House of Experts Ep 26: Vibha Kagzi in conversation with Rohit Varma, Founder of Nature InFocus

House of Experts is a show that ReachIvy kick-started to help those who are unclear about their career choices. We hope through these sessions with some very successful people, we can shed light on a new career path every week. House of Experts plans to make a collection of interactive and informative sessions with experts from various domains.
Vibha Kagzi, the host, is the Founder and CEO of ReachIvy.com, a premium study abroad and career consultancy organization. Vibha, a Harvard alumna, is a successful entrepreneur and believes in helping others chalk out their future careers.

In Episode 26 of House of Experts, we were fortunate to host Rohit Varma, Co-Founder of Nature InFocus.

Rohit Varma is one of those few individuals who chose to pursue passion rather than their professional career. His photographs have been published in international famed media. He shares his work under creative common. Rohit soon co-founded Nature inFocus, it comprises of a portal, annual festival, awards and film production. One can find informative and engaging stories, immersive experience and lots of other content on their portal. We are so glad to have an expert like Rohit join us and share his invaluable insights with you all!

Some excerpts from the interview:

1. Can you tell us a little bit about your early years.

I was born and raised in a small town called Balaghat in Madhya Pradesh. I spent my childhood in the middle of the wilderness. Post that I went on to pursue a degree in B.Com and Law and after that, I was lost. For a year, I worked in sales, and very early on I realized I was more keen towards marketing. So then, I took evening classes and did my PG in marketing in Bangalore, and then my journey as a marketer began. I worked in the corporate sector for a decade and then I realised that I wanted my life to have a purpose or a meaning. So, then I quit my job and took a 6-month sabbatical. One day I took a spontaneous plan to the forest and saw the magnificent Tiger and that’s when I realized I wanted to work in the wildlife sector and work in this community.

2. Tell us a little bit about wildlife film production.

Unlike the movies and documentaries directed in Hollywood and Bollywood, wildlife is completely different. None of the factors that are required to make a film are in our hands. Starting from the behavior of the subject to the lighting, sound, or weather, we have absolutely nothing in our control. We just reach the location and then the script starts to build from there. The entire film just evolves from thereon.

3. What according to you is a perfect shot in wildlife!

I feel the shot doesn’t depend on the camera that you have, it depends on your creativity and your storytelling ability. I believe that you don’t take the image you make the image. Your image needs to be composed keeping the subject static. There have been times that I have taken days to get a perfect shot and sometimes it just happens. In wildlife, nothing ever goes as planned you just have to flow with nature and let it take its course.

4. What is your take on wildlife conservation? What advice do you have for urban dwellers to stay connected with nature?

I strongly believe that there is a mega disconnect. We are actually sitting on a time bomb. We have exploited nature to a level of destruction. From deforestation, forest fuels to water conditions they have all been destroyed for human greed.
I feel conservation starts at home. Consume what is needed, don’t buy things that you don’t need or require. Live a minimalistic life and by just doing this you will be able to help conserve the nature bit by bit.

We’re really grateful to Rohit Varma for sharing his journey and valuable learnings with us.

Missed out on the previous house of expert episodes? You can watch them here

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