Bearded Vulture

[Chris van Rooyen]

I obtained this image in October this year at Giants Castle. The weather was perfect - lightly overcast which helped to contain the whites and brought with it some detail in the shadows. The soft green background was the result of early summer rains, which brought a first flush of green grass on the mountain side. Could not ask for better conditions:)

Camera Model: NIKON D3
Date/Time: 2009:10:12 09:20:40
Shutter speed: 1/2500 sec
Aperture: 6.3
Exposure mode: Manual
Flash: Off
Metering mode: Multi-segment
ISO: 720
Lens: 600mm
Focal length: 600mm

[Phil Ertel]

Hi Chris, This is lovely! I like the placement of the bird in the frame. The view of the back of the wings is very nice with good detail. I also think the eye contact is very good. I like the background colors and that there is a subtle hint of the environment. Well done and thanks for sharing.

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Chris, one heck on an image. Loved the mountainside BG...and killer killer pose. The composition is perfect IMO. Keep 'em coming.

[Harshad Barve]

terrific pose , great eye contact , details and lovely BG , Chris , this is awesome image
TFS

[Grace Scalzo]

What a dynamic image, beautiful and powerful.

[Dan Busby]

Chris - this shot is so good that it even gives a good ornithology lesson on how birds use their Alula in flight - those few "thumb" feather at the end of the wing.

[Aidan Briggs]

Wow! Perfect HA, exposure, and sharpness. Great wing position too. Just about perfect.

[Danny Laredo]

Wonderful image Chris. Great capture.

[Jim Crosswell]

Excellent image Chris!

[Krijn Trimbos]

I love the pose, the feeling of wind through the ruffled feathers, the eye contact and beautiful BG. Congrats!

[Ofer Levy]

Stunning image Chris!! Beautifully composed!

[Nagesh Mula]

Simply Beautiful Chris, Congrats!!

[Mike Lentz]

Man o man Chris! Your Vulture images are STUNNING! Are you sitting on an animal carcass or something? :D

[RakeshDhareshwar]

How does it feel to fly ??? This is almost like you were flying with it :) Perfect on the exposure , BG , sharpness , HA !!!

[Gerrie van Vuuren]

Like the banking pose, head angle & BG. Stunning image Chris!:)

[Chris van Rooyen]

Thanks so much for the comments everyone, appreciated as always:) Mike this is at the Giants Castle hide in KwaZulu-Natal. The birds are baited with bones and meat. The hide is situated on the edge of a cliff, therefore the amazing eye level perspective when the birds come close.

[Manos Papadomanolakis]

killer bg,pose,wing position!!!

[Kiran Poonacha]

Just loved this Bhai, great pose, super angle, good eye contact and that Bg.. all good, congrats..

[Mike Lentz]

Thanks so much for the comments everyone, appreciated as always:) Mike this is at the Giants Castle hide in KwaZulu-Natal. The birds are baited with bones and meat. The hide is situated on the edge of a cliff, therefore the amazing eye level perspective when the birds come close.

Thanks, Chris. I suspected that. Its pretty much how I do it with certain species and was just curious. :)
By the way, I admire the effort and images you create! I always look forward to seeing your work.

[niranjan sant]

this brillient image,i loved the wing position,shows wind condition and mountain scape behind