Blinking monkey

This is the first time, I was able to capture monkey blink. 

Anna and I were returning from Elagiri after spending three days with Aswathy and Anandit, just before Christmas. We encountered a herd of monkeys in one of the hair pin bends. They were sunbathing on a cold morning. I thought that the one of the monkeys in this photograph had a photogenic face, shining in reddish hue in the sunlight. The other monkey seemed to avoid  the sunlight as its face was turned away. This photograph was taken without the flash light of the camera. That makes the blink all the more special in a photograph. 

I am yet to ask a Vetenary doctor  about the physiology of the blink in a monkey. I am certain that the monkey was not blind as I have other pictures of the same monkey with eyes wide open and carefully walking over the parapet. Of course it looked older and less agile than the others. I wonder whether it was photosensitivity similar to what occurs in humans when they have early cataract changes! Or was it a blink response to anxiety generated by a car suddenly stopping and the window glass lowered with two people staring at the monkey! It could also have been the normal physiological blink which occurs several times in a minute. 

This is one lesson for all photographers. There can be surprise shots, something which we did not look for or anticipate. Ragu Rai, who is an avid and well reputed photographer, has rare collection of photographs of renowned people and events. Commenting about photography, he wrote once, 'the more you shoot the more you gather rare photographs'.

Let me comment photography as a means to explore your environment! There is much one can learn from the experience of recollecting stories surrounding each photograph.  

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)