Birds Kingfisher on the River Stour

Nick L · Oct 15, 2021

Male Kingfisher on the River Stour in Dorset UK, taken with an EF 100-400L II and a 1.4x EF extender, I have ordered a RF 100-500L but no stock in the UK.

Tim Mayo · Oct 15, 2021

Cracking shot Nick!

Dave Williams · Oct 15, 2021

Nice shot Nick but without intending to be rude I think the Kingfisher needs to be a bit smaller in the frame.

Hali · Oct 15, 2021

That's quite the beautiful shot.

Hali · Oct 15, 2021

Dave Williams said:
Nice shot Nick but without intending to be rude I think the Kingfisher needs to be a bit smaller in the frame.

Hi Dave, it's not my image, but I'm wondering why you feel that way?

Nick L · Oct 15, 2021

Dave Williams said:
Nice shot Nick but without intending to be rude I think the Kingfisher needs to be a bit smaller in the frame.

Hi Dave, thanks for the comment but as the Kingfisher is sharp I cropped it hard (3382x2609) and then cropped the version for here to three of the thirds and a size of 800x846, the original large crop had more of the stick (left) and breathing space to the right but this is a lovely little bird and I felt he had enough space especially with that large beak

royd63uk · Oct 15, 2021

I like it as shown.
Beautiful bird nice and sharp

Dave Williams · Oct 15, 2021

It's just my opinion but we bird photographers can become obsessed with detail and in doing so we crop hard and often forget about composition. Rule of thirds still applies. I think the the Kingfisher needs a bit more space to look in to but also should be represented for what it is, a very small bird indeed.

Dave Williams · Oct 16, 2021

Same subject , which do you prefer?

BruceW · Oct 16, 2021

Dave Williams said:
Same subject , which do you prefer?View attachment 6244 View attachment 6245

First, great shot, even at 840mm. I have a hard time using that same setup to get a great capture of a Kingfisher. I personally prefer the first version. I think a little more space makes the image more pleasant to view n

Nick L · Oct 16, 2021

Morning,
I prefer the close version as it proves the detail, Kingfishers can look soft as the feathers look soft, as someone who dabbles in bird photography as I have a camera that can capture small fast moving birds (the R5) I am pleased with the results I have got photos of

this kingfisher in the last 3 weeks. I have to say as a long term camera club member I am not a lover of dark underexposed backgrounds with the dreaded bird on a stick. I am trying to catch birds in flight and diving and have managed both. But I still need the fish in mouth and actually entering and leaving the water, but I can only hope.

royd63uk · Oct 16, 2021

To be honest they are all excellent images.
Close detailed images and environmental images all have their place.

Dave Williams · Oct 16, 2021

As I originally posted Nick, I didn't intend to be rude in any way, just trying to offer constructive comments. The last shot you posted is more pleasing to my eye but that is of course a personal opinion. If you are happy with what you end up that's probably the most important thing but when we post a shot on a forum or other media and all the comments are positive we don't learn unless people are totally honest? How many times have you seen something very average and the comments are totally inappropriately describing it as awesome?
Anyway, keep on dabbling in avian photography, but beware,it becomes addictive!!

Red Dexs · Dec 26, 2021

Excellent shot Nick.

Nick L · Apr 2, 2022

From a recent trip to the river Stour in Dorset, in 30 minutes he dived 4 times (I caught two of them) and caught 3 fish and two he ate right in front of me

RichMan · Apr 19, 2022

Nick,
Could you give some back story on these photos? I have been trying A LOT to get a good picture of a Belted Kingfisher here in Florida. We don't have a lot of them in the area I live in, but I spotted one at a small pond one day and have been hunting it sense. I've got a good, but distant, picture of him flying, and some closeup picks of him setting on an ugly metal fence, but nothing I really like yet. I have set up a perch in the water about 3m from shore, and set my blind on other side of the pond bank about 13m from the perch. I have set in that blind I don't know how many hours waiting with no luck yet.

Could you tell me how you found this bird; is there just one or several, what does your setup look like? Anything you could share would be interesting.

BTW, I like the pics a lot.

Thanks

Nick L · Apr 19, 2022

Hi Rich,

This is a well known place to get very close to this Kingfisher on the river Stour about 2 miles from my home. the branch he fishes from is not natural, someone attached the stick to a small post in the river and there are often a couple of other perches he uses and some of the trees nearby as well. I have been to this place a few times in the last 7 months and have seen him most times I have been there. When he is on the branch he is 3-4 metres from me so the 500mm is fine. He or his relatives have been at this same place for a number of years and on occasion two Kingfishers have been seem on this branch (not by me tho). Like you when he is on the other side of the river he is far to small to photograph, and these are very fast birds the dive really quick so I normally use 100-200mm and try to guess where in the river he may dive.

Best of luck !

MrSparks999 · Apr 19, 2022

Wow some awesome Kingfisher pictures

Birds Kingfisher on the River Stour

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