Honoured with the prestigious Young Photographer of the Year Award in 2021 at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition — often hailed as the ‘Oscars of Wildlife Photography’ — Vidyun, at the tender age of 12, stands as a prodigious talent.

His photographs have also been highly commended in the 2020 edition of Wildlife Photographer of the Year. Adding to his laurels, he recently earned a Special Mention at the NatureInFocus Festival 2023.

On the occasion of World Photography Day 2023, The Weather Channel India brings you an exclusive interview with the young talent. Vidyun takes us on an incredible exploration of his photography journey, unveiling stories that breathe life into his brilliant captures, and his future plans to pursue photography professionally and explore Antarctica someday.

How did you get started with photography? What was your first photograph ever?

It was back in 2014 when photography first caught my interest. My father, who also has a passion for wildlife photography, won the category award under Amphibians and Reptiles at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition in 2014.

Seeing my father on the big stage, receiving the award, inspired me a lot. As soon as we returned from the event, I asked if I could try the camera. So, I picked a camera for the first time when I was around three years old and clicked my first photograph — a photo of my father.

I started learning when I was six years old, and I have been pursuing photography ever since, with a focus on nature photography.

Why nature photography? Are there any subjects or elements that you look forward to capturing the most?

It was my father who inspired me to take up nature photography. As for my favourite subject, I would say it is the ‘Signature Spider’. It was this spider image that first got me the Highly Commended Award at the Wildlife Photographer of the Year in the under 10 years category.

This particular spider species is very common in and around Bengaluru, getting its name from the unique way in which it weaves its web. It makes white signatures around its legs that reflect UV rays, making it look bigger to its predators. I find it very interesting as a subject, and since we find it a lot around here, I have ample opportunities to capture it creatively.

Moreover, I am very passionate about macro photography, where I capture small bugs, spiders and butterflies. In macro photography, we go very close to our subject, and the images give us an extreme close-up (one is to one) of the subject.

While I focus more on bugs and geckos, I’m also exploring street photography and creating creative ads for fun.

Do you have a favourite photo? What’s the story behind that shot?

It is really difficult to pick one, but apart from the spider captures, I think this photo of a Gecko is very special to me.

I clicked this in Sringeri (a Karnataka town located in the Western Ghats) when I had just begun photography. I remember being very tired after taking several photographs quite early in the morning. Just as we were returning to our grandfather’s car, my father spotted this Gecko, and I got close to it and captured the shot from the car.

Where do you like to click most of your photos? Do you have a favourite spot?

It would be the parks and gardens of Bengaluru. Now we know it as India’s Silicon City, but one of its original nicknames is the ‘Garden City of India.’ I go to parks near my home, and once we choose a spot depending on the light, I’m ready with my camera to click photos. During holidays, we also visit the outskirts of Bengaluru for my captures.

As for spots outside Bengaluru that I love the most, it would be the forest-like areas near my grandfather’s place in Sringeri. There, I get to shoot a lot of rare species and subjects that you wouldn’t find in cities.

You have been awarded the Young Photographer of the Year Award in 2021 and have been highly commended in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition in 2020 as well. How do you feel after getting recognition at such international events?

Winning these awards is always a proud and joyous moment for me. When I get recognition and exposure at such international events and competitions, I’m more motivated to click good images.

Moreover, I love being on the stage. When receiving the awards, speaking in front of such inspiring people is a proud moment for me. I feel happy and elated when people come to congratulate me, discuss my work and click photos with me.

The process and submissions are mostly online, but when it comes to selecting the photos, firstly I focus on the creativity behind the photos and their uniqueness. It is an added plus if it’s a rare species, but I’m yet to capture one of those.

Also, my father and I are part of a forum called Creative Nature Photography. It is a collective of many acclaimed photographers. Here we upload creative images, and the senior photographers are always there to mentor us with their suggestions. In fact, their guidance and support have also helped me improve my work and think creatively for competitions.

I also enjoy meeting senior photographers at competitive events. Recently, at the NatureInFocus Ceremony, I had the opportunity to interact with Dhritiman Mukherjee, who is a senior wildlife photographer. His journey and work motivate me to explore photography more.

Tell us about the recent ‘Special Mention’ you received at the NatureInFocus Festival 2023. What is the story behind Gecko’s Garage?

