[nkrishnap]

Originally Posted by vsathyap

Early next morning, we checked out and this time - we were certain that we had to have Masale Dose at GTR. We headed to GTR directly and after having a solid breakfast of Idlys, Doses and hot coffee, we headed back to Bangalore. After the usual Mysore Road traffic, we reached our homes in BLR by 1130am.

Overall, our trip to Bandipur had given us a superb opportunity to take some photos, fine tune our photo skills and have a good time - away from the maddening city. Being back in Bangalore, only one thing remained to be done - a nice little travelogue on TBHP ! Who knows, I may have just inspired someone to get up from their seat and do that trip they were longing for ....

Until next time ...

Wonderful Pics with a good narration vsathyap. Will drop you a PM next time I plan to head out to Nagarahole and Kabini.

Camera gear info please. Images are vivid and sharp.

Prince has lost both the lower canines and still looks almost the same. Must be hunting down small prey or scavenging stomach full each time. Another male is being spotted in its territory, forest folks were mentioning it's prince's own son. Looks like he will claim his Dad's property Soon the inevitable will happen.

Originally Posted by hemanth.anand

very nice photos vsathyap and also girimajiananth
Apart from THE PRINCE you people have shot quite a lot of animals - through your cameras of course
Very good writing skills too vsathyap. Thanks for sharing!

First it was nkrishnap and now vsathyap.
I guess the handle name format brings luck in spotting those stripes in wildlife safaris!

Whats with the handle name Hemanth, go visit these places a few times, you will get lucky too.

[vsathyap]

Thanks all for the feedback. The photo equipment was pretty simple:

Nikon D7100 Body
Nikon 200-500 f/5.6 Lens (Rental). This is a stunning lens!

Camera set to Manual Mode (M) with AutoISO with manual override.
Focus mode set to AF-C 21-point
Lens VR was set to "ON" and in the Active mode.

Those with serious bird photography interest can also couple the above lens with a 1.4TC which would add superb reach.

Finally, Post Processing done via Adobe Lightroom and more importantly, "Nik Collection - Define" for Noise Reduction - without which those ISO6400 images wouldn't have been so clean.

[girimajiananth]

Originally Posted by nkrishnap

Will drop you a PM next time I plan to head out to Nagarahole and Kabini.

Camera gear info please. Images are vivid and sharp.

.

Please include me when you drop a PM. I was using Vsathyap's D7000 with a rented tamron 150-600. All post processing credits go to Vsathyap

[Stryker]

Originally Posted by vsathyap

The timing could not be more appropriate and I happened to come across a travelogue from BHPian stryker, who had just posted wonderful pictures and updates from his little weekend jaunt to Bandipur. Now, this particular travelogue interested me more because Bandipur is a place that's not too far from Bangalore and yet, it was just far enough to satiate the hunger for a drive on the highways and quench the thirst for some "time out".

Good to know that my travelogue "inspired" you to head out and experience the forest. Thanks for appreciating my photos and the little travelogue.

Very nice write-up on your foray into the forest. The photos are excellent and by the looks of it, you are not new to either photography or post-processing. I'm going to Kabini / Nagarhole next weekend and hope to put up some good ones again. The forest just pulls you back time and again, doesn't it?

[girimajiananth]

Originally Posted by Stryker

I'm going to Kabini / Nagarhole next weekend and hope to put up some good ones again.

If you have any reliable sources, please check with them if the on going road works are completed inside Nagarhole forest. This was one of the reasons why we could not spot any carnivores inside Nagarahole forest.

[Olympal]

You have got a couple of truly exclusive shots. The vulture is a red necked vulture, a critically endangered species of which there are supposed to be only 10000 adults in the world (according to the International Union for the conservation of nature). The second is that amazing pose of the monitor lizard. It is looking at the camera, something you don't get to see while photographing monitor lizards. Also, what post-processing software do you use?

[arunrajk81]

Wonderful thread and photography, both are my likes - Photography and Wildlife.
Please let us know what post processing software you used. It did the Noise noise reduction amazingly in your pics.Vulture and Tiger pics are superb. My next trip I will be planning like this - One place more days rather than covering multiple places which is usual for me. It increase the chance of sightings.

[vsathyap]

Originally Posted by Olympal

You have got a couple of truly exclusive shots. The vulture is a red necked vulture, a critically endangered species of which there are supposed to be only 10000 adults in the world (according to the International Union for the conservation of nature). The second is that amazing pose of the monitor lizard. It is looking at the camera, something you don't get to see while photographing monitor lizards. Also, what post-processing software do you use?

Thank you! With my limited knowledge in wildlife, I was beginning to doubt the genuineness of our driver/spotter's comments.

Originally Posted by arunrajk81

Wonderful thread and photography, both are my likes - Photography and Wildlife.
Please let us know what post processing software you used. It did the Noise noise reduction amazingly in your pics.Vulture and Tiger pics are superb. My next trip I will be planning like this - One place more days rather than covering multiple places which is usual for me. It increase the chance of sightings.

Thanks! As mentioned earlier, I always

• Shoot in RAW and use Adobe Lightroom for basic corrections like angle, crop, White Balance, etc.
• White Balance correction is key here - as the camera's Auto WB sometimes messes things up on seeing a lot of green (in the forests) and compensates this by adding a violet shift to the images.
• I also perform any lens corrections to eliminate Chromatic Aberrations and other lens induced artefacts.
• I add a little bit of vignetting to get the attention on the subject in focus.
• I keep the sharpness and noise reduction untouched in Lightroom - I edit these in Nik Collection's Dfine - It manages noise very well.

Another alternative for noise reduction is Topaz Denoise which is a paid software, unlike Dfine which was recently released to everyone for free (even this was a paid software earlier!)

[Avikbrio]

Just in time travel-guide! I am planning on going to Bandipur on this weekend. I was in two minds, now I am certain I am making this trip! Great post.

[girimajiananth]

RIP Prince. We might never see you again

[C300]

Originally Posted by girimajiananth

RIP Prince. We might never see you again

Sad news. Beautiful tiger.
They haven't confirmed it officially I guess. He was injured last month in a territorial fight with his son Madhesha.

[Trojan]

Unfortunately it is true and has been confirmed as well. The body of the tiger was found and the stripe markings were matched upto 90% with photos from the database. The body was duly cremated as well as per the norms. Reportedly a new male has now taken over the territory though additional details are currently unavailable.

RIP Prince.

[adimicra]

Excellent photos and writeup
Planning to go to Bandipur and Wayanad in February from Hyderabad.
As per my initial research, the Jeep safari at Bandipur is only available if you book at JLR, which is kind of disappointing. I was wondering if there is any other way to book the Jeep safari.

[Dieseltuned]

I did the bandipur Safari on 18th and 19th of December. There are 2 tiger Cubs that we spotted. Both must around 3-4 months old. Bandipur also allows Safari booking at it's gate. There are chances that you can get into one of these Jeep's provided seats are available.

Regards
Dieseltuned

[adimicra]

Originally Posted by Dieseltuned

I did the bandipur Safari on 18th and 19th of December. There are 2 tiger Cubs that we spotted. Both must around 3-4 months old. Bandipur also allows Safari booking at it's gate. There are chances that you can get into one of these Jeep's provided seats are available.

Regards
Dieseltuned

Thanks, Buddy.
Can we book the Jeeps in advance? Since I will be travelling from Hyderabad, I don't want to leave it to chance. I had one such bad experience in Kabini/Nagarhole as we were not able to get the Jeep Safaris as there was absolutely no transparency in the process, it was either based on acquaintance or underhand dealings