Principal photographer

Better known as the principal of Wesley College, Avanka Fernando is also gaining recognition for his wildlife photography

It is always a nice feeling to hear of a Sri Lankan whose achievements bring recognition to the country. In this case it is the principal of Wesley College, Colombo. Avanka Fernando, who in addition to steering one of the country’s oldest boys’ schools is a wildlife photographer, who, in the past two years has received international recognition for his work.

Avanka became interested in photography during his volunteer days with the Ceylon Bible Society and soon developed a passion for it. A nature lover since his younger days, he credits his uncle as being instrumental in nurturing his interest in wildlife and wildlife photography as he usually took Avanka along on his trips to the country’s national parks.

An old boy of Wesley College, Avanka started his career as an educationist following the completion of his Master’s Degree and in 2016, at the young age of 29, took over as principal of his alma mater. He is supportive of his charges developing a passion for photography and gives some of his time and expertise to the school’s photography club on their field visits to places like the Sinharaja rainforest.

It is not just the students who have the opportunity to develop their skills, but also the staff, who have their own photography club. While the school has had a few competitions so far, next year’s looks to be the biggest as it is in commemoration of a significant milestone for the school – Wesley’s landmark anniversary of 150 years. The competition being planned will give all students and teachers the opportunity to take part.

His passion is not easy to balance with his heavy work responsibilities but he tries to visit the national parks and wetlands whenever time permits, sometimes leaving home as early as 3 a.m. to get to Yala or Wilpattu, travelling back later that same day. If time is tight, he visits areas in Colombo such as the Beddagana and Diyasaru wetland parks to photograph one of his favourite subjects – birds.

Sri Lanka, he says, is a trove of hidden treasure that is not valued or managed properly. “It’s a hidden treasure, especially when it comes to wildlife. Unfortunately, many Sri Lankans don’t know it and even our leaders don’t value it. Ours is probably the only country where you can see a whale, an elephant, and a leopard on the same day.”

While sighting a leopard is at the top of every amateur or professional photographer’s list, he says most other animals go unphotographed due to the sole focus being placed on leopards.

A tip he has picked up over the years is to avoid the national parks on weekends because of the throng of local and foreign tourists who all have the same idea. He goes only on weekdays and has sometimes been fortunate to be the only person in the park as was the case back in February 2022 visiting Mannar on a Monday. Waiting for two and a half hours, I was the only photographer. I had about 5000 or more flamingoes right in front of me, about 50 metres away.”

The Nikon D7200 and D750 are his top choices when it comes to cameras with lenses also by the same brand. While not confining himself to any particular style, Avanka likes to the challenge of trying to get a unique perspective through the use of angles and framing. Black and white images give contrast and flavour he says and he is partial to macro photography because of the amount of detail captured which otherwise goes unnoticed by the naked eye.

Initially hesitant, he began sending in his work to different competitions during the long COVID lockdowns and in the past two years has had the gratifying response of receiving awards and commendations, notably winning third place in the Macro category in Wild Lens Magazine’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year Award 2022, and receiving commendations in the MonoVisions Black and White Photography Awards 2022, and most recently, the Monochrome Photography Awards last November. “Now, I really want to focus on high-end competitions. My dream is to one day see the name of our country appearing in the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition, which is like the Oscars of wildlife photography,” he says.