Best of 2011 in photographs

Best of 2011 in photographs

The year 2011 has been one crazy ride. I ended up spending most of the time in the field – photographing and filming across India, Africa and southeast Asia. This also explains the lack of updates on my journal the last few months. Below is the collection of some of my favourite photographs from the field.

The year started with a long filming assignment starting in Rajasthan and then Kutch in Gujarat. After filming there, we moved to Tadoba Andheri Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra, where we spent 2 months filming tigers. Then again back to Gujarat to film lions in the famous Gir National Park. Spending long periods of time in each of these places was very rewarding in terms of the individuals we were able to follow over time. Watch out for the film ‘Secrets of Wild India’, which will air sometime in 2012.

After the filming assignment, I spent July in Borneo, August in Anamalais and September in Kenya. The year ended with a personal trip to Assam and Arunachal Pradesh in northeast India.

Below is a selection of some of my photographs from these journeys

Leopard cubs in landscape
Some of the small hills in Rajasthan are excellent habitats for leopards and they are quite easy to see in human dominated landscape
Langur
A langur gives out an alarm call having sighted a leopard sitting on a boulder below
Desert beetle
A beetle on the dunes in the Desert National Park in Rajasthan
Demoiselle Cranes
Demoiselle Cranes in Keechan
Demoiselle Cranes
Thousands of Demoiselle Cranes come to Keechan village during winter every year
Hedgehog
A Hedgehog rolled up in defence on a highway
Desert cat in Kutch
A Desert Cat kitten in Banni Grasslands, Gujarat
Desert fox in Kutch
Desert Fox from Little Rann of Kutch
Desert fox
Desert Fox pups playing while the mother is out hunting
Flamingos
Flamingos in Kutch
Tiger in Tadoba
A young male tiger from Tadoba Andheri Tiger Reserve
Tiger in Tadoba
One of the tigers who would sit inside the bushes all day long and only venture out when all the tourists had left
Tiger in Tadoba
Known as the Telia tiger, he was the dominant male in the area and had the best places of Tadoba as his territory
Tiger in Tadoba
My most memorable moment in Tadoba was when this tigeress walked towards us, while we were on foot, setting up camera traps
Cicadas
Cicadas are sap suckers and excrete a spray of water. During summers this is a common sight in central India
Gir Lions
A young male Lion in Gir
lion cubs
Lion cubs sit with one of the mothers as the other one goes out hunting
Lion cub
A lion cub sleeps in the shade of a tree

Lions in the shade of a large ficus
Jackal
A Jackal tries to catch winged termites that emerged after a downpour
Lioness
Lioness
Lightpainting
A Koompassia tree in Borneo
Slow Loris
Slow Loris, one of the small, nocturnal primates from southeast Asia

A Spider, with excellent camouflage
Orangutan
A male Orangutan in Danum Valley, Borneo
Tarsier
Tarsier – a small, primitive, nocturnal primate, Borneo
Long-tailed macaque
The Long-tailed Macaques enjoying a grooming session
Impatiens
Impatiens growing on wet rocks along a stream in the Western Ghats

Extreme close-up of veins of a dried leaf

Imago emerging
Stream
A stream in the Western Ghats during the monsoon
Indrella ampulla
A close-up of Indrella ampulla — a snail endemic to the Western Ghats
White Pelican
A White Pelican joining a group of foraging Pelicans at Lake Nakuru, Kenya

A Masai Giraffe rests under a Balanites tree in Masai Mara, Kenya
Cheetah with cubs
One of the highlights of my trip to Masai Mara was the time I spent watching this playful family of Cheetah with her three cubs

Two of these cubs were later predated by Eagles
Cheetah hunt
Cheetah hunts an Impala in Masai Mara, Kenya. This is probably the best picture I made this year

A tower of Masai Giraffes. Two of them are necking — a ritual to establish dominance
Ground hornbill
A female Southern Ground Hornbill forages in the grasslands of Masai Mara
Rains in Masai mara
Rains on the grassy plains of Masai Mara
Stream Sapphire damselfly
A Stream Sapphire damselfly in Pakke Tiger Reserve
Stream Sapphire damselfly
Two male Stream Sapphires try to impress the female sitting on the twig
Manas
The Himalayan foothills in Manas
Eaglenest
Forest floor in Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary

305 Comments

  1. Rajesh Patnaik · March 13, 2012 Reply

    Really there is no words to speak.Awesome photographs.hate off to You.

