Snow leopard - dream come true

[Hymakar Valluru]

NOW LEOPARD.

Clicked on 09 Dec 2013.

Hemis National Park, J&K.

After 8 days of ordeal in testing conditions with -15 to -20 Deg temperature and walking for hours together every day on slipper and steep Himalayan Ranges.

We got to sight the Grey Ghost from top of a mountain with limited place to stand and with a 60 to 70 Deg gradient on either side of the mountain.. this guy was around ~800 mtrs away from us on a different mountain.

We did not have Gypsys or commandos to turn and race to the spot.. we did not have cozy seats to sit and get closer to the animal...we did not have choicest angles of low level, eye level etc... all i had to manage is hold the gear properly, hold on firmly against stiff breeze, get the spot right, careful with my steps so that i dont start rolling down few feet and get packaged in a box back home..

This is what i had managed to capture....

Canon 5D MIII + 300/F2.8 ISII+2x TC.


SS : 1/1025
AV: F/5.6
ISO : 1000

[Abhishek Jamalabad]

Seeing this enigmatic cat is a fortune itself. Must have been a thrilling experience.

TFS

[Roopak Gangadharan]

what more great good luck can one ask for when in the Himalayas ? well done
TFS
Roopak

[Rajan Kanagasabai]

Getting to see this elusive cat is a once in a lifetime experience in itself. The trying conditions under which you pictured this would remain etched in your memory forever.

I have always been of the opinion that making such pictures under real tough conditions is worth a lot more than making a photo of this prime species from the comfort of a Prada or a Land Rover, with a 1 DX and a 1000 mm - with a huge team to support you in different aspects of light reading, choice of gear, GPS tracks of the animal etc.

Way to go and thanks for sharing

Rajan

[Saktipada Panigrahi]

Great sighting. I share your joy most abundantly and extravagantly. You have clicked on 09-Dec-2013. The long long tail has become bushy in the winter, which is clearly visible. What more I want? Nice capture. Thanks for sharing.SaktiWild

P.S.: Amongst the big Cats, only Clouded Leopard is yet to be clicked, I think. Wish you all the best.

[Shyamala Kumar]

Congratulations on the capture of a life time.:001_smile:All the best in case is you have a chance to capture an even closer image of this rare animal.

[Sabyasachi Patra]

This is a once in a lifetime sighting, unless one is a researcher or filmmaker in pursuit of this ghost of the mountains for a long time. For the record, Steve Winter, while covering the snow leopard for National Geographic got superb images through camera traps. However, he failed to get a single direct sighting. The Bedi Brothers (original) ie. Rajesh Bedi and Naresh Bedi had photographed and filmed the snow leopard for the first time in India. Rajesh Bedi said that they tried for two seasons and when they were about to give up, on the day before last ie. the penultimate day they had the sighting and completed the film. Successful filmmakers have suffered from HASC (High Altitude Sickness Syndrome), frost bite etc. In the past I had abandoned my photographic and filming trips for one reason or other - lack of shoes, thermal undergarments (sorry I had to say it as I wanted to give you an idea of the challenges if you need to spend a few months), other equipment, budget, high altitude sickness syndrome etc. The terrain is inhospitable. Life and limb is precious. We see through your eyes and words. Image is bonus. So value your sighting and treasure your memories. I also value this sighting than a close one achieved by baiting.
Cheers,
Sabyasachi

[Bibhav Behera]

It gave me goosebumps the other day when you were narrating this to me. Will be great if you can share a trip report/experience in the General Discussions section so that people can witness what an emotionally arousing journey it was for you.
Kudos on your effort and the sighting.
Thanks for sharing.

[Murugan Anantharaman]

Great sighting. Must have been quite an experience, no doubt. I understand all that you have written except for the slippers part, why in such a tough terrain?? Thanks for sharing.