Well, Gecko’s Garage is definitely one of my favourite stories. At the time, we were vacationing in the Andaman Islands. We had stopped at a hotel in Diglipur and were having dinner. I looked up, hoping to see some stars, but all I saw was the ceiling and the lamp, and suddenly this green emerald Gecko caught my attention.

After we finished dinner, my mind was still stuck on the gecko. I remember thinking what a great photo it would be. So, while everyone was busy, I just took my camera, climbed up a table and clicked the Gecko hiding in the lamp.

What are the challenges you face as a young photographer? How do you balance school life with photography?

Mostly, I photograph on weekends and holidays, and spend some time after school processing and editing my images. But a major challenge with macro photography is that we have to go quite close to the subject. There’s always a chance that it might get disturbed and fly away, so I have to be very vigilant and cautious while approaching them.

Although sometimes the subjects are ready to cooperate, and I think spiders are the most cooperative subjects. That’s also because they don’t want their prey to spot any vibrations around them, so they don’t move a lot, especially among arthropods. But then dragonflies are very jumpy and quite difficult to capture, so you have to approach them at a snail’s pace.

For a young photographer like you, we’re sure sky’s the limit. Do you look forward to pursuing professional photography in the future? What do you dream to achieve as a photographer?

Definitely! I plan to pursue photography professionally; in fact, I want to be a wildlife photographer. But there are a few fields that I find equally interesting like geology, especially collecting and photographing rocks. I also hope that I could train to become an astronaut one day, so I can pursue astrophotography.

Among these plans is my dream to visit Antarctica someday, to shoot underwater images, explore the difficult terrain, and even see if I can find spiders and capture unique and endemic species — or even discover a new species!

Are there any other images or memorable images or anecdotes that you would like to share with us?

I’m also fascinated by birds, although they are very difficult to capture, I try and capture them whenever I have the chance. Among birds, this grey wagtail is one of my favourite captures so far, I shot this during the lockdown in 2020. I was surprised to find it playing and looking at itself in the mirror of cars and trucks every day. This is one of the best images I had captured back then, and it was a fascinating experience.

But, I think there are a few more spider images that have been some of the most memorable ones for me to shoot. This image is called ‘Dome Home’, and it was particularly hard to capture because of high-speed winds and vehicles moving in the background. I remember getting only three good shots out of the hundreds of images I captured that day.

But the one with the spider right in front of Pikachu has to be my favourite. The spider was right in front of the painting, and I thought it would be a great image if I framed it well with colours in the background. That’s how I got this shot which looks like Pikachu is ready to gobble up the spider.

Then there’s a tunnel spider that I clicked at my native place, and I really loved how it turned out, looking like it was sitting amidst glittering jewels, with the dewdrop background.

I wish my friends and other people would not be so scared of spiders and lizards. I hope to specialise in arachnology (the study of spiders) to spread awareness about these friendly beings and their importance to our environment.

For more of Vidyun’s amazing work, check out his website ​and Instagram.

**

For weather, science, and COVID-19 updates on the go, download The Weather Channel App (on Android and iOS store). It’s free!

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails

Sign up to our free breaking news emails

A photographer who captured the moment Prince Louis covered his ears during a flypast for the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee has been shortlisted for a prestigious award.

Aaron Chown, of the PA news agency, is among three people nominated for Royal Photographer of the Year at the annual UK Picture Editors Guild Awards.

Fellow PA photographer Jane Barlow, who took one of the last public pictures of the late Queen, has been shortlisted for Arts and Entertainment Photographer of the Year.

The photograph of the late monarch smiling beside a fireplace at Balmoral before meeting then-prime minister Liz Truss on September 6, just two days before the Queen died, is recognisable to millions.

PA’s Danny Lawson is shortlisted for Business Photographer of the Year and Regional Photographer of the Year, while agency colleague Mike Egerton is in the running for Sports Photographer of the Year.

Others on the shortlist include PA photographers James Manning and Jordan Pettitt, who are both shortlisted for Young Photographer of the Year.

Photographers from The Times, the Daily Telegraph, Getty Images, the Yorkshire Post, Reuters, AFP, and freelances Jeff Moore, Ryan Jenkinson and Samir Hussein are also among those nominated.

Pictures by Mr Chown, Mr Pettitt, Ms Barlow and PA photographic colleagues Victoria Jones and Jonathan Brady are among 20 nominated for Photo of the Year, which will be decided by a public vote.

