white backed vulture
White backed vulture about to land
White backed vulture about to land
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May, 2017Views
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Awards
Chatter Award
Zenith Award
Featured
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Magnificent Capture
Top Choice
Superb Composition
Outstanding Creativity
Superior Skill
All Star
Genius
Virtuoso
Emotions
Impressed
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
This photo was taken from the renown Giants Castle Vulture Hide in the Giants Castle Nature Reserve in the Drakensberg in South Africa. The hide is open for visitors to observe and photograph the endangered species Bearded Vulture as well as other species of vulture.Time
This was my favourite place to photograph these beautiful birds. I would leave home in Wartburg at around 4.30am to travel to the bird hide a distance of about 150kms from home. As the hide is small I would always invite 2 to 3 friends to join me for the day at the hide. We would travel together and plan to get to the hide as the sun came up. We would take picnic baskets and spend much of the day enjoying the birds. Once the day started to warm up the birds would start flying and the excitement grew.Lighting
The best time of day for taking pictures was early before 10.00am but the birds did not always start flying before that. This photo was taken on the 9th May 2014 at midday when lighting was not ideal.Equipment
I used a Canon EOS 7D with EF70-200mm f/4L USM +1.4x converter (my favourite lens). Beanbags are essential for resting your camera on in the hide. Tripods dont work in the hide. There is no electricity in the hide so it is important to take fully charged batteries with you.Inspiration
I was inspired by local photographers after seeing beautiful images of the vultures. I entered a raffle and won a place in the hide with 2 other photographers. We were accompanied and coached by Mr Philip van den Bergh on how to photograph birds in flight. Access to the hide is by 4x4 vehicle only.Editing
I usually crop my images to improve composition and then in PS for nature images, I adjust levels, dodge and burn, sharpen and save.In my camera bag
My camera bag weighs a ton! I have a 18-135mm lens, 70-200mm lens, a 100mm macro lens, an 85mm portrait lens, a 10-20mm wide angle lens, a flash and filters. I carry a beanbag and a sturdy tripod on most shoots.Feedback
One needs to book well in advance to visit the hide. It is very popular and bookings can be difficult to get. The hide is open everyday and include in the booking fee is a bucket of bones for the the vultures. The feeding of bones keeps the birds alive when there insufficient natural food to them to survive. The winter months are the best time to visit hide as the grass is short and winter light is less harsh. The winter months also coincide with the breeding time and the vultures seem to be more hungry.
