European Roller full spread

[Morkel Erasmus]

I was lucky enough to get a decent sequence of this guy taking off last weekend in the Kruger Park. They are migrant birds in South Africa who will be returning North soon.

Light was still slightly harsh but becoming softer, but I took what was on offer.

All comments most welcome...I have been slightly inactive on the Avian forum but hopefully this will change now since I've got a lot more to share after this recent trip.

Techs:
Nikon D300s with Nikkor 200-400mm VR @ 400mm
f5.6 @ 1/2000 SS @ ISO-400

[Jeff Parker]

Beautiful bird and nice capture. I'm not fond of the branch behind him, but hey, it is what it is:cool:

[Randy Stout]

Morkel:

Excellent dorsal view, head angle, colors.
Agree with Jeff about the branches merging with the wings. Also unfortunate that he has some primary damage on the lower wing.

Do you have any later in this series?

Cheers

Randy

[arash_hazeghi]

Morkel,
This is killer wing position, well exposed and very sharp, tough to get those fine feather details, you did an excellent job!!! I agree that branches are a bit distracting, would clone them out.
Congrats.

[Stu Bowie]

Hey mate, great take off and banking angle captured here. Lovely colours from the wings, and overall nice and sharp. I agree trying to eliminate the branches touching the wings will work.

[Markus Jais]

Congratulations on this great shot. This species is among the most beautiful birds. I saw one last year in Spain. Unfortunately the species is declining in many areas.
Your shot is great. I agree with the others about the branches but it is great as presented.
Great sharpness and detail. Fantastic wing pose and head angle. Perfect placement of the bird in the frame.

Markus

[Ken Watkins]

Another vote for removing some of the wood if only just the two touching the wing.

Never seen this pose before!

[Morkel Erasmus]

thanks for the kind comments guys...

here is a repost with the wood removed and the bottom primary rebuilt...

[Callie de Wet]

Eish, I think you have hit the spot now, Morkel. I have tried to shoot them many times, this is a great POV that you caught here! I might be inclined to slightly rotate the whole image CW to add just a wee angle more down to the take-off.