Pied Kingfisher

Gallery: AvianPosted October 24, 2016196 views5 comments

I'm always thankful for the Pied kingfisher, which may be the most tolerant and cooperative kingfisher species out there. I've never had much luck with kingfishers in the Americas, but the ones in Africa—especially these guys—don't seem to mind people so much. This one was perched on a bridge in Kruger National Park, so we were able to roll right up and shoot it as it scanned the river for fish (and the skies for rivals, as was the case here).

Canon 1DX
Canon 600mm
ISO 400
1/1000th
f/5

Max

Comments

5 comments

Comment posted by Nate Chappell on October 24, 2016 at 5:29 PM

That's a really cool pose Max. The comp imo is a little bit awkward, I would either include the whole bird or if the image quality stands up crop more closely around the head and shoulders - particularly from the bottom to remove the out of focus back area. devil

Registered on February 1, 2006, 1158 Posts, 19528 Comments

Comment posted by Dennis Plank on October 24, 2016 at 6:13 PM

A cool looking bird, Max, and the head and bill are very sharp. I think a tighter crop would work better with a bit less of the bird showing-this has more the look of an accident than a purposeful portrait composition.

devil

Registered on January 28, 2008, 1767 Posts, 23192 Comments

Comment posted by Craig Moreau on October 25, 2016 at 10:20 AM

I'm going to disagree with the first two posts and say I think the crop is perfect. I would like if his back was in focus, but I wouldn't crop it out. I like the bit of feather peeking out on his right side. Great hairdo!

Registered on April 21, 2015, 64 Posts, 584 Comments

Comment posted by Max Waugh on October 25, 2016 at 7:28 PM

Craig, I'm glad you like the comp. It's certainly non-traditional, but I wanted to really emphasize all that space the kingfisher's looking into, sort of a semi-minimalist look.

You raise an excellent point about the back being out of focus. I was quite close to the subject (this is nearly full frame), so it may have been tough to get everything in focus. However, I certainly had enough light. Given more time, perhaps stopping down as far as f/11-16 would have done the trick.

Max

Registered on September 26, 2008, 428 Posts, 2329 Comments

Comment posted by David Schoen on October 25, 2016 at 7:50 PM

Nice portrait and background. I would like to see more the bird but I know how difficult it is to get these kingfishers to cooperate. They are fascinating. The head and beak are really sharp.

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