Ain't she sweet - Giant Kingfisher Female Juvenile
Nov, 2017Views
111
Likes
Top Choice
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Outstanding Creativity
Superb Composition
Magnificent Capture
All Star
Top Ranks
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Top 10 rankSame photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens in Johannesburg, South Africa, is a small oasis in the city for many birds. At the small dam a family of Giant Kingfishers plunder the food stocks to raise their little girl. Above, she is not that small anymore, but still glances skywards hoping for another meal before the sun sets.Time
Late afternoonLighting
As usual, golden hour offers the best light for detail in birds. The angle of the sun tends to reflect all the feather colour better, and the soft light enhances the detail.Equipment
My trusty old D90 and the Tamron 15-600. Shot at 600mm, with the bird 10m from the lens, I did have to up the ISO a little to get enough speed to get the image as sharp as it is.Inspiration
As I am still fairly new to photography, any opportunity to take pics is a learning opportunity. I am at that stage where every now and again I get a ;pic I really like. This is one of them....Editing
There is minimal post-processing, just a few tweaks in Corel, the program I use for all my editing.In my camera bag
I have my Nikon D90, and the very new D750. Then the standard Nikon 50mm, and the Tamron 150-600. The rest of the family have lenses, so I'm fortunate to be able to borrow a range of other lenses when needed, from the wide angle, to 70-200 fast lenses to macro and Prime Art lenses if I smile and bat my eye lids enough. For the rest, mono-pod, tri-pod, cable-release, a few filters, cleaning items, spare battery's and cards, my hat and reflective jacket, a few energy bars and a bottle water.Feedback
Patience! A lot of patience when doing bird photography. Do a fair amount of research on the birds in the area and have a good idea on their habitat and habits. Then, always bearing in mind where the sun is, go and play!
