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Old 23rd May 2022, 15:19   #1
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Panna, The Emerald Jungle | A Photologue

Background:
I am an avid birder since my childhood. Picked up a camera in 2011 and was honing my photography skills mostly on birds and sometimes on mammals. I had visited Corbett National park, Ranthambore, Kabini, Bandavgarh and Tadoba over the years chasing tigers, but couldn’t get good photographs :(

They say Virgos are perfectionists and very hard on themselves! I had photos of tigers crossing roads but not looking at me, tigers just standing there looking confused or indifferent, sub-adults and females. I yearned for that classic head-on eyes-locked photo of a male.

This desire of mine was fulfilled in the winter of 2021, when I went to Kanha with a photographer friend. On my very first safari, we encountered this young male who had inadvertently separated from his siblings and was crying out loudly to them ! As luck would have it, ours was one of the two jeeps there, leaving the tiger all to ourselves. He walked behind our jeep on the road for more than a kilometer. The drivers and guides in these jungles are knowledgeable about the distances to be maintained based on the lenses we carry, light and the kind of photographs desired by the patrons. Our team expertly kept ahead of the tiger, as we went berserk with the shutter. There came a point when I was confident that good photographs had been clicked, and we simply enjoyed the tiger and his regal walk, till he eventually left the road and disappeared into the thicket. Here is the result of this encounter:
Panna, The Emerald Jungle | A Photologue-a55i1924.jpg

Panna, The Emerald Jungle | A Photologue-a55i1954.jpg

Last edited by manson : 23rd May 2022 at 15:25. Reason: Typos.
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Old 23rd May 2022, 15:27   #2
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re: Panna, The Emerald Jungle | A Photologue

Panna calls : I have a friend in Delhi , who is obsessed with tigers. He kept telling me that while all the famous reserves had great tiger density and the probability of seeing a tiger was very high there, it was definitely worth our while to visit Panna, as it had some really charming landscapes in which to shoot tigers. He kept telling me to not fixate on ‘tiger filling the frame’ but rather, try and change my shooting style where the tiger is an element in an otherwise beautiful frame. I also felt the need to try something different and so, made the plan to visit Panna in April 2022.
Getting to Panna was slightly complicated. I live in Vadodara and Panna is in Bundelkhand. The closest airport is Jabalpur( actually Khajuraho , but no daily flights ), five hours by road to Panna. Nagpur is another option, but the drive is even longer; almost ten hours. I finally decided to travel by train – non-stop from Vadodara to Satna, 18 hours. I was picked up by the cabbie and transferred to our homestay, where I joined with the rest of our group.

Panna – Core and Buffer :

In every tiger reserve, there is the so-called core area. This is the area where the forest department ensures no settlements, no grazing and no unauthorized movement of humans and strictly controlled tourism. In contrast, there are buffer zones, where one may even find villages, or people go there with grazing cattle. Logically, since the human disturbance is more in buffer zones, tiger sightings are difficult. However, since the tiger needs a lot of territory, and with constantly increasing numbers, nowadays, it’s common to see tigers in buffer zones too. Generally, buffer zones are looked down upon by tiger chasers; to be visited only if confirmed sighting is reported ( tiger on a kill) or core area is closed. I myself am guilty of this condescending approach towards buffer zones and was prone to keep telling the guide to book maximum safaris in the core zones. Little did I know that the universe had in store a goldmine for me in the buffer zone in Panna. More on that later!

Our first morning safari was in the core zone. There, we saw the famous duo – Dharam and Veer; two sub-adult brothers who were still hanging together. They happened to frequent a particular area on the bank of the Ken river, under a tree where shade and water were plentiful. I encountered them over three days during my safaris in the core area and got photos of them chilling on the riverside, lounging in the grass like well fed kittens and crossing over to the other side over rocks. Here are some photos of these brothers.
Attached Thumbnails
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Old 23rd May 2022, 15:34   #3
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re: Panna, The Emerald Jungle | A Photologue

