Male Kingfisher taking a dive
This was taken on a hide day. The male and female were visiting the same spot frequently to catch fish. The male would eat his on the perch whilst the female w...
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This was taken on a hide day. The male and female were visiting the same spot frequently to catch fish. The male would eat his on the perch whilst the female would fly off with her catch as Im guessing she had young to feed.
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Apr, 2016Views
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mika80
August 20, 2016
love the position of your shot here and this birds feathers glows it looks like its a neon blue if there's a such thing well you captured it good job
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samburu
December 24, 2016
stunning capture beautiful light which you always need on a shot like yours well done
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charliepeepers
April 18, 2017
This is beautiful. Almost too beautiful to be real. Perfect capture, thank you for sharing your incredible talent
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wendyhodgkinscorniquet
November 30, 2017
Hello, there is someone pretending he took your photo on Facebook Edouard Allen in this group EPAA
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Argatykites
December 01, 2017
Hi Wendy You are right this picture is being passed off as Taken by Edouard Allen. can't really see what I can do about it really but thank you for taking the trouble to point out to me
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
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Behind The Lens
Location
I booked a hide I had seen advertised in a wildlife group on FB. I had actually booked the day to take pictures of a pair of visiting Kestrels. After spending most of the day without any sign of a bird never mind a kestrel. I decided to go and see how my friend was getting on in a near by hide he had booked hoping to take pictures of a pair of breading kingfishers. As luck would have it they were visiting regular. As there was a spare space in the hide I decided to stay for the remainder of the afternoon.Time
It would have been about 4pm I had managed to get some nice shots of the kingfishers perched, but was hoping to get something a little more out of the ordinary. So I decided to be brave and try to get some shots of the birds diving. Sometimes you have to come out of your comfort zone and try different things to get that shot thats a bit different.Lighting
It had been a lovely day with the sun out for most of it, the light had been quite harsh during the morning and going into the early part of the afternoon but was getting a little softer as the time moved on. I was going to need a fast shutter speed to freeze the action so I needed to take advantage of the softer but still bright light that was left.Equipment
I was using my newly purchased S/H Canon IDX. Cannon f4 300mm lens along with Canon 1.4 MK11 converter. For support I was using a good quality been bag. Good comfortable seating was provided by the hide owner, a must if your in a hide for the day.Inspiration
There are so many talented people out there taking pictures some quite simple but at the same time captivating. To me these people have the ability to think outside the box they see where others don't or can't. These are the people that inspire me to try and capture that special moment, in my photography. So I guess its looking at other peoples work that inspired me to take this photoEditing
I did a little processing, in photoshop just adding a little sharpness, tweaking of the contrast and some slight cropping.In my camera bag
I normally have Canon 7D MK11, Canon 1DX , Canon 70-200mm f2.8, Canon f4 300mm. Canon 1.4 MK11 Converter and a Tamron f5-6 150-600mm. Spare cards and batteries, Lens cleaning kit. In the boot of my car I have a Tripod and bean bag.Feedback
For anyone wanting to capture something similar, renting a hide is a must. There are quite a few people about renting hides most of these have a website giving you a sample of the type of images you can expect to get. They will also advise on the focal length of lens that is best used, type of clothing to wear to make your stay in the hide comfortable. Basically all you need to know for your visit. Make sure your as comfortable as possible as you will be in the hide for a long time and the more comfortable you are the more likely hood of getting some great captures. Wildlife can be very unpredictable and just as your dropping off to sleep something wonderful will happen its always the way. So be ready to capture the unexpected that special moment. For most of the time I choose manual to shoot in. Regularly checking my settings to see if the light has changed as sometimes subtle changes in the light can call for some tweaking. For freezing the action you will need a fast shutter speed so try and choose a day when you know the light is going to be on your side or be prepared to turn up the ISO.
