Turkey Vulture

What technical feedback would you like if any? Any

What artistic feedback would you like if any? Any

Pertinent technical details or techniques:

A couple of days ago I was out on a boat and observing some drama of a juvenile Bald Eagle eating a fish on the ground with a parent there with it and they attracted up to a half dozen Turkey Vultures that were very interested in the goin’s on. While the eagles were not offering good shots being behind some bushes I started grabbing shots of the Vultures circling around with a nearby hillside behind them. D500, Nikon 200-500 lens, Nikon 1.4 TC, hand held, 1/3200th, f 8.0, 700mm, ISO 2800, AI Clear, cropped to 3663 x 2714.

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Excellent, Dave. This angle really emphasizes the head and the detail is outstanding. Well done.

I like this, too and even though the BG is splotchy but it is quite fitting with the characters of the bird, or so it seems to me. On a closer inspection, I am wondering what’s going on with the tip of the first primary on the far wing (bird’s right wing). It seems to blend in with the background. Is that a blunder in masking?

A- I guess it’s just a coincidence of exactly overlapping color right there. I did no masking.

Sounds like quite a scene! I like the classic pose of the vulture, the image quality looks pretty good, and BG is nice. It looks like the light was pretty harsh and there was noise reduction run on the bird?

Yes. I used AI Clear, and it was 10:30am sunshine.

Hi Dave
90% of the time I try to photograph a Turkey Vulture, it’s flying 15 to 100Ft above me. The level head on shot looks great. (head detail and coloring.)
Peter