Two on the Stone Bed

the story

We looked at them on the open stone bed where the river runs shallow and wide. Pedwaali stood at the edge of the water, one paw in the current, while one of Paarwali's cubs sat just behind her on the drier rocks. Both heads were turned the same way, across the river, holding whatever had caught their attention out of frame. I framed wide to keep the whole stone bed and the moving water in the picture. Against all that grey, the two coats carried the entire frame.

the encounter

The light was flat and even, the river a broad path of grey behind them. I framed the two tigers to the right of centre, where the rocks rise away from the water. Pedwaali stood on the wet stones at the river's edge; one of her sister Paarwali's cubs sat close behind her on the bank. Both were looking towards the side of the river. I took a few frames in that stillness, and this was the one where both faces were clear and turned together.