Malachite Kingfisher

[Chris van Rooyen]

I sneaked off to Marievale this morning to try my luck with the weather. Well I'm glad I did, as I got some exciting stuff, despite the rain that threatened to kill the whole morning - at least I had some nice filtered light at times. This young Malachite Kingfisher is threatening another young kingfisher. This went on for a few seconds, giving me the opportunity to get several frames. Guess the perch could have been a bit better though..

Camera Model: Canon EOS-1D Mark III
Date/Time: 2009:03:05 081:05
Shutter speed: 1/3200 sec
Aperture: 5
Exposure mode: Tv
Exposure compensation: +1
Flash: Off
Metering mode: Multi-segment
ISO: 1000
Focal length: 500mm

[Randy Stout]

Chris:

A very fine young bird. Sharpness, DOF and exposure right on. Wing position, head position, open bill, catch light, all add to the effect. I can almost hear him squawking. The perch is what it is, not bad.

I like the subtle greens in the background, esp. below and to the left, which plays well off the colors in the birds head.

Very nice.

Thanks for sharing.

Randy

[Dave Courtenay]

This is great,Tiny little bird that i have only seen once,Great pose,sharpness and exposure-very nice indeed

Dave

[Greg Basco]

Chris, I think this works very well. The subject is so well done that the ordinary perch doesn't detract from the image in my opinion. Great use of the natural light.

Cheers,
Greg Basco

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Cool pose, angle and details. Maybe a tad more contrast?

[Tony Whitehead]

Lovely, Chris. Interesting behaviour and your DOF achieved works perfectly. I really like the open bill with tongue, intense eye and near wing detail.

[Ramon M. Casares]

Great moment and stunning DOF, terrific light and detail, BG is great and to be honest, the perh was the last thing I saw, if you hadn´t mentioned it I probably wouldn´t have think of it as a nit. Congratulations!

[Ilija Dukovski]

Great image...
ISO 1000 and exp +1 on a rainy morning.
I got to remember this one ;)

[Judy Lynn Malloch]

Wow the action in this one is awesome . Great timing and superb detail and eye contact. Love this one Chris !!!

[Deborah Harrison]

Wow - my humble attempt in the 'eager to learn' pales in comparison. Amazing to be able to capture him in the open - usually they're hidden in reeds or flying off.
Congratulations!

[Nate Chappell]

Great action superbly captured with him calling and raising his wings like.

[Chris van Rooyen]

Thanks guys!

[Marc Mol]

Great composition Chris, was this F/F?
I've never been able to get this close to these flighty Kingfishers.
I do hope to remedy this on the Chobe River come September.

Cheers
Marc