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Born in Gujranwala in the summer of 1976, I first encountered wildlife while accompanying my cousins who were avid bird hunters. While bird-hunting, I afforded an opportunity to see birdlife up close. My fascination with birds and natural beauty rapidly matured into a broader interest in all forms of wildlife, their habits and habitats. I acquired my first camera, a relatively ancient Yashica Electro 35 in 1988 and recall my early attempts to capture the sunrise on the Punjab plains, reflected in the village pond. I acquired my first modern camera, a Canon EOS-20D and my ability to both harness the highly technical features of the relatively new digital format with an intricate understanding of the ways of wildlife soon began to deliver spectacular results. In July 2005, I was engaged as the professional wildlife photographer of the WWF team which was chosen to implement the Pakistan Wetlands Programme. My task was to capture digital images of as much of Pakistan’s biodiversity and landscapes as I could while accompanying the Programme’s research teams to both familiar and remote wetlands through the length and breadth of Pakistan. These sorties ranged from salt marshes and the marine wetlands of the Makran Coast to the icy alpine lakes of the Hindukush, Himalaya and the Karakoram cordilleras. My growing portfolio of exceptional wildlife photographs has been used extensively in comprehensive awareness-building initiatives of the Pakistan Wetlands Programme and WWF-Pakistan. A coffee table book “Natural reassures of Pakistan” published by WWF-Pakistan in 2012, is one major milestone. My bird photographs in particular have also been featured in prestigious publications such as Birding ASIA, the bi-annual magazine of the Oriental Bird Club, as well as in Russell Slack’s acclaimed Rare Birds book. A recent exhibition “Pakistan-An unsung Beauty” was show cased St. Hilda’s College of Oxford University, UK.