Akola Buffer : On the first day itself, after the evening safari, our guide told us to try the Akola buffer the next day evening. There was ‘intelligence’ that one tigress with three cubs was showing up on the pond. We held an impromptu meeting and pondered over the matter. It was decided to try out the pond in Akola for next day evening safari .
When the time came, we parked our jeep near the pond at around 4.30 pm. The sun was very harsh and so we parked the jeep under a tree, with a view of the bank on the other side, And then began the wait! As all the occupants in the jeep were experienced jungle farers and knew the importance of silence, the next seventy-five minutes were passed in swatting the flies and muttering under the breath about the heat. As it got closer to 6.00 pm , hope began to fade , along with the light ! I was beginning to think that even if the tigers showed up now , with the light almost gone , we wouldn’t get any decent photos, when suddenly , a small head popped up from over the bank on the far side ! It was a male cub, checking to see if the coast was clear to approach the water. Gently we reached for the cameras, avoiding any sudden movements. And then came the mommy, the resident female tiger of that area. She had a litter of three cubs, two males and one female. All three were with her, with the female cub sticking close to the mom, while the males, slightly more adventurous, dared to move on their own to the edge of the water. There literally was one tiger on the water, then two, then three and finally four! Alas, the light had really faded by now and we whispered to the jeep driver to switch on the headlights. In the dim light of headlight, we watched spellbound four gorgeous cats, drink water, keeping a wary eye on us all the time! The ISO had reached 10,000 and the shutter speeds approached one-tenth of a second, but the shutters from the three cameras in the jeep kept up a steady chatter. Of the couple of hundred photos shot by me, here are a few which were usable.
Attached Thumbnails
Panna, The Emerald Jungle | A Photologue-0i2a0342.jpg  

Panna, The Emerald Jungle | A Photologue-threetigers2.jpg  

Panna, The Emerald Jungle | A Photologue-twotigers.jpg  


Last edited by Chanakya : 23rd May 2022 at 15:53.
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Old 23rd May 2022, 15:57   #4
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re: Panna, The Emerald Jungle | A Photologue

AKOLA again :
After the resounding success of this evening’s visit to the Akola buffer , there was no more any reluctance to visit Akola daily evening! All the remaining afternoon safaris were made in this buffer zone. While in some safaris, the mother and cubs made an appearance in good light , there was one evening when we did encounter the male tiger , the dad to all the cubs. Again, the experience of the guide came in very handy. He accurately predicted how the tiger would move, where he would emerge from the thicket and expertly managed to keep our jeep ahead of him as he walked his regal walk on the road. Here are some pictures of the family again , in good light and the magnificent male Tiger of the Akola buffer, T7.
Attached Thumbnails
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Panna, The Emerald Jungle | A Photologue-0i2a2556.jpg  

Panna, The Emerald Jungle | A Photologue-0i2a3511.jpg  

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Old 23rd May 2022, 16:02   #5
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re: Panna, The Emerald Jungle | A Photologue

BUCKETLIST : After returning from a memorable visit to Panna, what is it that the heart desires? Really small cubs! And tiger swimming! Hopefully, some day soon!
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Old 24th May 2022, 17:05   #6
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re: Panna, The Emerald Jungle | A Photologue

Fabulous travelogue supported by awesome images. The joy of seeing and photographing a tiger family after a long wait is something which cannot be expressed in words.

I can totally understand the patience required to wait for 75 minutes in the hot sun. Once again, a great travelogue. Really enjoyed it.
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Old 26th May 2022, 07:27   #7
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Re: Panna, The Emerald Jungle | A Photologue

Wonderful travelogue with some awesome pictures

The tigers looking straight into the lens while drinking water is amazing. Something which I have never managed to get in the last several years of doing safaris.

Hope to visit Panna someday
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Old 26th May 2022, 13:24   #8
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Re: Panna, The Emerald Jungle | A Photologue

Amazing clicks of the tigers, three and two cubs drinking water, and looking at the camera are my favourites. Fantastic travelogue to read and indulge.
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Old 29th May 2022, 07:30   #9
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Re: Panna, The Emerald Jungle | A Photologue

Outstanding pictures. Thanks for sharing. Give some details of the camera and lens(es) used please

Last edited by pd1108 : 29th May 2022 at 07:32.
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Old 30th May 2022, 12:11   #10
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Re: Panna, The Emerald Jungle | A Photologue

The equipment used was the new camera body I purchased - Canon R5. As to the lens , I did a lot of research about the Canon 400mm F4 DO , IS II . The previous version was a dud , but Canon improved on the ISII drastically. This lens is no longer available new , as Canon is focussed totally on the RF lenses. I found a pre-owned lens in very good condition and tried it for the first time in Panna. Thus , it was Canon R5 with EF 400 F4 DO ISII . Most photos were shot wide open , i.e. at F4 and on auto-ISO , with the range set from 100 to 12800 , for a minimum shutter speed of 1/200.
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Old 7th June 2022, 14:59   #11
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Re: Panna, The Emerald Jungle | A Photologue

What an amazing experience you would have had to witness this! Any photographer's dream what you were able to capture.

The one with three tigers looking at the camera and drinking water is something you normally see in a wildlife magazine.

I guess pre-monsoon is the best time to spot tigers (although really hot for us) as the concentration of water to a select few watering holes (and no thick foliage) means the chances of spotting wildlife around that is higher.
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