Those who register to vote before September 3 will get the chance to win a two-night stay in a London hotel.

A spokesman for the UK Picture Editors Guild Awards said: “Photographers working on behalf of the press risk their lives in war zones and bring us the news as it breaks.

Their work fills the pages of the newspapers daily and so often their work goes unrecognised.”

The awards ceremony will be held at the Honourable Artillery Company grounds in the City of London on October 16, and people can vote at imago.ws/IMAGOPhotographoftheyear.

As reported by WFLA, longtime Florida wedding photographer Michael Zoumberos spent nearly a year in jail for civil contempt because he refused to cooperate with federal investigators concerning a major DEA scandal that included Zoumberos’ brother, former DEA agent George Zoumberos.

Before discussing what Michael Zoumberos experienced, it is essential to discuss what led to the professional photographer with 20 years of experience being involved with federal law enforcement in the first place.

Disgraced DEA Agent José Irizarry Leaves Wake of Destruction and Stories on his Path to Prison

In December 2021, Miami-based DEA special agent, José Irizarry, was sentenced to 12 years for operating a money laundering and fraud scheme. Irizarry, who was 46 at the time, pleaded guilty to all crimes in his 19-count indictment, including conspiracy to commit money laundering, honest services wire fraud, bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft.

Per Irizarry’s plea, his crimes began in 2010. Irizarry used his position as a special agent in the DEA to move about $9 million in funds used for undercover DEA money laundering schemes to enrich himself and co-conspirators. Irizarry also used his position to receive bribes and kickbacks worth at least $1 million.

Unsurprisingly, the United States Department of Justice wanted to bring additional people to justice. After all, Irizarry did not act alone.

Irizarry’s Former Partner, George Zoumberos, Implicated During Investigation

During the probe into José Irizarry, law enforcement looked at one of Irizarry’s former partners, George Zoumberos, the brother of photographer Michael Zoumberos.

“The probe is focused in part on George Zoumberos, one of Irizarry’s former partners who traveled overseas extensively for money laundering investigations. Irizarry told AP that Zoumberos enjoyed unfettered access to so-called commission funds and improperly tapped that money for personal purchases and unwarranted trips, using names of people that didn’t exist in DEA reports justifying the excesses,” wrote the Associated Press late last year.

Irizarry says numerous DEA colleagues joined him in his exploits, including on extravagant trips worldwide.

“The way Irizarry tells it, dozens of other federal agents, prosecutors, informants and in some cases cartel smugglers themselves were all in on the three-continent joyride known as ‘Team America’ that chose cities for money laundering pick-ups mostly for party purposes or to coincide with Real Madrid soccer or Rafael Nadal tennis matches. That included stops along the way in VIP rooms of Caribbean strip joints, Amsterdam’s red-light district and aboard a Colombian yacht that launched with plenty of booze and more than a dozen prostitutes,” explains AP.

Irizarry said that the United States’ war on drugs is unwinnable and that agents know they are “not making a difference.”

While his claims may have been part of a play to get a reduced jail sentence or just further smear the DEA’s image, U.S. Justice Department took Irizarry’s confessions and claims very seriously and has spent considerable effort trying to corroborate or disprove Irizarry’s many assertions.

George Zoumberos, who was arrested and briefly detained in connection with allegations of sexual assault in Madrid in 2018, lost his gun, badge, and security clearance in 2019 for invoking his Fifth Amendment rights to not self-incriminate.

Federal Investigators Subpoena Photographer Michael Zoumberos and he Pleads the Fifth

Authorities remained interested in George Zoumberos and subpoenaed his brother, photographer Michael Zoumberos.

Michael, who allegedly traveled at times with DEA agents, was offered immunity in exchange for cooperation with the investigation. However, he refused to testify, leading to his imprisonment in the Pinellas County Jail outside Tampa beginning in March 2022.

“I didn’t do anything wrong, but I’m not going to talk about my brother,” Michael Zoumberos told AP during a jailhouse interview last year. “I’m basically being held as a political prisoner of the FBI. They want to coerce me into cooperating.”

Zoumberos was held for “civil contempt,” as ruled by a Tampa-area federal judge.

Despite the DOJ offering him immunity, Zoumberos’ attorney advised that he plead the fifth because Zoumberos could inadvertently commit perjury while on the stand. The investigation concerned events that dated back about six years, so his attorney was concerned that Zoumberos could misremember or misspeak.

