Cape Vulture

[Chris van Rooyen]

Found this image amongst some of my previous trips to Giants Castle. The light was magical that morning, soft and filtered :)

Camera Model: Canon EOS-1D Mark III
Date/Time: 2008:08:30 08:21:08
Shutter speed: 1/2500 sec
Aperture: 5.6
Exposure mode: Av
Exposure compensation: +1/3
Flash: Off
Metering mode: Evaluative
Drive mode: Continuous
ISO: 1000
Lens: EF500mm f/4L IS USM

[Axel Hildebrandt]

This is very cool! Light, wing position, sharpness and eye contact are great, and the BG makes it even better. Thanks for sharing!

[Kiran Poonacha]

WOW, This is just great Bhai.. whats colours, light and pose... I love it..:cool:

[Danny Laredo]

Indeed wonderful light and flight pose. The blod on the head is a nice bonus.

[Hendri Venter]

What a great posture and such good soft light. Magic image Chris.

[Krijn Trimbos]

Excellent BG and soft light. The pose is to die for! Could see this with a bit more contrast. Gorgeous shot nonetheless!

[Krijn Trimbos]

Hi Chris,

This is what I was going for. A bit more midtone contrast added with an S-curve. I painted the original contrast back in some highlight areas to prevent burnt whites.

Also I decreased the warm light effect just a tiny bit in color balance.....Probably this is not noticable as a 'normal' layer when using an S-curve also adds some saturation.....

Hope you are ok with me playing with your file and like what I have done.

Respectfully,

Krijn

[Victor Soares]

Hey Chris ... a great image from a magical place. Having been to Giant's Castle to watch these guys, I must say that the original is a much greater illustration of reality - the second image has way too much contrast (not true to the actual bird and place)

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Chris, this is brilliantly done. The pose with the outstretched primaries is a killer one. That BG always rocks. One heck of a place for sure.

[Nicki Gwynn Jones]

I prefer the original - love the softer light. Great BG too :)

[Nico Steenberg]

Great pose and comp Chris ! IMG is razor sharp and exposure spot on against a killer bg. Well done :)

[Chris van Rooyen]

Thanks for the comments guys. Krijn, I think its a matter of personal taste;). The repost is certainly striking, but has an almost painting like quality to me?

[arash_hazeghi]

Excellent photo Chris, love the pose, light and details, I prefer the original. TFS

[Krijn Trimbos]

Hi Chris,

I do think to some point it is a matter of personal opinion how much contrast you use, so I agree with you there. Just wanted to share my view on the PP part of it, doesn't mean I don't think the original is brilliant just thought it could use a bit more contrast.

In any case thanks for the feedbackback :D

Cheers,

Krijn

[Simon Bennett]

Wonderful spread of wings and superb detail.

[Doug Brown]

Love this image Chris! Perfectly even lighting, excellent DOF and sharpness, and a cool pose. All against a BG with a matching color palette.

[Danny J Brown]

Chris - You continue to set the bar on this website. Incredible shot.

DB

[Mark Dumbleton]

Awesome image Chris! Great BG and love the light!

[Ramon M. Casares]

Anything else but superb Chris... anything else but superb... pose, light, B, species, detail, exposure, sharpness, DOF, all is simply perfect IMO. Congrats!