[nilanjanray]

Originally Posted by deepak_misra

You seem to be following KA quite closely :-). There is an interesting KA group on facebook that has a lot of rare photos, videos etc. If you are on facebook look at it.

Well, I enjoy his stories, so when I get a chance I try to go through the places he has mentioned. I am a much bigger fan of Corbett though. Will check out FB...

By the way, apparently a man was killed by a tiger many years back around here when this dam was getting built - as read in KA's The Lakkavali Maneater

Originally Posted by ampere

The best and easiest one through Kanakpura road. Drive on Kanakpura road till Harohalli.

Considering the season, there seems to be enough water, though lesser than what it there normally. But those views
from the balcony are amazing. In my opinion if wants to visit a JLR property just for stay and not for wild life, then this is the best.

Yes. Since I stay on Sarjapur Road, the Dommadandra - Jigani route is fastest for me. There is a arch and a barrier where the trail starts down for the temple/lake. if one searches for Thattekere Lake in Google Maps, one can get directed to the approximate area.

It was raining on and off in Bhadra. The water level was 15-20 feet down from the rainy season high mark. The balcony overlooking the lake is lovely - especially during the evening and early morning. One can hear the River Terns till lat ein the evening and from before sunrise.

From a wildlife perspective, Kabini (which I haven't been to yet), Bandipur and KGudi are better. In fact the log huts at KGudi - especially the one at the top/back - are good for relaxation as well as wildlife viewing. Sometime back I stayed in that isolated log hut during a weekday, and KGudi was almost empty. Was a nice experience sitting in the balcony, and listening to the jungle sounds.

Originally Posted by rjstyles69

nilanjan fantastic pics man. The fact that most of those birding shots have been taken with the 70-300mm VR is kinda hard to believe. No offense, but yeah they are crisp and pretty sharp.Kudos. I have this lens and it looses its sharpness beyond 240mm or so.

Thanks. But not sure whether you are doubting that the pictures were taken with the Nikkor 70-300 VR? Almost all my animal/bird pictures are taken with that lens, 100% handheld.

Bhadra, continued...

After a nice 2 hour nap, woke up, had a shower and then went down for dinner. The Golghar was crowded, so I went to a corner and sat down with a book. Lunch was alright - standard JLR meal. I had 1.5 hours before the evening boat ride started, so I decided to go for a drive along the canal and upto the Bhadra sanctuary gate - the route we had taken in the morning during the safari.

It was pretty warm, but thankfully the sun was behind clouds. Saw quite a few birds near the canal, even during the afternoon. Got some close shots of a Cormorant that was drying itself on a rock. Also went off the track and did some offroading.

After spending more than an hour hanging around the fringes of the jungle, I went back to the lodge and down to the jetty for the boat ride. Had to wait for while because the boat was late.

[rjstyles69]

Originally Posted by nilanjanray

Thanks. But not sure whether you are doubting that the pictures were taken with the Nikkor 70-300 VR? Almost all my animal/bird pictures are taken with that lens, 100% handheld.

That was a compliment nilanjan .

[nilanjanray]

Originally Posted by rjstyles69

That was a compliment nilanjan

That is what I thought, but your 'no offense' phrase - usually that is used in a different context :-)

[BlackRaven]

Stunning picutres Nilanjan. I am a big fan of your travelogues and your black fortuner as well. Thanks for all the sharing.

[nilanjanray]

Thanks BlackRaven!

Bhadra late afternoon cruise

The boat was a covered one - good for me, since I was carrying the camera, and dark clouds were approaching fast. We first went towards River Tern island, frequented by thousands of River Terns. On the way, on a smaller island, I saw a couple of ducks/geese - migratory birds, as per the boatman-cum-guide. Also saw some small birds (see pictures #3 & #7) that have come down from Pakistan. I asked the guide whether it is safe to go closer to these birds, or whether they blow up suddenly. He gave me a funny glance.

As the wind strengthened, the swell increased. We were going in such a direction that spray stated coming inside and making everything wet. Luckily there was a spare life jacket - I used that to cover the camera.

There were hundreds, if not thousands of Terns flying around River Tern Island. The ones sitting were too far away - and would fly off once we came too close. I managed to click a few photos, bracing myself against a pillar to negate the rocking of the boat.

Then we moved towards the shore. I wanted to see the place where the black panther had been seen a couple of days back. We kept going parallel to the shore...saw a number of tree stmumps, with fishing nets hanging from some of them. The nets would have got stuck during high water season. The landscape reminded me of old Tarzan movies - half expected to see the Apeman come out of the trees into the grass, approaching the water.

