Belted Kingfisher

[Lyle Gruby]

This shot has been 3 years in the making. I have devised dozens of blinds and spent HOURS waiting in full camo (including facemask, gloves, and various camo netting all in high heat and humidity) for an opportunity to get a nice shot of a KF. I even built a floating blind that I haven't had a chance to use yet. This bird is the reason I worked hours and hours of overtime to buy longer glass. Normally the KF will come right into my setup (because I have spent time scouting their favorite spots and I get there 1.5 hours before sunrise) and immediately find something it doesn't like about my setup and fly away for the rest of the day. Today, however, I was actually setting up to shoot some very wary great blue herons and a somewhat wary green heron. I knew the KF liked this spot, but it hadn't been there much lately. I tried to set myself up to shoot either way if a KF just so happened to grace me with its presence. I was lying flat in deep, nasty mud on the edge of a heavily snake infested lake. There was tall grass around me, and I had some camo netting over me. The KF actually flew right in and hunted for about 15 minutes while never acting scared of me. I could barely even see it through my viewfinder because I had it fogged up in my excitement! The only thing more I could have asked for would have been for it to catch and eat a fish in front of me. It did catch one but it chose a perch a little ways away to eat its fish. This shot if FF, shadows raised, highlights lowered a touch, selective sharpening on the bird. All C&C welcome.

Sorry for the novella.

Techs:
D3S
500 f4 with 1.4
Lowered tripod
ISO 800
f/5.6
1/1000
Manual exposure

[Randy Stout]

Lyle:

A big congrats on getting the shot after your tremendous efforts. I have a number of KFs near my cottage, but have never gotten a decent shot!

Lovely light, well exposed, well scaled and curving perch.

You could probably crop just a bit from the left with balancing crops on the top and right, to show off the detail even more, but nice as posted.

Again, so glad your hard work paid off!

Cheers

Randy

[Karl Egressy]

Congratulations on getting the shot. It is a hard to shoot bird indeed.
I managed to take some good shots this year and last year but hardly ever before.
Excellent shot by the way. Next time you might get one with the fish. It is my goal too.

[Bill Dix]

Well done. These are tough guys to catch, as everyone on BPN attests. I'm still waiting for mine, but I lack your perseverance. (I can deal with an hour and a half before sunrise, or snake-infested mud, but not both at the same time. :S3:) I love everything about this - pose, light, bg, detail. It would hold up to a tighter crop per Randy's suggestion, without becoming too tight in the frame.

[Geoffrey Montagu]

Congratulations on capturing this beautiful image under such conditions you describe. I have been lucky when I return to the same spot I know they like to fish in at a local lake, around the same time of day. Not only one profile image with beak open, but earlier this month one with a Tadpole in its beak. Hang in there Lyle for the fish in beak image.



Web Page: http://500px.com/geoffreymontagu (http://500px.com/geoffreymontagu)

[Bruce Spell]

Now that's a story with a happy ending, lol. Your dedication and fortitude have really paid off with this shot. Techs are good (detail, focus, etc) and the comp is very pleasing. I am just so jealous (though have to admit I don't envy the hours upon hours you've invested in getting this shot).

Now that you've got it hopefully he'll tell his friends the area is safe and you'll be getting more and more of them!

[Alan Murphy]

A great shot of this species. Great work.

[gail bisson]

A big congrats! It feels so awesome to get "the shot", doesn't it? The photographers' natural high ( who needs drugs...!!:bg3:)
Great BG and light. Good IQ and techs.
I only wish for a less steep angle but that is a minor nit,
Gail

[Melissa Groo]

I really enjoyed your story, and felt so happy for you that your hard work paid off. I know how many hours of sweat, how much money! and how much trouble can be involved in getting that one shot--and it is all worth it when it happens. You got a beauty here, with this bird so often referred to as a nemesis bird. The light is gorgeous, and I love her far off look ( I think it's a female due to the rusty color on breast), the detail in the plumage, and that background. Super job.

[David Salem]

Congrats on getting this great shot of such a elusive subject. Glad your hard work paid off. The shot looks good and the exposure and detail look nice. Maybe a bit of NR to the BG but otherwise a great frame.

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Great shot of this KF! nice light and pose. BG works well here since does not distract from the main subject. Well done!

[Allen Sparks]

Congrats Lyle! So glad your efforts paid off! Wonderful image - love the light, details, and BG.

[vishaljadhav]

congrats on this one
the bird looks lovely, nice light and details look good