Wildlife photography is an art of documenting various forms of wildlife in their natural habitat. Nature photography is taken in outdoors and devoted displaying natural elements such as landscapes, wildlife, birds, natural scenes and texture. When it comes to Assam, it is very rich in faunal diversity and also it is like a paradise for researchers, travellers, wildlife lover and wildlife photographer. Once in a life time as a wildlife photographer one should visit northeast. Basically in National Park of Assam one will get more experience in grassland, wetland and woodland. In wetland, different migratory ducks are being found from November- February.
As I have a keen interest in the field of wildlife and birds photography, I can assure that any wildlife photographer and wildlife enthusiast can get the endangered species of mammals in the World Heritage site Kaziranga National Park, Assam. In Assam, about 691 approx. bird’s species are found out of which 478 species are recorded only in Kaziranga. As per forest official census 4 Golden Tigers have been spotted at Kaziranga National Park, Assam and 118 Royal Bengal Tigers has been recorded which has the highest density of Royal Bengal Tigers in the country. But, from my past experience it is quite difficult to spot a Royal Bengal Tigers due to the tall elephant grassland of Kaziranga. In Kaziranga National Park, about 2413 approx. One horned Rhinoceros has been recorded and 2/3rd of the world total Rhino population. Here are some of the endangered species found in National Park, Wildlife Sanctuary and Reserved Forest of Assam:-
Bengal Florican, Rufous- Necked Hornbill, White- Winged Duck, One- Horned Rhino, Bengal Tiger, Hoolock Gibbon, Gee’s Golden Langur, Pygmy Hog, Assam Rabbit, Assam Roofed Turtle.
What makes wildlife and bird photography complicated is you can’t tell animals where to go and what to do. The decision you make rely heavily on what your subjects are doing. The most challenging factor of any professional photographer is as below:
1. Due to tall elephant grassland (Nov-Jan) it is difficult to spot some of the endangered species for making a perfect composition with the natural habitat. The forest department burns the 20% grassland of Kaziranga National Park of buffer zone and other parts of core area till Jan last week. So it is quite easy to get the highest possibilities of some endangered species from Feb first week to April last week.
2. A photographer should carry minimum 200-500mm lens for any kind of birding photography in Assam. If the camera body is in fx format than it will be very effective and helpful to any professional wildlife and birding photography. In some cases, teleconverter is very essential for close-up and to capture other distance shots.
3. Due to lack of light condition in woodland area, a photographer finds it difficult to capture the best moments. Early morning is the best time to capture the migrated and rare birds of any forest in Assam.
A Photographer should respect the Mother Nature and should love the inhabitants of the nature. The wildlife photographer should not interrupt any natural phenomena that occur within the natural environment. While capturing wildlife subjects a photographer should not disturb any wildlife species and should maintain silence. It shows respect to the wildlife species in their natural habitats. If the shooting location is in remote areas of Assam, it is advisable to take or hire a professional guide who knows the area very well. This basic knowledge of the environment is beneficial for your own safety and it’s easy to encounter the endangered wildlife species. Thus, this protocol will help a photographer to get the best shot to fill the frame with the chosen subjects.
Content Writer- Wapangla Ozukum.