SHOOTING TIGER WITH A CAMERA

When I was in school, my teacher told me two characteristics of a tiger. That he will die of hunger but not eat grass and he will not eat the meat of a pray killed by other predator. And for thirty two years I never questioned.

Till 1984 I had never seen a moving image of a tiger. All that I had seen were sketches, still photographs of dead tigers used as trophy by the erstwhile Maharajas and the British, tiger skin fixed high on the wall looking down at me as if it is going to jump any moment, stuffed tiger in a palace or a museum.

I was brought up initially in a small town Daltonganj, in Jharkhand. Betla National Park was close by. My father a state government employee, took me to the park on a number of occasions, but I could not see the tiger. We had to satisfy ourselves with the Pug Marks.
Father was transferred every two to three years. The towns that he was posted did not have the zoo. If it had the zoo, there was no tiger in it.

At the college library one day, I happened to see a pictorial book on Tiger. The pictures had a sepia tone….. must have been taken a generation or two before me. Almost all the pictures were of dead tigers, used as trophies. I wondered why a live tiger was not photographed. Was the photographer scared to shoot a real tiger or he did not have the technology ( may be the camera was as bulky as the tiger itself) or the poor fellow was not permitted. These questions remain unanswered even now.

At the film school, we were shown the best fiction films from all over the world. I was exposed to the best of actors, directors and cinematographers I was taught how to shoot a feature film with actors. What I was not taught was how to shoot a live tiger.

As a freelance cinematographer, I had varied assignments. Shot (on camera) Presidents to Peons. Nine years after passing out of film school, I was offered an assignment to shoot a short film on Corbett National Park, located on the foothills of Himalayas. It had close to and continues to have hundred plus tigers. It is a well managed park. We carried the basic equipment, like Camera, Tripod, Microphone, Monitor, Lenses and related accessories. We shot the park from several angles. Capture the flora and fauna. On the fifth day of filming we had all the necessary shots except the tiger.

The Director of the film discussed with the field staff; where the likelihood of locating Tiger was. It was recommended to film from a Machan, next to the water body. We were advised to go the next day, early in morning, as the tiger was sighted there often.
We slept early. Got up early. By five we were there at the Machan.
We waited …… . waited …. and waited. But the tiger refused to give us a glimpse.
By 1100 hours, the Director of the film lost his patience. He was hungry and thought tiger will not come to the water body in top light. He asked me to pack up the gear and go to the lodge. He wanted to come again later in the evening to the machan once again.

I was not particularly hungry. I was carrying some dry-fruits. I requested the Director if I could stay back alone. They could bring some packed food when they come again, in the eveining.

I was all alone at the Machan, with a camera, at a height of 30 feet. I was reminded that I was safe and that tiger will not climb the ladder to grab me, however hungry it may be.
Every five minutes, I would look all around to see if the tiger was there. I was also informed about the alarm call of deer and monkeys.
For two hours I was doing nothing except watching. Almost felt drowsy.
I found monkeys moving on the tree. But they were quiet and looking down. I glanced down at the water body. To my surprise, I saw the tiger in front of my eyes. It was my first encounter. We exchanged looks.

My heart beat increased. Feet started trembling. I knew the tiger is not going to climb the ladder…. But the feet refused to take instructions from the brain. I came close the camera, switched on the power supply. Use the zoom of the lens, to get as close to the tiger as possible. I had not yet pressed the record button. The feet continued to shake. The tripod, camera and the lens were all shaking as if I was in a ship. The shot wasn’t stable. I said to myself “DON’T PRESS THE RECORD BUTTON. THE DIRECTOR WILL LAUGH AT ME. WAIT TILL YOU STABILIZE”.

I was worried that by the time my feet stabilize, the tiger would go away. He cannot go on drinking water for eternity. He is not a film artist. So what if the crew laughs at me looking at the unstable shot. At-least we have the footage of the tiger. At the most footage will not be used in the film.

I was in dilemma. However, I pressed the record button. It took me couple of minutes to stabilize. We did have stable shots of the tiger in close, drinking. Later the tiger stayed back, next to the water body. Camouflaged himself within the bushes. Waited for the prey. We captured all the behavior on camera.

Later in the evening, while reviewing the footage, after the initial laugh, the footage was appreciated.

Inside the National Park, we are not allowed to stand or walk. Filming is only possible from a machan, open jeep or from the top of an elephant. The next day we wanted to film tiger from the top of the elephant. We did not have proper gear. The tripod could not be mounted on the top of the elephant. Only hand held shots were possible. We found the tiger. We took hand held shots. The mahout ( Elephant man) was not impressed with my preparedness and the footage. He asked me if I have had ever used Elephant Tripod? I knew Elephant and I also knew tripod. But the word “Elephant Tripod” was unfamiliar to me. He mentioned in no uncertain words that I am not the right person for filming tiger.

