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| Motion in the Air |
Here we have a Pied Kingfisher in a photo a little different than how I usually photograph these wonderful fish catchers. I specifically wanted to show the incredible motion of the wings in the air, so decided against "freezing" the action as I usually do. This does not give the complete scene that can be observed in nature - the range of motion for the wings is huge, and I had to balance the amount of light out there with the speed of the shutter to avoid burning out the photo, but it's a start.
What do I like about this photo? It gives a sense of the incredible motion. I used a (relatively) slow shutter speed (1/100 of a second) to smear the movement. The head and body is still in focus, demonstrating how the Kingfisher is able to keep them in place while moving the wings rapidly.
What would I want to improve? Ideally I would have wanted to show the full range of motion for the wings, which would require a slower shutter speed. The trouble was that I was already at the lowest ISO and closest aperture, and there was too much light to go for a slower shutter speed. I should have used a neural-density filter (a filter that only lets some of the light go through) - maybe next time!