Catch of the day

[Chris Kotze]

Lilac Breasted Roller
Kruger National Park

Canon 7D
Canon 300 2.8 x2
1/1000 sec
f8.0
ISO 400
+0.3 step
Focal Length 600
Editing on laptop

Your comments and advice would be appreciated.

[Dave Blinder]

Remarkable action capture and sharpness is great. HA on bird looks perfect. Perch is not the best I can imagine, but I still wish the image were mine!

[Deborah Harrison]

WOW!! I love it, sharp bird in perfect lighting, great background and of course the grasshopper completes the image.

The 300 2.8 with a x2 multiplier seems to be a great combo, am impressed by the detail.

Just one question - was the grasshopper 'posed' or were you at the right place with great timing?

[Tony Whitehead]

Great catch, Chris. Perfect pose of both bird and locust. Well done,

[Michael Hogan]

Chris, Great great capture - wish it was mine

TFS

Michael

[Michael Zajac]

Excellent pose and sharpness. I love the colors and the action great shot.

[Deborah Hanson]

Agree with comments regarding detail and color. Amazing catch with grasshopper (?).
If mine I might crop the left side a bit. I realize that puts the bird into the middle more but I think the position of the 'meal' and the tail of the bird creates a nice balance. Just my view.

[Milan Kanya]

great shot! congratulations

[Dick Glover]

Everything about this image seems perfect to me. Would be interesting to know more about how you got this, especially the timing.

[Randy Stout]

Chris:
This is excellent, perfect timing, open mouth, curve in grasshopper, light and background.
Agree with Dave about the perch, but the action and focus is so strong above that it takes a while to even notice the perch.

A winner in my book.

Congrats

Randy

[Doug Brown]

Just a super image Chris! Well done!

[Glenn Bartley]

I absolutely love this! I have seen this species photographed so many times. But this one is my new fave!

[Sindri]

Stunning shot with perfect timing. Sharp with great details, wonderful crisp colours and beautiful bokeh. Outstanding work.

[Dave Peters]

Stunning - looks fine the way you have it or with a bit less on the left. Make sure its backed up as you may never get another one like it !

[Phil Ertel]

This is stunning! Colors, pose, prey, action, and background all look pretty much perfect in my opinion. Congratulations on a great image!

[Morkel Erasmus]

for me this is the best you've ever posted on any forum Chris...wow!!

how come I never get them to chuck their food in the air? :( ;)

super sharp, great light, and knowing where they usually sit the perch is excellent as it's open all around

[Ofer Levy]

W-O-W !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Andrew Merwin]

You aced it!!!!! A consummate image.
Andrew

[MohsenVahedipour]

Superb timing with excellent light and details. TFS

[Stephen Earle]

Super shot Chris. The light, action, well everything works here.

[Lance Peters]

Awesome - Early contender for IOTY.
Nailed it!!

[Chris Kotze]

Wow thanks for all the kind comments it's much appreciated. Deborah & Dick they normally catch the grasshopper and can't swallow it immediately due to the size. They then will soften it in the beak and toss it in the air. Well, one opens fire and hope for the best shot:)

[Joe Senzatimore]

To quote ray Romano's Father , "HOLY CRAP"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:D:D:D:D

[Marc Mol]

Superb Chris, great timing, BG, colour & detail from the 2x tc. Doesn't get much better.
TFS

[Craig Brelsford]

Oh this is very good. Congratulations! I want to hear the story behind it. For example, the choice of lens and teleconverter. Do you have a 600 mm lens also? If so, why then use the 300 mm lens plus 2.0x teleconverter?

[Glenda Simmons]

Awesome! A contest winner for sure. I love everything about this image. Congratuations!!

[Stu Bowie]

Take a bow Chris. As Morkel stated, your best to date, and very well captured.

[BenBotha]

Fantastic photo!

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

This one should be a slam dunk for image of the week.

Spectacular. Thats a lilac colored breast allright. Stunning capture...the action, freeze, bird angle, catchlight, colors, BG, comp, exposure.....uber-WOW.

[Nick Palmieri]

It's all been said. Outstanding!!!

[Gerrie van Vuuren]

Excellent capture Chris!

[Chris Kotze]

Thanks for all the comments it's much appreciated. Hi Craig I don't have a 600 hence the 300 x2 for the reach thanks

[Ivan Sjögren]

Fantastic photo! Congrats, Chris.

[Nico Steenberg]

Blixem Chris, one of the best i have seen !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Haim Ziv]

Fascinating!!!

[Art Kornienko]

Magazine cover time with this one, it's should win something. Amazing timing, and nice to see the detail with a 2X on this one, surprised AF was quick enough to get the shot.

[Arno Ellmer]

Chris ,the quality of this shot is exceptional and one to be proud of !!

Not the usual Roller shot !

[RAM MALLYA]

amazing sharpness and action captured .

[Hendri Venter]

Brilliant!!!!! One to be very proud of Chris. Congrats.

[Chris Kotze]

Thanks every one it's much appreciated.