Juxtaposition and Reflection: Exploring Nature and Human Spaces with Raghuvamsh Chavali

The award-winning images are drawn from my long-term projects Wings Over Concrete and Whispers in the Mist. Wings Over Concrete explores how birds navigate and adapt within human-built environments, focusing on the visual dialogue between organic flight patterns and rigid urban structures, where moments of unexpected harmony emerge. 

Whispers in the Mist is a more playful and experimental project, centered on observing human presence through shadows and silhouettes softened by mist, allowing form and movement to take precedence over identity.

Winning this award feels like a meaningful acknowledgment of sustained effort rather than a single moment of success. It reinforces the value of staying committed to projects over time and allowing ideas to mature naturally.

I look for images that represent a larger idea rather than just visual impact. The photograph should stand on its own, but it should also reflect consistency, intent, and authorship.

Curiosity & intuition. I wanted to understand how moments could be preserved and interpreted differently once framed. Photography gave me a way to observe the world more attentively and notice details that often go unseen.

I am drawn to conceptual story telling, art driven photography grounded in real environments. I am especially interested in projects that exist at the intersection of nature and human spaces, where stories emerge subtly rather than through overt drama. Juxtaposition plays an important role, as I love contrasting elements which often reveal deeper visual and emotional connections.

I am most engaged by work that can evolve into long-term, experimental projects and images that gradually reveal patterns over time and invite reflection instead of offering immediate conclusions.

I work with a combination of professional cameras and smartphones, depending on the needs of the project. Smartphones offer immediacy and freedom of movement, which is especially important when working with unpredictable subjects like birds in urban environments. 

When possible, I enjoy using my Sony 200–600mm telephoto lens, as it allows me to observe behavior from a distance without interference. 

Ultimately, flexibility is the most important factor for me, the ability to respond quickly and intuitively without disturbing the scene. The tool itself matters less than how seamlessly it supports the way I work.

A sense of pause. I want viewers to slow down and notice the quiet relationships between movement, space, and life that exist around them every day.

Patience. The image required waiting for multiple elements movement, alignment, and light to come together naturally. Nothing about it could be rushed or staged.

It’s hard to pick just one place. I love spending time in forests and around lakes, slowing down and simply being present with nature and the incredible life it holds. In Canada, Algonquin Park is a place I keep returning to, much like Tadoba was for me when I lived in India.

At the same time, I am equally inspired by urban environments and travel. The shades of blue along the beaches of the Maldives and Thailand seen from above, city views in places like Singapore, New York, and Italy, and the energy of street life in India from the lanes around Charminar in Hyderabad to Mumbai’s Dadar Flower Market, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Colaba, and Bhuleshwar Market all feed into how I see and photograph the world. Each place offers a different rhythm, and that contrast is what keeps inspiring me.

My advice is to submit work that truly represents your voice, not what you think a jury wants to see. Concentrate on novelty, consistency and authenticity.

Observe, practice, learn, appreciate, then repeat the process.

Editing is an extension of intent, not correction. I use post-processing to refine clarity and emphasize on story telling, while keeping the image honest to the moment it was captured.

I see technology, including AI, as a powerful support system rather than the source of ideas. Tools will continue to evolve, but they should serve the artist, not define the art. Any technology now or in the future must first recognize and respect the creative vision and the person behind it.

I am less interested in iconic subjects and more drawn to familiar places that reveal something unexpected.