Photograph by @andyparkinsonphoto/@thephotosociety Bengal tiger tree scratching – I took this image on my last trip to India when I was privileged to be able to spend 2 months working with these astonishing creatures. It goes without saying that the unpredictable nature of working with these animals means that every aspect of the photography is purely reactive as we simply have no idea when or where we will encounter them, in what light or what behaviour they might be displaying. On this evening we had travelled to an area of Bandhavgarh National Park where we knew that a well-known tigress, named Tulsi, would leave her three sub-adult cubs whilst she went off to hunt. She would usually leave them next to a water hole and at 20 months old there was little in the park that could present any real threat to their safety. Our hope would be, as they often would, that they would start playing and chasing, often jumping into the water or playfighting. On this evening however they decided to walk away from the lake and directly up to where our, and several other vehicles were parked. Within moments we suddenly had three tigers all around our jeep and I had no idea where to point my lens. One had settled down on the track in front of us and so, in order to minimise the feeling of looking down on the tiger I selected my weighty 600mm F4 lens and started working on some intimate compositions. Then one of our guides whispered to me, ‘tiger scratching’ and so I wheeled around and found myself looking up at one of the, now apparently massive tigers clawing at a tree right next to our jeep. With failing light and zero time to make any ISO adjustments I had to shoot the frame handheld, and at a paltry 160th/sec which, when your handholding a 600mm F4 is less than ideal. Nevertheless I got lucky and of the two frames that I managed to squeeze out this was at least useably sharp. Looking at this image now I often have to remind myself that I have been so lucky to be in the company of these incredible creatures and the sound of his claws tearing into the bark of that tree is a memory that I will always cherish. Please #followme at @andyparkinsonphoto.

thephotosocietyさん(@thephotosociety)が投稿した動画 - 2017/04/27 21:40:10