Lappet-faced vulture

[Marietjie Oosthuizen]

This picture was taken in the Kgalagadi National Park in the Kalahari.

Canon EOS 1D Mk II N
Lens 500mm f4
1/4000 sec, f/4.5
Av
ISO 400
Exp comp. +2/3

[Maxis Gamez]

This works very well for me, especially how the head is lit.

Just out of curiosity... why using f/4.5?

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Great pose and eye contact. I wish for a bit wider DOF, stopping down more wouldn't have been a problem considering the shutter speed. I might give it a bit more room top and left. Keep them coming!

[Arthur Morris]

Hi Marietjie, and welcome. I like it. The head looks washed out. Select it with a Quick Mask and do either a Linear Burn or a Mulitply (Blending Mode) and then reduce the Opacity to taste. Then boost the SAT on the layer for a much stronger image. There is a thread on Linear Burn in Educational Resources.

[Fabs Forns]

Red carpet welcome to BPN, Marietjie, I hope you can feel right at home here.
Great close up, very intimate. Agree the face could use a bit more density.

Will be looking forward to more.

[Neil Losin]

This is just awesome. Great eye contact and I like the tight comp.

[Chris Labuschagne]

Hi Marietjie, I would not change anything in this shot as this is the natural colours of the Lappet-Faced Vulture. This is a brilliant close up ( portrait ) shot!!!

[Marietjie Oosthuizen]

Thanks for the comments everybody! Maxis, I was busy shooting sandgrouse coming to a water hole so was shooting at F/4.5 to keep the shutterspeed high when this guy showed up unexpectedly. I didnt have time to (or think about) changing the f-stop... Thanks for the advice Arthur, I will certainly try it.