Bearded Vulture

[Chris van Rooyen]

During my last visit to Giants Castle, a howling gale started blowing the second morning. It literally blew the sky clear of birds, not even the Cape and Bearded Vultures could cope with the force of the wind. This young Bearded Vulture hung around for a short while, before disappearing as well. I managed to capture him as he battled to stabilise himself in the strong wind, which gave rise to this unusual posture.

Camera Model: Canon EOS-1D Mark III
Date/Time: 2008:08:31 07:18:43
Shutter speed: 1/3200 sec
Aperture: 5.6
Exposure mode: Av
Exposure compensation: +1/3
Flash: Off
Metering mode: Multi-segment
ISO: 640
Focal length: 500mm

[Manos Papadomanolakis]

A masterpiece,no words only congrats!!!!!!!!!

[Ramon M. Casares]

Just superb! I always say this, but I hope some day I can work with these birds! Congratulations for such a great shot!

[Kaushik Balakumar]

This is a killer image. Excellent angle, lovely details & well 'freezed' action.
The lifted tail & spread out wings show the act of balance & control. Liked the head tilt & engrossed look in its eye.
This is a winner all the way...

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Very cool in all respects, I particularly like the raised tail.

[Juan Aragonés]

This one is very easy to comment Chris, simply fantastic.:eek::eek:

[Robert O'Toole]

WOW, great action and drama! Superb Chris!

Details sharpness, pose, colors all look great. I would leave as is.

Robert

[Linda Robbins]

This is superb. I love the pose, the head angle, the light, the crisp detail and the bg. This image couldn't be better, and is my favorite of your Bearded vulture images.

[Mark Dumbleton]

Superb stuff Chris. Really like the pose and the characteristic Giants Castle BG is great!
Well captured!