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Thread: Bearded Vulture

  1. #1
    IOTY Winner 2008 Chris van Rooyen's Avatar
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    Default Bearded Vulture

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    The Giant's Castle vulture hide in KwaZulu-Natal is world famous for its Bearded Vultures, which are attracted by the bones which are placed daily to attract them. This particular morning a eight years ago, we were surprised by the early morning appearance of a magnificent adult bird, something which does not happen often. The wind was perfect, with the bird hanging suspended in the breeze in front of the hide in glorious morning light. It finally landed and stayed for a few minutes before spreading its wings again and gliding slowly away in the stiff breeze. One of those times when after years of trying, everything suddenly comes together I removed an OOF rock in the foreground with PS clone tool. Removed a little bit of noise in the background with Neat Image.


    Camera Model: NIKON D3S
    Date/Time: 2011:06:28 07:48:42
    Shutter speed: 1/2500 sec
    Aperture: 8
    Exposure mode: Manual
    Exposure compensation: -1/3
    ISO: 640
    Focal length: 600mm

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    I love the hanging talons, pose in general, eye contact, light, colors, detail and incredible BG. Just sublime. TFS

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    Lifetime Member gail bisson's Avatar
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    Holy moly, this is fantastic!
    The light is divine, the bird spectacular and the IQ is off the charts. The feather details and the beard detail are ROCK STAR!
    Wing position, head angle and the tail sweep are perfect.
    I think we have an early contender for IOTY 2019 here!
    Well done Chris!
    Gail
    PS. It is hard not to be jealous of this one- my jealousy bone is throbbing....

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    BPN Member Bill Dix's Avatar
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    Spectacular image, Chris. Gorgeous light, perfect head turn showing the eye and beard, wonderful detail, flight pose. As you say, it all came together. Gail's not the only one that's envious -- probably all of us are. Very well done.

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    BPN Member William Dickson's Avatar
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    This is beautiful.....Fantastic light and wow what great detail and colours throughout. Love the flight pose. Very well done.

    Will

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    Very nice. Sweet pose with nice light and a great background.

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    A real beauty Chris! Great pose, light, IQ, details, composition and complimentary BG.

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    BPN Member dankearl's Avatar
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    Pretty much off the charts...
    Dan Kearl

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    Yes I agree with Dan off the charts.Looked at it earlier and was impressed just pops. Great light and detail.

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    Many years ago I went birding in South Africa and high on my list of wanted birds to get was Lammergeier. So we drove over the Sani Pass and up into the Drakensburg Mountains in Lesotho where we found a Lammergeier in the distance. It was enough to satisfy but I wanted better. Last September while on vacation in Spain with family I drove up into the Pyrenees in the middle of the night and found 9 Lammergeiers. Had them full frame in my camera. Had them fighting, banking, flying, rolling. Dream shots and a dream experience. The next day all of my gear was stolen including my Lammergeier shots. I was far more heartbroken about losing the pics than the gear which was insured. Just a back story so you know how much I love this bird and the efforts I have put in to see it.

    If anyone does not know these birds can be up to 4 feet tall with 9 foot wing spans. They are beyond impressive and truly one of the top birds in the world in my opinion. I have birded 6 continents and seen thousands of species and Lammergeier is one of the few birds that takes my breath away.

    I think your photo is easily the best I have ever seen on BPN. For me it is not even close. And I do not mean best of this species, I mean best photo I have ever seen on this site. This is just perfection in every way from the pose, the details, the background and most importantly the power and grace that you captured in this incredible bird. I know the rush of seeing and shooting this bird and what it must have felt like for you. I said this once before but that is what it is all about. That feeling, that emotion, that rush when the stars align and your dream species and dream shot are in front of you and all of your planning and hard work paid off. Have to bottle that feeling and take a sip now and then. Heartfelt congrats on this memorable photo.
    Last edited by Isaac Grant; 03-05-2019 at 10:27 PM.

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    Amazing shot.
    Everything about this image is perfect. I think this is as good as it can get.

    TFS

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  22. #12
    IOTY Winner 2008 Chris van Rooyen's Avatar
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    Thanks to everyone who has commented on this image - I am quite overwhelmed and humbled by the positive response! Isaac, I couldn't agree with you more on these birds, one cannot be but emotionally moved when viewing them from close-up. We are extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to see and photograph them close-up in South Africa. Your story about the theft of your gear in Spain is heart-wrenching! You will have to come out here to have another bite at it. Unfortunately the birds in Southern Africa is highly threatened due to habitat degradation, poisoning, powerlines, food shortage and lately potential wind farm developments in their range. For more information on the plight of the Bearded Vulture in southern Africa see https://projectvulture.org.za/the-vu...arded-vulture/

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    Chris I would love to go back to South Africa with my camera this time. So many amazing birds and such an incredibly beautiful country. I will have another go at Lammergeier one day. Probably back in Spain as my wifes childhood best friend moved there so we will surely go back. Do you shoot through glass at that hide?

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    IOTY Winner 2008 Chris van Rooyen's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Isaac Grant View Post
    Chris I would love to go back to South Africa with my camera this time. So many amazing birds and such an incredibly beautiful country. I will have another go at Lammergeier one day. Probably back in Spain as my wifes childhood best friend moved there so we will surely go back. Do you shoot through glass at that hide?
    Hi Isaac, no there are port holes. The subspecies in Spain is different to the one in SA, I would love to get some images of it as well. I'm shocked to hear your gear was stolen in Spain, we South Africans sometimes think those type of things happen only here...

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    The hides in Spain all have glass and I was leary about shooting in them for fear of losing image quality. So I found a spot near the hides, but further down the mountain and waited for the birds to fly by. Good to hear about your hide not having glass. Makes it a must do at some point. Gear theft was a freak happening. Was driving down the road and parked our car to go eat. When we came back there were 7 cars in the lot that had all been broken into. They broke the back side window, open the rear door, pulled down the seat and pulled the bags from the trunk. Apparently happens all the time in Barcelona according to the police and the people at the rent a car company. Guys got super lucky when they broke into my car. Get off with over $24,000 of stuff. But I swear that the first thing I thought was oh no, my Lammergeier shots are gone! Should have kept those cards somewhere else but can not go back in time now. And it turns out it was for the best as it easily allowed me to switch to Nikon which I am very happy about. If I ever get there I will look you up. Really looking forward to more of your impressive shots.

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    Lifetime Member Mike Poole's Avatar
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    Just a stunner Chris, light, action, detail, you simply nailed this one

    Mike

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    wonderful lights and a Spectacular image
    very impressing

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