Chris Brunskill

Tiger Fight

2011-06-24T01:26:00.000-07:00

Machali vs T6 - Aridan, Ranthambhore National Park, India.

Le Figaro
Daily Telegraph

An Encounter With A Tigress

2011-02-21T07:57:00.000-08:00

Tiger Forest Offer

2011-02-20T10:36:00.000-08:00

Global Tiger Patrol

June 2011 Tours Announced

2011-01-18T04:58:00.000-08:00

I will be leading three separate tours to Ranthambhore National Park in India to photograph wild tigers in June this year. If you are interested in joining me please get in touch as soon as possible.

T29 Aridan

2010-09-15T11:45:00.000-07:00

T29 on top of a cliff face in Aridan.

Website Update

2010-08-09T07:45:00.000-07:00

I have added some new tiger images from Ranthambhore National Park to the latest images section of my website.

Wild Tigers - Day 19

2010-05-04T00:50:00.001-07:00

T29 near Lambi Nala late morning

Wild Tigers - Day 17

2010-05-01T08:08:00.000-07:00

Another incredibly quiet day, the tigers have completely disappeared!! The start of my trip seems like a long time ago tonight...

Wild Tigers - Day 16

2010-04-30T12:58:00.000-07:00

It was great to be back in the forest today after a couple of days off. We tried Zone 3 as I am hoping to show my clients the giant Star Male, the tiger that I shot in the Rajbagh Palace nearly two weeks ago. We found his pugmarks in Jalhra and followed them up onto Mandook but the trail went cold. Returning to the lake we spotted T17 lying on the wall adjacent to the Palace. She eventually moved off in the area around the back of the complex and as we drove around we spotted a large male leopard jumping down a vertical tree trunk from a height of about 20ft. The noisy approach of our vehicle had scared him off a freshly killed spotted deer that lay at the base of the tree. I started to get excited at this point as we knew both tiger and leopard were within 100m of the carcass!! We waited and waited but to no avail, eventually a couple of jungle crows landed on the kill and started to feed which made for a nice image.

In the afternoon we went back to Lakarda-Aridan-Semli and found another freshly killed spotted deer close to the road. Twice in the same day!! Again we waited and waited close to the carcass just off the road but there was no sign of any predators. As we left Aridan we saw the faint impression of a leopard's pugmark on the track. It is possible that a tiger scared the leopard away and did not notice the carcass or we could have disturbed the cat as we arrived on the scene. Either way it was another blank afternoon and I am hoping our luck will change soon....

Wild Tigers - Day 14

2010-04-28T22:36:00.001-07:00

I haven't been into the forest today for the first time since I arrived. Instead I had a much needed lie-in and then in the afternoon went with Dicky Singh and some friends to his farmhouse on the edge of Ranthambhore. It was a beautiful full moon and we eate lamb curry and drank beers long into the night.

Wild Tigers - Day 13

2010-04-27T04:51:00.001-07:00

Machali - Lakarda, Ranthambhore National Park, India.

"Patience is a pre-requisite when searching for predators - no matter what you do, never give up"

Wild Tigers - Day 12

2010-04-26T08:15:00.000-07:00

Just as I had anticipated, as soon as the clients arrive everything goes quiet!! I haven't taken a single frame today despite 8 hours of effort bouncing around in extreme heat on the dusty roads of Zone 4. Tigers are very unpredictable and as quickly as they appear they can disappear, for days on end sometimes. Let's see what tomorrow brings....

Wild Tigers - Day 11

2010-04-25T22:00:00.001-07:00

My guests finally arrived today, they have only missed 21 safaris and 12 different tigers, so not too much! The afternoon was cloudy and we even had the first drops of the pre-monsoon rains early in the afternoon. We choose Zone 3 and bumped into T17 quite early on watching a herd of chital on Padam Talao. She was watching them keenly from a patch of long grass on the edge of the lake but they were too far away for her to charge. She eventually moved onto Rajbagh and we left her stalking another herd of deer at 18:30 as our time was up. Again, with her wearing a radio-collar I try to shoot very loose showing the habitat or head on and tight so the collar is not visible. I hate that collar and know one day in the future it is going to cost me a great picture!!

