Early Morning Fisher

Yesterday I went out early to see if I could find some Woodcocks: as we have freezing temps and some snow it’s the time to see them, although I always seem unlucky with the species (and we have almost never snow anymore around here, last time was years ago). Anyway, while I had positioned myself by some little stream with fresh groundwater (which wasn’t frozen) and waited for things to happen, to my surprise a Common Kingfisher arrived and started fishing very close to me, which rendered nice shots. But I was thrilled when it positioned itself a bit further away, in (what seemed to me) the perfect spot. Th bird was still in the shadow, whereas the background was lit by the sun creeping over a small hill. Happy me :wink:

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Technical Details

Is this a composite: No
Nikon D500 with 300mm 2.8 + 1,4TC @ 420mm | 1/640s | f4 | ISO160 | handheld . I lifted the shadows a bit and saturated the image to my taste.

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I find this to be exquisite. The lighting is really great and sets the mood and the sense of environment so well. This is proof positive that you do NOT need to have the bird big in the frame to create a compelling image. Imagine this printed large and hanging in a nice place in your home. Very nice.

Thank you @Keith_Bauer and I couldn’t agree more (not so much as to your praise, but as to your opinion about including habitat in a shot, on which you wrote a very good article a while ago if I remember correctly). Don’t know about more space in our home filled with my shots, but currently I have this one as background on my computer LOL … Cheers,

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Absolutely lovely! Good choice to go for this shot. I LOVE the BG vegetation!

I’m a little conflicted about the brightness in the UR, but burning it down would spoil it. I wonder about, instead, bringing just a little more contrast into the bird and the cattails. Could that be done without spoiling the softness of the light they are in?

Wonderful environmental image. Very artistic!

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Thanks @Diane_Miller - for me it works, as the ‘white’ is a patch of snow, maybe I don’t mind because I have been craving for some snow over here for years :wink: … Of course, by using the radial tool in LR one could work on the tails and the bird.

Superb background, Hans. I love the colors. The Kingfisher is lovely as well. The position of the Kingfisher feels like it would want to be a bit higher and further left, but where it is adds some visual tension to the image.

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Hi Hans
You keep teaching me lesson in photography and posting picture post card. Nice work.
Peter

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Lovely photo Hans. I really like how the light is coming thru the cattails in the bg. The cattails give a nice sense as to the size of the small kingfisher.

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Hi Hans! I love the soft golden colors surrounding the turquoise looking bird. Beautiful contrast! And as mentioned very artsy!

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Thanks all for your encouraging words and also proud of the EP :wink: !

Hello Hans. We are very fortunate to have this beauty brought to us by you.
The details and colors are very fine.
I feel however that the bright reed heads to the left of our little hero distract too much. This crop is for your consideradtion, as it still conveys its environment, but more strongly features the subject. I like the brightness in URC as it is aligned with the gaze of the kingfisher.

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Thanks @Dick_Knudson - that would definitely make for another good option! Cheers,