[joybhowmik]

Originally Posted by robimahanta

I love to photograph leopards in the wild more than any other mammal in India.

Really nice pics Robi and thanks for sharing.

For the close-ups, can you tell me what lens did you use?
Also you mention that you left the camera so that it shoots when triggered by the animal. Can you give some details of this.

[Dodge_Viper]

Amazing! Fantastic! First time seeing a dedicated leopard shoot. Hats off! Rim lit shot is the most amazing shot I have ever seen. Please do justice and add more and more photos .

Rating well deserved 5 stars .

[alpha1]

Honestly, till today I used to question how exactly does a Leopard's coat give it a camouflage.
A lion tawny color matches its environment's background.
A tiger's stripes easily makes it blend in the grassland.

But today I realized from these pix that a leopards coat allows it to blend in different environs be it rocky or dry vegetation.

[robimahanta]

Originally Posted by sukhoi30

Awesome pictures of Leopards and Tigers. The tigers of Tadoba have been clicked superbly. Looks like National Geographic pictures. How did you manage the leopard picture in a silhoutte!!!

Thanks. The silhouette was done when the leopard was against light and walking along the rocky slope of a hillock. The technique is same as shooting any other silhouette, that is "spot meter" the sun or use lot of negative EV compensation. I chose the later in this case (-2.5 Ev I guess with a bit of post processing)

Originally Posted by sach.sri

Just one thing - in most of your pics the rocks are pretty grainy? why - did you shoot with very high ISO?

Thanks. Yes most of the leopard images are above 2000 ISO and I had initially processed them for prints so when reduced the size for upload, the quality went for a toss. I could have processed (reduce contrast and layer mask etc) them again for low resolution but was too lazy for it.

Originally Posted by joybhowmik

Really nice pics Robi and thanks for sharing.

For the close-ups, can you tell me what lens did you use?
Also you mention that you left the camera so that it shoots when triggered by the animal. Can you give some details of this.

Close ups were mostly with a 600mm lens. Well to make the camera shoot on its own when the animal moves you need infrared sensors and stuff like that. Its an elaborate process. In this case however we didn't do that , rather we used a cheap Chinese RF remote trigger and kept tripping the shutter whenever we saw some action from around 100 mts away.


Will post more images soon. A lot of images are to be processed and re-sized.

The only bird I shot in Tadoba, the very common Purple Moorhen.

[PlatzdaTurbo]

@robimahanta

Cant begin to tell you what joy i felt seeing these images and reading the travelogue.
Incidentally, Tigers closely followed by Leopards (all sub-species included) happen to me my favorite cats and your pics just confirm how regal and dignified they look (esp Tigers) in those pictures. It often makes me wonder, who exactly is the wild animal here ??
Anyway, beautiful pictures but do enlighten as to where the leopard actually is in the wide lens picture ?? Couldnt spot him. Is he by any chance on the right corner of the picture under the cave ?

[nkrishnap]

Amazing shots of the cats (both the Tiger and the Leopard). Damn they simply pose for you.

Thanks for sharing.

[specialedition]

What a insight to bera and the images have come out great. Clicking the Leopards on the rocks is a refreshing change. I hope these Big Cats remain for a long long time so that our future generations can also see them live instead of seeing them in books.

[Trojan]

Lovely TL, the snaps are simply splendid. It has always been my dream to see the ever elusive leopard. Staying in an area where we do hear about sightings every once in a while but I have not had the privilege so far.

The leopards seem to be totally at ease which seems different from their usual behaviour and yes one reason which you have pointed out definitely seems to be the main cause - being the Apex predator gives you that kind of confidence and regal air.

Their confidence is apparent from Devaraj's current accommodation and the fact that he was sitting so close to the steps in daylight!

Is this not part of any wildlife reserve?

I certainly wish the surroundings remain the way they are. Thanks a lot for this stunning visual treat!

[shomshree]

A mind-blowing photologue. First time a travelogue with dotted cats. Just one question out of curiosity: what was the distance you took for those cave photo shoots. Was it from the jeep itself!

[robimahanta]

Originally Posted by PlatzdaTurbo

@robimahanta Anyway, beautiful pictures but do enlighten as to where the leopard actually is in the wide lens picture ?? Couldnt spot him. Is he by any chance on the right corner of the picture under the cave ?

Thanks. It is indeed in the right bottom corner below the tree. The image above is from the same sequence

Originally Posted by Trojan

Is this not part of any wildlife reserve?
I certainly wish the surroundings remain the way they are. Thanks a lot for this stunning visual treat!

Thanks. Its not a part of any wildlife reserve, its all grazing grounds.

Originally Posted by shomshree

A mind-blowing photologue. First time a travelogue with dotted cats. Just one question out of curiosity: what was the distance you took for those cave photo shoots. Was it from the jeep itself!

Thanks. Most of the pictures are from the Jeep but a few are on foot. Its usually about a distance of 100mts. Till we are in the Jeep the leopards don't really bother and go about their business but the moment you get down and try to approach them, they get inside their caves.

Two more images

Mom & me



Enjoying a swim

[srikrishna717]

What brilliant pictures!! I am speechless.
Thanks for sharing great photos of these marvelous species!

[ashphil]

Magnificient Photography! The silhoutte shots of the leopard and the langurs are awesome. The shot with the tiger stepping on little rocks to cross the water is a masterpiece! Thank you for this lovely piece of work.
regards,
Ashok

[Deep Blue]

Wow! Simply amazing. The rim lit photo of leopard is excellent! It was a pleasure to see the big cats in their natural surroundings.

[mavrikm5]

Very nice photologue Robin. have been hearing about bera for last 2-3 years now, can't believe they roam in open country undisturbed but are an open invitation to poaching.
I went to Kumbhalgarh & Ranakpur in january this year and planned to extend my trip to bera as well but due to bad road condition and shortage of time, i cut short my trip.
A few questions here;
Does one require a specialist guide to spot these animals or can it be done on your own. are there any designated spots were these leopards can be spotted?

Any special requirement of 4x4 gear or any high GC vehicle can manage the terrain?

Thanks

[robimahanta]

Originally Posted by mavrikm5

V
Does one require a specialist guide to spot these animals or can it be done on your own. are there any designated spots were these leopards can be spotted?
Any special requirement of 4x4 gear or any high GC vehicle can manage the terrain?

A specialist guide/driver is mandatory as these guys know the places frequented by the leopards as well as have powerful searchlights to track the leopards in the dark.
As for the SUV, we never used low range but the terrain was pretty rough and a massive amount of GC is required. The Kaiser Jeeps with modded suspension were perfect for the job.

MODS: Kindly delete my previous post as it has some typos.