Good Qs with Zhayynn James, Wildlife Photographer
Zhayynn James is a landscape architect and wildlife photographer who grew up in tropical India and turned his passion for nature into a successful career. His wildlife photography work has been published in National Geographic, BBC Earth, and UN Biodiversity.
Whether it's photographing India's rainforests or Africa's wilds, Zhayynn is always driven by a desire to tell a compelling story through his images of the natural world.
We sat down with Zhayynn to learn about life as a wildlife photographer and whether climate change has had an impact on his work.
Your wildlife photography is fantastic, what inspired you to pursue a career in photography?
Thank you. I have been in love with nature and wildlife right from childhood, where I grew up surrounded by nature, waking up with the sound of sparrows and chasing fish in streams during the monsoon. As I grew older and moved to the city, these experiences continued to linger in my memory. It was only more recently that the need to reconnect with nature and wildlife and the urge to express that love through a creative medium, pushed me to explore wildlife photography.
There’s been no looking back ever since.
What excites you about being a wildlife photographer?
In a world where people are so disconnected from the natural world and only get to vicariously experience wildlife through social media and television documentaries, it is a privilege to be able to travel to wild, forgotten places, to immerse myself in the last fragments of wilderness on the planet, to witness and photograph wildlife on their own terms, in their habitat. Experiencing and photographing wildlife in their natural habitat, the opportunity to observe their behaviour, to make memorable images of those fleeting moments is such a thrill and an honour.
Combining my passion for wildlife photography and my expertise as a landscape architect, I also design wildlife photography hides. It’s a thrill to be a part of a process where wildlife photography is the end result of a design process that allows me to create a wildlife setup for individual clients and wildlife lodges in India.
Tell us a little bit about your most memorable project.
Photographing the Indian Wild Ass or Ghudkhur in the Little Rann of Kutch in Gujarat, India, was an amazing experience. The Little Rann of Kutch is one of the driest places in India typified in parts by a seemingly endless, inhospitable, featureless, cracked earth running to the horizon. Having been there several times before, I was astounded to see vast sheets of water left behind by the late monsoon rains, which completely transformed the landscape. What made the experience truly memorable was the experience of observing and photographing a herd of the Indian Wild Ass, traverse the mirror-like lake in an almost Dali-esque scene.
Have the changing climate conditions impacted your photography?
To me, there’s no doubt that climate change is impacting the wildlife photography experience across continents. In India, changes to the pattern of the seasonal South-West monsoon that brings rain to the Western Ghats, one of the most bio-diverse places on earth, affects the life-cycle of amphibians that are dependent on monsoon rains and this is evident when species that are usually abundant in an area one year, are difficult to find the next.
Similarly in Ndutu, Tanzania, last year the rains that usually end by February were delayed and unusually heavy, creating an overabundance of low level scrub that dramatically changed the experience as it was hard to spot and photograph animals.
What are the small changes we can all make to reduce our impact on the planet?
A very simple but profoundly impactful change we can make whether it is going on safari, or on holiday anywhere, is to carry a reusable water bottle. Fill it up at your lodge or hotel, rather than carry single-use plastic bottles that will be discarded. This will have a tremendous, positive impact by reducing the amount of plastic that ends up in landfills.
What is your go-to lens and camera for photographing big mammals?
My main camera is a Nikon D5. It’s a brilliant bit of kit and coupled with my Nikkor 500mm f/4G ED VR, it’s the mainstay of my gear. However, my most fulfilling images have consistently been with the Nikon D500 and the 16-80mm f/2.8-4 ED VR wide-angle lens, as I love to showcase wildlife in their habitat.
Do you recycle? Should we recycle?
Yes, recycling is very much part of the daily routine and it doesn’t have to be large scale.
Remember that it’s a lot of people making small changes that is going to make the difference in the end.
How do you take care of yourself? What are your self-care tips?
For me, I make sure that weekends are spent unwinding at my photography hide, sharing the experience with my wife who loves wildlife as much as I do. Spending time outdoors and connecting with nature is great for the mind and soul.
Make time for yourself to pursue hobbies and interests that recharge your batteries and allow you to explore other aspects of your abilities.
What’s the most interesting thing you learnt this week?
The discovery of a fossilized 2 million-year-old human ancestor by a 9 year-old boy in South Africa, who accidentally tripped over the fossil - which could turn out to be a ‘missing link’ between our earliest ancestors and humans. How very cool is that!
What is on your must see or read list right now?
As a professional hide designer, I love watching ‘Waterhole – Africa’s Animal Oasis’
What Good News have you had/ heard this week?
A new species of frog has been discovered in the Northeast of India, highlighting that there is still a treasure trove of species unknown to science in the pristine Northeast.
Learn more about Zhayynn’s work at: wildlifetangle.in