Photographing photogenic Nepal

Ajay Narsingh Rana grew up in Kathmandu’s urban jungle. His father Mohan Narsingh designed postage stamps, using photographs of impeyan pheasants, ghoral, and butterflies to convert them into line drawings on tissue paper and printed on tiny stamps depicting Nepal’s rich biodiversity.

Rana’s uncle was a forester from whom he was inspired to look out for flora and fauna in tiny green pockets still left in the city. Growing up in a household that maintained a closeness to the natural world and images portraying it laid the foundation of what was to become Rana’s lifelong passion: photographing Nepal’s biodiversity.

Photo credit: Nepali TimesPhoto credit: Nepali TimesPhoto credit: Nepali Times

He took up mountain biking and hit the trekking trails, pedalling deep into the wilderness of the mountains and plains. He always had his camera handy, but says one does not even have to be a technically proficient photographer to take good pictures in Nepal — the country is already so photogenic.

While international photographers concentrated on the megafauna like tigers and elephants, Rana was fascinated by what his macro lens could capture. He zoomed in on tiny creepy crawlies, discovering their vibrant colours, unique textures, and shapes hard to see with the naked eye.

Photo credit: Nepali TimesPhoto credit: Nepali TimesPhoto credit: Nepali TimesPhoto credit: Nepali Times