The sophistication of death by ants

There is a saying that goes : “There is one thing the photograph must contain, the humanity of the moment.” The moment that is being captured is the essence, the story, the medium and the language in which a photographer speaks. A photograph is never taken, it is captured. It acts like a time machine which allows a viewer to travel back into seconds before a shot is frozen forever. My series of photographs also serve as a journey to those vulnerable moments in which these beings were photographed. Each piece tells a story of its own. There’s one that narrates how ants understand death on a sophisticated level. They exudate a corpse in order to prevent contamination of the environment. But if you look carefully, the photograph is not just about necrophoresis of ants. It is also about the dead bird and how it’s open eyes paints a picture of the last moments of a bird, a sense of agony in its eyes. If we move onto the one where Ms. Scaly-Breasted Mynah sits alone in a tiny frail branch looking out for a mate or maybe just a friend. Seemingly, aware and sharp eyed is Mr. Jungle Babbler with greyish feathers on the body and a pointed yellow beak. The photograph captures it’s enigmatic posture in the branch and reveals the bird’s perpetual ‘angry face’ its most known for. Among our bird friends we also have a rare green pigeon and a spotted dove. The green pigeon almost camouflages with the forest lush and Ms. Spotted Dove sits with grace and poise. If you look closely it’s wings sprawled to take a flight. Moving on from the subtle avian stories, we find the beauties of the garden flowers: the monarch butterfly. As it name suggests, its majestic and lustrous looking wings attract thousand enthusiasts around the world and is a sight for sore eyes. Along with the monarch, we see Pachliopta or the common rose ( Swallowtail Butterfly) flaunting it’s rich rosy body and dark black wings as its feeds on foliage.
So now you know how each photograph is more than what it seems on the surface. The vulnerability of these moments gives us a glance into this fascinating chapter of animal behaviour.