Another,,,

Dale.

Dale.

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Dale.
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Sometimes, God just smiles and the planets align.

Today's effort, less than 12 feet away from my pop up hide now. At one point, it was inches above my head as it scampered about on the top of the hide, which is made of fabric. The light was bordering on harsh but I was taking it, end of! :)

5Div, Sigma 150-600C

(my own hide, unbaited, wild and free)



Kingfisher. by Dale, on Flickr
 
very nice, looks a LOT better on flickr. As usual posting here destroys the sharpness.
 
nandbytes said:
very nice, looks a LOT better on flickr. As usual posting here destroys the sharpness.
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Thank you. Still wouldn't mind the 600L ;):LOL:


Brentor said:
Well done! No need for any new equipment.

Can I ask what settings you used and how much cropping/editing.
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Crop is about 50% of the frame, maybe slightly less. Not an awful lot of editing, I did try to control that white bit on the neck, that always gets me. I did some small NR as the background was a little grainy but there was probably no need. That's it really apart from the usual levels check etc.

Settings, 1/800 sec, iso 400, f6.3, 600mm.
 
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Have you calibrated the lens? Was it on a tripod? Looks a little soft which may be my ipad. Still a very good pic.
 
Brentor said:
Have you calibrated the lens? Was it on a tripod? Looks a little soft which may be my ipad. Still a very good pic.
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Nope, not calibrated. A bit crisper on Flickr and also on my PC. On a tripod, locked gimbal but I do see some movement even just be holding the camera, even my pulse unsettles it. I have IS switched on to try and combat that but not sure how wise that is on a tripod.

peter r said:
Super image.
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Thanks.
 
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cruso said:
Nice one Dale Deferentially Better on Flickr Better things to come yet ?
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Cheers Kevin.

Now I'm close, I will be aiming to fine tune things. It will take a while as other commitments are now coming into play but I will continue with this KF for as long as I can. (y)
 
Lovely dale
 
Dale. said:
The light had plummeted by the time it came back for round 2 a couple of hours later.

I think it's probably had too many sticklebacks as well. :LOL:

The wind got up and lifted its feathers.

1/1000 sec, iso 1250, f6.3, 600mm.

Too Many Sticklebacks. by Dale, on Flickr
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I like the brighter background in this version :)
 
I like the dark background in the first one, it makes the bird really stand out.
Gorgeous shot!
 
Rustydon said:
The feather colours and detailing are much better in the second shot, Dale - altogether a more natural rendition IMO (y)

Russ
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Thanks Russ.

The light was bordering on harsh for the first and all that blue sky reflecting on the water give it all a bit of a blue tinge too. I'm leaning towards number 2 as well. (y)
 
Very nice mate- I'm still on my quest to get a shot like yours :)
 
It's a quest that never ends :D

I have got a few decent shots but I know it's possible to get even better lol.
Not to mention being able to catch them in their water acrobatics. So still plenty to work on and enjoy :)

You are definitely getting closer! Keep it up (y)
 
Your patience and field craft are to be commended , I would dare to say most Kingfisher pics are taken on reserves where they are regularly sighted or payed to play set ups . For ME it make your pictures all the better . A lot of people recommend stopping down a bit on those super zooms , but I see nothing wrong with what you have achieved , but maybe worth some thought . I would be very happy with these .
 
Lepus said:
Your patience and field craft are to be commended , I would dare to say most Kingfisher pics are taken on reserves where they are regularly sighted or payed to play set ups . For ME it make your pictures all the better . A lot of people recommend stopping down a bit on those super zooms , but I see nothing wrong with what you have achieved , but maybe worth some thought . I would be very happy with these .
Click to expand...

Thanks for that, it has taken a while. I have done paid KF once before and I have nothing against it at all. There is something special though about getting a KF your way, this is the second time now I've done it with 2 different birds, miles apart, a very satisfying experience.

This one is now very relaxed with me, it even landed on my fabric hide, just inches above my head, it was scurrying about on it. I couldn't see it of course as I was in the hide but it then flew onto the perch that I photographed it on. That perch has been there sometime (probably years) and it was only last week I noticed the KF using it.

My aim now is to get it diving, it seems to go for roughly the same spot everytime from this perch. It also hovers above the water at times, then dives but I'm yet to be able to get fast enough shutter speeds for a hover shot. I will keep trying.

I've had a glorious last 2 weeks with this bird, watching its habits and routine. I've known this bird 3 months in total. It will be a little more difficult to spend time with it now for a while as other commitments kick in but I will be spending every second with it that I can.
 
I think your wise to make the most of such opportunities Dale , as nice as the perched photos are , would be the icing on the cake if you can pull off some action type photos . Good luck .
 
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