Cape Vulture

[Kobus Tollig]

Taken at Giants Castle South-Africa....
I like the BG here and the way the bird pops. Maybe the beak gets lost a bit in the BG
All comments and Crits Welcome
Canon 40D
100-400mm @ 400mm
1/2000 sec, f/7.1
Mode: Manual
Metering: Evaluative
ISO: 1000
AF mode: AI Servo AF
Drive: Continuous (high): frame 1
White balance: Auto
Flash: Off

[Mark Dumbleton]

Like the inclusion of the environment here. Agree I like the BG, but composition I cant decide on, would probably have prefered more space on the left, including more of the rocks etc. Super exposure and hard light well handled.

[Kobus Tollig]

Thx Mark appreciate the comment. I hear what you say on the comp. The reason i chose this comp is cause he would fly(and did) to the right. Most of his body was also facing right, catch 22 a guess.
Lets see what others say

[Stu Bowie]

Kobus, I like the pose with the extended neck. Good detail, and the beak against the BG if fine. Comp wise, he is looking to the left, thus less on the RHS, and more on the left will work, creating a vertical crop. A little tight at the bottom.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Pose, details and BG look great. I might crop it as a vertical.

[Kirsten Frost]

Good work Kobus. I probably would have shot this vertical with space to the left and above, but the comp as is does not bother me. Quite like the dark areas of the background, it adds some nice depth.

[Daniel Cadieux]

Even though the body is pointing to the right it is almost alway best to give the extra space to the area the subject is looking towards to. The bill looks fine against the BG as there is a small lighter patch in the BG that is conveniantly placed behind it :-)

[Mital Patel]

Dear Kobus

I agree with Axel to have vertical crop as that would go better.
also you may be able to enhance bit of detail on wing portion by USM and H&S play.

the bg has got some purple cast which i removed hope you will like it.

[Morkel Erasmus]

great shot mate! agree with Kirsten on the darker BG adding depth, makes it pop. beak doesn't get lost for me. so when do we get the take-off shot? ;)

[Gyorgy Szimuly]

I love it. Definitely a vertical version would work better. Not a crop from horizontal. Repost doesn't work for me as it too tight for me taste. Lights and colors are lovely and works also better on the original post. I might add a bit more sharpening.

Szimi

[Isak Pretorius]

I LOVE this comp and the perception of depth in the BG created by the side lighting on the mountain. I would just flip this image to have the lines lead the eye from top left towards the bird. The fact that he's not looking into the frame almost draws my attention more and does not bother me at all. In fact, I think this works well - "breaking the rules" example. Nice one Kobus!