Nature how it should be, carefree
Dinouk Colombage was given his first point-and-shoot camera at 15, and went to South Africa with it –going on a blithe spree all over Kruger and other national parks capturing shots of the varied wildlife.
As a young photojournalist later working for the Sunday Leader, he was to capture the more sordid, the gory and catastrophic but it was freezing moments in nature that was always a passion. Today a busy public policy and international affairs consultant, Dinouk is glad to take occasional time off from his office for a sojourn in the wilderness whether it is Wilpattu or East Africa.
Dinouk’s latest exhibition is titled ‘From My Eyes to Yours’ and concentrates on his wildlife pics.
The lion’s share of the current exhibition’s photos come from a long sojourn at Minneriya when just after the COVID lockdown was lifted in 2020 he went there to find the fauna “extremely relaxed in their setting” with no queues of jeeps and a pristine aura in the green land.
He was able to follow one of the largest herds of elephants in the park very closely.
One photo in the exhibition that really speaks for Dinouk is called The Expulsion and “shows how heavily elephants are impacted by humans. There were 30-40 jeeps and more coming over that particular day. There was a herd of about 30-40 elephants and a new-born with them.”
The elephants formed a protective cordon around the baby and moved to the forest cover very cautiously. It reminded Dinouk of people in areas under conflict moving away to safer zones with their belongings with the army standing around. “It was the perfect juxtaposition – they were being thrown off from their habitat by invaders- humans.”
While most photos show wildlife at its most carefree and frolicsome some, like The Expulsion, says Dinouk are a reminder that we must respect wildlife and allow them the space they deserve.
He also captures photos of our ruined cities and ancient monuments perched on remote rock and shore and cliff. With these timeless photos he wants people to see “where we came from, and where we are going- for them to look at a photo ten years down the line and say ‘I can see how we got to where we are’.”
In fact trained as a historian (having read the subject at the University of Sydney) he feels this sense of the past is very important.
Having been a scribe once, Dinouk nonetheless thinks a picture speaks a thousand words and feels an image goes “an extra step” in conveying something.
An admirer of Briton, David Yarrow and the emerging medium of nature fine art photography, Dinouk says the medium allows not just a nature lover but anyone to admire a portrait of any kind of fauna and flora.
Dinouk much enjoys black and white photography and while he doesn’t put down colour (“it’s a different skill and should be admired”) sometimes black and white has a “realism and a sense of connectivity” that is missing in colour, he says.
From My Eyes to Yours will take place on Sunday, June 22 at the Harold Pieris Gallery from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. All photographs will have
limited prints available for purchase.
Searching for an ideal partner? Find your soul mate on Hitad.lk, Sri Lanka's favourite marriage proposals page. With Hitad.lk matrimonial advertisements you have access to thousands of ads from potential suitors who are looking for someone just like you.