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The Perfect Kill Shot
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The Perfect Kill Shot

by Ronnie Gaubert

Gallery: AvianPosted September 8, 2010542 views15 comments
The perfect kill shot, upper bill in the spine as evident by the outstretched legs and the bottom bill in the lungs as evident by the air bubbles.
From truck window under mid-morning cloudy skies.

Date/Time: April 27 @ 9:51am
Model NIKON D200
Flash Used Never
Focal Length 680 mm (Nikon 400mm f/2.8d AF-I + Nikon TC17EII)
Exposure Time 1/1250 sec
Aperture f/4.8 (wide open)
ISO Equivalent 320
Exposure Bias -1/3
White Balance Direct Sunlight
Metering Mode matrix
Raw
Exposure Program aperture priority

Comments

15 comments
Comment posted by Ron Bielefeld on September 8, 2010 at 11:26 AM
A big frog that guy has captured. A nice exposure and some great detail. Nature at work.
Registered on December 6, 2008, 360 Posts, 7132 Comments
Comment posted by Buck Ward on September 8, 2010 at 12:04 PM
Holy mackeral, that's a big frog! It reminds me of that cartoon of the frog in the heron's mouth but with it's hands around the heron's throat, with the caption "Never give up." Looks like it's too late for this one, though.
Registered on December 8, 2003, 96 Posts, 1917 Comments
Comment posted by Bill Maile on September 8, 2010 at 12:12 PM
Wow, that's a beauty Ronnie, love the low position so the head is just above the grass behind it.
Registered on March 2, 2009, 984 Posts, 2518 Comments
Comment posted by Muhammad Zaid Wani on September 8, 2010 at 12:51 PM
Splendid shot, Ronnie!
:toast:
Registered on August 18, 2005, 23 Posts, 1406 Comments
Comment posted by David Haynes on September 8, 2010 at 2:13 PM
Ronnie,
What a description of the kill. I noticed on the larger version that you can see blood running down the belly of the frog and onto the left rear leg/feet where it is pooling at the toes and dropping into the water. That frog is huge. Techs look spot on Ronnie. Soft lighting, good exposure, sharp, partial reflection, and to cap things off a perfect kick to GBH's head.
Registered on February 20, 2010, 110 Posts, 1511 Comments
Comment posted by David Schoen on September 8, 2010 at 4:10 PM
Yum. Nothing like a bullfrog for breakfast. Good catch for both of you.
Registered on November 6, 2006, 1213 Posts, 4587 Comments
Comment posted by Tom Webster on September 8, 2010 at 5:08 PM
Greetings Ronnie. This is a very nice image. The technicals are spot on. The only nit I could think of would be to have more room at the bottom of the image to give the heron some more leg room. I've never had frog legs for breakfast. I might just give them a try! :smile:
Registered on November 1, 2003, 73 Posts, 644 Comments
Comment posted by Daniel & Loana on September 8, 2010 at 5:15 PM
Wonderful shot, thanks for the description of many details useful to fully understand the situation.

D&L
Registered on October 7, 2008, 166 Posts, 3044 Comments
Comment posted by Eric Diller on September 8, 2010 at 5:28 PM
awesome shot...as Ron stated nature at work! Nice capture :toast:
Registered on October 2, 2009, 69 Posts, 434 Comments
Comment posted by John W. Wall on September 8, 2010 at 6:05 PM
Wow. There appears to be a suspended mid-air blood droplet, even.
Registered on July 25, 2006, 53 Posts, 179 Comments
Comment posted by Ákos Lumnitzer on September 8, 2010 at 7:04 PM
In an ideal world the heron's head would be turned more in your direction and you'd have more room for the virtual legs below the water. All that aside, it's a killer (literally) shot Ronnie! Well caught action mate!

:toast: :toast: :toast:
Registered on April 24, 2004, 25 Posts, 510 Comments
Comment posted by David E Lester on September 8, 2010 at 10:29 PM
The struggles of nature...great shot !! :toast:
Registered on March 24, 2010, 155 Posts, 793 Comments
Comment posted by Brian Gatlin on September 8, 2010 at 10:56 PM
a dramatic moment, Ronnie, and very well captured. for me the frog clutching the heron's face trying to push away makes it, but there's a lot of other great drama here too. :toast:
Registered on March 21, 2009, 202 Posts, 4187 Comments
Comment posted by Simon Bennett on September 9, 2010 at 3:06 AM
Wonderful natural history Ronnie.
Registered on February 4, 2007, 350 Posts, 4614 Comments
Comment posted by Rob Drummond on September 9, 2010 at 7:24 AM
Wonderful detail (photo and story) :toast:

cheers
Rob
Registered on November 8, 2003, 617 Posts, 8267 Comments