Jewel of the monsoon

[saleeltambe]

I had a quick touch and go visit to India just for 4 days and returned with one of my most colourful monsoons ever. Meaning of the word "Colourful" got redefined for me after this visit !

Although it was continuously raining all the time, I could not resist the temptation to cover my equipment and get some of these shots.

Obviosuly had no choice and to go for ISO 3200.

Here is one out of that.These little kingfishers are found near waterfalls and thickly wooded areas. The background you see here is a seasonal monsoon waterfall.

Techs Canon 5D Mk2, 500mm/F4+1.4x conv, ISO 3200, 1/15, f8, -1/3, spot metering. Gitzo, Wimberly II

Hope you enjoy what I enjoyed on the field.

Cheers,
Saleel Tambe
East Croydon, UK
www.saleeltambe.com (http://www.saleeltambe.com)
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[Ron Sprunger]

That guy's not missing many colors! What a beautiful bird. I like the perch and the BG, and the rain makes for wonderful soft light to enhance the bird's colors. On my crappy work monitor, he looks a tad harshly sharpened, but may just be my view. It's a very nice image.

[Stu Bowie]

Saleel, super pose from this very colourful KF, and this angle shows off his colours nicely. Looking at your techs, you really did battle with the light, but well done for getting your dream shot.

[Arthur Morris]

First a question: is that sun on the bird's back???

[Grant Atkinson]

Super pose, and what a stunning bird. Background is excellent too. You did very well to shoot the bird sharp at such slow s/s...
Like it a lot..
cheers
Grant

[Don Lacy]

Love the color if you do not mind me asking was this a large crop.

[Amy Marques]

Hi Saleel,

This is a lovely kingfisher... I did not know they can be this colorful. The pose is attractive and the water drop on the branch is a nice plus. Parts of the bird are a bit bright but I can imagine the difficulty in getting the image. Thanks for sharing.

[Tom Redd]

Saleel congrats on a very beautiful bird. I agree with Amy, the water droplet on the branch is a nice plus.

[arash_hazeghi]

I like the pose and colors but the IQ is not there, it must be a huge crop.

[saleeltambe]

First a question: is that sun on the bird's back???

Yes Artie, that's the patchy light from sun which barely popped out of the thick cloud cover staying there all the time.
Cheers,
Saleel

[Harshad Barve]

I know how tiny this bird is and how difficult it is to get an image , So any image of this birdy , you gotta love it :cheers:
TFS

[Arthur Morris]

Yes Artie, that's the patchy light from sun which barely popped out of the thick cloud cover staying there all the time. Cheers, Saleel

Thanks Saleel-bhai. Here, I would have done some work on the light area to even out the exposure. Had it fallen on the face it would have been a different story. Otherwise very well done. Love the colors and the pose. Do you know what he was looking at? A bug?