African Pygmy Kingfisher
I spent 6 months hunting for a shot of Malachite or African Pygmy Kingfisher. This morning, when I was hunting for an African Fish Eagle in flight, I stopped at...
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I spent 6 months hunting for a shot of Malachite or African Pygmy Kingfisher. This morning, when I was hunting for an African Fish Eagle in flight, I stopped at a river bank for about three minutes. When I was about to leave, my eye caught this little guy staring at me...he had been for a long time. The rest is history!
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Jul, 2016Views
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Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
![Women's Winner of 2019 Comrades Marathon, Gerda Steyn,].](https://cdnpt01.viewbug.com/media/mediafiles/2019/06/11/85118789_widepreview400.webp)
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Behind The Lens
Location
It was taken on a sugar cane farm road in La Mercy, Durban, South Africa.Time
Just after 9am in the cool, winter morning.Lighting
This is a classic example of luck meets fate. Being below the Tropic of Capricorn means the winter sun is forever at an excellent angle, for "anytime of day" shoot. Basically, most of the day is in "Golden Hour" mode, in a typical South African winter. On this day, a cold front had just swept pass the previous day and cleaned out the smog and general winter haze. The air and landscapes were crisp with the naked eye. I took advantage of it.Equipment
I used a Canon 350D, with a SIGMA APO 170-500mm f/5.6-3 non motorized lens. The IS0 was set on 400 with a Shutter Priority Mode at 1/1000th.Inspiration
It was luck more than inspiration. I was searching for a pair of African Fish Eagles that have a nest along the Umdloti River trees. No luck with the eagles on this day. Late for my 9to5, dead-end office job, I started making my way back down the gravel road that follows the river downstream through the mangroves towards the ocean. A small gap in the mangroves provides great visibility in a 4x4 vehicle(which I was driving). I then saw a pair of African Jacana searching for food on the water lettuce. I watched them for a while. Then I reached for my cigarettes, lit one and scan the same opening in hope to see something. Suddenly my left eye caught a leaf moving. I turned to the leaf! Much to my surprise, it was an African Pygmy Kingfisher, completely gazed at me-as in the picture. I kept eye contact and gently reached over with my arm to the passenger seat and grabbed my camera. By now I was sweating and praying at the same time for him not to fly away. I pointed at him with the lens and pressed the shutter. He stood still! I then, pressed again until the cameracould not take anymore pics...and buffered. He stayed! I pressed it again until it stopped again to buffer. Then he flew off! He was less than 3metres(10ft) away from me. Absolute, God given moment. I cursed the eagles and drove away smiling at the kingfisher images.Editing
Yes. I'm not well versed to Photoshop CS6....that I use. So I did: Contrast Adjustment Highlight Adjustment Crop Increased Saturation Increased Clarity Increased Vibrance Reduced NoiseIn my camera bag
2x Camera bodies(Canon 350D, Canon 600D) 1x Wide Angle Lens (28-75mm) 1x Zoom Lens(70-300mm) 1x Super zoom lens(170-500mm) 2x Spare batteries 2x chargers(350D, 600D) 1x 58mm C-PL Filter 1x 58mm ND4 Filter 1x 58mm UV Filter 1x Microfiber Cloth 1x Sunscreen Lotion 1x Baseball CapFeedback
Always expect the unexpected! You are your own worst enemy. If you want to spy on animals in their natural environment, then you need to be invisible. In other words if you can hear yourself breathe...you are too loud. Walk lightly and respect the ground you stepping on. A lot of tiny creatures live on or underground. Listen to your sixth sense. Finally, NO SHOT is ever worth dying for. Be safe and respect the animals. It's perfectly okay to whisper "Thank You" to a wild animal that smelt you, saw you, before you even spotted it... to take that amazing photo.
