City lad bags Wildlife Photographer of Year award

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, October 19

City lad wins Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2018 award, a competition organised by the Britain’s Natural History Museum.

He won the competition in the 10 years  and under category for his photograph ‘Pipe Owls’, in which two owlets were seen nested inside a pipe.

The photo clicked by Arshdeep Singh was captioned ‘I see you’ by him. While talking about his award winning picture, he said: “I often travel to Kapurthala with my father for nature photography. On one of such days in winters, we saw a spotted owlet flying and it later went inside a thin tube. I was surprised to see a pair of owlets coming out of the tube. Without wasting a moment, I got the shot of the rarely sighted view. They were looking straight into my eyes, I felt both owlets wanted to say “I see you” boy! The 

young photographer from the city received his award in the USA.

Previously, in a wildlife photo contest, ‘Nature’s Best Photography (Asia)’, Arshdeep, who is a resident of Model Town, here, was ranked first in the junior category. He received the Young Wildlife Photographer award, which is a renowned wildlife photography award in the Asian continent. Three thousand children had sent entries for the competition. It was selected by a panel of judges that included three famous photographers — Steve Freight, Charles Wech and Deborroth Freight — who found Arshdeep’s photographs the best in nuances such as angle, light and timing. Every year, in this Asian-level competition, over 12,000 entries are received in various categories.

At present, studying in Class V at Apeejay school, Arshdeep (10) is into wildlife photography since he was six. Inspired by his father Randeep Singh, who also possesses keen interest in photography, Arshdeep ventured into the field of nature and wildlife photography in 2012 and since then he is considered as a well-known young wildlife photographer from the city.

He is also passionate towards capturing birds candidly. He travels with his father for his wildlife photography trips and has covered many national parks and bird sanctuaries in the country. For him, wildlife photography is not only a passion but also a way of preserving nature and wildlife.

His work has been showcased in national and international publications such as Lonely Planet UK, Lonely Planet Germany, Lonely Planet India, BBC Wildlife UK, Sanctuary Asia and other magazines.

Other accolades

Previously, in a wildlife photo contest, 'Nature's Best Photography (Asia)', Arshdeep Singh, who is a resident of Model Town, was ranked first in the junior category. He received the Young Wildlife Photographer award, which is a renowned wildlife photography award in the Asian continent. Three thousand children had sent entries for the competition.