The swells decreased as we neared land, and I was able to shoot without worrying about spray or pictures getting blurred. I had hoped to shoot some Ospreys, but had to be satisfied with Brahmani Kites instead. And a few flying River Terns. Saw a couple of tuskers who had come out of the forest. Hearing the boat, they went back inside. We waited for 10 mins, but they didn't bother to come out. Saw where the panther had been spotted - no such luck for us that day!

It had drizzled a bit, but the strong wind blew away the rain clouds by the time we were coming back to the lodge. The sun came out, and we wee greeted to a spectacular sunset over the water.

Came back to the room, had a quick shower, packed, settled the bill, and was ready to leave by 7pm. Did spend 10 minutes sitting in the balcony enjoying the red sky and the shimmering water.

Took the route through Tumkur. Night driving in the Fortuner is a breeze - I drove without stopping for dinner, and was back home before midnight. It rained a bit while I was driving, and some of the stretches near Tumkur bypass were bad, but the beast just goes over and through everything.

Posting some pictures from the cruise...will share the remaining ones later.

[sarmarishi]

Great pictures Nilanjan.. Looking forward to seeing you here at Satpura the next time you decide to drive down to central India!

[nilanjanray]

Thanks - good to see you here! Satpuras is on the 'to do' list, but your lodge ( I remember you PMing me)- though one of the top rated in Tripadvisor - is too expensive :-)

How is wildlife sighting nowadays in the Satpuras? And how is the weather in June? I have been to Panchmarhi a few times, many years back, (not during summer though)...found it always nice and cool.

Some more pictures from the fag end of the boat safari.



















This one was taken from the balcony, before I left the room to check out.

[nilanjanray]

This day last year I had started my MP drive, covering Bangalore - Pench on the first day and then waking up at 4am for next day's morning safari. Funny how energy levels increase when one is excited.

Feeling restless. If I manage to get some leave, might take off for North or for Central India.

[aravind84]

Nilanjan

Hope you get the leave and enjoy the trip. What we would enjoy when you do that is the awesome pics that you will share with us. Do share some of the EXIF details along with the pics so that we can as well learn a bit out of them.

[nilanjanray]

Originally Posted by aravind84

Nilanjan

Hope you get the leave and enjoy the trip. What we would enjoy when you do that is the awesome pics that you will share with us. Do share some of the EXIF details along with the pics so that we can as well learn a bit out of them.

Thanks Aravind. Will post EXIF details for at least some of the photos from now on. Having said that, did you have any specific picture in mind for which you wanted EXIF?

[aravind84]

Nilanjan,

EXIF for River tern's in flight , eagle and Cormorants would help .

Also do take some time to check out my travelouge
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...s-chennai.html

and share some feedback on the pics. I am looking at improving day by day

Thanks,
Aravind

[nilanjanray]

Originally Posted by aravind84

Nilanjan,

EXIF for River tern's in flight , eagle and Cormorants would help .

Also do take some time to check out my travelouge
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...s-chennai.html

and share some feedback on the pics. I am looking at improving day by day

Thanks,
Aravind

Your pictures have come out very well - the zoo ones, and the flying birds are especially nice and sharp. Some of the initial photos seem a little overexposed - you might want to experiment with exposure bias of -0.3 or -0.7 during daytime shooting.

Here is what I dug up regarding the EXIFs. All pictures were taken handheld with D90/Nikkor 70-300mm AF-S VR lens; shot JPEGs with exposure bias of -0.3.

Flying River Tern photos
* B/w 200-300mm focal length (300 = 450mm in DX)
* f/5.6
* ISO 400
* shutter speed varies; those on the island: 1/200, 1/320 and 1/1250; the two flying close-ups: 1/2000 secs
* Spot metering (island pics) and matrix metering (flying close-ups); aperture priority, manual white balance


Brahmani Kites
* 280 - 300mm focal length
* f/5.6
* ISO 200
* shutter speed 1/250
* Spot metering, aperture priority, manual white balance


Cormorant
* 300mm focal length
* f/5.6
* ISO 200
* shutter speed 1/250
* Spot metering, aperture priority, manual white balance

[aravind84]

Thanks Nilanjan. I would try and start using the exposure compensation better.

[nilanjanray]

70% chance of doing a quick Tadoba and back this weekend. Keeping fingers crossed about rain and sightings.

Watch this space!

[airguitar]

Terrific thread! The pictures of the sunsets look surreal!