  2. Aditya · March 16, 2012 Reply

    Superbly fantastic photography, i liked the one wit Giraffe below the tree

  3. Nitin Vyas · March 25, 2012 Reply

    outstanding shots. stupendously creative work. well done. Congratulations.

  4. Mittal Gala · March 26, 2012 Reply

    Hi Kalyan,

    Lovely pics and hope to see more. Thanks.

  5. Hrishikesh Burkule · April 5, 2012 Reply

    Excellent photographs. Gr8 photography!

  6. Prasanna · April 6, 2012 Reply

    Great Work, Kalyan, Nature Loves you lot, thats the reason your able to capture them. Thanks

  7. Vishwavardhan · April 8, 2012 Reply

    amazing 🙂

  8. Parag Verma · April 10, 2012 Reply

    Fantastic Pics !!!!!

    Loved the CHEETAH family !!!!

    Keep the good work going….

  9. Prasanna · April 18, 2012 Reply

    Terrific Terrific shots Kalyan…. mindblowing each and every one of them. Kudos to ur efforts, presence of mind (esp. the cheetah hunt silhouette)… just awesome.

  10. Niharika · April 19, 2012 Reply

    All clicks are awesome. I read about you in Rashmi Bansal book. I am attracted towards you. Now after seeing your clicks i fall in love with your photography. Amazing..Cheers for you 🙂

  11. Radhika Kochhar · April 23, 2012 Reply

    Hey Kalyan, you click with such absolute passion that these moments look more real and exquisite than their veracity. You go beyond excellence… thanks so much

  12. Trishit Dutta · April 26, 2012 Reply

    Hi Kalyan,

    All images are outstanding. Very nice.

  13. Vivek Kale · April 26, 2012 Reply

    Amazing Images !
    Masai Mara images are brilliant.

  14. John Bijin · May 4, 2012 Reply

    Awesome. How nice it is to be close to the nature.

  15. deepika · May 8, 2012 Reply

    Hi,i just happen to read Connect the dots, and got to know about you!.These photographs seem amazingly brilliant!! 🙂 I’m spellbound with your photographic brilliance!! 🙂
    Got to learn alot from you and your passion 🙂 Thankz 🙂

  16. Karthik · May 9, 2012 Reply

    wonderful features. very inspiring. will try and join one of your workshops.

  17. raghu · May 13, 2012 Reply

    i am not getting words to express about these pics. there are really amaging

  18. Shivraj Singh · May 18, 2012 Reply

    Great work..Sirji!! you made them alive…

  19. Vijay Sai · May 25, 2012 Reply

    Awesome snaps!

  20. Prashant Murty · June 1, 2012 Reply

    Great work sir. And I agree, the “Hunting Cheetah Silhouette” was the best !!!

  21. Prathap Manuel · June 9, 2012 Reply

    I like the shot of Flamingos. Truly awesome! A perfect shot in a perfect timing. No wonder when Indian talents with perfections are taken into International level why more awards could not be won as like \Wild secrets of Wild India\ winning the ‘Best Television Series’ award.

  22. adarsha joisa · June 17, 2012 Reply

    Some of the most awe-inspiring photos I’ve seen! Hats off to you, Kalyan!

  23. shreya sivan · June 20, 2012 Reply

    Fantastic awesome great may be I cannot go in person
    But a satisfaction of seeing things as if they ae closeby Tnx a lot

  24. Sumit · June 27, 2012 Reply

    amazing pics

  25. Prashanth Sekhar · July 2, 2012 Reply

    Pics are awesome. Esp the cheetah silhouette !! Chanceless. Great Inspiration to me !!

