Lonely Planet Asia August 2017

42 AUGUST 2017

Kaziranga is known as one of the best places to

see Asian rhinos and tigers. On entering the park,

you spot guards with machetes and there’s the

thrilling anticipation of coming face to face with

these big beasts. But the gentler moments can be

just as fulfilling. On our second safari drive, we

came across a water buffalo herd. The light was

perfect and it was good to let the animals ‘happen’

around us. While other vehicles were chasing more

exotic specimens, we were left alone with the

buffalo and they were soon comfortable in our

presence. Looking down the telephoto lens, you’re

confronted with how big they are – the size of cars

• and their powerful horns. You notice the smaller
  details like the symbiotic relationship between the
  buffalo and the egrets. These little birds are like
  little sidekicks, jumping about on their backs and
  around their feet. The juxtaposition of the frantic
  egrets and the slow-moving buffalo was fascinating
  to observe and I wanted to capture this on camera.
  Shot on a Nikon D800 // 600mm lens // ISO 1600
  // aperture f.8 // shutter speed 1/1250

Photographer Jonathan Stokes on

photographing wildlife in Assam’s

Kaziranga National Park

The shot

A barefoot guard with a
machete walks near the
entrance of Kaziranga
National Park; buffalo
and egrets (OPPOSITE) are
among the many animals
that make their home here

42 AUGUST 2017