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Kingfisher Flight
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Kingfisher Flight

by Thomas Haney

Gallery: AvianPosted January 18, 2014153 views11 comments
I often see this Kingfisher in the same bend of the Clearwater River near my home in Idaho, in a clump of trees over a wide smooth stretch of water. It would often flit from one end of the trees to the other just a few feet above the water surface, so I got halfway and waited. I wanted an image that conveyed movement, so I set the shutter speed low and panned as it flew by, which blurred the chunks of ice floating in the river as well as the bird. What surprised me about the image is how the Kingfisher is both sharp and blurred at the same time. I'm interested in feedback.

Canon 5d Mark iii, 300mm f/2.8 lens w/1.4X teleconverter, 1/20 sec at f/16, ISO 200

Comments

11 comments
Comment posted by Keith Bauer on January 18, 2014 at 8:58 AM
Ethereal image Thomas. I like the mood it conveys. I think the darker background works well with this image. Nicely executed.
Registered on November 20, 2003, 458 Posts, 4836 Comments
Comment posted by Sharon Hallowell on January 18, 2014 at 10:38 AM
This is a really cool blurred image. BG couldn't be better for what you captured. This definitely conveys their quick flight. In this image, the head is blurred and the wing and tail are sharp. For me, ideally, the head would be sharper, BUT this is still a VERY cool image! I like it a lot.
Registered on November 1, 2003, 392 Posts, 4810 Comments
Comment posted by Thomas Haney on January 18, 2014 at 10:59 AM
Thanks Keith and Sharon. It does look like the head is blurred in the small version, but I just zoomed in on my full size tiff and it's all the same sharpness, it's just hard to tell when it's small. Thanks for the comments!
Registered on April 7, 2013, 138 Posts, 537 Comments
Comment posted by Rick Turner on January 18, 2014 at 1:09 PM
This is totally sweet. What a strange bird these guys are with the strange sound they make as they fly by and hard to get a shot of. :toast:

This is borderline photo art and well done. Great catch :jump:
Registered on February 18, 2012, 534 Posts, 2755 Comments
Comment posted by Sharon Hallowell on January 18, 2014 at 4:31 PM
Your larger version DID show up for me. I still like the shot! A lot!
Registered on November 1, 2003, 392 Posts, 4810 Comments
Comment posted by Ray Whitt on January 18, 2014 at 6:27 PM
Love the sense of motion, beautiful shot.

Ray
Registered on May 27, 2011, 92 Posts, 2619 Comments
Comment posted by Dennis Plank on January 18, 2014 at 7:18 PM
Great palette, Thomas, and I like your composition. the blur works nicely in this case.

:toast:
Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments
Comment posted by Ákos Lumnitzer on January 19, 2014 at 3:51 AM
Love surreal pics like this one. The blues work great together. :toast:
Registered on April 24, 2004, 25 Posts, 510 Comments
Comment posted by Matthew Studebaker on January 19, 2014 at 10:34 PM
wow - I just love it. So artistic and beautiful
Registered on December 21, 2013, 11 Posts, 82 Comments
Comment posted by Matthew Studebaker on January 19, 2014 at 10:34 PM
after seeing this shot I just had to visit your website and see your other work!
Registered on December 21, 2013, 11 Posts, 82 Comments
Comment posted by Randy Runtsch on January 20, 2014 at 7:28 AM
Very nice, Thomas. I especially like how the bird contrasts with the light blue streaks in the water or ice.
Registered on October 30, 2013, 50 Posts, 445 Comments