Story & photo by Sastry Karra
All living creatures are born with instincts. Out of all of those instincts, a mother’s love for her babies is the most unique, powerful and amazing. She naturally wants to protect her offspring, teach her babies how the world works and how to use their own biologically-inherited instincts to survive. Love, tenderness, nurturing and protection—all are often on display when you see mother and child.
During my last visit to India, I was staying in Hyderabad. Early one morning, while I was sipping my first coffee of the day, I noticed this older female monkey on our neighbor’s rooftop. Not far away was a baby monkey, probably hers, I thought.
I got my D3400 ready and attached a 70-300 mm VR lens. There was a tall building in front of the neighbor’s house, casting shadows across the scene. I set the shutter speed to 1/250 second to freeze any action. Because it was so dark, I opened the aperture as much as I could, to f/5. Then I chose Auto ISO and just concentrated on capturing a moment. I was looking for a composition that showed a mother’s love. I sat and waited for the baby to come to the mother.
As soon as the baby came nearby, I shot as many pictures as I could. Several of the photos showed mother and child interactions but this one, where they are looking at each other while the child is feeding was, I felt, the best at depicting “Mother’s Love”.
About Jaganadha “Sastry” Karra:
I was born in India, but left when I was 24 years old. For the past 27 years, I’ve worked as an IT professional, and have been living in NJ since 2004.
I first used an HP Photosmart 8MP camera back in 2002, but restarted actively taking nature photos in 2018, using a Nikon D3400 and recently upgraded to a D7100. During my spare time, I go outdoors and take nature photos, especially of waterfalls. Along with my wife (who loves hiking), we go to many nearby state parks where I can experiment with different compositions. In the summer, when my friends play cricket, I’ve been experimenting with sports photography. My instagram account is “Sastry Karra”, where I post most of my pictures. On Facebook, I’m active in some photography forums, like NANPA. Maybe I’ll see you there!
