January 2009, Jim Corbett National Park.

Rhesus Macaque (Macaca mulatta).

This fellow as you can see did not like being photographed.

December 2008, Nizam Sagar, Nizamabad.

Common Hoopoe (Upupa epops).

December 2008, Yellareddy Peddacheruvu, Nizamabad.

Black Headed Ibis (Threskiornis melanocephalus).

December 2008, Hyderabad.

Spot-Billed Ducks (Anas poecilorhyncha)

Plain Tiger (Danaus chrysippus). Location: Narsapur Lake, Medak.

If you are interested in seeing more butterfly photos do visit my Indian Butterflles gallery.

Common Silverline (Spindasis vulcanus). Location: Papikonda Reserve Forest, Maredumilli, East Godavari.

I spent three delightful days over the weekend traveling through the Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh in search of butterflies and birds. We got ample sightings of both (as well as a few mammals). In total, we covered about 500 kms through three districts, East Godavari, Khammam and Vishakapatnam.

October 2008, Narsapur Reserve Forest.

Peacock pansies (Junonia almana) mating.

October 2008, Hyderabad.

Also known as Cheetal (Axis axis).

October 2008, Hyderabad.

The Blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra) also known as Krishna Jinka in Telugu is the state animal of Andhra Pradesh.

September 2008, Hyderabad.

For the first time since I got into photography I was part of a two day Nature Photography exhibition that was on for the past couple of days. The location was the Hyderabad office of global consulting firm Accenture. About 12 of my prints were on display along with another 50 of five other photographers. All six of us are informally or formally part of the Butterfly Conservation Society of Andhra Pradesh but the exhibition was not limited to butterflies. The photos on display ranged from landscapes, macros to photos of rarely seen birds. It was not a professional exhibition as we did not have the financial resources to mount one but more an attempt to show some of the variety and delights nature has on offer to people who mostly do not venture out of the concrete jungle of a city. The response was quite gratifying especially to me as I’ve only recently started seriously venturing into nature photography.

The above photo was one of the prints on display at the exhibition and is from my first outing with members of the Butterfly Conservation Society about a month back. I’ve to say that these outings (have been to two other such outings with them) have opened up a completely new world to me. The sheer variety of butterflies, some of which are so colorful to look at, one can find over a limited area never fails to surprise me. It takes a lot of patience and practice to get decent photos of these lovely little creatures but the results are often quite rewarding. So from now on you will see them more often on this blog.