India Photo Workshops and Tours - February and March 2013

After a very successful trip this past February we now have a trip that gives you a unique opportunity to photograph three endangered species, The Asiatic Lions, Wild Asses and Black Buck.  In addition to these mammals we will have opportunities to photograph over 300 species of birds, other mammals, reptiles and insects.  We will photograph ancient monuments including the Taj Mahal, and have a lot of opportunity to photograph village people and their ways.

Feb 15 - Feb 26  - India Rann of Kutch, Velvader and Sasangir where the endangerd Asiatic Lions, Wild Asses and Black Buck will be the primary subjects Click Here for Details

Feb 26 - March 6 - India - Agra (Taj Mahal) Chambal for the River Crocodiles, Sarus Cranes and Black Buck,  Bharatpur for over 300 species of migratory birds Click Here for Details

March 6 - March 11 - India - Bandhavgarh for the Tiger and a plethora of wildlife (This segment depends on the Government of India lifting the tourism ban in Tiger Reserves Click Here for Details

You can do Segment 1 alone or combine it with Segment 2 or do all three.  You can also pick just Segment 2 and 3 or any one.

India is the home of the endangered Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica), and has some of the best opportunities for photographing other mammals and migratory birds from as far as Siberia. This trip is geared towards capturing images of Indian wildlife, landscapes, ancient architecture and local village people.  The tour is in three parts and you can register for one, two or all three segments.

The first segment will take us from Delhi to the Rann of Kutch for wild asses, foxes, and vast salt flats.  We then spend time in Velavader for some incredible birds and the black buck. Sasan Gir is the next stop for lions and other wild life.  The Wild Ass, Asiatic Lion and Black Buck are all on the endangered species list. We return to Delhi concluding this segment.The second segment takes us to Agra where we photograph the Taj Mahal by sunset and sunrise.  The trip has been  scheduled to coincide with the full moon. We then drive to Chambal for bird photography and a river safari to capture images of the Gharial, Crocodiles and shore birds including Skimmers, Ibis and European Spoonbills to name a few.  Next we drive to Fatehpur Sikri to photograph ancient moslem architecture and then continue to Bharatpur.  The Keoladeo sanctuary in Bharatpur boasts over 300 hundred  species of migratory birds, owls and water fowl. We will drive back to Delhi concluding the second segment.Our third segment takes us from Delhi to Jabalpur by air and then a drive to Bandhavgarh for tigers, jackals, the Indian Bison, wild boar and many other species of mammals and birds.  We return to Jabalpur to fly back to Delhi, concluding this segment.Registration Forms are available on the Workshops Tab above or Click Here

India Trip Report - 3

Landing in Jabalpur we were greeted by a very courteous group of Kingfisher staff and were soon on our way driving to Bandhavgarh.  We checked in at the Nature Heritage Lodge, a quick lunch an off to our first safari. Bandhavgarh is divided into three zones with only two being active.  The zone closest to the resort is TALA and the one farthest is MAGDI.  Our first safari was in Magdi the second zone.

Our first creature was a wild boar, actually a whole family of about 8 boars.  A number of Hanuman Langurs, Chital (Spotted deer), peacocks and peahens were in abundance as were owls, raptors and a numerous species of awesome birds.  The next three days were spent in the TALA zone – each day presented us with a variety of wildlife but unfortunately no tigers.  One had been located by an elephant scouting team and accessible only by traveling on elephant back.  We decided not to do the viewing and hope for better luck by jeep.The fourth day’s AM safari was in the Magdi zone and did not yield any tigers but a potential as one of the jeeps had heard two tigers growling and crunching on a kill.  The next safari yielded an extended viewing of one of the two tigers.  The following day the safari was even better when each one did a 40 to 45 minute show.  With the success of viewing tigers we decided to extend another day in Bandhavgarh and reduce the Kanha excursion by a day.Rather than showing individual images here is a slide show gallery representing the two zones in Bandhavgarh, scenes from the safari, a village in the area and its people: