The pandemic has not been kind to anyone, and it’s been particularly challenging for the pursuit of passion projects, with society doubling down on focusing on the necessities with an emphasis on ‘needs’ as opposed to our ‘wants’.
Travel content creator and wildlife photographer Ravisara Jayamanna shared with us his experiences during the pandemic and how, as someone who religiously engaged in travel and adventure, his routine has been drastically affected due to the pandemic.
Ravisara is a prominent figure online for his diverse repertoire of wildlife images, notably how much variety he offers in terms of species diversity in his content. Speaking to Ravisara, he shared that while it is more common to see wildlife photography of leopards and elephants, and understandably so, as they are rightfully magnificent and majestic creatures worthy of being immortalised in a photographs, he personally has never been as taken with these larger creatures as majority of his colleagues.
He shared that personally, he much prefers to capture and showcase a wide variety of creatures, particularly those species which are rare and are difficult to encounter. His affinity for rare creatures has led him down some very interesting paths, embarking on numerous expeditions in search of animals not so often seen.
A full time software engineering student, Ravisara engages in wildlife photography as a hobby. However he shared that if the infrastructure within the island allowed it, and offered him the opportunities to do so, he would pick photography as a full-time occupation in a heartbeat. However, as things are today he must support his passion with a different means of funding, but he said that, really he feels as though he is doing what he loves in whatever capacity that is afforded to him and therefore is more than content with his circumstances.
Getting his first taste of photography when he joined his school’s photography society, and when his mom realised his potential and love for the activity, she bought him his first ever camera and Ravisara hasn’t looked back since. Starting his online image sharing platforms on Facebook and Instagram in 2016, he is currently in the middle of launching his very own website featuring his numerous captures including a number of award winners.
Ravisara shared that his travels have almost always been eventful owing to the fact that it is always an expedition as he is constantly in search of rare and beautiful images. “I want to show the natural state of wildlife, while also showcasing Sri Lanka’s incredibly vibrant bio diversity” he said, and shared that he hopes to collaborate and assist in wildlife conservation as well as he feels strongly about the state of our environment.
He stated that he has endless experiences where he has encountered the many wonders of nature in his pursuit of rare creatures, recalling an incident where he and his friends were in search of the Kelaart’s starry shrub frog (scientific name: Pseudophilautus stellatus), and their research indicated that it was most likely to be spotted on the way up to Adam’s Peak. However during their climb, one of the crew suffered from extreme exhaustion and he felt far too faintish and could not make it any further. Ravisara said that they were quite disheartened but, they decided to rest with him and keep him company however, as they waited they heard the sounds of a frog which was similar to the descriptions of the frog they were looking for, and in a grand stroke of luck he said that with a bit of searching they came across the animal and they were able to photograph it in a comfortable and almost ideal setting. “It was a great stroke of luck, which isn’t something we experience often and we cherished it at the time,” he said.
Ravisara stated that he is always trying to improve his skills, as he is self-taught he takes every opportunity to teach himself and the wild life photography community is a great asset to fresher’s he said, adding that there is a great support system in the seniors and there’s a lot of knowledge to be leant and experiences to be had. He hopes to grow his repertoire as times goes on, add to his collection of photos and also the documentaries he creates for his YouTube channel “wildserendib”, which are intended to educate audiences about the numerous species whom are lesser spoken about. Ravisara shared that he hopes to do his part for the environment, while also pursuing his passions.
https://www.instagram.com/ravisara.jayamanna/?hl=en
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLyVMTBzqPEjLamAKnTeRlw
Travel content creator and wildlife photographer Ravisara Jayamanna shared with us his experiences during the pandemic and how, as someone who religiously engaged in travel and adventure, his routine has been drastically affected due to the pandemic.
Ravisara is a prominent figure online for his diverse repertoire of wildlife images, notably how much variety he offers in terms of species diversity in his content. Speaking to Ravisara, he shared that while it is more common to see wildlife photography of leopards and elephants, and understandably so, as they are rightfully magnificent and majestic creatures worthy of being immortalised in a photographs, he personally has never been as taken with these larger creatures as majority of his colleagues.
He shared that personally, he much prefers to capture and showcase a wide variety of creatures, particularly those species which are rare and are difficult to encounter. His affinity for rare creatures has led him down some very interesting paths, embarking on numerous expeditions in search of animals not so often seen.
A full time software engineering student, Ravisara engages in wildlife photography as a hobby. However he shared that if the infrastructure within the island allowed it, and offered him the opportunities to do so, he would pick photography as a full-time occupation in a heartbeat. However, as things are today he must support his passion with a different means of funding, but he said that, really he feels as though he is doing what he loves in whatever capacity that is afforded to him and therefore is more than content with his circumstances.
Getting his first taste of photography when he joined his school’s photography society, and when his mom realised his potential and love for the activity, she bought him his first ever camera and Ravisara hasn’t looked back since. Starting his online image sharing platforms on Facebook and Instagram in 2016, he is currently in the middle of launching his very own website featuring his numerous captures including a number of award winners.
Ravisara shared that his travels have almost always been eventful owing to the fact that it is always an expedition as he is constantly in search of rare and beautiful images. “I want to show the natural state of wildlife, while also showcasing Sri Lanka’s incredibly vibrant bio diversity” he said, and shared that he hopes to collaborate and assist in wildlife conservation as well as he feels strongly about the state of our environment.
He stated that he has endless experiences where he has encountered the many wonders of nature in his pursuit of rare creatures, recalling an incident where he and his friends were in search of the Kelaart’s starry shrub frog (scientific name: Pseudophilautus stellatus), and their research indicated that it was most likely to be spotted on the way up to Adam’s Peak. However during their climb, one of the crew suffered from extreme exhaustion and he felt far too faintish and could not make it any further. Ravisara said that they were quite disheartened but, they decided to rest with him and keep him company however, as they waited they heard the sounds of a frog which was similar to the descriptions of the frog they were looking for, and in a grand stroke of luck he said that with a bit of searching they came across the animal and they were able to photograph it in a comfortable and almost ideal setting. “It was a great stroke of luck, which isn’t something we experience often and we cherished it at the time,” he said.
Ravisara stated that he is always trying to improve his skills, as he is self-taught he takes every opportunity to teach himself and the wild life photography community is a great asset to fresher’s he said, adding that there is a great support system in the seniors and there’s a lot of knowledge to be leant and experiences to be had. He hopes to grow his repertoire as times goes on, add to his collection of photos and also the documentaries he creates for his YouTube channel “wildserendib”, which are intended to educate audiences about the numerous species whom are lesser spoken about. Ravisara shared that he hopes to do his part for the environment, while also pursuing his passions.
https://www.instagram.com/ravisara.jayamanna/?hl=en
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLyVMTBzqPEjLamAKnTeRlw