Month
Oct 2001
Field Vulture
If you've lived in the Western United States for any length of time, you're sure to have seen field and turkey vultures flying in the sky. While these birds are typically maligned by humans, they perform a vital function in nature. While prevalent, they are typically at a distance and quite difficult to approach.
Their dark color against a bright sky is simply beyond the range capabilities of most film. In the photo above, I was able to capture the vulture landing in front of some trees. This reduced the brightness range to the point where it could be handled by the negative film I was using. 5 F stops between the light areas and dark areas is about all a negative film can handle. The human eye sees a range of about 16 F stops.
To view additional images, click here.