It is worth noting that the DOJ defines perjury as a declarant “willfully” making a false statement, that the declarant believed that what they were saying was untrue, and that the statement was related to a material fact. Misremembering a detail is not, in and of itself, perjury.

Civil Contempt as a Judicial Weapon

In any case, Michael Zoumberos kept his silence, and federal judges used their legal authority against him to pressure his cooperation. Federal judges can keep individuals in jail for up to 18 months on civil contempt charges to compel a person’s testimony.

“Zoumberos said the ordeal left him questioning the judicial system, even if the judge had the power to lock him up,” reports WFLA in a second article.

“They’re treating me like a criminal. I didn’t do anything wrong,” Zoumberos says. “I’m in a room without an attorney, without a judge. It’s scary.”

Federal investigators decided to release Michael Zoumberos in March, but Zoumberos only realized that he could leave when his jail-issued debit card did not work when he tried to make a phone call from inside prison. When Zoumberos asked a correctional officer why his card was not working, he was told it was because he was free. “Zoumberos’ nightmare ended as oddly as it started,” writes WFLA.

While happy to be released, he has found it hard to escape his experience. One fellow inmate was convinced Zoumberos was an undercover cop and threatened to “bash” his “skull in.” While held without bail, Zoumberos could not see his wife and business partner, Rebecca Zoumberos.

Michael Zoumberos is Free but Jail has Left a Mark

“I don’t know what’s reality and what’s not,” Zoumberos remarks. “I never could fathom that you could be put in jail for a year. In maximum security and a psych ward without having a criminal charge.”

Michael Zoumberos’ brother, George, was never charged and is no longer a DEA agent.

A quick look at the Zoumberos’ wedding photography website, Limelight Photography, shows that the couple and their staff have had a busy summer.

Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.

For me, photography should be equal parts technical and fun. Many of today’s digital cameras are technically miles ahead of anything that was available during the golden era of film photography but many of these cameras are simply not fun. The LomoApparat from Lomography is a simple, 35mm box camera that is both eye-catching and promises to make photography fun again. Does it deliver?

LomoApparat Features via Lomography.com

• Film Format: 35 mm
• Focal Length: 21 mm
• Available Apertures: f10
• Shutter Speed: 1/100 (N), Bulb (B)
• Flash: Built In Flash
• Available ISO Settings: No ISO Adjustment
• Multiple Exposure: Yes
• Tripod Mount: Yes
• Cable Release: No
• Battery: 1 × AA

Ergonomics & Design

As previously mentioned, the LomoApparat is a box camera – a plastic rectangle that houses a roll of 35mm film and a few controls (if we can call them that). The rear houses a lever to open/close the film back, a multiple exposure switch, and one winder to advance the film. At the top of the camera, you’ll find another winder to rewind the film, a shutter button, and at the front an on/off switch that allows you to shoot normally (1/100 second) or in bulb mode as well as a small button to turn the Flash on and off (it’s on by default). The camera also has a ¼-inch thread for mounting to a tripod which is neat for a simple camera – though a shutter release connection would’ve been a huge bonus when using it on a tripod.

During our testing, we had the opportunity to shoot with the Neubau Edition, an orange and teal colorway with an Italian leather finish to keep things grippy. Combined with the included metal wrist strap, it helps keep everything in place no matter where you’re at. Honestly, it’s the styling of the camera that I found most appealing – it’s simple yes, but still has an eye-catching design that conveys “fun”.

Using the LomoApparat

The beauty of carrying around a camera with a wide-angle field of view and small aperture is that you won’t need to worry about focus (light on the other hand…) as just about everything in the frame will be in focus. That’s the general appeal of the LomoApparat – you carry it with you, point and shoot. At 21mm it’s able to cram a ton into a frame or allow you to get the crew together for an arms-length self-portrait.

Final Thoughts

Lately, I’ve been able to test several cameras – from a Sigma fp L to Canon’s vlogging camera, the PowerShot V10 and while all of these cameras have their cool features or even “better” resolution than what I can achieve with the LomoApparat, none of them come close in sparking joy in me as a photographer. No, I will not be using the LomoApparat for client work or even using the output for my articles – but that’s fine. Sometimes photography is not about output but a vibe – and the LomoApparat is a camera that truly gets it.