[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by vinya_jag

Lovely photos of wildlife though. Keep them coming.

Thank you very much.

Originally Posted by Thermodynamics

Class travelogue once again. Loved your pictures and honest rendition. Rated well deserved 5 stars.

Thank you very much.

And more congratulations for Good luck charm of three sightings the very first time. Neighbor's envy Owner's pride.

Thank you! However, no I am not that lucky :-) This was not my first time in a safari. This was my first time in a safari with a wildlife photography expert and trying to mimic them in my own ways. Otherwise I have been on such safaris (even at the same JLR Kabini in 2015) a few times in the past but never spotted anything this interesting.

I am too a landscape fellow. Just like you, I tried my hands on wild life some time back using a 70-300 broken Tamron. Went to Kabini, took a Safari, but my fate, not a crow can be spotted. You know, Dog's tail cannot be straightened. I did "Landscape on a telephoto".

Very good photos, and I can relate to "Landscape of a telephoto". I do that too, and actually I love it. Telephoto lens gives a very nice perspective view, with zero distortion of the perspective, almost like an engineering drawing of the object. Some people hate that, but I love that. Even car photos look awesome when taken with a telephoto lens because of the same reason. It "draws" the car perfectly, and compresses the background.

Below is one of my favorite car photos. This is taken with a focal length of 75mm (again on a APS-C sensor with a crop factor of 1.5; thus the effective full frame focal length is 112.5mm), and I love the way the car proportions look absolutely perfect like an engineering drawing. This is not possible with a wide-angle lens.

Originally Posted by deepfreak15

For the record, I'm extremely jealous
amazing pics and lovely cars to boot.

Thank you very much Deepak. We still have that photoshoot pending with your A3. Let us get that done and there will be no need to feel jealous after that :-) Jokes apart, I have learned a lot from you about car photography through our discussions and previous outings, and would definitely love to do one more outing and learn more from you!

You both have captured some really incredible moments of our Nation's finest. Wishing you many more such trips and here's to hoping maybe once I can tag along

Thank you very much!

[tilt]

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

*SNIP*

Otherwise I have been on such safaris (even at the same JLR Kabini in 2015) a few times in the past but never spotted anything this interesting.*SNIP!

Man, don't tell me you forgot the mother and the two cubs swimming across!

Lovely write-up AD, as usual. It is also very educational the way you compared and contrasted the same scenes shot by different people with different levels of expertise. This is something I have never been able to find anywhere.

Cheers

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by tilt

Man, don't tell me you forgot the mother and the two cubs swimming across!

No, I have not forgotten that. That "imaginary" scene we saw was the best of all the sightings to far.

Lovely write-up AD, as usual. It is also very educational the way you compared and contrasted the same scenes shot by different people with different levels of expertise. This is something I have never been able to find anywhere.

Thank you very much!

I liked the comparison myself because that is the most natural way of learning things and improving oneself. As you know, when we drive together, we often compare our driving styles and make comments about who drove well or who did what mistakes (again on the exact same road; that is the key. We can not compare how one drives say on a four-lane national highway to how some other person drives on a pothole-ridden rural roads). Those kind of "equal opportunity" discussions (by that I mean all participants are doing the same activity at equal fairness) are a great tool to reinforce the right vs wrong practices in any activity. I found the same to be the case in photography.

Off topic, but this is how chess is taught too. You take one position from the game of the masters and let students analyze that and figure out the moves for next plan. And then compare the students' moves with the moves of the masters in the exact same position. This is very effective learning mechanism in chess.

[haisaikat]

An excellent widlife photography thread along with some enlightning lessons, really loved reading them. Rated a very well deserved 5 stars. Please keep more of them coming.

[BeantownThinker]

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

OT: The JLR at Kabini is perhaps the most expensive. Anyone knows if other properties around there also organise safaris? For example, I saw some great rates at the Serai but they have no mention of the safari.

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

Not sure about Serai (I heard they put people in buses and I saw several bus safaris there), but there is one Kaav Safari Lodge that surely had jeep safaris. In fact, Kaav has nice Isuzu vehicles that looked great - more specious, comfortable and stylish than the Mahindra Bolero Campers used by JLR. We saw the Kaav Isuzus playing their and their driver/naturalist is also one of the best. So that is something definitely worth trying.

JLR and the forest department are the only 2 authorised outlets to conduct safaris.

The safaris conducted by the forest department start from Dammanakatte gate and last for about an hour or so. And are done mostly in a bus. Although I might have seen one jeep doing rounds.

The JLR safaris are mostly done in jeeps and I think one or two Canters. People from all other resorts (Serai, Evolve Back, Bison, WaterWoods, Kaav, etc) have to come to JLR for the safaris by paying extra. I think Kaav has only one jeep which again has been co-opted by JLR for safari. Only at JLR is safari part of the package.

Dr. AD, in one of your photos you can see a Gypsy waiting for a sighting. This is not a safari vehicle but crew from NatGeo (I think) shooting a documentary. JLR predominantly use Mahindra Boleros for the safari and Gypsys are not used by them.

[robimahanta]

Originally Posted by BeantownThinker

Dr. AD, in one of your photos you can see a Gypsy waiting for a sighting. This is not a safari vehicle but crew from NatGeo (I think) shooting a documentary. JLR predominantly use Mahindra Boleros for the safari and Gypsys are not used by them.

The Gypsy’s are just free lance video guys like Sandesh, Kalyan, Robin etc. with filming permits and has nothing to do with NatGeo or BBC per se. They may eventually sell their footage to NatGeo.

