Fisherman III b

Nikkor 200-500 VR/TC 14 III @490mm, f8, Nikon Z 6 In a wider setting; the living river branches widely in the plains, pulsing as it is fed from the sacred mountains. Animals and people must adjust as it swells and shifts its riverbed(s) in short and long cycles. Brahmaputra

Fisherman III

Nikkor 200-500 VR/TC 14 III @700mm, f8, Nikon Z 6 Crop (APS-C), some heat shimmer, late afternoon (for November Assam more in the north); wading the branching riverbeds. Mising River People, mi/man(of)asi/water of South East Asian heritage, came from Tani tribes in the Himalayas following the river. They are also called Miri - middlemen - in old Assamese for the link between the mountain and the plains people they provided. Notice the Assam scarf around the head. Brahmaputra

Pond Heron II

Nikkor 200-500 VR/TC 14 III @700mm, f8, ISO 360, Nikon Z 6 Midday, warm light, hazy air (October), against bright background Rajasthan

Time

Sigma 100-400 OS C @125mm, f6.3, ISO 110, Nikon D750 Morning cloud; a riverbank: earth, ancient blue and pink. Varanasi

Keelback b

100% crop of the first shot at a worse angle, also for DOF, shows the tiny fish in the mouth (it’s almost one second between the images, so they’re single frames). Wetlands are known as a frequent element of diverse environments, and those for rich life and species density.

Keelback

Nikkor 200-500 VR/TC 14 III @700 mm, f8, ISO 200 (+0.5 EV), Nikon Z 6 Late afternoon (for the time of year), warm sunlight, haze; as fry and young fish tried to get above a little waterfall, they sometimes ended up on the flat stone where this checkered keelback was waiting. That’s where Zlatka locked the focus on. We didn’t anticipate being so lucky and witnessing the actual strike. After a fraction of a second in which that happened, the luck held, and she nailed the focus the first and also the second shot shown here. It captures swallowing movements after the strike (the motion blur of the lower jaw, 1/400s). The tail fin is still visible at the bottom back of the mouth when the shot is enlarged. Wetlands are known as a frequent element of diverse environments, and those for rich life and species density. Rajasthan

Elephants III

Sigma 100-400 OS C @100mm, f6.3, ISO 1000, Nikon D750 Twilight, sunset glow; a full moon (https://tinyurl.com/FullMoonManas) soon illuminates the glen and grassland casting shafts of light trough the openings in the forest. Assam

Elephant ; Twins

Sigma 100-400 OS C @400mm, f6.3, ISO 500, Nikon D750 The mother signalling to the calves. In the next shot (of the sequence, a keeper), the calf is briefly comforted under her trunk as both move behind her. Assam

Elephants II

Sigma 100-400 OS C @280mm, f6.3, ISO 450, Nikon D750 Sunset light; a female with twins (rare) is joined by bull (Manas). Females are naturally tuskless or have tushes, the proportion of tuskless males is higher compared to African elephant depending on the region and ivory hunt intensity and length (impact of human-induced selection). The calves were running along in front of the female before she signalled them with her trunk and they moved behind her. Assam

Elephant; Grassland

Sigma 100-400 OS C @400mm, f6.3, ISO 220, Nikon D750 Morning, light cloud/drizzle; elephant grazing in the Manas grassland. Afternoon, we had a nice meeting with the park director and learned that 17 people were caught that day for pouching-related activities (some animals were lost, I’d rather not specify). Next day, when we reached the furthest station in the northwest area, and Zlatka turned back to pick up the tripod a hundred metres away, the (nervous) guard would take her there in the jeep, terrified at the prospect of her walking alone. Assam

Crested Serpent Eagle II

Nikkor 200-500 VR/TC 14 III @700 mm, f8, ISO 100 (+1 EV), Nikon Z 6 Afternoon, lightly overcast/October haze Rajasthan

Nilgai II

Nikkor 200-500 VR/TC 14 III @700mm, f8, ISO 400, Nikon Z 6 Slight crop, afternoon haze, diffuse sunlight; a younger buck grazing in the wetland. This year (2022) monsoon brought about half of the expected rainfall to this part of Rajasthan so far (in the eastern periphery) with heavy and very heavy rainfall in other regions; the rains continue well into September. Rajasthan

Glimpses IV

Nikkor 24-70/2.8 S @24mm, f7.1, Nikon Z 6 Morning calm at first light https://tinyurl.com/Down-The-Stream Meghalaya

Intermediate Egret

Nikkor 200-500 VR/TC 14 III @700 mm, f8, Nikon D750 Late morning sun, crop (APS-C), some heat shimmer; the catch is swallowed in about 15 seconds as the continued sequence reveals https://tinyurl.com/InAnOpenLandscape Rajasthan

Openbill Stork III

Nikkor 200-500 VR/TC 14 III @700 mm, f8, Nikon Z 6 Late afternoon; a parent feeding chicks, there are younger, not breeding birds at the side. The openbills specialise in foraging for snails though their diet is more varied. Their bill that formes with age likely helps them to exert more pressure and accuracy at the tips. Recently we saw a rare footage of Sir D. Attenborough’s crew showing an openbill foraging filmed with a kit older than ourselves. This is the bird in an https://tinyurl.com/openLandscape Rajasthan

Openbill Stork II

Nikkor 200-500 VR/TC 14 III @700 mm, f8, Nikon Z 6 Slight crop, a parent at the nest during a feeding session Rajasthan

Foraging

Nikkor 200-500 VR/TC 14 III @700 mm, f8, Nikon Z 6 Late afternoon, changing sunlight Rajasthan

Wild Boar III

Nikkor 200-500 VR/TC 14 III @700 mm, f8, ISO 110, Nikon Z 6 Late afternoon, changing sunlight; foraging in the wetland Rajasthan

Wild Boar II

Nikkor 200-500 VR/TC 14 III @700 mm, f8, ISO 550, Nikon Z 6 Slight crop, diffuse warm sunlight; piglets on an early morning search for food around a periodic lake (not long after the rains) Rajasthan

Marsh Harrier II

Nikkor 200-500 VR/TC 14 III @700 mm, f8, Nikon Z 6 Noon, low cloud; a recently arrived female spends winter in a more favourable climate with enough food. This shot of a https://tinyurl.com/different-female resting includes a wider landscape setting. We feel the natural environment conveys as much about the creatures as a portrait or a detail close-up, if not more. Rajasthan

Precious

Sigma 100-400 OS C @155mm, f6.3, Nikon D750 Two sets the stuff is arranged in. The small things that look big. And the big things that look small. Diwali, Varanasi

Mangrove Forest III

Nikkor 200-500 VR/TC 14 III @280mm, f8, ISO 360, Nikon Z 6 Morning sun; white-breasted waterhen at the edge of a pool. Odisha

On the Tops II

Nikkor 24-70/2.8 S @38mm, f7.1, ND filter, Nikon Z 6 View of the escarpment where the river carves its way through the rock. Meghalaya

On the Tops

Nikkor 24-70/2.8 S @38mm, f7.1, NDG filter, Nikon Z 6 Cropped compression; raw and subtle. Watching the sun painting different scenes before it slid over the escarpment’s top and the veil of the evening dulled the forest. There was conspicuously less rainfall for the time of year, elders noted. Powerful and tranquil places to spend a day are hard to find. It’s not too difficult to descent down to the river. Meghalaya