Kgalagadi Bateleur

[Rudi van den Heever]

This male bateleur greeted us almost every morning at the Cubitje Quap waterhole in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa. I waited patiently for the ever illusive take-off shot, but he just mocked me every now and then, waiting for the moment I pour some coffee to take off... I got this image one afternoon a about 14:40, whilst the light was still just a tad too hard, but a good result nevertheless...

Equipment: Canon 7D and 500mm F4 L lens
Settings: 1/3200s at F4 and ISO 200

[Thanaboon Jearkjirm]

Light maybe a bit harsh but it does give the 3D look to this image which I like. Good sharpness, nice details and the ready to take off pose is a plus. Love the background as well, the OOF rock in lower right distract a bit since you have sharp in focus rock right beside it in the picture.

[Munish Kaushik]

Wonderful take off pose, sharpness & bkgr here, Reds are not overexposed which is good. Had I been at your place, i would have tried moving a bit to the left to avoid that oof rock in the foreground.

Regards,
Munish Kaushik

[Nico Steenberg]

Well exposed detail and sharpness. I like the bg and pose. A super shot Rudi

[Nancy Bell]

Awesome image with a good intense look on the bird, great feather details, interesting pose with the raised wings and those brilliant red legs and face! If you have more room on the bottom I would see how it looked added back, as the bird is looking a bit down. Also if it is not against your practices, I would clone over the OOF rocks with the rocks from the left, flipped and transformed to fit the space. Lovely light brown bkgd.

[Frank Schauf]

Beautiful portrait, great pose and colours.

[Satish Ranadive]

Absolutely superb image.Excellent colors,details and beautiful pose.
Lovely backdrop on which bird pops up beautifully.Agree with Nancy about OOF rocks.

Regards,
Satish.

[Miguel Palaviccini]

Very nice throughout. I agree that the oof portion on the bottom right is a bit distracting. Otherwise well done!

[Robert Holguin]

Sweet shot. Excellent pose, wonderful background, exposed well, and terrific details.
Well done.

[Karl Egressy]

Striking image, Rudi. Love it!!!!!

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Very nice indeed. Nice eye contact, good BG and sharpness, I wish light was a bit less harsh.

[Rudi van den Heever]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone! It is much appreciated!