[Leica] Kanha National Park

[Jayanand Govindaraj]

I was at Kanha National Park in Central India for a week in April. We had
funny weather - 15C in the mornings, rising to 41C by the afternoon. It was
my first wildlife outing in two years, and to say I enjoyed it would be an
understatement. Kanha was the first park where "Project Tiger" was launched
in the 1970s, and continues to be one of the prime gems among India's
wildlife reserves. It consists of evergreen Sal trees, a hardwood which
grows straight and tall (so you always have the feeling that  you are
driving through a cathedral), punctuated by huge open grasslands, where
villages once stood, till they were relocated outside the park.

As an experiment towards carrying lighter gear for wildlife trips, I used
the latest iteration of the Nikon 300mm f4 paired with the appropriate 1.4x
teleconverter, making a 420mm f5.6 lens, on the Nikon D4, during this trip.
I was very satisfied with the combo, being light and fast, and easily
handheld. With the D4, of course, I could shoot at higher ISOs, to
compensate for perpetually being at 1/1200 @ f8, without sacrificing any
quality. These photographs below have all been taken with that combination:

Bade Ma (Big Mother):
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/WIndia/Kanha2016/Kanha2016-1761.jpg.html

Bade Ma with 3 month old Cub:
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/WIndia/Kanha2016/Kanha2016-1906.jpg.html

Licking Her Chops:
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/WIndia/Kanha2016/Kanha+2016-1912.jpg.html

Neelam:
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/WIndia/Kanha2016/Kanha+2016-2454.jpg.html

Madonna of the Forest:

- In Colour:
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/WIndia/Kanha2016/Kanha+2016-1329.jpg.html

- In B&W:
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/WIndia/Kanha2016/Kanha+2016-1328c.jpg.html

Please see LARGE.

Comments and criticism, as always, very welcome!

Cheers
Jayanand