This is a close up shot of an Andean Condor. It was taken with a Canon R6ii and an RF100-500mm lens. I waited for quite a while hoping it would look my way trying to keep the extended lens level and still (which seemed like an eternity). The light was low so the ISO on this shot is higher than I normally like. The condor finally looked dead straight at me and its gaze was startling. I held down the shutter to capture a burst. Shot at 500mm, f.7.1, 1/1000 sec., ISO 10,000. Shot in natural (cloudy) light, with minimal processing. I chose a tight crop because the detail of its eyes, skin, and hair-like feathers on its mostly bald head were, in my mind, its most compelling characteristics. Although this was not shot with a small aperture, I was able to achieve a shallow depth of field due to the long focal length. Modern eye auto-focus is amazing.