Wild Tigers - Day 10

2010-04-24T07:43:00.000-07:00

Another busy day in tigerland. T17 late morning strolling across the Malik Talao, she is being tracked by scientists and is wearing a radio collar so whenever I see her I also shoot loose and try to include as much of her habitat as possible, this often makes for nice images as she lives in the most picturesque area of the forest, the lakes. In the afternoon we headed to Guda and spent a wonderful afternoon today with T25, sister of T23 and T24, the two large males who I have photographed in recent days. I mentioned to Nafees that I have never seen a more beautiful litter of tigers, all three are stunning with classic Ranthambhore features. In 10 days I have watched and photographed 12 different tigers, 6 males and 6 females. At the halfway stage of my trip and hoping for some behaviour or action in the weeks ahead.

Wild Tigers - Day 9

2010-04-23T08:56:00.000-07:00

Machali in Lakarda early morning. Jungle Cat near Sultanpur late afternoon.

Wild Tigers - Day 8

2010-04-22T06:42:00.001-07:00

T5 in Aridan early morning and T23 in Guda in the afternoon.
T5
T23

Wild Tigers - Day 7

2010-04-21T07:17:00.000-07:00

Aridan, Aridan, the hidden jewel of Ranthambhore. All week Nafees has focused our attention on Aridan and today it has paid off in spectacular fashion. After countless checks of the the same waterholes day after day, after so many tortuous journeys down the steep rock strewn roads we finally got our reward in the shape of T5 in the morning and the giant T29 in the afternoon. Both encounters enhanced by the wild west feel of this utterly perfect tiger habitat.

We first checked Mandook for any sign of the Star Male or T19 after yesterday's sighting, however the area was very quiet and we proceeded to bounce around some very uncomfortable track before heading towards zone 4 and Aridan. Almost immediately we found T5 lying in water about 30 metres from the edge of the road in glorious morning light, her coat shimmered as she lay in a luminescent green stream, the colours a perfect contrast to her deep orange coat. So often in summertime the light is flat, but not this time. I took several portraits from various points on the road, some with the rocks in the foreground and some showing the green pool and jamun branches overhead. After about ten minutes she got up out of the pool, the water on her coat glistening as it dripped off her. She then walked into the undergrowth, turning at the last moment to fix us, in typical tiger fashion, with a disdainful stare. About five minutes later she came up out of the nala and snarled before running across the road right behind our jeep, we then left the forest soon after and at breakfast I processed the images and was delighted to find that a routine sighting had produced what I considered to be a really nice image.

It was a scorching afternoon today, this has apparently been the hottest April in the last 50 years in India. When you are driving into the park in an open gypsy it feels like you are driving head on into an oven. Lots of water is essential and so it is for tigers, in the summer they are that much easier to find as they will not stay far from the rapidly shrinking pools of water scattered throughout the forest. With that in mind we headed back into Aridan and at first it appeared empty with no sign of tiger. We stopped the jeep and our driver got out to get some water, I chatted briefly with Nafees as he drank and then turning to my right saw T29 staring right at us!! I let out a short, sharp yelp in complete surprise, lifting my camera I immediately fired off a few instinctive frames at the wrong exposure, frantically changing shutter speeds as the tiger turned and walked away from us to the top of the cliff face. Chance missed I thought! I cursed my lack of preparation before we were presented with a second chance. After disappearing from view for a few minutes, he suddenly emerged on the top of the cliff face about 100meters from our vehicle. One thing I noticed after seeing T29 on Day 1 is he doesn't stop very often when he's walking, with him constantly moving, it is very difficult to get him to look towards the camera. My guide Nafees has worked with me for the last 12 years in Ranthambhore and knows exactly what I am looking for in an image, he almost has a sixth sense for delivering perfect opportunities and today this ability was readily apparent again, as without my prompting, and just as T29 had walked into the most open area on the clifftop, he roared just like a tiger, his deep growl carrying further on the strong wind. Immediately, and for the first time this trip, T29 stopped and looked directly at the camera!! I fired off as many frames as possible, placing the tiger in the middle, to the right and to the left of the frame. A perfect Ranthambhore image, with the tiger prominent in this unique arid landscape.

He then disappeared from sight and we drove up out of Aridan and took a right towards Lambi Nala. High up on the cliff we had a perfect view of the open area below. Strong winds howled across the rock face and then we heard a deep dense roar, and T29 came back into view along with another tiger, it was T5 from earlier in the day. She was mock charged by T29 before he moved off, scent marked a few trees and then rested up about 100 meters away from her. We stayed on the cliff face until about 6:00pm but there was no further action and we headed out after yet another incredible adventure inside this fabulous forest. To anyone reading about wild tigers for the first time I can tell you I have been truly spoiled in this first week of my tour. Images are not normally this easy to come by, but long may it continue!!!
T5 Aridan
T5 Aridan
T5 Aridan
T29 Aridan

Wild Tigers - Day 6

2010-04-20T06:50:00.000-07:00

It just keeps getting better and better here in Ranthambhore! I don't think I have ever started a trip quite as well as this one. Things started happening early today, as just before the Misadera gate we spotted a leopard high on the cliff at about 6:00am. Leopards and me don't really work, I have never taken a decent photograph of one in Ranthambhore and have seen just 4 in all my time here. So I was delighted with this effort, taken with the 1.7x attached to my 400mm lens. Moving on into the park we travelled through zone 4 and did all the usual checks of the same waterholes we have been watching all week but to no avail. Machali, our chief target, is proving to be more elusive than usual, which is a big surprise to Nafees as prior to my arrival she was seen almost everyday in Aridan.

We then moved on to Malik Talao where we found T17 resting in the shade of the same cactus tree as on day 3. I fired off a couple of frames and as she was resting we decided to head towards Mandook. Mandook was were we had left the Star Male late last night and as we approached the area we saw a crowd of jeeps which meant only one thing. Tiger. Not one, but two, just off from the road in good light. One was the giant Star Male and the other T19, sister of T17 and in the opinion of many people the most beautiful tiger in the whole of Ranthambhore. I got a nice head shot of her before we concentrated on the Star Male who was resting 30ft away from her on the other side of the road. I sat down on the floor of the jeep to get as low an angle as possible and just as I got in position he started to growl and snarl right down my lens! He then nervously approached the waterhole, snarling at the vehicles that blocked his path. After easing into the pool he began to relax and I took full advantage of the opportunity with both the 400mm and 70-200mm lenses, grabbing one or two portraits that I am really pleased with.

In the afternoon we headed back to Mandook in the hope of catching them together again but they had either left the area or were lying just out of view. In temperatures of over 45 degrees we sat for 3 hours waiting but our effort was in vain. Despite a quiet afternoon today was the best day of the trip so far!
Leopard
Star Male
Star Male 1

Wild Tigers - Day 5

2010-04-19T08:39:00.001-07:00

After seven kingfisher and two hours sleep I wasn't too well prepared for monday morning in tigerland. I had a banging headache and a parched throat as we headed off at 6:00am onto zone 4. Of all the zones, zone 4 is the wildest and most beautiful in so many ways, but it also has by far the worst roads, at times it is a huge effort just to try to hold onto the camera and stay inside the confines of the jeep, so after last night I wasn't best prepared for the effort required on this most demanding of zones. In some ways I am thankful it was a quiet start to Day 5 as I was in no fit state to do anything but complain about the roads and let everyone know how tired I was. We left early after no sign of tiger at any of the waterholes and I went straight to bed when I got back at 9:30am.

After a good sleep and a late breakfast we headed off again at 14:00pm in the blazing heat, this time onto zone 3, the area of the lakes, my favourite area in Ranthambhore and place where I have taken some of my best images over the last 12 years. As we were driving into the forest we bumped into a forest guard who told us he had spotted a large male tiger in a water pool near Tambakhan on his regular patrol around midday. Nafees told me to hold on and we raced through the forest at great speed in the hope that the he was still there. Arriving at the pool just a few minutes after receiving the news, we were greeted with the site of a large male tiger resting in the water. It was T7, the shy brother of T6, who is normally found nearer towards the Kachida Valley. He was very nervous and left the pool as we arrived and sat in the undergrowth just back from the water as I shot a few full length frames on my 400mm of this beautiful tiger with exquisite facial markings. After a while T7 moved off into the brush and we headed towards zone 3 and Rajbagh with T28, or the star male, in our sights after he was spotted there earlier this morning.

