Catwalk

CATWALK
Bandhavgarh National Park, India – 2019

The ability for cameras to record high-resolution detail in low lighting conditions has opened up opportunities for photographers to take moody atmospheric images during the twilight hour. This can help in areas of the world where the animal habitat is messy and cluttered, and no more so than in the forests of the Central Highlands of India.

To take uncluttered photographs
in tiger reserves such as Bandhavgarh
is a real challenge during the day. The background of bushes and branches
is untidy, and in harsh light it is very difficult to find an angle of view that excludes it from the image. I have looked at many photographs taken in both Ranthambore and Bandhavgarh, and
it is instructive that the majority of strong shots come from Ranthambore.
It is an easier environment in which to work, partly because of a more developed road system and partly because the topography is kinder. There is simply a better range of permitted vantage points to work from, particularly during the heat of the day when jeeps are limited.

But Bandhavgarh is timeless,
raw, and untamed, and I wanted to take a contextual image of a tiger that hinted at these qualities. Perhaps the best opportunities would come when the light had gone.

This photograph is all the better
for being taken after 6:00 p.m. If the tiger had made the same prowl at 4:00 p.m., there would be a messy background and the tiger would not pop out of the image. As it is, the light that was left helped
the tiger in the open but not the dense forest behind. The perpendicular angle works — it gives length and splendor to the tiger, and the darkness adds menace and character. Thank goodness for technological advances.
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