Southern Carmne bee-eater with catch

[Chris van Rooyen]

I was fortunate to spend the past 6 days in the Okavango Delta with a group of photographers. We had great fun and fantastic opportunities. I photographed this bee-eater at a small colony on the river. We stood above the colony and photographed the birds as they returned from foraging sorties with food for their chicks in the nest holes in the river bank. This guy caught what looks like a bumble bee, with pollen still attached to its legs.

Camera Model: Canon EOS-1D Mark III
Date/Time: 2008:10:29 09:45:22
Shutter speed: 1/2500 sec
Aperture: 5
Exposure mode: Tv
Exposure compensation: +1/3
Flash: Off
Metering mode: Multi-segment
ISO: 640
Focal length: 500mm

[Tony Whitehead]

Gee Chris, What next! Brilliant sharpness where it counts

[Stephen Earle]

Chris, this is extraordinary. Congrats on the bbc award and this magical photograph.

[Loukie Viljoen]

Well done Chris, any reason for using Tv setting and not Av, We must chat on what lenses to take next year. Baie Mooi

[Manos Papadomanolakis]

Another great image,only congrats!!!

[Juan Aragonés]

Wow, Chris your beeeaters series is outstanding! The action here is outstanding and the bumblee-bee on the beak is the ice on the cake. Terrific eye contact and BG. One to be proud of!!!

[Glenn Bartley]

Such a cool photo....I would think about some noise reduction on the BG.

[Chris van Rooyen]

Thanks guys! Loukie, I experimented with shutter priority and custom function 1-8 i.e. I have enabled the automatic ISO expansion. Basically how it works is that you select the shutter speed to make sure that you freeze the action, the camera then selects first the aperture, and uses your selected ISO. When the light is not enough to accommodate the selected ISO at that shutter speed, the camera automatically raises the ISO to ensure the correct exposure is maintained.

[Krijn Trimbos]

Cool shot, like the one that got a highly recommendation in Shell Wildlife Photographer of the Year. Congrats on that one Chris!! And also on this one, as it is a beauty.

[Ramon M. Casares]

Great shot Love the details and sharpness, light is a bit harsh but nice, and that bumble bee is a huge plus! Wing posotion is not the best (personal taste) but I loved this shot the second I saw it! Congratulaitons!

[Nagesh Mula]

I liked the picture for its excellent flight capture. Congratulations!!

[Stu Bowie]

Outstanding photography Chris. Take a bow Sir.

[Loukie Viljoen]

Thank you Chris for the explanation,