Less than 10 minutes after photographing T7, I was attaching my 1.7x converter to my 400mm and training it on the star male, who was sat regally in the window of the Rajbagh Palace. What luck!! He was surveying the lake from his elevated position as large numbers of sambar and spotted deer fed, blissfully unaware of his presence. I took as many different shots as possible using the 400mm with and without 1.4 and 1.7x converters, before finally settling on a position a long way back from the tiger but completely head on to the palace which made for a nice clean composition.

After about two hours he left this old maharajah's hunting lodge and moved off through the forest adjoining the lake, eventually coming out high in the hills above the lake, where he drank and sniffed the ground around a water pool on Mandook. So after four quiet safaris, and in a matter of just a couple of hours, we had seen two mature males in a very small area, making a total of 5 different individual males in just 5 days.

Wild Tigers - Day 4

2010-04-18T14:59:00.000-07:00

The first quiet day. I haven't taken a single frame. Lots of waiting and lots of funny chat with my guide Nafees. We tried Zone 4 in the morning in the hope of catching Machali out at Aridan but the area was quiet with her pugmarks indicating that she had left early in the morning. In the afternoon we checked out Zone 1 to try to find the brother and sister that are living together in Sultanpur or the large male, T24 that we saw yesterday but again we were out of luck. I spent the night at Dicky Singh's hotel, the Ranthambhore Bagh, and eventually staggered home at 3:30am after a late night drive with my friend from Italy Nora.

Wild Tigers - Day 3

2010-04-17T07:09:00.000-07:00

This morning we managed to find three different tigers in just three hours traveling through zone 4. First we came across T24 at the Sindwar gate, the same male tiger that we saw yesterday afternoon at Raipur Baori. He spent ten to fifteen minutes drinking at a water pool and then disappeared into the forest to rest away from the heat; it was almost 45 degrees today!! After leaving him we moved onto Aridan and I got my first glimpse of Machali or T16 as she is now known. As we left the forest at about 9am we bumped into T17, the radio collared tigress who is the daughter of Machali and now occupies her former home range of the lakes. The afternoon was quiet, we headed for Kachida after hearing reports of T7, a large male being seen near to the water in late morning. Unfortunately he never showed up - despite our constant checking of the various waterholes in the area on a scorching afternoon. I've got Nafees on video camera duty now so will upload as many snippets as I can so you can see the effort and patience required to photograph wild tigers.

Wild Tigers - Day 2

2010-04-16T06:53:00.000-07:00

Day 2 in Ranthambhore National Park and a beautiful sighting this afternoon of T24 a fully grown male on Zone 1 near Sultanpur at the Raipur Baori. We had combed the area around the Baori, which means well in Hindi, and as a final check drove up to the steep entance to the well to find T24, a magnificent male snarling and growling at our vehicle. I got one shot on the 400mm with him staring right down my lens with a great aggressive expression on his face in fabulous afternoon light, set against the clean background of the well wall. Then suddenly without warning he sprinted a short distance and jumped a height of 3 meters to exit over the side wall!! A truly astounding sight to behold, this giant tiger showing such agility and power. After a while he settled down and I was rewarded with more portraits, including a nice full length shot. It's been a great opening two days and so much for my usual slow start!!

Wild Tigers - Day 1

2010-04-15T10:09:00.000-07:00

I have had a great first day in Ranthambhore National Park with sightings of three different tigers, the highlight being a late afternoon encounter in Aridan with a patrolling T29, a young athletic male that I have not come across before(See Above). I got a couple of shots in difficult rocky terrain with my 400mm almost falling out of the jeep on several occasions as we drove parallel to him!! My tour guiding duties have been put on hold for the moment as my clients have decided to take advantage of the excellent sightings they are currently experiencing in Bandhavgarh National Park and are now due in Ranthambhore next week. By which time my guide Nafees Mohammed(more about him tomorrow) and I will have worked out a strategy and will plan to target certain areas of the forest that we think offer the best hope of sightings. At the moment Zone 4 Lakarda-Aridan-Lambi Nala-Semli is looking like the best bet. Off to bed now after a long, hot, dusty day in the land of the tiger.