  26. revathi · July 8, 2012 Reply

    probably you heard this many times. But Kalyan – speechless ! I dont know whether these species would exist a century later but the evidence you are creating with your photographs is going to remain and provide vital clues about life now to the later generation.

    You are creating so much awareness for wild life conservation.

    Bless you-
    revathi

  27. Darshan Yadunath · September 16, 2012 Reply

    Kalyan – Fantastic album , the Cheetah shot was the one for me as well, Stupendous! This album just shows that pursuing your passion and patience really pays!

  28. sajid saan · September 17, 2012 Reply

    It’s awsom sir…..i’m living in bangalore….and iam also ur fan….i intrester\d in photography feild but i couldnt to take that feild in my study..OOOpz….any iam trying now……

    http://piclickmoviemakers.blogspot.in/

  29. Pawan Singh · September 20, 2012 Reply

    ………….Surrender to your Work………

  30. Jaey · October 2, 2012 Reply

    Awesome clicks.. Hats off..
    God Bless

  31. lohit · October 3, 2012 Reply

    Excellent photographs mostly the cheetah family , tiger and all big cat photos also elephant in water and so many other (almost every click.) … nice captures … your work inspired me thanks 🙂

  32. Uday Pasricha · October 14, 2012 Reply

    Blessings and good wishes Kalyan. Your photographs extend their meaning far beyond animals, because within their spontaneous behavior and your passionate inordinate patience, one sees glimpses of ourselves and our silent experiences.

  33. Mahesh · March 22, 2013 Reply

    Awesome photos..speechless!!!

  34. Arjun Maradia · July 1, 2013 Reply

    Taken part in a photography competition in my organization which is an engineering company.. got first prize in heritage category and won gift coupons for crossword… purchased connect the dots by rashmi bansal and came to know about u… u r awesome sir… great shots indeed. Have no words to describe ur work..
    Keep it up…
    All the best..

  35. dbal · June 18, 2014 Reply

    You guessed it right. Cheetah hunting silhouette is the best of the best collection here. Another notable are the fox pics. I don’t know how you managed to shoot them they are extremely elusive (even in a zoo). We’ve never had a success tracking them down.
    Nice portraits of Cheetah family.

  36. Ravi Teja · October 18, 2014 Reply

    Great photos….. Loved thm all.. waiting see more..!

  37. Anish Muddappa · April 12, 2016 Reply

    Simply WOW !!! Your patience is amazing.

  38. Ankit padiyar · May 15, 2017 Reply

    I Loved all the Photographs and downloaded the all. Today I read a book ‘Connect The Dots’ of Rashmi Bansal thus I got to know about you. I really loved your passion for Wild-Photography. Sir I too have a passion for Photography hope to meet you once in my life.

  39. Gogeo Holidays · October 3, 2017 Reply

    Wow!!! Excellent Photographs.Keep sharing

  40. Lifemadeasy Holidays · October 9, 2017 Reply

    Nice photography…Expect more amazing pictures.

  41. A.K.Kaul · October 17, 2017 Reply

    Fantastic pictures.

  42. Kavya Pathak · June 8, 2019 Reply

    Amazing Photographs!

  43. gokerala trip · February 1, 2020 Reply

    Excellent Photographs.Keep sharing.

  44. saim malik · April 4, 2020 Reply

    wow really amazing work dear i am tour guide form india and its really helpfull thanks
    you can alos read my post form kashmir tourism

  45. Kashmir Tour Packages · September 3, 2020 Reply

    Thanks for posting, i will share the link on social media, very useful and interesting post.

  46. Kerala tour packages · October 26, 2020 Reply

    It’s really a wonderful post that you are sharing !! The pictures are awesome. Keep blogging and we are expecting something more special. If you want to capture a unique and awesome picture visit Kerala. they give a unique experience

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