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| From a Kingfishers Perspective |
Pied Kingfishers are incredible fish catchers. They hover in the air, using rapid and precise wing movements, then lunge down suddenly to catch their prey. It's rare to see one at eye's level - they're usually higher up in the air. But I did get lucky, and this beautiful bird was hovering just at the correct height. The water was splashing below, filling the air with water droplets, for the added effect. The photo allows us to see the Kingfisher carefully observing the water below from an interesting perspective, pretty close to what the Kingfisher actually sees.
What do I like about this photo? The pose is very dynamic. I used a fast shutter speed (1/2500 seconds) to freeze the action (and the water droplets in the air). The open aperture (f/6.3, the most my lens supports at this focal length of 400mm) makes for a very smooth, blurred out background, with the bird being in focus, so the bird stands out. The water droplets add interest to the photo.
What would I have liked to improve? I should have used an even faster shutter speed (1/4000 or 1/5000 seconds, probably), since the wing tips are moving so fast that they're not tack-sharp.