New Delhi

2010-04-13T22:16:00.000-07:00

I arrived in New Delhi late last night and it's a joy to be back in India once again. This afternoon I'm taking the Kota Janshatabdi train at 13:20 from Hazrat Nizamuddin arriving at Sawai Madhopur Junction at 18:00. Check back tomorrow and I will hopefully have my first tiger pictures up after breakfast!!

Wild Tigers Trip Updates 14th April - 6th May 2010

2010-04-05T14:27:00.001-07:00

Once again I am preparing to head back to Ranthambhore National Park to guide two clients on a photographic safari in search of wild tigers. I will be posting daily updates including exclusive behind the scenes images and video from the trip right here on my blog.

The Mighty Jhumeru

2010-03-29T15:54:00.001-07:00

The Mighty Jhumeru

Machali & Me

2010-03-22T11:06:00.000-07:00

Machali & Me

Great White Sharks

2010-03-15T06:51:00.001-07:00

It was the kind of morning that made you feel lucky to be alive. Out at sea, on board a luxury dive vessel, powering across the great body of water known as the Southern Ocean. Dramatic cirrus clouds brought drama and extravagance to a perfect blue sky. This great ocean, for once calm, shimmered, beautifully reflecting the sunlight which seemed to dance across its surface.

It was a tranquil scene, one which offered peaceful delight to all present, but belied the real motive behind my presence at sea. We were heading towards four remote rocks which jut out of the Great Southern Ocean and are known as the Neptune Islands - home of seals and sea lions and, most famously, as chief haunt of the great white shark.

Being a wildlife photographer, there are naturally a number of species which come to mind when one thinks about the ultimate photographic subject. An appreciation of predators has led me from the plains of the Serengeti following lions to the steamy jungles of Northern India in search of the majestic tiger, and now to the rugged coastline of South Australia to fulfil, I hoped, a lifetime’s ambition of diving with and photographing great white sharks.

I had joined Rolf Czabayski and organised a four-day, three-night trip on board his luxurious boat the Calypso Star. Czabayski had once been a big game fisherman but was now known as a legendary shark wrangler. He had sailed this area for almost 25 years and had an encyclopaedic understanding of its great whites and, most importantly, a knack of luring them to his boat.

Great whites are solitary, mysterious creatures, ancient nomads of the high seas. Very little is known about the species except that they are exceedingly rare. One film crew recently spent ten days at sea and £10 000 without seeing so much as a distant dorsal fin. Of some interest to us is their occasional consumption of human beings. One of the most horrific attacks on record occurred not far from Adelaide in 1985 when a woman snorkelling in two metres of water was bitten in half in front of her family.

At 10am, after a three hour journey from Port Lincoln, we arrived at South Neptune Island and began emptying vast quantities of rancid burley over the side of the boat. This, along with the two floating tuna baits, would create a scent trail which any passing great white would find irresistible and, hopefully, follow to its source.Patience, as Czabayski continuously told me, is a virtue. However, by five o’clock, and after seven hours of staring at the sea, my patience had finally been eroded.

The sun was approaching the western horizon and by now I had written the day off as a quiet start when, from the stern, came the cry “shark!” I raced to the back of the boat to find Czabayski almost as excited as I was. His first words to me – “That is one big bastard!” – did little to ease my initial concerns about jumping into the water with the most terrifying creature in the ocean.

My first glimpse of carcharodon carcharias as it slowly circled the boat was almost fantasy-like. I couldn’t believe that the sea that had seemed so empty, so devoid of life for seven long hours could suddenly produce such a beast. Like an apparition, like a grey ghost, the great white shark appears unannounced and apparently, from nowhere. Mask on and camera in hand I lowered myself gingerly into the cage.

The excitement seemed more concentrated in the alien world of the sea. With my mask only allowing a 120 degree field of vision, I turned my head frantically this way and that. Then, out of the deep, emerged the shark. For a moment I thought I was dreaming as it slowly, confidently approached the cage.

