Absolutely beautiful piece of work, I liked the second image more. Just wished that the light on the bat was a little warm. This is
a dream combination for me as I really enjoy ancient architecture as much as nature photography. . . just Brilliant.

It did reach finals Nilanjan. But I agree with their decision of not selecting this. In my view it missed some subtle finesse. I only partly succeeded in creating the mood I wanted to convey. I now know how to better this but it needs at least couple of more days of trying. Awards apart, it was a huge learning which is my biggest award in this case and gave me some satisfaction as a nature photographer.

Thank you all friends..

Ganesh, I was speechless when I saw this Image, I admire the hardwork and patience.
I find the the second image more engaging.
Even though I loved the warm feel to the temple with the cool bat, I was really curious to know if you tried light painting with a more cool torch light?

Ganesh, its all been said...im late.. but this is stuff one dreams of.. kudos..hats off ..bows..and wows..
to visualise and acheive..its the ultimate. great to have such role models..

Prithvik, cooler torch light would lead to a totally different scary mood I guess. Probably light painting would need more exposure. Yes, it would have worked and portrayed a different feel.

What a shot(s)! Ganesh I had heard about the image a long time back but boy, its nothing like what I had expected. Its the pinnacle of thoughtful execution. Pressing a shutter button will never be the same again!!! I guess you have installed life into the ruins and made it an abode for life to live irrespective of what the outsiders like to classify it as. Great work master!

Ganesh, I vividly remember the day when we walked into this temple to plan our shot. I was sure that with the little experience I had in bat shooting, we could pull off this shot. I remember showing you the empty abode of the sanctum sanctorum (the main idol) was taken away during the fall of the Vijaynagar empire. I suggested we do a shot of the bats exiting the sanctum with total black bg, which I had done in the caves of Dandeli. I could see you did a 180 turn and suggested we do a shot of the bat amongst the pillars. I could clearly visualise the shot akin to a dancer amidst the great granite pillars being the focus and the pillars acting as accents to this center piece. We could not get one in the middle, but the learning of the whole thing was keeping your eyes open to see different possibliities even when you have pre-visualised the shot.
Working on the musty odors of a dark temple with constant screeching of the spotted owlets and the swoosh of the bats in a large ruined temple can get to your nerves. The ASI unit at Hampi was perplexed when we sought permission to shoot at night, they said even the watchman would not venture after dark. They were kind enough to let us work. Being a part of the work process in the whole exercise was immensely rewarding.

Everytime I suggested a shot, Ganesh pulled off one better than what we had imagined. I remember once when one of the CNP admins saying that with Ganesh on your side you get 'Aane balla' (Elephant strength). Thanks Ganesh.

VMR, it was team work. Honestly I think we can do better than this. We have learnt a lot in all these experiments. I am sure it will come handy for our next work...

Super Image! I loved the lighting and the setup.

GaneshaNNa, you made me extremely nostalgic once again with this now!! What a mind blowing experience it was for me... and i still remember how you spent that whole night without sleep due to your wheezing problem caused by the dust from the bat droppings!!

Coming to the image, I have seen it several times before on your camera display itself... even though the first one looks "perfect" in all sense, somehow I like the second one more... probably bcos bats have always had a "nightly" and "ghostly" image in my mind and with that superimposed pillar on its wings, the second image creates exactly that kind of an impression!! Once again, thanks a lot for such a memorable trip!

just Awesome...what else...

Visited many times but felt Short of words to describe my feelings as always....Brilliant inspiring efforts & execution......Loved both images.......

Posters of Spillberg`s `Indiana jones' series

take a bow. Ganesh ji !
This goes beyond saying that the image would forever be etched in mind... forever !
The time and energy and technical expertise to bring the visualization to life like this is tremendous.
Congratulations on being in finals of BBC. I am sure, the next improvisation that you are talking about is just going to go places and in history !
Hats off to your commitment.
You are really the source of inspiration for doing such experiments ...

this is simply superb, Ganesh. i'd missed this as i was away, and coming back - here is a treat, inspiration, a lesson in perseverence and another in humility. what makes the image special for me (the second one) is the gauze like nature of the wings that you have been able to show. tremendous. just tremendous.

blown away.
thank you.

I am speechless Ganesh, I really can't think of an adjective that would do justice to this image.

Thank you for the inspiration.