all, has captured 300 to 400 species of birds so far. A photograph of the Nilgiri flycatcher shot by the anaesthetist.
| Photo Credit:
Deepthi Cheran

In a recent visit to the Nilgiris, she spotted the Black-and-orange flycatcher and Velvet-fronted nuthatch. “Bird photography has helped me in more than one way. Each photograph speaks of a story. We walk for hours and wait patiently for that fraction of a second to capture the image of a bird. I learn from nature, from birds. For instance, the Baya weaver, which is known for its hanging nest, has a lesson to teach — to keep on working relentlessly,” she said.

SHREVEPORT, La. (Ark-La-Tex Weekend) – Award-winning, critic-approved photographer shares her story and inspirations for her photography.

Debra Roberson is a photographer from Houston, Texas, but spent much of her childhood in Natchitoches, Louisiana, where her family is from. The two worlds were far apart in those days. As a Black girl, she faced racism and oppression.

Overcoming odds and criticism from fellow students and her teachers, who believed she did not deserve better, Roberson was awarded entry into an Ivy League school, Dartmouth College, in New Hampshire. This began her interest in photography. She learned French and eventually stayed in Europe, traveling some and photographing places in Spain, Italy, and Germany during the Carnival season.

After returning to the United States, Roberson ended up settling here in Shreveport, Louisiana. During her time here she had an extensive 30-year career working in information technology (IT) but then decided to make a change. Roberson returned to school at Bossier Parish Community College (BPCC) and there she rediscovered her interest and passion in the art of photography.

An in-depth look at Debra Roberson’s Photography:

Roberson’s subjects in her photography are nature, such as trees, birds, and flowers, but she also photographs historical buildings and places. Some of her most captivating work revolves around these photographs of historical places that have significance to Black history and the struggle Black people endured during the times of slavery.

Roberson’s parents and grandparents lived and worked on plantations growing up, inspiring her to document those places and remind the world of what happened.

“Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it,” Roberson says, living by this motto as an artist.

Her art’s raw truth is captured for the world to face. History is laid out in beautiful black-and-white images of these buildings and cotton fields, and the ghosts of the past cannot be avoided. Reminding any who sees her work, where we have been so we can know where we want to be as a society.

When asked what advice she would give someone interested in photography, Debra encourages all, “It’s never too late. If you are interested in photography, take a class, learn the fundamentals.”

To follow Debra Roberson and her photography, visit her site at https://www.debrarobersonartist.com/. See the full interview on News 12 Now app, Roku TV, Fire TV, and Apple TV apps.

Copyright 2023 KSLA. All rights reserved.

There is a trend going across the popular video social media platform TikTok that shows photographers, calling themselves “street photographers” wandering the streets and asking people on the streets for a picture, resulting in taking their portraits on the street.

This is NOT street photography, I’m sure Henri Cartier-Bresson is turning in his grave when he hears these trendy photographers calling themselves street photographers when indeed they are portrait photographers taking images on the street.

It might sound the same, but I can assure you it really isn’t and someone needs to tell them the basis of the trend is flawed!

@iamjeanblack
♬ original sound – Jean Black

While TikTok user iamjeanblack seems like a friendly fellow and was very polite and did take some nice images of the man he stopped, this is not pure street photography capturing candid moments on the street of unexpecting people. 

This is all intent and purpose, it’s a photo shoot or a portrait session in a park… NOT street photography. But it doesn’t stop there, hundred of TikTok users are now calling themselves Street Photographers and using the basis of this trend to take photos out in public.

While I love the idea of more people picking up a camera and getting into photography, I’d like them to understand street photography first and then decide that while it’s not street photography, they are taking great portraits and are therefore portrait photographers.

@ryukstyles
♬ lovely – lovely

Again, amazing photos from ryukstyles, and having the portable printer with him is a nice touch…. But it’s not street photography, where are the dramatic scenes, candid moments within a slit-second of life – this just isn’t street photography.

While I sound like a boring old fart going on about how this isn’t that and why are they calling it this, in anything, there is a process, a process of learning, striving to be the best in your field and this trend just feels like a gimmick, a gimmick and a punch in the gut to the great street photographer that have been and gone, and to the great that have worked their craft for years.

I am sure this trend will continue, because who wouldn’t follow the crowd to get views, but I just think it is very weird and really does not sit well with me that people and photographers think this is street photography – for the fiftieth time – It’s NOT street photography.