Bee-eater

[Roberto Betta]

I managed to photograph his Bee-eater on a recent trip to Botswana alongside the Chobe River off a Safari Boat. Being amongst other tourists I did find it a lot more difficult to photograph as time per subject is limited and Game Rangers seldom position themselves in accordance with the sun. I did manage a few shots unfortunately though with the boat moving and all, virtually all of them turned out very soft. In order to achieve the two toned background I had to stand at the highest point, blue being the Chobe River and green the reeds. Later that day I purposely skipped my Game Drive (included in safari the package) in order to go out on the River again as I had organized a solo two hour tour (kindly given to me for free) to re-photograph the Bee-eaters but the weather turned for the worst and I managed not a single shot. Later that day everyone on the Game Drive mentioned seeing Lion. :( Thanks for looking, much appreciated!




Camera: Canon EOS-1D Mark III
Lens: Canon 600mm f/4L IS USM and Canon 1.4x II Extender
Focal Length: 840mm
Program: Aperture Priority
Aperture: f/6.3
ISO: 200
Shutter Speed: 1/1250
Exposure Compensation: 0
Support: Manfrotto 680B Monopod

[Morkel Erasmus]

cracking details here Roberto (and a belated welcome to BPN!)
lovely exposure, sharp face and colours. were you very close? DOF seems quite shallow for such a small bird :)

it also looks like there might be a slight shadow/highlight halo around the bird?

[Arthur Morris]

Hi Roberto, Welcome and thanks a ton for your membership support. Despite tough condition, tough light, and a less than perfect perch you have created a loverly image here. Killer bird. The head angle works perfectly with the off-angled light. Sharp, sharp, sharp. I can't wait to see some more.

[Roberto Betta]

Thanks Morkel and Arthur, sincerely appreciated.

Morkel, this was very close to Full Frame. The Guide maneuvered to boat a little too close to the pirch which I wish he hadnt as the very few frames of the entire bird I have are almost all soft. The Halo around the bird I agree with, perhaps due to working with shadows and highlights. I will do re-edit and repost. Thanks again.

[Herb Houghton]

I like this shot a lot. The head details and angle are sweet. A shame about missing the tail portion of the bird, but the sharp head portrait makes up for it. :)

[Roberto Betta]

Thanks Herb, much appreciated.

Unfortunately the Game Ranger approached a little too fast towards the pirch in order for me to get the entire bird in. I also recently found out the name of the bird, a Blue-Cheeked Bee-eater, googled it and found out it's quite rare around the area I was so yea, I'm pretty uptight I never managed to photograph the entire bird. :( Thanks again! :)