I cowered at the back as it majestically glided by, unable to summon the courage to take pictures on my first dive. It was a landmark moment, a sight all who have experienced this dramatic creature could never, ever forget. The sharks presence and poise in the water were astonishing, it looked invincible yet serene, so calm but so potent.

The great white shark is immaculately designed, every feature polished and perfected by more than 400 million years of evolution. The conical snout, short and sharp, ergonomically perfect, evolved to slice through water. The soulless black eyes set in a stout, short head. Razor sharp teeth which protrude through an almost clown-like grin. Huge pectoral fins, like the wings of a small jet, balance and steer the shark as it cuts through water. The giant tail which acts as a powerful propulsion system -a great white’s cruise control.

My dreams had come true at last. I had shared a small part of the Southern Ocean with a great white shark. After twenty minutes in the freezing water I jumped out. Filled with a great joy, I was unable to stop talking – a common occurrence for those who have encountered the sharks for the first time. After my first unforgettable encounter I began to feel more confident in the cage and entered it at every opportunity. It does take a while, though, before you feel safe and you realise that the shark is not capable of biting through steel bars.

The following two days produced two more sharks, one of which even managed to get his snout through the viewing space cut into the cage! It is an mind-boggling experience to be inches from the mouth of a great white shark, suspended in a small cage, in the huge Southern Ocean.

I would encourage anyone who has an interest in diving, sharks and the sea to observe this beast up close. It will alter you whole outlook on life. Someone once said that once you have had a close encounter with a great white shark that the only thing left to experience which could possibly be more thrilling would be space travel. I would, as I hope you can appreciate through my words and photographs, most definitely agree.

The Hunt - Tiger Stalking Behaviour

2010-03-01T12:30:00.000-08:00

As a wildlife photographer my ultimate goal is to photograph natural behaviour. Pretty portraits of tigers are pleasing, but for me the great challenge of photographing wild tigers is to clearly and decisively record aspects of their predatory behaviour. Unlike the lions and cheetahs on the plains of East Africa, who run down their prey over longer distances, tigers are stalkers. The enclosed nature of their forest habitat prevents the approach favoured by their kin in Africa, so tigers have to inch as close as they possibly can to their prey before making a final short charge.

There are three phases to tiger stalking behaviour. The first is the detection and selection of a target animal. Tigers will switch from rest to a fully concentrated hunting mode in a fraction of a second if they spot an unwary animal. Observing this instinct, the pinnacle of over 35 million years of predatory evolution, is always a sublime moment, one that, for me, reveals the essence of the tiger - for first and foremost, the tiger is a hunter and a killer.

Here we see a tiger stalking from behind - note the coiled nature. It is exceptionally difficult to photograph a stalking tiger face on, nine times out of ten you will have this kind of rear view, unless of course the tiger is stalking you! These rear view images can still be pleasing to the eye - I always try to get as low a camera angle as possible, which helps accentuate the raised shoulder blades of the tiger.

Due to the fact that stalking behaviour is so rarely observed, it is essential to capture as many different perspectives of the hunt as you can. These can be a close up of the tiger, a habitat shot showing the landscape and, if possible, the potential prey as well. I think that by including the target animal you are defining the intelligence, strategy and stealth of these magnificent creatures.

In this image the situation unfolded in my favour as I had a clear view of both predator and prey, which in this picture are sambar deer. In an ideal world I would have increased the depth of field by decreasing the aperture to f11, which would have made the deer clearer in the picture. Unfortunately it was at the end of the day and, due to low light and the fact that I was handholding the camera, I had to shoot on f5.6 to ensure I got a sharp image. As it turned out the end result was more than acceptable, with the group of sambar clearly defined and the tiger pin sharp.

Taking risks and capturing some sort of image are the crucial elements that need to be balanced when photographing stalking behaviour. You must try and get the most impressive picture possible but also be aware that you don’t see such things very often - the general rule being it is better to get something rather than nothing. In the sambar stalk picture above I knew it would look better on f11, but would it turn out sharp in such poor light? Quickly deciding to it was too good an opportunity to miss, I took several picture at f2.8 and then more at f5.6, with the f2.8 image acting as a sort of safety net if the f5.6 picture didn’t turn out. As it transpires it did, despite me literally shaking as I pressed the shutter; when you see something like this through your viewfinder it is difficult, even for experienced tiger watchers to remain collected and composed.