We just tend to think that any filming crew/vehicle in a forest as NatGeo.

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by BeantownThinker

Dr. AD, in one of your photos you can see a Gypsy waiting for a sighting. This is not a safari vehicle but crew from NatGeo (I think) shooting a documentary. JLR predominantly use Mahindra Boleros for the safari and Gypsys are not used by them.

Yes true. That is why I did not call that as a Safari vehicle :-) They were some freelance crew shooting videos (as Robi mentioned). Jayanth knew them and we even had some discussions with them. I think they have got some great footage of that leopard sleeping on the tree and monkeys jumping around trying to irritate that leopard.

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by haisaikat

An excellent widlife photography thread along with some enlightning lessons, really loved reading them. Rated a very well deserved 5 stars. Please keep more of them coming.

Thank you very much. Sorry missed replying to you earlier.

Further, regarding many comments that we were lucky to have so many sightings, I forgot to mention one thing which I would point out now.

Yes, we were lucky for sure. However, the time of the year also matters. This time when the forest was totally dry with no easy access to water, the animals are forced to come out from their hiding and walk across in search of water. This makes their movement patterns more predictable for naturalists to know where they would be. Further, the dry trees and lack of thick forests makes it easier to spot animals.

On the other hand, once it is monsoon and it water everywhere, the situation changes. Further, the lush thick trees will create several hiding spots and animals will not have reason to come out. Once just after the monsoon we had a safari in Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary, and while the forests looked amazingly beautiful with lush green trees, there were no sightings. Our guide there gave this explanation that time. Apparently even in Bhadra, the sightings are good in dry summer months as animals are forced to come out in search of water.

In summary, for sightings, this is the best time of the year and probability of a good sighting is higher now than later once rains start.

[monish_m]

Beautiful travelogue of one of my favorite places - Kabini.

Your pictures made me do a virtual trip to the forests.

Lovely looking machines, all 3 vehicles look super gorgeous.

Here are some of my pictures from 2012/2013... Haven't posted my more recent trip pictures.

http://www.monishmatthias.com/2012/1...f-stealth.html

http://www.monishmatthias.com/2013/0...nipart-ii.html

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by monish_m

Beautiful travelogue of one of my favorite places - Kabini.

Your pictures made me do a virtual trip to the forests.

Lovely looking machines, all 3 vehicles look super gorgeous.

Thank you very much.

Here are some of my pictures from 2012/2013... Haven't posted my more recent trip pictures.

http://www.monishmatthias.com/2012/1...f-stealth.html

http://www.monishmatthias.com/2013/0...nipart-ii.html

Awesome pictures. Thank you for sharing.

Ranganathittu Bird Sanctuary is a lovely place, and in fact, our original plan included a stop there on our way to Kabini and starting this trip with bird photography at Ranganathittu. Unfortunately due to some reasons that did not work out and we had to skip this place.

[Fateh Salim]

If this is the standard of a Team bhp post, I'm not planning to write one anytime soon. Automobiles, photography, wildlife, and alternative entertaining routes were all on the menu. Sir, kudos to you.

My cousins have told me a lot about Kabini. They have been lucky to spot a whole lot of tigers too.

There is a documentary/movie based on Sayaa which is a must watch. To the best of my knowledge, it is a Disney production and is available on Hotstar. "The Real Black Panther" is the title given to it. The cinematography is outstanding, and I'm sure you'll love it.
The Kabini forest is very similar to the Bandipur forest, however the latter lacks the fun factor due to the lower animal population. I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on this.

Source: Internet-Indiatimes.com

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by Fateh Salim

Automobiles, photography, wildlife, and alternative entertaining routes were all on the menu. Sir, kudos to you.

Thank you for your kind words!

There is a documentary/movie based on Sayaa which is a must watch. To the best of my knowledge, it is a Disney production and is available on Hotstar. "The Real Black Panther" is the title given to it. The cinematography is outstanding, and I'm sure you'll love it.

Thanks for this information. I had heard about this documentary, but I had not seen it. I will definitely see it soon, based on your recommendation.

BTW that is a fantastic photo you shared. Is that photo from the same documentary?

The Kabini forest is very similar to the Bandipur forest, however the latter lacks the fun factor due to the lower animal population. I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts on this.

Well, Kabini and Bandipur are not too far away. Kabini is basically Nagarhole forest, which is adjacent to Bandipur. I love both the forests. I have done several trips/drives through Bandipur, and loved the experience every single time. As you mentioned, Bandipur lacks the frequent sightings that Kabini offers. If wildlife sighting is your goal, then Kabini is one of the best. But on the other hand, if one enjoys just the views of a lovely forest, and driving through it, then Bandipur is very good too.

For me, the biggest attraction of Bandipur is that you actually have a nice road to drive through. They open that gate at 6am. It is a surreal experience to drive your car through that forest in the morning, windows down, enjoying that absolutely clean and fresh air, at slow speeds (that road is not meant for speeding, but more for a slow drive enjoying the scenery and spotting animals), enjoying the breathtaking beauty of the forest, listening to the lovely sounds of birds, and seeing deer running all around (although sightings of something more than deer and monkeys are rare). This is a totally different experience than the safari and wildlife at Kabini.

[Fateh Salim]

Yes, the photo is from the same documentary. Because I have a miniature version of saaya at home, I can relate to the documentary even more.

Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts about the Bandipur forest. When you mentioned a nice early drive, I immediately thought of a shot I wanted to share. This is the same length of woodland, except it is located in Tamil Nadu, thus the name Mudumalai.Thank you once again for your detailed opinion.