PHOTOGRAPHY

Ranthambhore with its varied and beautiful landscapes, excellent light and relatively easy tiger sightings is one of the best parks for photography in India. Some of the best photographers in the world have come to Ranthambhore.

The Ranthambhore Bagh is the regular haunt for the world's top wildlife and nature photographers like Andy Rouse, Theo Allofs, John Isaac, Peter Philips, Robert Huber, Chris Brunskill, Daisy Gilardini, Marco Vernaschi, Barry Kelly, Odd Larsen, Nanak C Dhingra, Kakubhai Kothari, Vijay Cavale, David Wooton and Nick Garbut.

Ranthambhore is one of the best places in the world to photograph tigers in their wild, natural habitat. Some of the best wild tiger photos in the world have been taken in Ranthambore. There are a number of reasons for this and the most important ones are:

1. It is relatively easy to find tigers in a wildlife safari in Ranthambhore national park, thanks to the dry nature of the reserve. On an average a photographers should be able to get at least a few good tiger photography opportunities in a 3-4 days. When I say good opportunities, I mean great sightings in good light for at least 15 minutes and a good photographer can get a lot done in that time.

2. All the wildlife pictures in Ranthambhore are taken from jeeps (or Canter "safari bus"). This means that one is taking wildlife pictures from a much lower angle and the end results are eye level photos, that are much more impressive. In most of the other Project Tiger reserves, the only tiger photo opportunities that one would get are from the top of an elephant, which is not only a poor angle but also a very unstable platform to shoot wildlife from. You get great tiger pictures only when you shoot tigers at eye level.

3. Ranthambhore has some very interesting backgrounds to offer. The forest here changes it colors in every season. It varies from lush green in October, to yellows and reds in winters (from the end of November to February), to yellows and browns in the summers (March to June). The ancient ruins that are found all over the park add to this environment.

4. Ranthambore also has a lot to offer wildlife photographers, besides tigers. It is the best place in the world to take pictures of Sambar deer. One can get excellent photos of ungulates, birds (particularly the ones that prefer drier habitats), landscapes, old monuments in the jungle etc. So when you can not find an obliging tiger to take pictures of, one can still get a lot of other very interesting subjects to shoot. The water holes of Ranthambore are the best places in India for sambar deer photography.

There are some downside of wildlife photography in Ranthambore too and the main ones are:

1. It is difficult to book jeeps in Ranthambhore. Only a limited number of jeeps are permitted to go inside the park and since there is a huge demand for them, they get booked well in advance. The Canter "safari bus" is not so good for photography. It offers a much higher angle than jeeps and there are other people in the Canter, who may all be moving at the same time. Canters are only if good for a large group of photographers who all want to stay together.

2. When you book a jeep in for safari, you are allotted a zone and you have to stay within the allotted zone during your jeep safari. This can be painful for photographers because it is important for them to get the right zones.

3. You could get stuck with the wrong team of drivers and guides. There are a few (only a handful - I would say) excellent guides and drivers in Ranthambhore, who understand the light, angles etc. and can predict action with some degree of reliability. You could end up having a pretty lousy trip if you are not with one of them.

You can easily come over these drawbacks by keeping a few things in mind. Remember to book your trip well in advance. I would recommend booking at least 60-70 days in advance. If you do that you will end with confirmed jeeps with good routes and look around for a good team.

Some tips for wildlife photography in Ranthambore

1. Equipment: I would recommend carrying at least three lenses - one wide (I use a canon 24 – 105 mm f 4.0), one telephoto or zoom (I use a Sigma 120 - 300 mm f 2.8) and at least one super telephoto, if you have it (I use a Sigma 500 mm f 4.5). I would also recommend carrying at least two camera bodies (I have two Canon EOS 40 D , one Canon EOS 1 D Mark II and one Canon EOS 3) and carrying a dust proof bag to keep all this stuff in. Dust is a big problem here, so always carry all the things required to clean your gear.

2. Film: If you are still shooting film (or slides) and I am, carry 100 and 400 ISO films. If you are shooting on digital carry all the cards, hard drives etc that you think you would need because you can not get any of those here. In our place you can download you images on our computer and back them up on CDs / DVDs but you cannot do it everywhere.

3. Support: Tripods are great but they do not work on jeeps and canters unless you modify the vehicle (if you are planning to stay here for a long time you could do that). Beanbags and monopods, on the other hand, are great in the vehicles. They are easy to carry and can be set up almost anywhere inside a jeep or a canter. You can buy beanbags here for a very low price. I have a tripod and a monopod but have shot most of my stuff inside the park on beanbags.

4. Light: The terrain in Ranthambore national park is hilly and so the lighting is totally different at different times of the day. The best lighting (the soft winter light) is between November and February, though this is not the best time to find tigers. April, May and June are the best time to find tigers but the summer light of these months can be pretty harsh. During all the months the light is nice and soft in the early mornings and in the late evenings.

5. Time duration: If you want to get some serious wildlife pictures, I would recommend coming here for at least 4-5 days (more if you are planning to come here in the winters). If you are planning to spend less time than that, plan on getting lucky.

Good areas

The good areas for photography are the areas around the lakes, Lakkarda, Berda and Lahpur. However, it is highly advisable to get a local feedback from the park a few days before one start his trip. For a feed back on tiger sightings, lighting condition and any other information that may help your photography, write to us.

Camera fees

There are no fees for still cameras in Ranthambhore but a fee of Rs 200 is charged per entry to the park, for video cameras used by non-professionals.

Download general information on tiger photography in Ranthambore National Park