White-backed Vulture - Tarangire NP, Tanzania

[Vivek Khanzode]

Returned from a fantastic trip to Tanzania and Kenya a few weeks ago (met Harshad in Kenya). It was a fantastic trip from photographic standpoint and I have 12K photos to go through. Special thanks to Kiran and Harshad (www.bigcattours.com) for the excellent choice of parks to visit and for the logistics and choices of photographic locations. On the first day, I have 65 new lifers!! On Harshad's recommendation, posting here at BPN for critique for the first time. Over the next several weeks, I'll post a photo every other day for critique.

We saw this Vulture on our first day of game rounds in the Tarangire National Park in Tanzania. The light was horrendous with the sky in the background. Just liked the composition so tried to salvage the situation to the best of my abilities. Shot late in the day. Technical details: 1D4 + 500L on a beanbag in a stopped Safari Landcruiser, ISO 800, 1/1000s, f/5.0, Evaluative mode +2EV. Processed in LR3, NR, some sharpening and added a little fill light.

Fairly common bird in East Africa, but this was one of the only few good shooting opportunities for this bird.

Critique is always welcome.

 

[yogesh_puranik]

wow..looks amazing trip and with the harshad and kiran..it must be fantastic..
nice compo and balanced image..keep them coming

 

[Aidan Briggs]

Nice job balancing the comp with that big perch. Unfortunately, the light is pretty flat, and the angle is a little steep. If you are okay with it, I might remove the second OOF branch near the bottom. You did well with a fairly difficult situation.

Looking forward to more!