Another female Kingfisher

[Mike Poole]

I tried to take on board a bit of the advice from my last kingy thread, and revisited the setup with a new perch. I had another shot I was going to post which included the feet, but I preferred the overall look of this one. All crit welcome, especially as (in a couple of weeks) I can have another crack at this shot

141214

Very overcast light, so ISO 800 on a canon 1d3, 400mm 1/80th, f 5.6

[Jonathan Ashton]

A very nice shot I really like the exposure and the pose. I think there will be a few people saying, (including me)" wish I could see the feet/foot".

[William Dickson]

Well done Mike :S3:

[Iain Barker]

Lovely Shot Mike. I don't mind not seeing the feet as there is enough perch to see where they should be and it does not feel as though they have been cropped off.
A smaller aperture would have made the fish sharp as well but I can see you struggling for light with your settings. This might be something to try if you get better light when you return.

[gail bisson]

Really ,really nice.
The fish is terrific.
I don't mind not seeing the feet, I would just like a bit more room down below for the "virtual" feet.I would also move the bird to the right of the frame
As the Brits would say " a cracker" of a shot!!
Gail

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

That is certainly the kind of perches that I love!
Super sharp bird, beautiful light and and pose. I wish to see the tail but I know these birds are very skittish.

[Ian Wilson]

This is very nice Mike. I appreciate conditions can be difficult even at a set-up. I am wondering if you would consider introducing a little flash next time but would understand if you preferred natural light? Cheers, Ian

[Satish Ranadive]

Magnificent image. Very nice pose, beautiful colors,nice perch and composition.

Regards,
Satish.

[Loi Nguyen]

A cracker shot indeed. Beautiful bird and good sharpness. The fish is a added bonus. I find the BG color a little bit saturated and bright, may be darken it a little. TFS. Loi

[Tobie Schalkwyk]

Perfect shot, perfect sharpness, nice colors Mike! I love the little droplets on the bird's body! Well done! :5

[Neil Burton]

I never really got the foot fetish and this works fine without any, cracking stuff!

[Ian McLachlan]

I just love those colours and feet are not an issue for me . Brilliant in that light.

[Andreas Liedmann]

Hi Mike , great shot with lovely colors and tonal range . The moss is looking nice , too, and i do not mind about the missing feet.
Very good sharpness for 80th/sec, good job .

TFS Andreas

[Mike Poole]

This is very nice Mike. I appreciate conditions can be difficult even at a set-up. I am wondering if you would consider introducing a little flash next time but would understand if you preferred natural light? Cheers, Ian

Ian, I totally agree that on occasions a small blip of flash can aid an image. I was always warned off using flash with birds, and it seems that in Britain at least it's frowned upon. However, many images on here seem to use a small amount, so it's certainly worth considering in the right circumstances as the birds shown here don't seem to mind the flash use

[vishaljadhav]

I love the exposure , perch is fantastic,
IQ looks great
i would have liked he feet but i also miss a silver on the bottom for space.

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Mike, super pose, and you have exposed the colours perfectly. Great that he has a beak full of fish, and as I know his feet are just there close to his belly, as they dont have long legs, Im fine with not seeing the feet. Killer clean BG.

[keith mitchell]

Mike it fills the frame with excellent detail, I can certainly live without the feet, great piece of work.

Keith.