I thought I'd share this here, rather than in the Gallery. This image is not worth critiquing, since the photo only serves as proof that I actually saw this species rather than having any artistic merit.
I spent the last month in India, including a couple weeks in the Himalayas, mainly hoping to luck into a close snow leopard encounter. It seems that more photographers are traveling to northern India to find snow leopards, and some are lucking into the very rare close encounter that makes the whole endeavor worthwhile from a photography standpoint.
I knew my odds of such an encounter were quite low, and I ended up being correct in my prediction. We actually saw three leopards during the treks--which I suppose is okay (the guides seemed disappointed we didn't have more sightings)--but mild winter conditions in the mountains were less conducive to photography and sightings than usual. This meant that not only the leopards, but the vast majority of the other wildlife (sheep, ibex, foxes, birds) remained up high on the ridges, far away from the trails. So I actually came back with very little to show for the effort, which was the biggest disappointment.
We had one pair of leopards on my very first day, seen at a mere kilometer away following a very difficult ascent just to get a clear view from the opposite mountainside. Then aside from a few pug marks (tracks) here and there we saw no sign of any cats the rest of my time in the most popular camp for leopard treks (accompanied by some of the best local guides).
The second half of my Himalaya visit was spent at a village home stay, with daily forays into the surrounding hills and valleys. This was purportedly a "good" spot for leopards, wolves, foxes, ibex, sheep, etc. Again, despite some fresh snow, there wasn't enough bad weather to drive the animals down lower.
I felt fortunate to see the leopard in this photo on the move--do you see it?--though it was from a distance of a mile or so. This was shot with a 1.6x sensor body using a 500mm lens + 2x teleconverter. And yes, it's cropped a bit too. Just to give you a sense of how far away we're talking...
If you're considering a snow leopard trek, my advice is to have very low expectations going in. The truly "close" encounters probably occur with less than 1% of the visitors to the region in winter. You have to be extremely lucky. But it can happen. The same day we spied the leopard in the photo, another photographer had one at 200m at a nearby village, and I later chatted with a trekker who was fortunate to see a leopard crossing a field at a farm (where it had killed a sheep) at about 40m.
Also keep in mind that the supposed best time for these cats is winter (when they're at lower elevations), especially between mid-February to mid-March, which is mating season. So it's going to be cold. You want a properly-rated sleeping bag (for at least -20C), and wear plenty of extra layers. The wind can be brutal at times.
Finally, the elevation is a big challenge, without question. Average altitude for these treks was 3500-4000m (upwards of 13,000 feet) or higher. You'll likely need a couple days to acclimatize before you start any serious trekking, and having altitude sickness prevention meds such as Diamox is a smart move.
There's no question that the quest for the snow leopard is an arduous one, and just remember that you're banking on a lot of luck to come back with the type of photo we all dream of. Devote more time to the mountains than you might during a normal wildlife trip, and arrive in proper shape to tackle the high altitude treks, and you may just increase your luck a bit!
Despite the disappointment of my experience, I learned a bit more about the region and found at least one location that may be worth another visit in springtime for more varied wildlife.
If anyone ever has any questions about the experience, I'd be happy to answer them here or via PM/Email.
happy you got to see one at all, max. pretty cool as far as i am concerned. i hope that you managed to get some landscape photos as well - presumably you were going through some pretty amazing landscapes?
Hi Max,
Nice to hear that you made a trip to India.
About a decade back the sighting of the Snow leopard was " non existant". Now a days trekkers are getting luckier, as they are able to "at least" see them. Let alone photographing. This could be because they are less shy, due to constant bee line of trekkers, or their populations have marginally increased.
It took me a lot of time to identify the leopard in the frame, and amazed by the camouflaged environment in which they live.
