Bird of the Day: Common Raven Doing Barrel Roll (Mount Roberts Trail, Alaska)
Conservation Tourism
Bird of the Day: Great Tinamou
Pipeline Road, Gamboa, Panama
Wildlife Sanctuaries of India–Kaziranga National Park
Image Credit: Pradnyesh Sawant
This may be the first national park where tigers aren’t at the center of attention! Located in the Golaghat and Nagaon districts of Assam, Kaziranga is home to two thirds of the world’s Great One-Horned Rhinoceroses. Large breeding populations of elephants, buffalos, swamp deer, and tigers reside here as well. Furthermore, this park is recognized by Birdlife International for its diversity and conservation of various species of birds. Kaziranga was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO for its unique environment and wildlife in 1985. Continue reading
Bird of the Day: Blue-tailed Bee eater (Kukkarahalli Lake, Mysore)
Bird of the Day: Black-necked Stilt (Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve, Mexico)
Bird of the Day: Lark Bunting
Pawnee National Grassland, CO
Asiatic Elephants in the Dhikala Grasslands
Corbett National Park is a great place to make some great images of Asiatic Elephants and May is an especially good season to be there. The Dhikala grasslands complements the elephants by providing a great background for your photography.
A zoom lens in the 100-400 or 80-400 range serves best for this area as it provides flexibility to make close-ups or to include the habitat in the shot.
While composing this image I waited for the baby elephant to show itself as it was always behind its mother. Continue reading
Bird of the Day: Brahminy Kite
Thippagondanahalli Reservoir, Karnataka
Capturing Falling Waters
During my recent trip to Chikmagalur, I visited this small waterfall in Jerry estate which offered a good opportunity to try out various compositions. Unfortunately I wasn’t carrying my vario ND filter so couldn’t get a slower shutter speed than this, but since I’ll be going back there in December I’ll know to be better prepared.
In many circumstances people say that “location is everything”, and that definitely was the case with this waterfall. The maximum depth of the pool at it’s base was probably 2 ft, so we could walk around and check various angles to shoot from with very little risk. The fact that there was no heavy current allowed us to easily stand in the flowing water to get low-level shots. Continue reading
Bird of the Day: Squirrel Cuckoo (Los Cedros Reserve, Ecuador)
Igor Siwanowicz Photography
Prepare to have your mind completely blown by award-winning insect photographer Igor Siwanowicz. No artist captures the details like Igor Siwanowicz does with his distinct form of microscopic photography. Every little bump and crack is accentuated, and every color shines brighter in Siwanowicz’s pictures — Fittingly, this style seems catered to capturing the strange exotic insects that inhabit the world. Siwanowicz is not limited to just insects though, his portfolio is complimented by equally as impressive stills of reptiles, mammals, and even people. One should especially note how often symmetry comes to play in the photographs.
Bird of the Day: Cinnamon Becard
Gamboa, Panama
Bird of the Day: Indian Roller
Bangalore, Karnataka
Pedal Powered Ecotourism
Pedal Power! photo credits: Ramesh Kidangoor
At Raxa Collective we believe in conservation and what better example than Cardamom County, a plastic-free resort with rich gardens where we harvest fruits, vegetables and even eggs. Kerala is a beautiful state with many places to discover and there’s no better way to experience our neighborhood than with zero carbon transport.
Bird of the Day: Mexican Sheartail Hummingbird on nest
Las Coloradas, Mexico
Bird of the Day: Say’s Phoebe
Southwestern Research Station, AZ
The Golden Light of Kutch
The Short-Eared Owl is another amazing bird found in the deserts of Kutch. The bird is generally very shy, but can be cooperative depending on how you approach it. Understanding the natural history of your subjects is a major factor for making good wildlife images. If you are on your own it’s very difficult to find these birds. Like a lot of birds and animals, these owls are also territorial and the local guide/expert knows their roosting places and can guide you to them. Continue reading
Wildlife Reigns at Cardamom County
Even Macaques get lost in deep thought
It is no secret that the Periyar Tiger Reserve hosts a magnificently large collection of wildlife, that is what attracts tourists around the world — take a hike within the boundaries of the massive sanctuary and you are likely to see some amazing creatures. However, we cannot forget that the boundaries of the reserve are merely human constructs, designed by our minds to protect and preserve the organisms within. Animals abide by no such regulations, boundaries for them are constrained only by the habitats in which they may successfully occupy, thus, spillover is likely.
Bird of the Day: Red-headed Merlin
Little Rann of Kutch
Mud-Puddling Butterflies
mud-puddling
Periyar Tiger Reserve is home to an impressive species diversity of 160 butterflies, underscoring the crucial relationship between plants and animals. Butterflies mainly males need minerals for reproduction, so they are often found gathering together to take salt and minerals from the wet soil and plants in a behavior called mud-puddling. Continue reading
