Mark -

How fortunate for you to photograph one of these extremely rare and majestic condors. I'm amazed that you were able to get as close as you did - using only the 14-54mm lens. Too bad you didn't have a 50-200mm lens mounted on your E-3.

Here in northern Florida we have black and turkey vultures, and while I do a good deal of hiking and bird shooting (photographically speaking) I've never been able to get this close to them - except with a tele-lens.

I'm afraid that others who have viewed this photograph must not realize just how rare these creatures are, and that without the assistance of a few very dedicated individuals these birds would no doubt be extinct, I'm sad to say.

Also, until seeing this photograph I had no idea that any had migrated outside of California - amazing.

Thanks for sharing!

-leon

Leon Plympton wrote:
> Mark -
>
> How fortunate for you to photograph one of these extremely rare and majestic condors. I'm
> amazed that you were able to get as close as you did - using only the 14-54mm lens. Too bad
> you didn't have a 50-200mm lens mounted on your E-3.
>
> Here in northern Florida we have black and turkey vultures, and while I do a good deal of
> hiking and bird shooting (photographically speaking) I've never been able to get this close
> to them - except with a tele-lens.
>
> I'm afraid that others who have viewed this photograph must not realize just how rare these
> creatures are, and that without the assistance of a few very dedicated individuals these birds
> would no doubt be extinct, I'm sad to say.
>
> Also, until seeing this photograph I had no idea that any had migrated outside of California
> - amazing.
>
> Thanks for sharing!
>
> -leon
>
Leon,
You are correct regarding their rareness, but if you go to the right spots they are easily seen. One of the best places is the south rim of the Grand Canyon. Condors are very curious birds and will check out anything that catches their eye and they seem to enjoy the company of humans. That is a problem though as they can get too friendly. You can find out more by going to the Peregrine Fund website. Most of the condors are in California and many are captive or breeding stock birds. There are only a couple hundred wild birds in the world, so far. Their recovery seems to be going well.
The climb to Angel's Landing in Zion is rugged, especially for a 63 year old. I wish I had at least taken the small 40-150 that came with the E-510 kit. I figured, "I won't see anything I will need a telephoto for." Right!
Thanks for your comments.
- Mark H

Nice image with excellent detail. If you have access to Photoshop or other similar software, you might try cloning-out the branch that appears to be stuck in the condor's back. I would also try cloning the image to move the main subject off-center. Nice capture!