Malachite fishing

[Stu Bowie]

This Malachite kingfisher was fishing from this perch. He would dive into the water, and return to this perch. I was continually focussed on the top of the perch, and when I heard the splash, I would fire a burst, so as to capture him returning.
Taken in the Pilanesberg National Park back in June.

Canon 1D Mark IV
Canon 400 F/2.8 +1.4 TC = 560mm
1/2500
F/5.6
ISO 800

Exp comp +0.33

[Shawn Zierman]

I enjoy the character of the perch, and it's size in this case, as it shows how small this kingfisher is. Beautiful bird. Light quality is excellent. I see a vertical presentation here as well, partly because of the direction of travel regarding the kingfisher, and partly because of the strong vertical presence of the perch.

[Martin Dunn]

Lovely rick colours Stuart, action well captured.
Those buggers are fast aren't they!

Bird and perch are exposed really well - terrific iridescent green on top of head - but I agree with Shawn that a vertical crop might work well for this image. There is a lot of empty space on the RHS.

[Gabriela Plesea]

Lovely capture Stu, just perfect to show the beautiful colours of this little Malachite-really enjoyed viewing this image!

Kind regards,

[MohsenVahedipour]

Very nice action shot & perfect technique. Nice BG. Very well done.

[keith mitchell]

Stuart agree about the vertical crop that has been pointed out, action and colour look great.

Keith.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Good technique Stu it paid off very well indeed. Wonderful sharpness and detail and those colours are excellent.

[Stu Bowie]

Thanks a lot guys and Gaby.

[Holger Leyrer]

Wonderful action shot. I like the composition, details and sharpness.

[Steve Kaluski]

Hi Stu, these are mighty fast and so I take my hat off to in getting this one.

Personally Stu I'm not a lover of the central post and so I wonder if everything was moved to the left so you had more space to the left might be a better comp for the future? The lower part of the trunk looks sharper than the top part and subject, might be worth checking the FP if you have set it to the top as calibration can drift off over time? There does seem to be a little haze at the top part of the 'perch' as it tails of to the BKG, might just be old eyes though Stu? Again, personal taste, but I might perhaps look at the blue Stu, just adjusting the yellow & magenta does put a slight different take on things, likewise I would just loose the faint shapes to the RHS of the trunk.

I do know quite a few people use flashes, infra red beams & electronic triggers to get these shots Stu, but guess it's not possible in this location. Hope to see more in the coming weeks. If you need advice you could contact one of the member here, but he hasn't posted for a while, but might be worth a punt to get some more info.

TFS
Steve

[John Robinson]

Great colours.
I reckon a landscape crop might be worth trying to lessen the impact of or the area of blue. Just my humble opinion which is rarely corect!
Cheers
JR

[Loi Nguyen]

Stu, lovely bird and beautiful colors in good light. I'm with Steve here on the perch and I would suggest cropping to show less perch and more bird. Loi

[christopher galeski]

nice capture Stuart,like your technique.

[Marina Scarr]

While I love the colors and pose, this one isn't working for me, Stu. I think part of it is the composition and it may also be that the perch is so large in comparison to the bird. An alternate crop could really improve this image, just not sure which one.

[Stu Bowie]

Thanks a stack for all the honest feedback everyone. One of my previous posts of this little guy was posted as a vertical, and I did have that in mind before posting this, but I quite liked the central placement even though there is empty space on the right. I have plenty others of this shoot, so will think the comp as a priority.