May 2025 Wildlife Photography Contest Beginner Winner

This image was captured one January afternoon in 2025, during my very first visit to the wetlands of Mangalajodi—a quiet village tucked into the eastern part of India. I had spent the day photographing a variety of shorebirds and resident species when I noticed several whiskered terns diving into the marsh, snatching up small fish and tadpoles.

Captivated, I decided to try and freeze one of them mid-flight—just as it made a successful catch.
Positioning my boat to make the most of the side lighting, I crouched as low as possible and began tracking one of the terns as it dove. Their speed and erratic flight paths made it incredibly challenging. As a new photographer, I struggled—sometimes the bird was out of focus, other times its wings were clipped or the composition didn’t work at all. But I didn’t give up. I reviewed each batch of frames on my camera’s playback screen, adjusting and refining as I went.

After about half an hour of trial and error, I finally got a series of shots that made all the effort worthwhile. Among them, one frame stood out—the precise wing position, a graceful head turn, a catchlight in the bird’s eye, the fish’s eye still visible, and a clean splash of water frozen in time.

It’s not just a photo I’m proud of—it might just be the best shot of my small but growing photographic journey.