Kashmir Flycatcher l Male

[Varun Bellie]

123545

This bird was one of the most challenging birds to photograph here in India until a year back....
It is only possible to photograph him during the winter season as he migrates down to South India ..to the Nilgiri Hills and also to a particular place in Srilanka....he prefers Garden areas. The place he breeds is in the North-West Himalayas of the Kashmir region.
We were lucky to find him last year and managed to photograph him ...he always follows the same beat pattern while hunting insects and perches in few select places...but all these perches are only in shade...
Thank God this year the same individual came back..
This year managed to get my 600EX RT flash and also the Better Beamer...am still learning how to use flash as fill .

Tech Specs : AV mode, Evaluative metering, iso: 500, f/5.6, 1/125 sec, EC = -0.3, FEC = -1 stop...
Almost full frame, cloned out a distracting twig....
Equipment : Canon 7D, Canon 500mm f/4 L IS USM + Canon 1.4x Extender, 600EX RT flash, Better Beamer, Jobu Pro 2 Head, Jobu Flash Bracket, Benro Carbon fiber tripod




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[Marina Scarr]

This image is an absolute stunner, Varum. The details and colors are just amazing. Love the perch and BG. Nice use of flash. He really is a little poser!!!

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Knowing your birds, their patterns, habits and behaviors indeed plays a big part in the success of your images.
Gorgeous little bird. Excellent pose, light and details.
I'd clean up the eye a bit. There appears to be a PP artifact at the edge of the tail, along the upper side of it. Also the right side of the frame in the bg.
Excellent work. TFS.

[Daniel Cadieux]

He is a little cutie with great colours. Nice details and I like the subtle head turn. I too would clean up the eye a little bit.

Thanks for the info on this species...

[Mike Milicia]

Very cool species ... great pose, perch, and BG with excellent detail!

[PhilCook]

Lovely shot Varun, such a sweet little bird and perfect profile shot as well and did enjoy the added information about the bird......the eye needs a bit of fine tuning I feel by darkening the pupil. Using fill flash is frustrating much of the time for me, very hard to get right I think, this is quite good but in my opinion just a little too strong as it seems to of washed out some of the finer detail. I try to view using flash with this thought in mind....." if you can tell flash has been used, then it's too strong "

[Nick Palmieri]

Sweet image. Nice pose, great BG and perch. Very nice light on the bird.

[supreet.sahoo]

A very nice image of a very pretty species Varun, the better beamer is indeed a keeper in a bird photographer's arsenal, specially when once shoots a lot in the dark. Agree with the comments made above. Tfs

[mohammad reza shahab]

hi,
great pose, perch, and BG with excellent detail!

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Very nice FC, lovely pose, perch and killer BG. It seems well lit to me. and sharp eye too. I would maintain the 3:2 ratio and crop on top since there is too much empty room there.