MONOCHROME | Prathamesh Ghadekar Photography

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Sandscape

Bufoniceps laungwalaensis , also known as the Laungwala long-headed lizard or Rajasthan toad-headed lizard, is an agamid lizard found in India (Rajasthan Desert, Jaisalmer District). It is the only species in the genus Bufoniceps. Small and stout, the Lizard is very alert and agile when the sand is warm. In early hours of morning and late evenings, the lizard is pretty lethargic and avoids running away. The lizard then adopts the escaping strategy of disappearing under the sand by creating tremors by its own body. The Lizard is pretty common in the sand dunes of Rajasthan but runs away swiftly when approached.
I had observed more than a dozen individuals and decided to make a habitat image of this Lizard, I chose the time when the sun has just come up and the sand is still on the cooler side, thus the Lizard allowed me to get closer and make this wide angle image with the beautiful sand habitat of the Lizard in the background.

Majestic Cat

A Young Tiger from Kanha Tiger Reserve comes out of its resting and observes its surroundings and the pond nearby.

Safest place on Earth

A Baby Gray Langur sits relaxed in its mother’s arms as it feeds on her highly nutritious milk. The Gray langur (Semnopithecus), also called the Hanuman langur is a genus of Old World monkeys native to the Indian subcontinent. Females usually give birth to a single infant, although twins do occur. Most births occur during the night. Infants are born with thin, dark brown or black hair and pale skin. Infants spend their first week attached to their mothers' chests and mostly just suckle or sleep. They do not move much in terms of locomotion for the first two weeks of their life. As they approach their sixth week of life, infants vocalize more.
Infanticide is common among gray langurs.
Most infanticidal langurs are males that have recently immigrated to a group and driven out the prior male. These males only kill infants that are not their own. Infanticide is more commonly reported in one-male groups, perhaps because one male monopolizing matings drives the evolution of this trait. In multiple-male groups, the costs for infanticidal males are likely to be high as the other males may protect the infants and they can't ensure that they'll sire young with other males around. Nevertheless, infanticide does occur in these groups, and is suggested that such practices serve to return a female to estrous and gain the opportunity to mate.

Spiny Beauty

A close up of a Slug Moth caterpillar. They are often called slug moths because their caterpillars bear a distinct resemblance to slugs. They are also called cup moths because of the shape of their cocoons. Many slug moth larvae are green and fairly smooth, but others have tubercles with urticating hairs and may have bright warning colors. The sting can be quite potent, causing severe pain. I was in a mango plantation when I first noticed these caterpillars. They were pretty big compared to other caterpillars around. The spiny and vibrant green appearance was very attractive and I decided to spend time photographing them. This particular image was taken with a macro lens at minimum focal distance and a flash firing from behind the caterpillar creating a smooth and watery lighting which I wanted.

Morning Prayers

A Weaver Ant pauses in between of its daily chores as other ants continue hastily with their jobs. The Ant in focus looks like it has taken some time off to complete it's morning prayers.