| Photograph Information |
Photographer's Comments |
Camera: Nikon D7000
Lens: Sigma 100-300mm F/4.0 EX IF HSM for Nikon
Location: Carlswald, Midrand, Johannesburg, RSA
Aperture: 5.0
ISO: 800
Shutter: 1/1000
Galleries: Birds
Date Uploaded: Feb 18, 2013
Viewed: 269
Comments: 12
Favorites: 0
|
Brush cutting the lawn (Jungle) on the weekend and I saw this turquoise 'flash' land next to me on the cut grass and then take off again...being a birder I knew it could only be one species! But who would believe me? In the middle of two major cities, Pretoria and Johannesburg here was a bird that was never seen in the area, at least by me since 1999. He took no notice of the racket emanating from the 2 stroke brush cutter and kept eyeing me as I worked.
I dashed inside to get the DSLR and returned to the cutter. There he was patiently sitting right next to it in an exposed branch waiting for me to fire it up again. For the next hour he stayed within a few paces of me. Every time an insect fled from the grass as I cut it he would swoop down and catch it, fly up to a branch, bash it and then swallow. 6 times before his belly was full. Interestingly this King Fisher doesn't 'fish' at all. I've only ever seen them deep in the bush and this was indeed a treat to see this species in the "city".
If you would like to hear his call click here and look for Woodland Kingfisher and click play...
As he refused to sit in sunlight I had to do Advanced PP, masked, enhanced detail, dropped brightness on BG, increased sat on bird, dodged pre-existing catch-light slightly, curves, Topaz Labs DeNoise, sharpening, crop, sfw.
Any comment or critique; complimentary or critical are welcome and appreciated.
Questions about gear, technique etc. also welcome.
This image is © copyrighted 2013 by Harvey Grohmann. Duplication, publication, copying is strictly forbidden and protected by law. To obtain pricing and consent contact me via Photocommission.com
for Photograph a Week 2013 |
| Author | Thread |
|
|
03/20/2013 10:57:50 AM |
| Beautiful bird and fun story. To bad about the light but still a valuable capture. |
|
 Photographer found comment helpful. |
|
|
02/25/2013 07:31:08 PM |
| Wow! Congratulations! You had a productive day weed whacking. |
|
| Photographer found comment helpful. |
|
|
02/23/2013 12:04:35 PM |
| Your story is so exciting to read! Congrats on your opportunity and catching this beautiful bird! |
|
| Photographer found comment helpful. |
|
|
02/22/2013 10:58:47 AM |
| lovely colors on subject and background |
|
| Photographer found comment helpful. |
|
|
02/21/2013 04:56:51 AM |
| I just love the quirky turn of it's head - another unique shot and thank you for adding such interesting info on it, right down to it's call. |
|
| Photographer found comment helpful. |
|
|
02/20/2013 05:37:03 PM |
| Another picture with beautiful blues. It feels to me like the eye is not quite in focus, and I wish it were. Maybe my eyes are seeing it wrong. I love how close you got. |
|
| Photographer found comment helpful. |
|
|
02/20/2013 03:41:37 PM |
Great image of that Kingfisher, beautiful. Only small thing is that the birds colours are about the same as the background colours, but not much you can do about that in the circumstances.
Wonder how big this bird is, looks bigger than the Common Kingfisher you can spot in Scotland. |
|
| Photographer found comment helpful. |
|
|
02/19/2013 11:19:41 PM |
| "Hey, you, Stop taking pictures and scare up some more bugs for me." What an amazing sighting, so colorful (even in shade). |
|
| Photographer found comment helpful. |
|
|
02/19/2013 03:38:54 PM |
| Great story, and what a beautiful bird. In my garden "my" bird is a European robin, which is not even remotely as vibrant as your kingfisher. |
|
| Photographer found comment helpful. |
|
|
02/18/2013 06:53:29 PM |
| What a beautiful and inquisitive bird - great back story that I enjoyed a lot. Funny when a wild creature will do something totally unexpected like that - he must have been very hungry (or very lazy!) and when he found the opportunity for some easy bites, he took advantage of them. He obviously realized you posed no threat. Cool! |
|
| Photographer found comment helpful. |
|
|
02/18/2013 05:51:14 PM |
| Wow that is awesome. Different from the King Fisher's I see in Florida. Love how he is looking at you. Now you have your proof. |
|
| Photographer found comment helpful. |
|
|
02/18/2013 10:34:08 AM |
Hooray! Smart bird, & a sweet shot (like all your bird shots). I know the birds watch me closely when I am doing yard work, for the same reason.
It occurs to me that your camera probably has GPS, so you have automatic proof that you saw this bird in your yard. How cool is that?! And it waited for you to run for your camera, too, how cool is that?!! Did you look around for his mate? |
|
| Photographer found comment helpful. |
Home -
Challenges -
Community -
League -
Photos -
Cameras -
Lenses -
Learn -
Help -
Terms of Use -
Privacy -
Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2025 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 04/03/2025 04:24:39 PM EDT.
Add photograph to your favorites
Add photographer to your favorites
