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| Griffon Vulture Preparing for Landing |
This is the largest bird in Israel - the Griffon Vulture. With wings that span over 2.5m (and sometimes near 3m), it's so impressive to observe in the air, gliding effortlessly. When they decide to land, their power projects through - just look at those claws!
Vultures are scavengers, eating carcasses of dead animals, and are very important for the environment as they're basically keeping it clean.
What do I like about the photo? The impressive subject, of course, in an amazing pose! The immense power it projects is obvious. I used a fast shutter speed (1/1300 of a second) to "freeze" the action, and I used an open aperture (f/6.3 - the most open my lens supports at the focal length of 400mm that I used) for a shallow depth of field, to have the Vulture in focus, and the background blurred out. This way the Vulture really stands out from the background. The background itself is interesting and colorful, providing nice contrast to the Vulture. There's huge amount of detail, as well - just zoom in!
What would I want to improve? An even shallower depth of field might have been even better, but unfortunately my equipment does not support that. Eye contact with the Vulture would have been awesome, as well. Sunlight would have been preferable, but unfortunately the day was very clouded.