Cape Vulture approaching

[Chris van Rooyen]

I spent an hour today in the hide at the vulture "restaurant" of my old friend and ex-colleague Kerry Wolter, director of Vulpro. Kerri runs a rehabilitation centre with over 200 captive birds, mostly vultures, and she was the first person to successfully breed the endangered Cape Vulture in captivity. Her vulture "restaurant" provides carcasses on a daily basis to wild birds breeding in the Magaliesberg, and it is thanks to her and three other "restaurants" that we now have a breeding population of almost 600 pairs of this species in Gauteng, the industrial hub of South Africa. These birds are entirely dependent on these "restaurants" and feed there on a daily basis. The light wasn't great, but a slight cloudiness helped to control he contrast.

Thanks for viewing!

Camera Model: NIKON D5
Date/Time: 2019:04:12 12:26:44
Shutter speed: 1/3200 sec
Aperture: 6.3
Exposure mode: Manual
Exposure compensation: +1/3
Metering mode: Multi-segment
ISO: 720
Lens: 500.0 mm f/4.0

[annmpacheco]

Whoa... intense! Love this capture and the head position w those big feet. I am not familiar at all with this vulture but i wonder if it is a bit bright causing a washed out effect along with some ?blown areas along top wings... Would like to see a few black points added perhaps. Impressive and glad i'm not on the menu.

[Chris van Rooyen]

Indeed Ann, I think the whites are a bit bright. I have lowered the exposure slightly on the RP. Thanks for viewing and commenting

[annmpacheco]

Indeed Ann, I think the whites are a bit bright. I have lowered the exposure slightly on the RP. Thanks for viewing and commenting

Better Chris...

[David Roach]

Just wonderful pose on this one Chris. My favorite thing about this awesome image is that "main" of feathers fluttering from the head. I actually like that one aspect better in the OP. TFS

[John Mack]

Very nice. Like the head on approach and the way the head is between the feet. Really like the pano crop.

[greg cowle]

Cool pose, and a nice story. Are the birds breeding in the wild even though relying on the "restaurants"?

[Chris van Rooyen]

Cool pose, and a nice story. Are the birds breeding in the wild even though relying on the "restaurants"?

Hi Greg, thanks for viewing and commenting. Yes they have been breeding on cliffs in the Magaliesberg since time immemorial.

[dankearl]

Awesome incoming pose....

[Paul Burdett]

Ditto the positive comments. Love everything about this image...the look on the bird's face is classic! TFS

[Ian McLachlan]

Yes to all of the above, and the head is clear of the body which makes it even better; and those feet!

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Chris this is gorgeous, especially with a head on appraoch, I assume the vulture is flying into the wind as it flies towards you?

I much prefer the OP, the RP appears a tad flat, in the OP you have that lovely clean, bright blue sky, the RP looks a bit 'grubby' so to speak. :S3:

I do agree that the whites need to be addressed, but with a layer & mask so you are not applying the change globally, but targeting the key areas.

I wonder Chris if this is where Stu B goes to photograph some of his Vulture images?

TFS
Steve

[Chris van Rooyen]

Thanks everyone for commenting and the useful advice! Steve, yes I agree in retrospect that a targeted application on the whites would have worked better. I'm not sure where Stu gets his images from - this hide is relatively unknown, but well worth a visit, and less than an hours drive from Johannesburg, and tar road virtually all the way (except the last 500m). The birds are very habituated and not skittish at all. The background is more challenging than Giant's Castle, and might require some PS work to remove man-made objects e.g. powerlines. BTW the background is actually a distant mountainside, not sky. Wind direction was perfect for head-on approaches.

[Steve Kaluski]

I'm not sure where Stu gets his images from - this hide is relatively unknown

It was just a thought Chris, but perhaps if you were happy, I should give you a heads up next time I'm in Jo'berg which always coincides with seeing young Stu & Colleen. :bg3:

[Chris van Rooyen]

It was just a thought Chris, but perhaps if you were happy, I should give you a heads up next time I'm in Jo'berg which always coincides with seeing young Stu & Colleen. :bg3:

With pleasure Steve!

[Steve Kaluski]

With pleasure Steve!

Many thanks Chris, will look forward to that, but you can rest easy, the next two years are already planned for, with two awesome tips in the bag, so a few years to plan for 2021. :bg3::wave: