I’ve never been big on competitions. Most of my bird photography has lived quietly on hard drives, in memory card games, or on occasional Instagram posts. So when I submitted a few images to the Pakshi Bird Photography Awards this year, it was more curiosity than ambition. A simple let’s-see-what-happens.

What happened was unexpected.

Out of about 5,000 entries, my photographs made it to the Top 30 Winners List. For someone who picked up bird photography not too long ago and still shoots on what the experts politely call “dated gear”, this was a moment worth pausing for.

My setup is nothing exotic: a Canon 90D and a 100–400mm lens. A semi-professional DSLR in a world where mirrorless monsters dominate. But it’s what I’ve used to document birds across Malhar, Orissa, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madagascar, Kenya, and everywhere in between. It’s familiar, reliable, and clearly, still capable of delivering when I do my part.

Seeing my images featured alongside some incredible work was equal parts grounding and encouraging. It’s a reminder that equipment is useful, but attention matters more. Showing up matters more. And sometimes, even in a field overflowing with extraordinary talent, your perspective finds its way through.

If you’d like to see the selected photographs along with other winners, click here.

A small milestone, but a personally meaningful one. And a gentle nudge to keep going, one frame, one bird, one morning at a time.