Thilina Kaluthotage (25) is a photography enthusiast with a passion for wildlife photography. Pursuing his passion as a photographer, following his interest, honing his craft all by himself, Thilina has built a dedicated community around himself and his work.
While wildlife photographs and travelling was the beginning of his foray into the field of photography, Thilina has since found a niche for himself – he is best known for his capture of lightning striking Nelum Kuluna, a rare moment in time which he was able to capture, not by chance but due to foresight and pure interest.
Speaking with Thilina he shared that when he first came to Colombo for work, he was an avid traveller, choosing to spend his free time travelling the island, particularly his interests lay in exploring the urban landscapes of Colombo. He said that he would simply walk and explore the city and gradually felt that there was so much beauty in the city that he wanted to capture. He proceeded to collect enough money to purchase a camera which he taught himself how to use to its optimum capacity and he got to work.
He said that after some time, he felt that there is more he could do and he looked through the internet for inspiration and he came across a very specific niche where photographers would capture lightning striking iconic monuments and buildings around the world. Getting inspired by these works, he too felt that he would attempt to “chase lightning”.
However, chasing lightning was no easy task, a natural phenomenon and nature was on her own clock and so Thilina said that he was in for a lot of waiting, and pining for something he is likely to never encounter. However, on 19 February 2019 exactly at 9.30 p.m. lightning struck, quite literally.
He said: “I didn’t go home for many rainy days. I was with my camera at the Lake House, lower car park and on top of high buildings with full permission, mostly due to security reasons. Because lightning has caused accidents, so I didn’t want to risk that,” he said, adding: “Anyway my goal was to get the lightning shot. On that day, the Poya Day, luckily I checked the lighting conditions at the Lotus Tower because I did several light tests – I have actually been doing it for four month straight. I was observing the patterns, and regardless of how tall the tower was due to the abundance of constructions in the city, lightning was always pulled under, I did not see any signs of lightning, only thunder. But as luck would have it, lightning struck and I was there to capture it.”
Thilina shared that this capture was what changed the trajectory of his involvement in photography as the photo reignited a passion within him to chase the uncommon. He said that even recently was able to take a photograph near Adams Peak and even the people who live in Maskeliya were unfamiliar with the shot because he was able to capture it in such a unique way.
While his photography remains a side hustle, Thilina has achieved great heights as a photographer in the island, as he recently entered into a brand ambassadorship with one of Sri Lanka’s largest camera companies and South Asia’s largest online camera store. He has recently started conducting workshops in collaboration with Sony to share his knowledge with fellow photography enthusiasts.
He shared that while he loves photography, he has a passion in life to share knowledge – thanks to his education as a student of R/Vidyakara Maha Vidyalaya Opanayake and then at St. Luke’s College Ratnapura, he said that his foundation has shown the value of education and sharing knowledge for which he is grateful, and so he continues to do workshops and also to share behind the scenes tips of all his iconic captures via his social media – camera settings, angles, and the practical challenges he faced, etc.
Thilina noted that he has made many sacrifices to get the shot he wants: “The picture of lightning hitting the Lotus Tower took me four months, the solar eclipse, the photo of the International Space Station travelling in front of the moon as well as the landscapes, aerial scenes, wildlife photos, street photos, the tri-forces festivals. All of these captures came at a price, and I was willing to make that sacrifice and it has in return brought me valuable recognition in the Sri Lankan photography industry,” he said.
Thilina said that he hopes to encourage as many up and comers as possible to learn and enjoy the craft and to thrive in a field of endless possibilities.
