Heart Attack

This photograph captures a Salmotoma fish ambushing mating damselflies at Sweetwater Lake, Dharur, in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra, India. As the pair skimmed just above the surface in their heart-shaped “wheel” formation, the fish launched upward with lightning precision. The strike zone was impossible to predict; activity slowed under cloud and came alive only in bright sunshine, making the perfect blend of light, action, and angle exceedingly rare. It was among the toughest shots of my career. Autofocus failed, so I worked entirely in manual focus. Over six months I battled shifting light, missed focus, limited depth of field, exposure swings, shutter-speed trade-offs, and constantly changing conditions. Even the fish added to the challenge—glinting green, yellow, or silver as the light shifted, and often leaping yet missing their target. There’s a reason for those misses: from beneath the surface, the fish see a refracted image. The apparent position of the damselflies is displaced, so they strike where the insects seem to be—not where they truly are. On countless occasions everything was set, but no action followed. My fieldwork demanded full-day immersion: from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. I stood in the lake, enduring bites from aquatic insects and the unnerving presence of snakes to stay close to the action. After thousands of frames and countless patient hours, luck finally met perseverance—the damselflies formed a perfect heart at the instant the fish struck. To my knowledge, this is the first time this predatory behavior has been photographically documented here. This image reminds me that beyond the most advanced gear, the true essence of wildlife photography is persistence, passion, and a touch of luck.