[robimahanta]

Update: Dec'12

Had been to Kabini after a long gap over the weekend and it never ceases to disappoint me. I was fortunate to have some brilliant sightings over the four jeep safaris I did there. Since cats are the big draw, posting a couple of big cat images from the recent trip.

Saw this beautiful male around the river bank. At one point of time there was a tiger,elephant,gaur,peacock and a few other birds in the same frame. I will post some other interesting images soon



Just into the evening safari, we came across this male leopard and spent a good 10 mins with it.

[sach.sri]

amazing pics as usual man. Leopards really do favour you . Your pics have just renewed the craving again - i have not seen a tiger or a leopard after the parks opened again :(

[joe1980]

I know from all your experiences that sighting a big cat like the Tiger is an ordeal in the wild. Your pictures are making them easy for people like me when I go Safari on your travelogue.

Keep the pictures coming.

[thalavoy]

Fantastic pictures. During my trip to Kabini, I missed seeing tiger twice in a day by a few minutes each.
Nothing like sighting big cats in the wild. Agree with sach.sri. These pictures are making me do a few trips to Bandipur/kabini.

[robimahanta]

Originally Posted by sach.sri

amazing pics as usual man. ..Your pics have just renewed the craving again - i have not seen a tiger or a leopard after the parks opened again :(

Thanks a lot. Kabini has been great this year after the reopening. However, the rules have become much stricter.

Originally Posted by joe1980

I know from all your experiences that sighting a big cat like the Tiger is an ordeal in the wild. Your pictures are making them easy for people like me when I go Safari on your travelogue.

Thanks a lot

Originally Posted by thalavoy

Fantastic pictures...These pictures are making me do a few trips to Bandipur/kabini.

Thanks. These winter months are the best to visit the parks down south.


Some other images from the trip. Most of the time I just carried a telephoto lens hence the perspective is slightly different.

the brawny gaur


serpent eagle silhouette


race along the river bank


tussle


barking deer in extreme low light


bonnet macaque with black lips


guarding the calf


wild boar on an incline


motion blur


langur portrait



will post the other cat images in the subsequent post.

[CountDracoola]

At the expense of stating the obvious, your photographs are amazing.
Wanted to thank you for posting these pictures.

[nkrishnap]

Amazing pictures there. The elephant guarding the calf is very nice.

Now waiting for the interesting stuff you mentioned.

Thanks for sharing.

[gd1418]

Tell my why should you not be banned, debarred from here for posting magnificent Leopard pictures with unfailing regularity?

The telphoto perspective of the "brawny Gaur" with sunlight illuminating his back in patches was the best.

[anand_hc]

Originally Posted by robimahanta

Update: Dec'12

Had been to Kabini after a long gap over the weekend and it never ceases to disappoint me. I was fortunate to have some brilliant sightings over the four jeep safaris I did there. Since cats are the big draw, posting a couple of big cat images from the recent trip.

Saw this beautiful male around the river bank. At one point of time there was a tiger,elephant,gaur,peacock and a few other birds in the same frame. I will post some other interesting images soon

Attachment 1025527

Just into the evening safari, we came across this male leopard and spent a good 10 mins with it.

Attachment 1025528

Great pictures. I envy you for being lucky to sight tiger & leopard so consistently. I have not sighted tiger in my 5-6 safaris. I have almost stopped expecting to sight one next time

[SDP]

Absolutely gorgeous set of pictures! Thanks Robi for sharing.

Keep them coming. Glued to this thread now.

Any tips on how to get the images so sharp and vivid?

[robimahanta]

Originally Posted by gd1418

Tell my why should you not be banned, debarred from here for posting magnificent Leopard pictures with unfailing regularity?

The telphoto perspective of the "brawny Gaur" with sunlight illuminating his back in patches was the best.

Thanks GD, just to annoy you further I am attaching two more leopard images from the trip. I have quite a few more from the trip

Originally Posted by anand_hc

Great pictures. I envy you for being lucky to sight tiger & leopard so consistently. I have not sighted tiger in my 5-6 safaris. I have almost stopped expecting to sight one next time

Luck obviously plays a role but I always travel with a close group of photographers who have been going to Kabini/Bandipur since the nineties. They know these forests like the back of their hand and even the residents cats

Originally Posted by SDP

Absolutely gorgeous set of pictures! Thanks Robi for sharing.

Keep them coming. Glued to this thread now.

Any tips on how to get the images so sharp and vivid?

Thanks. I am not sure I can give any magic solution to make images vivid and sharp overnight. All I can say is get a camera and after having found your genre, follow it with great passion. The internet is a vast source of information and I have learnt almost everything about photography from the net.

[fazalaliadil]

Originally Posted by gd1418

Tell my why should you not be banned, debarred from here for posting magnificent Leopard pictures with unfailing regularity?

The telphoto perspective of the "brawny Gaur" with sunlight illuminating his back in patches was the best.

Robi,

I second what GD Sir is recommending.

The bokeh is just too good! Now coming to the main subjects..extremely well framed and sharp.

The male leopard in his prime has given you enough opportunity to get his best and the tiger in the open in Kabini is not a common sight, with so much foliage for cover they seldom show up unlike the central India reserves and parks. Both are great captures, stare in the lens.

The "Brawny Gaur" actually is a senior citizen, past his prime, he must have been a loner too, and not with the rest of the herd.

The leopard emerging from behind the crocodile bark tree is my personal choice for the eye contact, framing, lighting, backdrop and sharpness.
Regards,

[majumon]

Robi your shoots are definitely a class apart,, thanks for sharing ,, the snaps in the previous with the birds were very well captured,, happy clicking and sharing with us ,,thanks once again.

[robimahanta]

Thought I would share some more images of the tiger. Nothing special about these images but the moments are something which I am going to cherish for a long time as it was my first tiger sighting in Kabini (Nagarhole NP)

Tiger vs Tusker


Screw the tusker, the tiger is having a ball in the late evening sunlight


The last look before it left us with memories to cherish

[sach.sri]

cool man - just last week i was in Corbett and hoping to get something like this - tiger and tusker in one frame. and now i see this pic

awesome!