Pied Kingfisher on a Reed

[Stu Bowie]

There are a lot of trees around the hide in the Pilanesberg National Park, all with large branches/perches. For some reason, the Pied kingfishers have taken to this single reed, and it does create a different image from the norm, that I post.

Taken early morning a few weeks ago.

Canon 1D Mark IV
Canon 500 F/4 ( borrowed )
1/1000
F/7.1
ISO 640

Maual exposure

[arash_hazeghi]

excellent light, perch and BG. sharpness is excellent so is exposure I would bring him slightly lower in the frame

[Mike Veltri]

A real beauty here Stuart, love the light and dof.

[mohammad reza shahab]

excellent perch,pose and BG.

[Greg Oakley]

This is an awesome image Stuart - love it! The striking B&W plumage really stands out and the perch is fantastic!
Cheers, Greg

[Jonathan Ashton]

I like the shot Stu, the colour palette is very pleasing and the exposure and DOF spot on. I sense there is a lot of empty space toward the bottom and would consider a recrop to perhaps lower the bird and set him more to the rule of thirds or golden ratio.

[MohsenVahedipour]

Excellent IQ, perch & BG. Agree with recrop.

[Nick Palmieri]

Great light and nice pose. Very well done image.

[rajojomanik]

This is very very good. Love the perch, BG and especially the subject since we don't see these in our neck of the woods.

[Tim King]

This is a great photo. Some my not like the head angle but it does well here. I like how you left room under the bird as it emphasizes its "drop-down" hunting style. Fine job.

[Jim Crosswell]

I like the pose, perch, exposure, sharpness, DOF and BG. Very well done Stuart!

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Hey Stu, such a sweet image. Just love the light, the perfect exposure and the details. The perch is just awesome and so is the bg.
Before I read any other comments, I too felt that the bird could be moved down in the frame (along with the perch of course )

[Dumay de Boulle]

Great light and amazing BG...Another winner mate!

[Frank Schauf]

Excellent details, love the perch, great pose, very nice background, and nice light.

[Karl Egressy]

The bird nicely angled towards us, DOF is good and the whole bird looks sharp. The borrowed camera/lens worked very well in your hands, Stuart.

[dankearl]

I agree about moving him down a tad.
Terrific perch and sharp as a tack!

[Corey Hayes]

very nice.

[Stu Bowie]

Thank you for the feedback everyone. I will definately look at moving him down.

[David Salem]

Very nice Stuart. Exposed perfect and awesome detail in this one. Even though the feet are tiny, I love the detail in them. Every time you pick a 500 you shine. Not that your 100-400 shots arent great but the bokeh of the 500 is obvious. Nice work.

[Doug Brown]

Techs look great. And I like the BG a lot. Another vote for placing the bird slightly lower in the frame.