An artist and software engineer has evolved into a successful wildlife photographer in Coimbatore. Flowers, butterflies, birds, and landscape photography decorate his gallery.

33-year-old R. Hariharan from Shivaji Colony on Thadagam Road, is an M.C.A graduate and a software engineer with Impiger Technologies. From his childhood days, he has been an expert at pencil sketching, with themes like wildlife, forest, and animals being his favourites.

His dad, Rajasekaran, was a mechanical engineer who sketches his machine parts with pencils. Hariharan used to observe his father’s pencil arts and started to draw animals and birds from childhood. After graduation, he fell in love with nature and wildlife, and started to capture wildlife images in the jungles during the weekends. Peacocks of the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, Sambar deer at the grassland in Anamalai Tiger Reserve, Indian Gaur at Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, and various wildlife flowers of Anaikkati are his best pictures.

In 2008, he went on his first trek – to the forest of Chinnaattu Malai of Boluvampatti. He took pictures of peacocks, brown-headed barbets, blue throated flycatchers, common kingfisher, and green bee-eater birds. Eight years have passed and Hariharan now has a wide and interesting collection of wild flowers, butterflies, wild animals, and landscapes. His immediate plan is to buy a few more lens and equipment to further enhance his skills as a wildlife photographer.

Photos: R Hariharan, and some of his best photographs.