When the tiger is a close as it possibly can get to its prey, the final decision it has to make is when to break its cover, charge and chase its prey. This is the hardest stage of tiger hunting behaviour to photograph, as it is usually ends a good distance from where the stalk began or occurs in dense cover, with little or no light and trees or branches obscuring your line of sight.

In this picture I was incredibly fortunate to find Machali, the resident tigress of the lakes in Ranthambhore, out in the open and, more importantly, in the final phase of a stalk and ready to charge. This is one of my favourite pictures, firstly because it illustrates a rarely recorded stage in the hunting process, and secondly for the expression, laced with anticipation, on her face. I imagine that tigers can almost taste their prey when they are this close to it!

In this picture we see a tiger inching towards a group of a sambar deer in the forests of Bandhavgarh. Note the rear legs, which are hunched, ready to powerfully propel the cat forward, the raised shoulder blades and the eyes locked on their target. This picture was taken from the back of an elephant and the tiger literally ran beneath our feet as it advanced on its prey. Like I said earlier, it is exceptionally rare to get the opportunity to photograph a wild tiger stalking its prey head on like this.

Shangri-La

Jhumeru, Rajbagh Lake, Ranthambhore - March 2004

No matter what you do, never give up. CB

Aesthetics

2010-02-22T10:28:00.000-08:00

Photographing tigers in the wild is at times very frustrating. Periods between sightings can often extend into days and even weeks. This makes it very difficult to produce original pictures, pictures with a certain mood or atmosphere. The exhilaration in actually seeing a tiger, after what could be a wait of several days, initially makes you record a sighting just as you see it. This in itself is a great skill, but after a while it is important to look beyond a standard image and try to create something a little different. This presents a great challenge as at times you have only seconds to assess a situation and decide the best and most impressive way of capturing the scene on film.

Ultimately it comes down to risk. You have to take chances. Are you prepared to sacrifice your precious sighting in the knowledge that the mood you're trying to create could, and often does, result in an unusable image? With experience you can minimize this risk. When you begin to understand the forest and the light that it produces and how it transfers to film you can really create images that say so much more about you as a photographer than a simple record of a tiger in the wild.

In Ranthambhore the winter months of December to February produce the most incredible light in the world. It's a joy to drive through the forest creating images, painting with light. Especially early morning in the dhok forests around the three lakes in the centre of the reserve, where the falling sunlight is split into beautiful shafts by the forest canopy. This produces large areas of light and shade and in these places you can really manipulate the light to your advantage, producing creative images that are wildly evocative of the forest and the tiger.

My favourite images are the ones with a strong contrast within the frame. Where your subject, or a part of it, is lit against a dark background. The opportunities to photograph tigers in these conditions are rare so when presented with a chance it is vital you make the most of it.

The image above was taken at Khemsa Kund in Ranthambhore. We spotted this young male tiger resting 40ft below the track in a dark valley at the base of Ranthambhore Fort. The forest canopy sliced the afternoon sun into long shafts of light and several of these lit the tiger and the surrounding foliage. By underexposing the image several stops, I saturated the light on the tiger resulting in his coat turning a deep orange. This also darkened the shaded areas to a beautiful jet black and produced this striking image. Note how both of the eyes are lit. This is essential for the mood of the scene and gives life to the tiger. For me this picture evokes visions of the tiger, not as a living reality, but as a presence - a mysterious, cryptic hunter endlessly roaming the deep valleys of the forest in search of prey.

Great White Shark Publicity

2010-02-15T10:41:00.001-08:00

SA People Interview, The Sun, The Daily Mail, GMTV.

2010 Tiger Calendar

2010-02-08T07:02:00.000-08:00

My 2010 Tiger Calendar is now available from Caracal Publishing in Sweden. To buy online please visit Adlibris or alternatively email David Bernvi at info@zoologi.se for more payment options.

New Website, New Blog

2010-02-01T09:55:00.000-08:00

My new website has finally gone live today after months of hard work. A big thank you to everyone at livebooks.com