Some will say they wish for some separation between the tail and the perch, and I fully agree. Most times these guys take off away from the perch, thus leaving daylight or separation. In my defence, let me explain my technique.
Firstly, I use one of the outer focussing points, and zoom out, to leave space for him to fly into. These guys are so quick, that he is partially out the frame in the next shot. In this, I added a slight canvas at the bottom.
The BG is OOF grass. Taken in the Pilanesberg nature reserve.
Stuart, Fantastic capture you have here. Love the sharpness and action. Depending on your personal preference you might consider cloning the perch out. It would make for a very dramatic image but I do think it would be best to disclose since this would likely mislead the viewer as to how the image was captured.
Lovely looking kingfisher and no doubt a good exposure challenge, which you controlled well, under what looks like some bright conditions. I like the clean background and both sharpness and pose are good particularly given the speed kingfishers move. I would have preferred the front wing to have been lower which would have also have eliminated the hard area of shadow under the wing. I agree with you self-critique about the perch and I think the main issue is that it is so dark and therefore partially blends with the tail.
Nice action you captured here Stuart. I also think the background is very pleasing. I agree with Brian. If it were mine I would consider removing the branch. Thanks for sharing.
Stuart, This looks very difficult to pull of and I think you are doing great w/ these take-off shots. Very nice details, lighting looks harsh and you controlled it well. Beautiful BG. Really nice image overall.
Hi Stu. Another super capture. I would leave the perch but like the idea of selectively increasing the exposure on it to separate it from the tail. Good exposure here. NTS
Take Off #2
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