Perched Kingfisher (Alcedo atthis) Enviro

Hello all, hope everyone's well.

This one was taken the other week at one of my favoured locations in Norfolk. Sometimes the light can get a bit harsh and with the hide facing the 'wrong' direction when I get there, I try my best !

I would have liked a little close but at the same time, I thought this worked as an enviro shot. Please let me know your thoughts and nits as always. I don't expect people to like it, considering the standard of KF shots on here of late, but I was particularly pleased as it was my first clean KF shot.

D300
50-500mm
ISO 320 1/200 @ F10

Take care all !

Drew

Hi Drew.
i find this shot quite appealing actually.
i like the way the greens on the left kind of frame the bird, and the diagonal
line of the branch suits it well.

neat shot

/Chris
www.cafoto.dk
www.fiftydee.com

Hi Drew,

Your first shot of anything new is always exciting, and I do like this as an environmental shot. My only nit is that I find the kingfisher a little too central, place it a little more to the left and you have a lovely shot.

David

I'm with David on this and I like the shot. It's simple and it works for me

Agree with cropping some from left but I would also flip the image to have the bird facing the left.

Robert

Hi Drew,

a very nice shot for your first Kingfisher. I think it works quite well but agree that moving the bird to the left would improve it no end. Also maybe a tighter crop to get rid of the stray reed as well.

A smashing shot and loads better than any I have. I agree that it might look a bit nicer if the bird was a wee bit left.

Tim

Drew

Aren't they great subjects well captured.

Many thanks for your comments, I must admit I thought this one would be slated but I do agree about the slight crop to make the KF a little more over the left. In response to Robert, the original was actually taken flipped I then felt this was better - this must be a physiological thing though as I always like the subject facing left to right.

Once again, many thanks for all your comments, they have been taken on board and more work is in the pipeline !

Take care all !

Drew

As others have said, having the bird further to the left would be better. If you get the time (which you almost always do with KFs) take shots using as many different compositions as possible (including vertical).



Paul

Kingfisher nicely in focus, works fine for me.

Thats a cracker Drew, its just how you see these birds.

Lee

I think it is a fine shot. One of the great things about kingfishers is that they are so brightly coloured they stand out well even when quite small in the frame. Even so, I think it would benefit from cropping closer to improve the comp and to get rid of a lot of the less interesting bg. You could still retain all the necessary environment that makes it interesting.

Eric

It works for me too - I like the overall composition with the diagonal branch, the bits of greenery on the left and the foliage reflected on the water in the background though, as others have said, a little cropping and slight re-positioning of the bird might improve it a little