Maya

India, post-monsoon, October 2018. Tigress T12, known locally as Maya (Hindi for illusion) gives us a 'side-eye' before following her mischievous cubs into the forest. Maya resides in the core of the park, and being a brazen wild tigress is a favourite amongst visitors to the park. It is estimated she brings in the majority of the reserves income (around £8K per day), and is vital to the local economy.

I hope that the parks can open very soon, as poaching has been rampant since the outbreak of Covid19, as tigers like Maya face even more threats. I also hope I can see her raising her cubs to adulthood once again.

Good luck to her and all the other species that exist under her shadow...

Canon 1DX, 400mm f2.8

In between tigers!

Tracking tigers in India can be one dimensional, and for certain reasons it has to be. I myself do try to absorb the jungle as a whole with its huge variety of life and landscapes. All taken with the 400mm f2.8, 1DX and EOS RP.

A beautiful Golden Orb spider, shot from a jeep against a morning sky.

A baby langur monkey playing hide and seek (not very well!).

A red-wattled lapwing

A green bee-eater

An indian roller

Barbet

A barn owl

Red naped ibis with kill

Wild boar

Langur

Langur

Two months to go...

I’ve been looking forward to my return to Tadoba for a while now and decided to go through some images from my last adventure. We had a lovely afternoon with a beautiful tigress and managed to capture her in a variety of habitats and situations. That’s the beauty of Tadoba… lakes, thick jungle, meadows, but most of all, colour and a variety of species.

A sleek and beautiful leopard moving stealthfully towards some boar. Canon 1DX 400mm f2.8.

A sloth bear crossing the jungle trail. Just look at those huge claws! Canon 1DX, 400mm f2.8.

A lovely tigress in a dry rocky terrain, deep in the jungle. 1DX 400mm f2.8

Giving her space made her comfortable around us, so she proceeded to walk towards our reversing jeep. This in turn allowed for some beautiful habitat images. You can see her left ear turned, perhaps listening to the deer alarm calls that were occurring. 1DX 400mm f2.8.

Some beautiful rays of light breaking through the forest highlighting an already beautiful species. Canon 1DX, 400mm f2.8.

A royal bath

A beautiful, bright eyed male tiger rests during a warm evening at Tadoba tiger reserve, India. Tigers love water unlike most cats. and can often be found resting in small lakes and waterholes, especially April onwards. The temperature during this time can reach 45 degrees Celsius and is very challenging to shoot in, so its vital we have enough fluid and protect our skin.

I am always looking for the perfect reflection, so when the water is moving, sometimes it is best to take a burst of images in order to have the key elements in the reflection as clear and as distortion free as possible. Also, when the subject is stationary, I try to extract as much detail from the scene by shooting at the lowest iso, exposing to the right and keeping the camera and lens as stable as possible. This gives me a great foundation for processing and scope to enlarge images for prints and exhibitions.

77d, 800mm f8, 1/125th sec, iso 100.

People often ask me why I don’t sometimes include the tigers ears. The reasons are simple, it is an artistic choice as I am drawn to the beauty of markings, and the eyes of the species. I hope you are too…