Amoghavarsha JS

Amoghavarsha is an award-winning wildlife photographer, filmmaker and storyteller from Bangalore, India. He has photographed the thick evergreens of Arunachal and the barren landscapes of Ladakh in India, the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, and the vast plains of Africa. Having worked as a naturalist and hailing from a technology background, he makes use of new media to help spread the message of conservation.

After completing a degree in Computer Science, he joined Amazon as a Software Engineer. He later worked for the local search startup Asklaila as its first employee. He quit his job in 2008 to pursue his passion for wildlife photography.

Amoghavarsha works with government forest departments, non-profit organisations and media institutions on conservation and education projects. He works closely with CEE and has helped set up interpretation centres. He is also one of the key contributors to the "Science Express - Biodiversity Special", a Ministry of Environment and Forests initiative which toured India for over a year and has been witnessed by more than 2.5 million people. He has contributed to Microsoft research on the cutting-edge digital narratives media project at Hampi. He also conducts photography workshops and expeditions.

His work has been exhibited in various national and international events. His work has also been hosted by UGallery and Williams-Sonoma

• "Indian wildlife national anthem" – A pan India wildlife national anthem music video was launched as part of the album Shanti Samsara by Grammy winner Ricky Kej. A collaborative environmental consciousness music video between filmmakers from across the world for Shanti Samsara was also launched by Prime minister of India Narendra Modi and French president François Hollande at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris
• "Secrets of the King Cobra" - Worked as assistant cameraman for the National Geographic film on the world's largest venomous snake.
• "Jaya hai Kannada thaye" – India’s first wildlife music video with music from Grammy winner Ricky Kej which was launched on 6 regional channels and gained a million views in a week.
• "Huli - How to Save the Tiger?" (also known as "Huli: Technology to the Frontiers of Tiger Conservation") - A short film (which has been nominated at India's top Wildlife film festival "CMS Vatavaran Environment and Wildlife Film Festival 2013") that sheds light on the forest staff that protects our forests.
• "River Terns of Bhadra" - A film on the lives of beautiful River tern that throng the bhadra backwaters in summers. This is one of India's first wildlife film to be licensed under creative commons. Nominated at India's top wildlife film festival CMS Vatavaran 2015.
• "Kali" - An award winning film on the Kali River (Karnataka) that flows through the beautiful western ghats of India. Following the journey of a 100-year-old grand mother as she journeys to the source of the river. Following a univocal response from policymakers after watching the movie, the Dandeli Anshi Tiger Reserve was renamed to Kali Tiger Reserve The movie won the Impactdocs award of merit in 2016

• He won the Impactdocs Award of Merit for Kali
• He was invited to Australia in 2013 and 2015 to represent India as part of the Australia-India Youth Dialogue.
• He was also invited to Convention on Biological Diversity in 2012 to talk about the importance of photography and media in conservation education.
• His video work on climate changewas showcased in the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President François Hollande in the presence of several world leaders.
• He was invited by Dr Ramesh Srinivasan to University of California, Los Angeles to present his work on use of media and technology in conservation.
• His movie, River Terns of Bhadra and Kali have both been nominated at India's top Environment and Wildlife film festival CMS Vatavaran
• He was awarded the AIYD alumni grant for the year 2015