Malachite Kingfisher on Papyrus

[gail bisson]

Canon 1 DX
600mm II and 1.4X
ISO 800 SS 1/800 f 6.3
I love these little kingfishers. They are so small ~ 2 to 3 inches tall. They always seem to be on the move, flitting in and out of the reeds and over the water.
PP :Full frame crop from horizontal. Trimmed a couple of wayward papyrus stems back from the LHS.
Usual sliders in LR 4: clarity to +15, vibrance +15 and saturation +2. Export to CS5 and NR to BG, levels, DE to bird at 4% and USM to JPEG
I really struggled with poor light this entire trip. Every morning but one was cloudy so had no "magic morning light". Still, am happy with this one.
Comments and critiques always appreciated and learned from with thanks,
Gail

[Joseph Przybyla]

A beauty Gail, thank you for sharing.

[John Robinson]

My kind of shot Gail.
Plenty of "where I am " in the bits apart from the bird.
Great tuff. Love it
John

[Enrique Patino]

Love this image. Great all around!

[christopher galeski]

very nice Gail,nice pose,great perch,pleasant BG.

[William Dickson]

Very nice Gail. This is the sort of image that would look great hanging on a wall. Love it. Well done

[shane shacaluga]

Lovely one Gail. The blue and red are really striking on the soft browns. A definite image for the wall!

Thanks for sharing

[Julie Brown]

Hi Gail.

I love kingfishers and this colorful little one looks great against the soft brown tones of the background. I really like how the grass stem curves into the frame. The strands are nicely lit and provide environmental interest. Outstanding shot!

[Stu Bowie]

Hi Gail, love the soft light here, which in turn have brought out the colours so well, and spot on too. I like your comp showing the splayed end of the reed, and thats a perfect 'fishing' pose from the little jewel.

These guys are really small arent they. I dont think most people realise how small they actually are until you see one.

[Satish Ranadive]

Excellent image, Gail. Spectacular composition. Beautiful perch for lovely bird.

Regards,
Satish.

[dankearl]

Very nice perch and very nice artistic comp.
The little bird looks terrific.

[Daniel Cadieux]

This is the type of image that a small internet version does not do justice...but I can tell that it must look superb big! Nicely done Gail.

[Jonathan Ashton]

Excellent Gail - love it!

[Nancy Bell]

Gail, I love this image. Very elegant with the papyrus spray and soft colors in the bkgd. showing off the tiny mighty Malachite!

[arash_hazeghi]

very nice Gail, perfect framing, such a delicate bird on a nice perch, excellent!

[vishaljadhav]

Composition takes it all in here for me, its perfect. The design of the image keeps me on it without looking for other things
other things are perfect too however i am loving the design of this one

[David Salem]

The perch is perfect for this little guy. Nice colors and pose and I like the mottled BG that sets this one foo nicely. I like the comp you chose too. Very nice Gail

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Very lovely KF!
Excellent composition of small-in-the-frame subject! really nice light and colours! what ISO?

[Marc Mol]

Love the inclusion of their papyrus habitat with a nice sense of scale Gail, very well executed.

Where was this taken BTW?

They are so small ~ 2 to 3 inches tall.
Gail

I've photographed these guys many times and yes, whilst very small, the adults are actually around 14cm (5+ inches tall)

[keith mitchell]

Gail it might have been dull for you but you would not know it looking at this stunning image.

Cheers Keith.