Secrets of the Undergrowth: Reptile and Mammal Photography
I trade the big cats for the little details. This gallery explores the hidden lives of reptiles, small mammals, and the tiny creatures that define the true character of our forests.
My first encounter with a Hump-nosed Pit Viper in the Western Ghats. After a rush of adrenaline, I captured this shot of the venomous snake coiled on a rock, its forked tongue tasting the air.
A Deccan Banded Gecko, caught in the rain during a night trail. This macro shot shows it using its tongue to wipe a water droplet from its eye, a truly intimate and amazing moment of animal behavior.
Meet the showstopper of the scrublands, the Fan-throated Lizard. This video shows the male's incredible courtship display as it flashes its colorful fan to attract a mate.
The Indian Giant Squirrel, with its vibrant maroon and cream coat, navigates the high branches of the forest. Its long, bushy tail makes it a spectacular sight in the Western Ghats.
When bad weather kept the birds away in Sanjay Gandhi National Park, I turned my lens to these playful monkeys. This video captures their social interactions and acrobatic antics in the trees.
A tiny Tree Shrew, often mistaken for a squirrel, pauses on a rock. These small, energetic mammals are always a delight to watch as they forage on the forest floor.
A Hump-nosed Pit Viper coiled on a rock, its tongue extended. The lush green background contrasts with the snake's earthy tones, highlighting this venomous predator.
An extreme macro shot of a Deccan Banded Gecko cleaning its eye. The detail is so fine you can see the texture of its tongue and the individual water droplets on its skin.
A female Fan-throated Lizard, more subtly colored than the male, perches on a rock in the Pune grasslands.
A wide shot of the male Fan-throated Lizard displaying, showing its small size in relation to its rocky perch.
About Secrets of the Undergrowth: Reptiles & Mammals
Wildlife photography at this scale is not about power; it is about stillness. I often spend hours in the dirt, waiting for a fan-throated lizard to display its colors or a gecko to emerge after rain. These shots require specific macro lighting techniques and a willingness to get low, which is why I prefer guiding sessions that teach you how to see the tiny, complex ecosystems that most hikers walk straight past.
Beyond the Big Cats
Many people associate wildlife photography with lions or tigers, but the undergrowth is where the real drama unfolds. My work with reptiles and small mammals—like the Deccan Banded Gecko or the Hump-nosed Pit Viper—has taught me that you do not need size to tell a compelling story.
The Technical Side
Capturing these subjects is a game of millimeters. I use my Nikon setup with macro lenses to focus on the textures: the scales of a viper, the individual water droplets on a gecko’s eye, or the vibrant dewlap of a male fan-throated lizard. It is not just about the gear; it is about understanding animal behavior. I study tide movements and weather patterns because that is when these creatures are most active. Whether I am in the Western Ghats or the grasslands of Pune, my focus is always on getting to eye-level with my subject.
Why I Focus Here
These creatures are the backbone of our biodiversity, yet they are often the most threatened by human encroachment. By documenting them, I hope to shift the perspective. I want viewers to see the intelligence in a monkey’s gaze or the delicate beauty of a treeshrew. If you are interested in learning how to find and photograph these species, I offer field workshops where we move past the 'auto' settings and learn how to use natural light, camouflage, and composition to tell better stories from the ground level.
Tushar Tandel
I am Tushar, just a guy with a day job who spends his free time crawling in the mud to find the smallest creatures in the wild. I do not look for the biggest animals; I look for the ones that usually go unnoticed, because their stories are just as wild.
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