Several years later, a wild life film maker from USA wanted to make a wild life film on tiger. She hired my services. The film was shot in Central India.
I had the privilege of using Elephant Tripod, for the first time. It was fourteen feet high. Two and a half times, my height. It was made of aluminum. Heavy as well. But I had never used it. However, it did not take much time to make myself familiar.

I had to carry this 20 Kilogram of three legged monster on top of the elephant. When I spot the tiger, I had to bring it down to the ground. I had to spread the three legs of the tripod, using my feet, while I am seated on the elephant. I had to check if the tripod is stable. Then mount the camera on the tripod. The body of the elephant should not touch it. I continue sitting on the elephant. It worked very well for static shots. However I was unable to pan and tilt the camera as the elephant will not remain static.

We had to switch to another design, where on top of the 14 feet elephant tripod, the cameraperson could sit and there is space for mounting the camera, as well in front. I had to first fix the tripod. I then have to shift from elephant to the tripod. Make sure it was stable. The mahout will then hand over the camera. I had to fix the camera on the cup. It worked wonders. We were able to explore all camera movements. The film several international awards.

We carried the elephant tripod where ever we went. We kept under lock and key, when we went to bed. We were worried other film makers might steal or damage it. The film was shot over 100 days. We were following a tigress and her two cubs. The tigress saw me almost every alternate day. She happened to be one of the most photographed tigress in the world. While fixing the tripod one day, the legs slipped. It was resting on a stone and it had rained the previous night. I fell down from a height of 14 feet along with the tripod.
In front of me at a distance of twenty feet, there was the tigress with her two cubs. It was a surprise for the tigress, as well. Looks were exchanged. I got up, but did not move. Apologized to the Madam. She did give me a mock charge. But I did not move an inch. A minute later she resumed her feast, a deer that se had hunted. I took couple of steps backwards, gradually, till I came close to the elephant. I then grabbed the tail and climbed. I do not from where I got the energy, but within seconds I was on the top of the elephant, close to the Mahout.
Later in the evening I tried climbing the same elephant holding its tail, several times, but in vain.

Whenever I narrate the incident, I am asked why I fell. Invariably my answer is “Gravity Continues To Work”.

I have shot several films on tiger. But I have not seen tiger eating grass.
But when the tiger is old or handicapped, whereby it cannot kill on his own he does snatch the kill.

I am sorry about my school friends, who still carry the same misconception about the tiger.

It is possible to view images at flickr

Horizontal Angle Of View 2/3′ chip professional Video Camera 16:9 Format

I am frequently shifting from still photography to professional/broadcast video cameras, like a pendulum. Even in the video format I keep using either 1/3″ , 1/2″ or 2/3″ CCD cameras. The focal length in different formats gives entirely different horizontal angle of view. 50 mm lens, considered NORMAL LENS in 35mm Still Photography is Telephoto in Video formats.

In still photography, a normal lens is a lens whose focal length is roughly equivalent to the diagonal of the image projected within the camera.
For a 35 mm camera with a diagonal of 43 mm, the most commonly used normal lens is 50 mm, but focal lengths between 40 mm and 58 mm are also considered normal.

The 50 mm focal length was chosen by Oskar Barnack, the creator of the Leica camera, as a compromise between the theoretical value and good sharpness, as lens technology at the time was such that slightly longer focal lengths were able to achieve optimum sharpness.

Ideally what I would do is to mask the Focal Length of the lens with a white tape and write the Horizontal Angle of view.

Horizontal Dimension of 2/3″ Chip Professional Video camera 16:9 Format is 8.80 mm.
Horizontal Dimension of  35mm Format Still Camera is 36 mm; approximately 4.09 times longer than 2/3″ Chip Camera in 16:9 format.

Sony cameras that fall in this category will be
DVCAM DSR 450
All Analogue Betacam
All Digital Betacam
All Tape Based High Definition

The Normal Lens will be close to 12 mm as it gives a horizontal angle of view of 40.23 degrees.

2/3″ Lens (mm) ……….HAV 2/3″ Camera ……….35 mm Still Camera Equivalent

4.7…………………………….. 88.28…………………………18.47
9……………………………….. 55.91…………………………35.37
10……………………………….51.14…………………………39.30
12……………………………….43.54…………………………47.16
15……………………………….35.47…………………………58.95
20……………………………….26.99…………………………78.60
25……………………………….21.74…………………………98.25
28……………………………….19.45……………………….110.04
30……………………………….18.18……………………….117.90
35……………………………….15.62……………………….137.55
40……………………………….13.69……………………….157.20
50……………………………….10.97……………………….196.50
75……………………………….. 7.32……………………….294.75
100……………………………….5.50……………………….393.00
125……………………………….4.40………………………..491.25
150……………………………….3.67………………………..589.50

4.7 mm and 9 mm lens are considered wide angle lens as it gives a Horizontal angle of view of more than 50 Degrees.
Focal Length above 25 degrees will be considered telephoto lens.

