Forest Kingfisher

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

A birder friend of mine discovered this specimen not far from my place. How it got there is a mystery as they don't normally live this far south, but we do get some odd birds like Noisy Pittas of which I had two about 5km from home in May. Anyway, I staked out the area, found the kingfisher and studied its behavior for a session before returning the next day with my bag hide to get close to one of its favorite lookout perches. I got very lucky indeed. :D

30D, 300/4L IS, ISO800, f/5.6, 1/125th, hand held, 80% of full frame, 430EX at -1/3.

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Good-looking bird, good sharpness, angle and BG. I only wish the OOF perch would not cover part of the tail.

[Ákos Lumnitzer]

Good-looking bird, good sharpness, angle and BG. I only wish the OOF perch would not cover part of the tail.

Thanks Axel. Me too, That was the best angle I could get. :( Too many trees and bushes all around. :)

[Axel Hildebrandt]

Thanks Axel. Me too, That was the best angle I could get. :( Too many trees and bushes all around. :)

This is what I figured. BTW, I would tone down the whites some, it looks a tad overflashed.

[Nicki Gwynn Jones]

Hi Akos,
That is one sweet looking bird...I would be delighted to have this one.
Best,
Nicki

[Dan Brown]

Great work on a great looking bird Akos! Nice sharpness and BG. I think that maybe a little less fill flash would have improved this, but it is very nice!

[James Salywoda]

WOW! This is one sweet image of such a beautiful bird stunning detail my friend ..... I wish it was mine;)

[Connie Mier]

Fantastic details, what a wonderful pose. Excellent job capturing this cutie. I would only want a bit more room at the top.

[Harshad Barve]

WOW! This is one sweet image of such a beautiful bird stunning detail my friend ..... I wish it was mine;)

Ditto James here
TFS

[Glenn Bartley]

What an incredibly gorgeous bird. Well done!

[Joerg Rockenberger]

What a nice image. And taken with a 300!!!! Beautiful colors, background and sharpness. It may just sit bit too centered. Congrats! JR

[Stu Bowie]

Killer image Bro. Great sighting and just those blues on the little guy. Perfect pose, and overall, nice and sharp. Congrats, I like this lots.

[denise ippolito]

Akos, Beautiful details and colors. I too wish the OOF branch wasn't there but understand your angle problems. Very nice BG. Well done and Congrats.

[Rob Drummond]

Very nice Akos - the detail and richness of the colours are wonderful. Nice job getting so close.

cheers
Rob

[Lorant Voros]

Akos,

You have some really beautiful birds around you and you can present them nicely. OOF branch was mentioned, apart from that it rocks. Colors, detail, exposure, BG are all beautiful and you got pretty close again. Well done.

[Simon Bennett]

Excellent capture, very sharp, good pose.

[Kiran Poonacha]

Hey Bhai, Lovely looking Bird this, nice light, beautiful colours and lovely perch.. congrats..

[Morkel Erasmus]

special sighting and super shot Bro! love the colours and exposure and your flashwork is immaculate. ditto Axel on the perch but another reason to go back for more :)

[Tony Whitehead]

Superb job, Akos. Love the pose, colours and BG. Very envious of this one.

[Chris van Rooyen]

Spectacular species - spectacular image: sharpness, background, posture are all great. Ditto Axel on the perch, but for me that is a minor point. I may want to lighten the detail a slight bit around the eye.

[Juan Carlos Vindas]

Lovely KF Akos.
You are indeed a lucky man. The perch has been mentioned. Love the colors here, especially the blue. BG needs some NR.

[Marina Scarr]

The colors of this bird just POP right off of the monitor. Agree on the perch but you did a great job with what you had to work with. Photography Down Under isn't as easy as in Florida. You have gorgeous details, sharpness and a nice pose.