Max..also I guess this is a good image to explain to the viewers about the conditions, and the chances of photographing the snow leopard. A " in the environment " image. I would encourage you to put it in the gallery, or may be post other images from the trip, explaining the landscape or the conditions.
oh, i should add something - which only supports what Balan says - is that I spent three months in the Pakistani Himalaya in 1990 and of course didn't see a thing ....
Discussion
4 repliesI spent the last month in India, including a couple weeks in the Himalayas, mainly hoping to luck into a close snow leopard encounter. It seems that more photographers are traveling to northern India to find snow leopards, and some are lucking into the very rare close encounter that makes the whole endeavor worthwhile from a photography standpoint.
I knew my odds of such an encounter were quite low, and I ended up being correct in my prediction. We actually saw three leopards during the treks--which I suppose is okay (the guides seemed disappointed we didn't have more sightings)--but mild winter conditions in the mountains were less conducive to photography and sightings than usual. This meant that not only the leopards, but the vast majority of the other wildlife (sheep, ibex, foxes, birds) remained up high on the ridges, far away from the trails. So I actually came back with very little to show for the effort, which was the biggest disappointment.
We had one pair of leopards on my very first day, seen at a mere kilometer away following a very difficult ascent just to get a clear view from the opposite mountainside. Then aside from a few pug marks (tracks) here and there we saw no sign of any cats the rest of my time in the most popular camp for leopard treks (accompanied by some of the best local guides).
The second half of my Himalaya visit was spent at a village home stay, with daily forays into the surrounding hills and valleys. This was purportedly a "good" spot for leopards, wolves, foxes, ibex, sheep, etc. Again, despite some fresh snow, there wasn't enough bad weather to drive the animals down lower.
I felt fortunate to see the leopard in this photo on the move--do you see it?--though it was from a distance of a mile or so. This was shot with a 1.6x sensor body using a 500mm lens + 2x teleconverter. And yes, it's cropped a bit too. Just to give you a sense of how far away we're talking...
If you're considering a snow leopard trek, my advice is to have very low expectations going in. The truly "close" encounters probably occur with less than 1% of the visitors to the region in winter. You have to be extremely lucky. But it can happen. The same day we spied the leopard in the photo, another photographer had one at 200m at a nearby village, and I later chatted with a trekker who was fortunate to see a leopard crossing a field at a farm (where it had killed a sheep) at about 40m.
Also keep in mind that the supposed best time for these cats is winter (when they're at lower elevations), especially between mid-February to mid-March, which is mating season. So it's going to be cold. You want a properly-rated sleeping bag (for at least -20C), and wear plenty of extra layers. The wind can be brutal at times.
Finally, the elevation is a big challenge, without question. Average altitude for these treks was 3500-4000m (upwards of 13,000 feet) or higher. You'll likely need a couple days to acclimatize before you start any serious trekking, and having altitude sickness prevention meds such as Diamox is a smart move.
There's no question that the quest for the snow leopard is an arduous one, and just remember that you're banking on a lot of luck to come back with the type of photo we all dream of. Devote more time to the mountains than you might during a normal wildlife trip, and arrive in proper shape to tackle the high altitude treks, and you may just increase your luck a bit!
Despite the disappointment of my experience, I learned a bit more about the region and found at least one location that may be worth another visit in springtime for more varied wildlife.
If anyone ever has any questions about the experience, I'd be happy to answer them here or via PM/Email.
Max
Nice to hear that you made a trip to India.
About a decade back the sighting of the Snow leopard was " non existant". Now a days trekkers are getting luckier, as they are able to "at least" see them. Let alone photographing. This could be because they are less shy, due to constant bee line of trekkers, or their populations have marginally increased.
It took me a lot of time to identify the leopard in the frame, and amazed by the camouflaged environment in which they live.
Max..also I guess this is a good image to explain to the viewers about the conditions, and the chances of photographing the snow leopard. A " in the environment " image. I would encourage you to put it in the gallery, or may be post other images from the trip, explaining the landscape or the conditions.
Balan Vinod