The simplest way to calculate 40 degrees angle of view ( Normal Lens ) is to spread out your hand with your arm stretched out in front of you, the tip from the left little finger to right little finger.

It is possible to view images at flickr

Horizontal Angle Of View -1/2″ Chip Professional Video camera 16:9 Format

I am frequently shifting from still photography to professional/broadcast video cameras, like a pendulum. Even in the video format I keep using either 1/3″ , 1/2″ or 2/3″ CCD cameras. The focal length in different formats gives entirely different horizontal angle of view. 50 mm lens, considered NORMAL LENS in 35mm Still Photography is Telephoto in Video formats.

In still photography, a normal lens is a lens whose focal length is roughly equivalent to the diagonal of the image projected within the camera.
For a 35 mm camera with a diagonal of 43 mm, the most commonly used normal lens is 50 mm, but focal lengths between about 40 and 58 mm are also considered normal.

The 50 mm focal length was chosen by Oskar Barnack, the creator of the Leica camera, as a compromise between the theoretical value and good sharpness, as lens technology at the time was such that slightly longer focal lengths were able to achieve optimum sharpness

Ideally what I would do is to mask the Focal Length of the lens with a White tape and write the Horizontal Angle of view.

Horizontal Dimension of 1/2″ Chip Professional Video camera 16:9 Format is 7.58 mm.
Horizontal Dimension of  35mm Format Still Camera is 36 mm; 5.41 times longer than 1/2″ Chip Camera in 16:9 format.

Sony cameras that fall in this category will be XDCAM EX3.

The Normal Lens will be close to 9 mm as it gives a horizontal angle of view of 40 degrees.

1/2″ Lens (mm) ……….HAV 1/2″ Camera ……….35 mm Still Camera Equivalent

3.2…………………………….. 87.27…………………………17.3
5.8…………………………….. 57.50…………………………31.3
9…………………………………39.11…………………………48.6
12……………………………….29.85…………………………64.9
15……………………………….24.08…………………………81.1
20……………………………….18.18……………………….108.2
25……………………………….14.59……………………….135.2
28……………………………….13.04……………………….151.5
35……………………………….10.45……………………….189.3
40…………………………………9.15……………………….216.4
50…………………………………7.32……………………….270.5
81.2………………………………4.51……………………….439.3
93……………………………….. 3.67……………………….503.1

3.2 mm and 5.8 mm lens are considered wide angle lens as it gives a Horizontal angle of view of more than 50 Degrees.
Focal Length above 15 degrees will be considered telephoto lens.

The simplest and fastest way to calculate 40 degrees angle of view ( Normal Lens) in field condition, is to spread out your hand with your arm stretched out in front of you, the tip from the left little finger to right little finger.

It is possible to view images at flickr

FIRST PROFESSIONAL ASSIGNMENT

A Private sector company was keen to produce a corporate film, to promote the use of baby milk powder. A friend of mine was involved as Producer cum Cinematographer.

I was hired as an Assistant Cameraman. My job was to ensure that all the shots were in sharp focus, and to place the lights as desired by the Cinematographer.

For reasons unknown to me, a scene in the script demanded filming of childbirth. The location was fixed in a hospital. On the day of the filming, a pregnant lady, in her advanced stage was identified. Ideally we should have taken her concurrence, but we knew, she would refuse. Not one word was exchanged. It was a government hospital, where she was treated free of cost. She was embarrassed, but had no option.

The camera was meticulously placed, frontal, almost head on, to have a clear view. The doctor as well as the nurse was informed not to block the camera. I took precise measurements with a measuring tape, seven feet to begin with. As the baby emerges, I needed to switch focus to five and a half feet, so that the baby is in sharp focus through out the shot. To ensure, nothing goes wrong during shoot I took several rehearsals. I wish I had an opportunity; for a dry run.

The set up took close to an hour. We then waited for two hours. I was looking almost everywhere, except where I was paid to look at.

At last, the baby decided to see the light of the day. I wasn’t used to such a sight. It was repulsive. I wanted to run away. But how could I? I am supposed to be a professional.

However I couldn’t concentrate. For a fraction of a second, I looked at the ceiling. The focus went haywire. The Producer cum Cinematographer was obviously annoyed. I pleaded for a second take, if possible. I offered my services to identify another poor lady with labor pain. My request was politely turned down.

Later, in the evening, I was called by the Cinematographer. He offered me the remuneration for the day. But I was ashamed of myself. Because of my lack of concentration, the entire length of the shot could not be used. On the contrary, I wanted to compensate him for the losses. Being a struggler, I knew, I couldn’t do that.

I, however, didn’t accept the remuneration, for my first professional assignment.