[Leica] Bandhavgarh and Kanha

[Alan Magayne-Roshak]

On May 3, 2022, at 1:52 AM, Jayanand Govindaraj via LUG <lug at leica-users.org>
wrote:
>
> I had gone to the National Parks, and prime tiger reserves, of Bandhavgarh
> and Kanha last month as my first outstation trip post covid. The weather
> was extremely hot, with the mercury touching 42/43C, and the full day
> safaris that we undertook, on open top vehicles, were tiring. However
> thanks to constant hydration with water, chaas and  lemon juice, I seemed
> to have sailed through with no after effects. I was quite surprised at my
> own resilience. I have not posted for a long time, but this seemed a
> fitting occasion to resume!
>
> I was testing a lot of new equipment on this trip - the Nikon Z9, the
> Nikkor Z100-400mm f4.5-5.6S and the Nikkor Z24-70 f2.8S. As  it was they
> performed flawlessly, and the AF eye tracking mode on the Z9 was nothing
> short of magical. As an example, a male tiger walking behind grass, part
of
> a burst of 6 shots:
>
>
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Kanha/Kanha-20220426-067.jpg.html
>
> The Z24-70 f2.8S is, without a doubt, the best normal zoom I have ever
> owned, so let us start with two photographs taken with that lens, mounted
> on a Nikon Z7:
>
>
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Kanha/Kanha-20220427-067-Editb.jpg.html
>
>
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Kanha/Kanha-20220426-045-Edit.jpg.html
>
> Because of the intense heat, all animals were looking for cool places to
> rest in:
>
>
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Kanha/Bandhavgarh-20220422-351-Edit.jpg.html
>
> Of course, waterholes were popular places in late afternoon:
>
>
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Kanha/Kanha-20220425-1765-Edit.jpg.html
>
> The Z9 has exceptional high ISO performance if the frame is exposed
> correctly. As you will notice, none of my photographs in this set taken
> with the Z9 are at low ISOs. However, here are two examples at ISO12800 -
> the first one from late in the evening after sunset, and the second being
> early in the morning as the sun was coming up:
>
>
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Kanha/Kanha-20220425-1565-Edit.jpg.html
>
>
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Kanha/Kanha-20220426-359-Edit.jpg.html
>
> Two shots of a male that came out of a thicket:
>
>
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Kanha/Kanha-20220426-1545-Edit.jpg.html
>
>
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Kanha/Kanha-20220426-1533-Edit.jpg.html
>
> This same dominant male, a huge fellow, was following the scent of a
> tigress, when he came upon our vehicle! These shots were at under 200mm:
>
>
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Kanha/Kanha-20220426-1463-Edit.jpg.html
>
>
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Kanha/Kanha-20220426-1731-Edit.jpg.html
>
>
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Kanha/Kanha-20220426-557-Edit.jpg.html
>
> A vigorous shake of the head when on patrol:
>
>
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Kanha/Kanha-20220426-470-Edit.jpg.html
>
> To round things off, some raptors. The first two are of two different
> Crested Serpent Eagles with its prey:
>
>
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Kanha/Kanha-20220427-1056-Edit.jpg.html
>
>
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Kanha/Bandhavgarh-20220422-289-Edit.jpg.html
>
> The last one is a portrait of a Changeable Hawk Eagle:
>
>
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/jayanand/Kanha/Bandhavgarh-20220423-940-Edit.jpg.html
>
> Please see LARGE, I have posted in a reasonably big size.
>
> Comments and criticism, as ever, are welcome!
>
> Cheers
> Jayanand
 ===========================================================================
Terrific shots.  I've never seen a Changeable Hawk Eagle before, and I like
the coloration.

-- 
Alan

Alan Magayne-Roshak, Senior Photographer
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Photo Services
(Retired)
UPAA Photographer of the Year 1978
UPAA Master of the Profession 2014
amagayneroshak at gmail.com
<http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/Alan+Magayne-Roshak/>

"All the technique in the world doesn't compensate
 for an inability to notice. " - Elliott Erwitt