Belted Kingfisher

[Axel Hildebrandt]

This is one from last year. The kingfisher really liked this perch but I only got to photograph her once since kingfishers are incredibly skittish even though I had a throw-over blind. Keeping the whites was a bit tricky.

http://www.pbase.com/axelhi/image/84082807/original.jpg

1D3, 500f4, 1.4x, 1/1600s, f/7.1, EC -0.33, ISO 400

[Rafael Rodriguez Mojica]

Wow, beautiful image. Almost nobody have good photos of this skittish birds. You made an impressive capture. Everything is outstanding in it. Congratulations .

[Doug Brown]

Congrats on 6000 posts Axel! It's a great photo of a very skittish bird.

[stuart wanuck]

like it will not oversharpen on my tweety bird.what does bg mean? thanks stuart

[Nikolay Staykov - shotlandetsa]

Fantastic! The BKGR is very soft and non-distractive, the bird's pose is good too. Just the red spot in the eye needs a little Photoshop attention :)

[Satie Sharma]

Beautiful shot, Axel. I like the plumage detail here. Lovely pose and background. The open bill adds a lot.

[Rob Lavoie]

Wow, way to go

[James Salywoda]

Stunning image Axel I love the open bill excellent details and beautiful bg . Man I have a long ways to go to catch up to you on comments.:(

Congrats on the 6000;)

[Keith Carver]

Axel, your 6000th post is a killer! Anyone who's ever tried to get a sharp up-close photo of a belted kingfisher knows how difficult it is. Extremely sharp bird, super BG, love the open bill, punky hairdo - what's not to like? I even like the reddish catchlights. I"m ready to ditch all my kingfisher photos now. ;o) Big congrats!

[Dave Brown]

Axel,

Jealousy doesn't even begin to convey my feelings regarding this image..outstanding. I've been chasing Belted Kingfishers for the last year and have yet to get a suitable shot. This is almost as good as you can hope for with this extremely skittish species. I'm considering finding a nest and using a blind this summer. Once again really great photo!!

Dave Brown

[bill kominsky]

I feel the same way everyone else Axel, this image is outstanding. I have so so many Kingfisher's and not one looks like this, jealous isn't the word, wonderfully done.

Bill

[bill kominsky]

I would love to form my own opinion bit it's all been said my friend. I have so many Kingfisher images but none look anything like this one Axel, outstanding quality to this post and much congrats to your talent.

Bill

[Steve Canuel]

Super image Axel. Pose, BG, detail, and subject are all excellent.

[Juan Aragonés]

Congratulations for the new landmark Axel. The image that you posted to celebrate the 6000th post is simply stunning. Excelent job preserving the whites and fantastic BG (OOF but with very nice texture). Love the pose with the semiopened bill, the head turn and the fantastic eye contact. Very well done.

[Greg Basco]

Axel, I agree with everyone. Congrats on an excellent image of a tough subject.

Cheers,
Greg Basco

[Fernando Cerra]

As stated by others, it is beautiful in all aspects. Big congrats !

[Grady Weed]

Wow...............