Belted Kingfisher

Gallery: AvianPosted May 15, 2016157 views11 comments

The closest I've come to getting a decent shot of one of these. There were a lot of them on the Florida trip but they would usually either leave when we were much too far away or burst out of hiding too fast for me to react. This one was far more cooperative, though this is still a fair crop.

7D2, Sigma 150-600 C @ 546mm, hand held from boat, f/6.3, 1/3200, iso 500, manual exposure. Processed in LR5 & CS6. Cropped to 8.14 MP before resizing. Taken at 10:57 am on March 28th.

Comments and criticisms are welcome and appreciated.

Thanks,

Comments

11 comments

Comment posted by Raoul Breaux Jr on May 15, 2016 at 8:16 PM

Dennis, this is a great action shot of the Kingfisher! You did a nice job with a difficult exposure given top-lighting on a bird with mostly black and white coloration. I love the pattern in the wings. I like how the Cypress trees are not completely blurred out; it makes for a nice habitat background.

How you managed to get this shot handheld from a boat at 500+mm with that lens is amazing. Well done. I might be inclined to clone-out the Cypress tree seed pod at the bottom since it is centrally located.

Registered on April 27, 2016, 20 Posts, 142 Comments

Comment posted by John Tobias on May 15, 2016 at 8:45 PM

Dennis, would like to see this lighter. Looks like you have good detail,color, sharpness and pose. I agree about cloning out the seen pod. Thanks for sharing.

Registered on September 12, 2009, 2120 Posts, 6455 Comments

Comment posted by Keith Bauer on May 15, 2016 at 9:49 PM

A very tough bird to capture in flight. Looks like you did a pretty nice job with the bird, although the angle could be better. Oh well. The image is quite dark. I'm guessing there is quite a bit of latitude in bringing it up.

Registered on November 20, 2003, 458 Posts, 4836 Comments

Comment posted by Barb Pflaum on May 15, 2016 at 9:49 PM

Great flight shot, Dennis! I love the position of the wings.

Registered on January 14, 2009, 316 Posts, 2724 Comments

Comment posted by Jim DeWitt on May 16, 2016 at 12:13 PM

An (in)famously difficult species to photograph. Congratulations ona good flight shot. The angle of the bird isn't ideal but you nailed what the bird gave you.

The shot seems dark to me. Maybe grab the bright spot in the throat, invert the selection and then try some slight brightening. Even as is, I'd be happy to have this in my portfolio.

Registered on August 28, 2006, 1240 Posts, 8506 Comments

Comment posted by Steve Thompson on May 16, 2016 at 1:48 PM

I agree that the image seems a little dark Dennis. Interesting pose though and captured well. These are a difficult bird to catch in flight. I would brighten this and see what you think. Well done!

Registered on August 7, 2014, 125 Posts, 2319 Comments

Comment posted by David Schoen on May 16, 2016 at 2:30 PM

This is a very nice action shot of the Kingfisher. I do wish it was a little brighter. Tough to catch these birds in flight because they are so fast. I have a few around my house but there is no way I have ever been able to catch one get it in focus. Good job.

Registered on November 6, 2006, 1213 Posts, 4587 Comments

Comment posted by Charles Gangas on May 16, 2016 at 3:04 PM

Nice work getting this shot Dennis. I like the bank angle the kingfisher offered and the bird is well focused and place nicely in the frame. devil

Registered on August 12, 2009, 544 Posts, 2414 Comments

Comment posted by Pete Bengeyfield on May 16, 2016 at 11:22 PM

That's a tough shot Dennis. Congratulations.

Registered on December 2, 2003, 1247 Posts, 3439 Comments

Comment posted by Ken Archer on May 17, 2016 at 7:10 AM

Just getting a shot of these guys in the frame is quite an accomplishment (at least for me it is anyway).

Sweet One Dennis! Excellent details!

Registered on October 28, 2004, 222 Posts, 6683 Comments

Comment posted by David Rowe on May 19, 2016 at 6:13 AM

I can only describe this shot in terms of superlatives. It’s truly remarkable and I wish it were mine.
David

Registered on December 20, 2013, 133 Posts, 286 Comments