Rajasthan Crop Tee

I have a few time honoured rules when photographing in the wild - stay low, get close and work against the light. Following this shoot in India, I added another - “always stay calm”. We had seen two tigers at breakfast time when the park is accessible to all. It was a decent moment, but nothing sensational. At 9.30am the visitors must leave and then we and a handful of jeeps had until 3.30 pm on our own in the 1600 km² of Ranthambhore. These are precious hours as tiger behaviour becomes more predictable as the temperature rises. Given the acreage of the vast park there is every chance of working alone. Much of the hottest part of the day (around 44°c) was spent looking for an adult male tiger who my guide for six years - Vipul Jain - knew to have been in the area in the last few hours. Back and forth we went in rotation to the tiger’s favourite three watering holes, but there was nothing. Our cold-water supplies were low and our energy even lower. Just as I was ready to throw in the to