breakfast
the kingfisher returns from the dive with his catch.
the kingfisher returns from the dive with his catch.
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Canon EOS 5D Mark III
Aperture f/6.3 ISO 2000 Shutter 1/1000 Focal Length 600/1 
Worcestershire, GB
Aug, 2021Views
200
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Behind The Lens
Location
The photo was taken in a wildlife hide in Worcestershire GB, and on my second visit.Time
It was taken at 9.30am on Friday 20th August 2021. I was very pleased to get this shot as it only made one dive and after swallowing it's catch it flew off pretty quickly. Apparently the previous day it had been scared off by a Sparrow Hawk so was reluctant to hang around.Lighting
It was bright but cloudy which gave a soft even light without harsh shadows and showed off the striking blue and orange colours.Equipment
I had a Sigma 100 -600 lens balanced on a bean bag at full stretch on my Canon 5d Mark iii camera. I set the ISO fairly high as I needed a fast shutter speed as they move so fast and kept it on aperture priority at f/6.3.Inspiration
I had never seen a kingfisher in the wild so wanted to have the experience of using my long lens to capture this beautiful bird. A friend of mine told me about the hide and so I thought it was a great place to start. They are so fast moving so it was thrilling to see it stay still for a few moments.Editing
I didn't really have to do much post processing as the exposure was pretty accurate. From the raw file I brought down the highlights to bring back detail in the ivy leaves and opened it up as a smart object in Photoshop. After cropping slightly I darkened the edges very slightly and lightened the bird just a touch to make it stand out.In my camera bag
For wildlife I use the Sigma 100m - 600mm and the Canon 70 -200mm lens. For landscapes I use the Canon 17 - 40mm lens or the Canon travel lens 24mn - 105mn. for macro I have the Sigma 100mm macro lens. I always carry spare batteries and cards with a couple of lens filters to compensate for bright skies and darker land shots. I use a Manfrotto befree travel tripod as it is fairly light to carry and I have just purchased an L bracket for my Canon 5d Mark iii, which I have yet to use.Feedback
Use a long focal length to blur the background and focus on the eyes. I used a shutter speed of a 1/1000 which might be a bit over the top when it's sitting on a perch but I didn't want to take any chances. Have lot's of patience as they don't appear very frequently. Going to a hide can be a bit pricey but at least you know they will come back to the same spot.
