Grebe with catch

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

40D. 400 f5.6L. 1/1600s. iso 400. f/6.3

Pied billed grebe. Common bird but I find them difficult to capture. Very small and unpredictable. They dive in and you dont know where they will come out. I saw this one dive and was ready. To my surprise, came up pretty close and with a nice catch. Gave me a good head turn as well. Sunset light and fall colors in the water....I sure wasn't expecting all this :-) To complete the meal, it turned its head away though.

All comments welcome.

[Alan Murphy]

This is so nice Kaustubh. Love the water color, the detail and the fish puts it over the top.

[Enrique Patino]

Great image Kaustubh. I also like the water color, the detail in the face, HA, and fish. I think the grebe is little ambitious with this prey... trying to figure out what kind of fish it is... maybe a small mouth bass?

[Ofer Levy]

Fantastic behaviour image!!! Here is a repost with a slight levels adjustment.

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Ofer, thx for taking the time. Your changes added nice punch.

[Karl Egressy]

Great shot, Kaustubh. The fish puts it over the top.

[Mike Landwehr]

A very nice grebe. They are a difficult subject. With the body in shadow, the light on the neck and head really make the subject pop. The color on the water is lovely, and is a nice complement to the subject. Did he manage to swallow the fish?

[Dan Busby]

As the saying goes Kaustubh - you have to be good to be lucky. And for this one you were ready and good to be able to catch this perfect moment. Love the silky water and great detail on fish and bird's head. Really nice!

[dankearl]

Great photo and they are hard to get close too!
Tiny and shy in my experience. They are always diving and eating though,
good job getting such a good photo.

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

A very nice grebe. They are a difficult subject. With the body in shadow, the light on the neck and head really make the subject pop. The color on the water is lovely, and is a nice complement to the subject. Did he manage to swallow the fish?

Thx for the comments. Yes, he swallowed it quickly. For their size, they do gulp down some large prey items.

[Cheryl Arena Molennor]

Isn't that a beauty?! Great detail and soft misy look. Love it. Repost works well too.

[Randy Stout]

Kaustubh:

Nicely captured, fish, interesting lighting and nice water.

I prefer the slightly softer contrast in the OP because the shadows aren't quite so pronounced. Personal taste really.


Cheers

Randy

[Sidharth Kodikal]

Excellent low angle, comp and light. The prey and the perfect eye contact along with the nice colors in the water take this up several notches. Lovely image, Kaustubh.

[Marina Scarr]

This is a killer capture!!!! The gorgeous light, soft feel of the water and huge catch put it over the top, and the repost kicks it up that last notch. This is surely one to be proud of!!!

[Doug Brown]

Lucky you and lucky Grebe! The photo has that patented Kaustubh look; great angle, excellent sharpness, and smooth BG. I prefer Ofer's repost

[James Salywoda]

Fantastic Shot! I really like the low angle and light great shot.

[Dumay de Boulle]

Another low angle winner, I like repost but maybe toned down a touch...Nice one KD

[Stu Bowie]

You never seem to shoot higher than low angle so another killer perspective. Love the soft light and pastel colours, and the catch puts this over the top. An opportunity well used.

[Wynand van Wyk]

Have also tried to photograph these guys. Not easy at all! Love the colours and detail in this image! Like the angle too. Moment superbly captured!

Very well done.

[Christopher Ciccone]

A lovely shot capturing a moment that I suspect vanished very quickly. I've been lucky to encounter these cool little birds on a number of occasions, but never been able to get such a fantastic low angle. The DOF is perfect, and the light perfect to get that eye detail.

[Kaustubh Deshpande]

Thx everyone for all the encouraging comments.