andean condor
Jun, 2012Views
1826
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Awards
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Top Choice
Peer Award
Magnificent Capture
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Outstanding Creativity
Superior Skill
Exceptional Contrast
Jaw Dropping
All Star
One Of A Kind
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PRO+
desertpagan
August 06, 2012
An outstanding close up! I would like to invite you to join my Project called, "Birds of the World" and post some of your lovely bird shots!
PRO+
Platinum
garthurdavis
September 17, 2012
Suberb close-up of this amazing creature ! ! ! Well done ! ! ! VOTED ! ! !
Ultimate
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ryobibob
September 22, 2013
I am speechless about the colors, contrast,and resolution. Would love to see the wing span.
Flosno
January 07, 2014
Wonder if this is the partner of the one I took in South America....congrats on your award
Premium
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken at the Forest Park Zoo in Springfield MA.Time
We were there in the morning.Lighting
I like the morning light for shooting anything outdoors. It seems more sublime and is definitely less harsh than noon or mid afternoon sun.Equipment
For this photo I used a Pentax Istd and a Tamron 35 to 120 zoom lens., the setting was f6.7 and 1/350th on 200 ISO. It was a hand held shot.Inspiration
The bird was almost posing for pictures close to the front of his cage. I could not get a whole body shot without involving the cage itself, so instead I concentrated on head shots and various other body parts. This is a huge bird.Editing
For post processing I have used Photoshop CS for the last ten years or so. Since this was one of my earlier attempts I used the clone tool to darken out all the background. Then just lightness/contrast and a bit of sharpening. I crop most of my photos to a 5x7 and change the size to reflect 320 pixels for publishing on the web.In my camera bag
I now carry a Pentax K7 with the kit 19 to 55 lens, a 200mm f2.8 fixed focal length Pentax lens, a 100mm f2.8 Pentax macro lens and my two trusty zooms, the Tamron and an 80 to 320 Pentax lens. I also carry a variety of Cokin filters.Feedback
When shooting in Zoos I like to concentrate on the animal. I shoot in manual focus with spot metering and spot focus. It is important to focus on the animals eyes to get a great portrait. If the animal is too close to the front of its cage you will catch the chain link in the photo. I like to shoot an animal about ten feet away from the front and make sure you focus through an opening in the fence on the eyes. Use as large an aperture as possible to decrease the depth of field. Ant telltale sign of the chain link can in most cases be minimized in photoshop by increasing the contrast. If there is one particular zoo that you frequent, you will find that there are different animals that are more photogenic every time you visit. Look for them and concentrate your shooting time there.
