I went to visit my good mate Gerrie in the Pilanesberg nature reserve yesterday. My favourite subjects, Pied Kingfisher's were not to abundant, but there was plenty of 'action' from the swallows. Here is one of many different angles/positions that captured their 'action'. The BG is OOF water and grass.
Striking pose by the back bird, well exposed despite the harsh light.
I like the framing.
I have rather mixed feelings about the upper background. I generally am not a fan of pure sky backgrounds, like some environmental anchor when possible, but not sure if it is a plus here. I suspect you were shooting from a hide, so couldn't really change your shooting angle much.
You handled the lighting well, and got a great pose from both birds. I particularly like the crop. I might tone down the perch a little, and I agree with Randy's observation about the vegetation in the BG.
Stunning image. Fantastic pose, light and details.
IMO too much blue is kind of pushing the greens out. I tried to crop it close to reduce the blue and achieve balance in between greens and blues in the background. See if it works.
Great timing Stuart. A nice symmetrical wing spread by the top bird and I like how the angle of the female kind of completes the missing portion of the perch. The color up top doesn't bother me as it looks like the male is holding back the color with his spread wings.
Hi Stuart been away and missed this one but glad to have picked it up, even if late. I think the spread wing posture of the rear bird is awesome and makes for a very dramatic image. The techs have allready been covered above. Well captured.