To say that Nitish Waila’s photography career has had quite a few high points might be considered an understatement, since much of it has taken place among some of the loftiest spots on the globe. “Climbing mountains all across the Indian Himalayas got me into the industry,” he notes. “I was documenting all my climbs in photos and creating my portfolio all along.”

Waila, a onetime software developer, left his day job in the IT sector in 2016, after completing personal project of making 15 climbing treks. He pitched images from the endeavor to a number of magazines, including National Geographic Traveller India, and he was one his way to a new profession.

“I knew photography was my calling, and I never looked back,” he says. “I started traveling all across my country. I wasn't just restricted to the mountains after that; I wanted to explore the beaches, the volcanos, the caves and all that nature has to offer in the diverse landscape of India. This took me across the width and length of India, including Kashmir, Ladakh, Kerala, and Rajasthan.”

Today Waila specializes in adventure, outdoor lifestyle and landscape imagery, focusing on the Himalayan terrain. National Geographic Traveller India named him “Best Adventure Photographer” in 2018.  He was also the only finalist from India in the prestigious Red Bull Illume 2020 competition. Over his career he’s worked with brands such as Canon, Vivo, JBL, Johnnie Walker, Red Bull, KTM.

“Shooting and directing adventure documentaries is my new goal, inspired by the likes of Renan Ozturk and Jimmy Chin's work,” he adds.

Waila is also a brand ambassador for SanDisk, and this year he is one of the judges of the SanDisk ”Share Your World” competition, which is held in partnership with the American Photography Open 2022 competition. (When you enter images into the AP Open contest, you can also enter them in the SanDisk competition by selecting the “Share Your World” category and following the instructions there. All entires in the SanDisk category will also be eligible for the Open prizes so you only have to enter them once. You can enter both competitions as many times as you wish.) Waila recently spoke with PPD about what kinds of images inspire him.

“I believe photography has an immense power to tell stories in just a single frame,” he said. “I am a firm believer in telling stories through photography. Someone’s eyes have so much to say; someone’s struggle high up in the mountains has its own story, and every landscape is different at different times. That’s a story in itself. Nature creates so many stories every single day. It's the power that a photographer has, which can turn a single moment into timeless stories.”

Those are the moments that he will be looking for in contest entries. “I would love to see amazing stories, some timeless masterpieces of nature or anything that attracts the eye and intrigues the mind,” he says.