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Polar footprint

Amid the frozen silence, a polar bear holds a lone shoe - a relic of our intrusion in their space

Awards

Nature Photography Contest

2025

Nominee

Animals

Non Professional

Polar footprint

Amid the frozen silence, a polar bear holds a lone shoe - a relic of our intrusion in their space

About Artist

Manish Nagpal

I am a practising vitreoretinal surgeon at Retina Foundation, Ahmedabad, where I have dedicated the past three decades to the art and science of vitreoretinal surgery—my foremost passion. Alongside my surgical career, I nurture an equally deep commitment to the natural world through wildlife photography. Time spent in the wild allows me to balance the intensity of the operating room with the quiet patience of observation and the thrill of capturing fleeting moments in nature. Over the years, I have explored both India’s rich landscapes and far-flung wildernesses across Africa, Svalbard, Kamchatka, and beyond. Each journey has been an opportunity to document the beauty, fragility, and resilience of wildlife in their natural habitats. My photographic work reflects not only the joy of discovery but also a concern for the changing ecology that threatens these species. In 2022, I published a coffee table book titled Precarious Balance, chronicling the lives of brown bears and their struggle for survival amidst shifting environmental conditions. My images and stories have also appeared in respected platforms such as Nature inFocus, Sanctuary Asia, and Travel + Leisure. Through both surgery and photography, I remain dedicated to preserving vision—whether in the human eye or in the way we see and value our natural world.

Manish Nagpal

Photographic Areas of Focus

Landscapes, Nature, Wildlife

Location

India

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