Egret - widespread resident of India

Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)

Bandhavgarh Tiger Reserve & Bird Sanctuary

This two and a half year old male is being protected from alpha males (who would kill him) until he is ready to fend for himself.

His mother was killed when he was a cub, poisoned by a local farmer protecting cattle.  Now, of an age when he must be separated from his sisters who are also being protected and supported, he has a 6 square kilometer fenced area to roam while he's learning to provide for himself.  Soon he will be released into unfenced wild to an area outside that dominated by other males - a territory he will be able to claim as his own.

As well as Tigers this jungle at Bandhavgarh National Park is home to a large variety of mammals and birds willing to show for the camera.

Here are my birds...

Collared Scops Owl

Blackiston's Fish Owl

Blackiston's Fish Owl

Changable Hawk-Eagle

Red-Wattled Lapwing 

Adventuring into Wildlife Photography

This past weekend I tried my lens on wildlife.

Meror and I went on a 3 day Tiger Safari for photographers in Bandhavgarh National Park located in the heart of India.  If you are ever in the area I highly recommend this trip organized by a group called Nomad Excursions.  You can check out their website here.

We travelled in 3 Gypsy Jeeps with a naturalist/photographer from Nomad, and were allowed only on designated routes in the park.  Our driver and a local guide were expert at tracking tigers by listening to the warning calls given by Langur Monkeys and Spotted Deer as well as tracking signs left by the big cats.

 

There is a strong campaign in the area to have the tigers living undisturbed in their natural habitat and efforts are being made to have visitors venture into this terrain in a non-invasive way.

A female and her two cubs were sited in a hilly bamboo hollow, settled down with a kill she had made early that morning.  This was lucky for us because she would stay in one place for a day or two and we were granted permission to ride an elephant into the jungle to see this trio.  We were not to speak and the driver could not be bribed to move closer or stay longer than prescribed by the powers that protect.

This is the 5 year old Elly and her driver, that took us uphill on our 45 minute trek.

Photographing a camouflaged tiger is not an easy thing to do with your support dangling and rocking 15 feet in the air.  Oh, to be given hours to hunker down in a blind with a tripod.

This wee cub, looking at the elephant I was perched upon, is what I was able to capture and then I just relaxed to be in the moment and soaked up the enormity of what I was seeing with my own eyes.

My respect for wildlife photographers - always high - has just jumped several notches.  

The Bride ...

So you might have been wondering where the bride has been all this time.  My job was to photograph the groom and his family but, I did get to run up and see the bride before her official arrival on the scene.  She was lovely and had a beautiful smile ready for us.  

She will be carried in a crescent moon shaped litter by four bearers and then will walk under a beautiful canopy of flowers in procession with her family around her.  

The colour ...well, just see for yourself.

This bridal costume, with the pearls, gemstones, sequins and embroidery  weighs 15 kgs + jewelry

... the Band, the Final Procession and one more Set of Horns.

The procession approaches the gates of the hotel where the Groom will leave his carriage and be escorted by his family to the ballroom where the guests are waiting.

There is one more group of trumpeters to harold him into the building...  this group of three horns is most picturesque.  I've never played a wind instrument but I'm guessing it must take a huge amount of wind to get a sound out of these.

Priyanka-Varun Wedding

I have wanted to experience an Indian wedding since the first time I heard about them.  I got the chance to do that earlier this week - in the way that I love best - as a photographer.  

The Sagan Ceremony is a festival - our groom arrived in a beautiful and elaborately decorated carriage drawn by two white horses and escorted by his family.

Above is the carriage the groom will ride in 

...and these are the horses and one of the many Rajasthani musicians that lead the parade and generate the guests dancing with their energy and rhythms.  When you look at these still photos you will not hear the noise - I tell you, it is unrelenting and at least as loud as the colour.  

Everything was BIG and BOLD and in a grand way very very BEAUTIFUL and full of life (which I interpreted the dance of the groomsmen to be explicitly demonstrating).

The groom follows and witnesses the procession with two nephews.  From my reading I understand that the groom does not participate in the raucous frivolity around him but, the pull to dance is strong...

Notice in the bottom right corner of this image is a hand extending money.  I saw denominations of 10, 100 and 1,000 rupees being tossed into the air throughout the procession.  My research tells me this is for prosperity in the marriage but also in some instances it is thrown on the road to ward off evil.  

There was so much going on that I didn't understand; so many questions that I don't yet have answers to.  When Tanushree and I next get together I will be able to know so much more about what I experienced.

to be continued...

Wedding preview...

I had the pleasure of photographing an Indian wedding this week.  I met Tanushree Khandelwal, a local photographer, and she added me to her crew of photographers for a portion of the ceremonies.   I'll post more images tomorrow.

Here is Tanu's website:  http://passion4obsession.com/home/home.php