Cape Vulture sidelight

[Chris van Rooyen]

I photographed this vulture earlier this year at Giants Castle. The situation was challenging in that the background was in the shade, but the whitish bird was partially in the sun, resulting in a lot of contrast. Not everyone likes side-lighting, but I actually do, especially on large, dramatic subjects, against a dark background. Comments, as always, are appreciated.

Camera Model: NIKON D3
Date/Time: 2009:10:12 11:12:09
Shutter speed: 1/2500 sec
Aperture: 7.1
Exposure mode: Manual
Flash: Off
Metering mode: Multi-segment
ISO: 900
Lens: 600mm
Focal length: 600mm

[Leo Berzins]

Thanks for showing us what can be achieved with sidelit images, Chris.
Love the head on stare and the dynamic pose.
The shaded parts of the vulture are nicely rendered. Was this a result of your exposure settings or post processing, or both?.

[Chris van Rooyen]

Thanks Leo. I would guess probably both. I find the D3's matrix metering is very accurate, but in this case I did use a fair amount of shadow/highlight tool specifically on the whites to bring back the detail. The shadows were fine out of the camera.

[Ofer Levy]

Lovely shot! Great BG, pose, detail and sharpness. I feel it needs some adjustments - happy to re-post it with your permission.

[Manos Papadomanolakis]

the bg looks...great,beautiful pose,wing position too!!!

[Chris van Rooyen]

THanks for the comments guys:-) Sure Ofer go ahead

[Dave Leroy]

What a rugged looking bird. Lots of fine detail in photo and lovely bg. I appreciate it Chris that you and other excellent photographers post with your camera settings. It is very helpful. Thank you. Dave

[Stu Bowie]

Chris, I like the how the wings are parallel to the frame, and great eye contact. Having seen a lot of GC images, the BG colours in this are different to the norm. Doesnt distract from a fine capture.

[Arsdel Fluesmeier]

I like the side lighting. The detail and action in the buzzard is very good.

[David Fletcher]

Think you have done a great job here Chris. with Stu on the GC pictures and the bg: (guess when I get my but down there, I'll understand). Re your shot, love the details and IQ. Outstanding.

[Danny J Brown]

Hi Chris: This is a great shot. It looks like you froze the bird while the bird was frozen in the wind. I also love the pano composition and the bokeh is gorgeous. Also, pretty cool the way its head is hanging down. Nice image.

[Ofer Levy]

Here it is Chris. SOme levels adjustment and a bit of warming filter. I felt the colours are a bit washed out in the original.
Cheers,
Ofer

[Kiran Poonacha]

The repost sure shows more detail, nice pose, loved the eyecontact, great angle and dangleing feet puts this over the top, congrats..

[philperry]

Beautiful shot Chris. Its great to be able to see the white eye (an ID point which rules out whitebacked vulture). Love the way its undercarriage is hanging down.

[Chris van Rooyen]

Thanks guys! Ofer, definitely an improvement, thanks!