Woodland Kingfisher, Kruger National Park, South Africa
I tried a new technique this morning. This bird was sitting in the shade of thick foliage. Instead of using fill flash, I trained a spotlight on the bird to bring out the colours. Personally I like the result, but would like to hear what you think. All comments welcome.
Camera Model: Canon EOS-1D Mark III
Date/Time: 2008:02:07 06:30:06
Shutter speed: 1/60 sec
Aperture: 5.6
Exposure mode: Av
Flash: Off
Metering mode: Multi-segment
ISO: 400
Focal length: 500mm
What a beautiful bird. I'm not sure I've seen this species before. Thanks for sharing. I like the details, and composition. A smoother BG would have been great but I like it as is.
Very interesting technique. It would be very interesting to compare this lighting technique and regular fill flash.
Very interesting technique, if there's time to do it in the field. It looks like it worked :)
Very nicely done and thanks for sharing your idea and results :)
I'd say the result is great -- very subtle with some shadow still visible under the branch. I would be tempted to try some selective warming of the subject so that it matches the color temp of the BG.
Scott
Lovely image and interesting technique, Chris. I have used a similar technique with some landscape/tree photos but not thought to try it on birds. It has been very successful here. I often find kingfishers rather skittish and would be concerned that the spotlight would scare them - did you notice any disturbance? I love the composition - the perch and leaves above teh bird balance it nicely to my eye. Look forward to more.
Tony Whitehead
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Tony, This bird is usually pretty tame. Chris, Just lovely. Would get rid of the two dead leaves upper middle and the tiny stalk ulc.
Boys and Girls: All of those trying to understand my missives on the proper head angle are invited to burn this one onto their brains. It is perfecto.
later and love, artie
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Gorgeous Chris. Agree with comments mentioned already, but that head angle is killer.
What a lovely looking bird. The composition, exposure and BG are fantastic. The only thing I would do is to clone out the drive lift in the BG.
Hi Maxis, I am confused: what is the "drive lift"?Originally Posted by Maxis Gamez
later and love, artie
BIRDS AS ART Blog: great info and lessons, lots of images with our legendary BAA educational Captions; we will not sell you junk. 30+ years of long lens experience/e-mail with gear questions.
BIRDS AS ART Online Store: we will not sell you junk. 35 years of long lens experience. Please e-mail with gear questions.
Check out the new SONY e-Guide and videos that I did with Patrick Sparkman here. Ten percent discount for BPN members,
E-mail me at samandmayasgrandpa@att.net.
Love the combination of light on bg and the spot you used on the bird, what an effective combo, soft and subtle, but it definitely has a different feel, well done. An incredible image, I can't take my eyes off the bird.
Gorgeous bird and image! Perfect light and pose.
Steve
What an absolutely gorgeous bird. Your technique worked very well IMO.
Stunning bird and image. Also a very creative way around the lighting challenge.
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