Nepal's natural beauty has catapulted the country's fame as an artiste's delight and Prajwal Pradhan has captured its many faces with his lens: a steppe eagle swooping over Kathmandu on a hot day, a plumbeous redstart that you have to search for among rocks on a riverbed, an elephant taking a shower or stark white flowers against a deep blue background. It is flora and fauna caught in technicolour.

In 1985, Pradhan received a scholarship from the British Council to study photography and the audiovisual medium. It was then that his affair with the camera grew. He returned to work with NTV and in those years, Pradhan says he was unable to explore his creativity, "I didn't understand the value of still photography then."

Later, as a government employee he dabbled in advertising. Even then, he was taking pictures of popular tourist spots only and converting them into postcards. It was only later as his interest in his surroundings grew that Pradhan decided to experiment with nature photography.

"I began to read more, flip through magazines such as the National Geographic and wonder ed how those photographers captured such beautiful colours," muses Pradhan. But in the past seven years, Pradhan's portfolio includes pictures that make viewers sit up and take notice.

"Nature is already photogenic but you have to look for composition and colour," says the artist,"to be able to capture it in all its hues is one of the biggest challenges. Almost 80 percent of the pictures I take have to be discarded."

The photographer's eye is different from other's, it must see what others can't, the tones and textures and have the technical expertise to bring them out as accurately as possible in print. The specific artistry of each photographer and each photograph depends on composition.

Composition is of great importance to Pradhan. "Even here in my exhibition, I see children who come to see it are appreciative because of the visual aesthetics," he says. Nature photography needs a lot of patience and research. Pradhan explains that it is essential for the photographer to not just know the types of flora and fauna but also understand their habitat. "But sometimes," he adds, "It's just pure luck."