Balasore: Almost six years after winning an international photography award, Sritam Kumar Sethy from Odisha’s Balasore has once again made headlines with his amusing close-up image of a spider, securing a spot in Forbes’ prestigious feature on funny wildlife photography.
The photograph is one of 12 previously unpublished “outtakes” from the Nikon Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards, released in March 2026 to mark the opening of the 2026 competition. Forbes Digital spotlighted the collection in an article titled “12 Funny Animal Photos Newly Released By Comedy Wildlife Awards 2026″, praising the images for showcasing nature’s playful side through mimicry and absurdity.
Sethy’s image, titled ‘Mr Pringles, Keeper of the leaf’, captures a kidney garden spider perched on a vibrant green leaf. The arachnid’s pale abdomen features distinctive black markings that strikingly resemble a human face with a comical moustache, evoking the iconic Pringles snack mascot.
“Don’t be fooled by the moustache; this garden guardian isn’t selling snacks,” the Forbes description read.
“Mimicry, the fascinating art of imitation, is present all around us in the natural world. This kidney garden spider resembles the famous snack ‘Pringles’. Perched calmly on a vibrant green leaf, the tiny arachnid with its comical black moustache has a face that seems ready to offer you a chip. A master of mimicry and a resident of low vegetation and garden bushes, it proves that evolution has a sense of humour,” it added.
Sritam has shot the image on his mobile phone in Balasore. “I had clicked a kidney garden spider with a human-like face on its body. It looked like the Pringles character to me,” he said, while describing his featured entry.
The Balasore lad is a regular on the nature and wildlife photography circuit, with his works previously featured on National Geographic, BBC, among others.
Raised in Shovarampur village in Balasore, his breakthrough moment came when his entries, featuring close-ups of nature and insects, were showcased in England. His journey to global recognition furthered when his vibrant Holi festival photographs won him the ‘Event Photographer of the Year’ award in New York in 2019. Competing against more than a thousand photographers worldwide, he made history as the first Indian to earn the honour in the non-professional category. His winning image, “Surrounded by yellow,” captured a colourful close-up during the festival and drew praise from the National Geographic Your Shot community for its creativity and storytelling.
“I have been felicitated by Odisha Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati for my efforts in conservation. My aim is to win the Wildlife Photographer of the Year award, which is like the Oscars, by the age of 30,” he added.
