Indian-origin engineer wins top Nat Geo photography contest for picture of bald eagles
Karthik Subramaniam, an Indian-origin software engineer in the U.S. and a hobbyist photographer, defeated over 5,000 entrants to win the 2023 National Geographic “Picture of the Year” award.
Subramaniam’s photo, which is titled ‘Dance of the Eagles’, shows a trio of bald eagles battling for a spot on a branch in Alaska’s Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve, a press release by the magazine said.
He titled the image as a homage to a fictional dragon war in George R.R. Martin’s novel, ‘A Dance with Dragons’.
“Wherever there’s salmon there’s going to be chaos,” Subramaniam told the magazine that this was his motto as he camped out near the shore of the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve, waiting for action.
The former engineer-turned-amateur photographer claimed to have lingered and observed as bald eagles flew in and out of the Haines, Alaska, fishing grounds.
The engineer-turned-hobbyist photographer said he stayed, watching as bald eagles swooped in and out of the fishing grounds in Haines, Alaska.
The area hosts the largest congregations of bald eagles in the world every fall, when around 3,000 arrive in time for the salmon run.
From over 5,000 submissions in four categories—Nature, People, Places, and Animals—the winning image was chosen.
For years, Subramaniam has been documenting his trips and the landscapes he sees.
He started experimenting with wildlife photography in 2020, grounded by the pandemic in his San Francisco home.
The photo will be featured in the May issue of National Geographic magazine.
