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The King
The King
HarveyG


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Birds III (Advanced Editing VII)
Camera: Nikon D90
Lens: Sigma 100-300mm f/4.0 EX IF HSM for Nikon
Location: Rietvlei Nature Reserve, Gauteng, South Africa
Date: Jun 17, 2012
Aperture: f/4
ISO: 400
Shutter: 1/2000
Galleries: Water, Birds
Date Uploaded: Jun 21, 2012

 It's winter here, normally bright sunny blue sky days, and the only chance I get to go out and shoot for the challenge, it's overcast. Typical! This is one of a few of our endemic species that is still colourful at this time of year. Incredibly shy and tiny bird. Image shot in overcast conditions hand held after a day birding in the bush. Up at 4 am and home at 7pm. Background is water coloured grey from the difficult photographic conditions. Every time he caught a fish he would land in dense foliage out of reach of my crispest and fastest birding lens; the Sigma 100-300mm f/4 EX IF HSM.

This sub-adult Malachite Kingfisher (Alcedo cristata) is a mostly river (and dam) kingfisher which is widely distributed in Africa south of the Sahara. It is largely resident except for seasonal climate related movements.

They are 13 cm (5") in length and about 13 grams. The general colour of the upper parts of the adult bird is bright metallic blue. The head has a short crest of black and blue feathers, which gives rise to the scientific name.

Day 1: Votes: 8 Avg Vote: 7.2500 !!!
Day 1: Votes: 13 Avg Vote: 7.9231 !!!
Then plummeted 0.8675 on the weekend :(
Day 3: Votes: 72 Avg Vote: 7.0556
by Monday morning...
Day 5 Votes: 77 Avg Vote: 7.0000
by Thursday evening it had slipped beyond the 7 and my hopes for a HM or Top Ten were again dashed for a wild bird image...

ETA:
Thank you for all the wonderful comments and votes, inc. Richard Hahn hahn23 who without knowing the species, did a sterling Inspector Clouseau. It is encouraging to see that many voters understood the effort required to find and snap these little guys and get a decent image...

This image is © copyrighted 2012 by Harvey Grohmann. Publication is strictly forbidden and protected by law. To obtain pricing and consent contact me via Photocommission.com

Outtake:


Note that DPC does not have a Wildlife Site Gallery section, only Nature & Nature is any animal shot in non-wild (captive) locations including Zoo's, Aviaries, Sanctuaries & your pet Polly at home! Genuine wildlife images should have their own category.
Time to start lobbying Langdon :P

Statistics
Place: 11 out of 110
Avg (all users): 6.8390
Avg (commenters): 9.0000
Avg (participants): 6.6875
Avg (non-participants): 6.9429
Views since voting: 2091
Views during voting: 274
Votes: 118
Comments: 17
Favorites: 1 (view)

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AuthorThread
Canon EOS-5D Mark III
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro
 06/29/2012 10:36:27 PM
Congrats on a very good finish and have to agree, it should have finished higher for sure. Great shot Harvey
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-60D
Sigma 70-200 /2.8 APO EX DG Macro HSM II
06/29/2012 01:12:23 PM
Gotcha too! Congrats!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-1D Mark III
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM
 06/29/2012 09:45:50 AM
Wonderful shot Harvey! Always nice to see other kingfishers.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D7000
Nikon AF-S DX 18-105 f/3.5-5.6 ED VR
 06/29/2012 01:55:11 AM
Beautiful bird, lovely photo of it.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D7000
Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED
 06/29/2012 12:24:45 AM
Beautiful shot Harvey. Wonderful sharpness and clarity. Congrats on the great score.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D Mark IV
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0 L IS II USM Lens
 06/29/2012 12:12:17 AM
Should have finished higher based on degree of difficulty and shyness of bird. Congrats, anyway, on a beautiful image.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
Nikon Z7II
Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED
 06/28/2012 10:45:44 PM
Nice detail and color.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-50D
 06/28/2012 05:16:22 PM
Beautiful colors
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D90
Nikon AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 24-120mm f/3.5-5.6G IF-ED VR
 06/28/2012 01:09:36 PM
Beautiful!! Is that a Cocaburrel (ok sorry I don't know how to spell that)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Sony Alpha a7R III
Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM
 06/27/2012 03:00:14 PM
Superb capture - not a European Kingfisher - looking forward to seeing where this was shot. They are some reclusive timid birds - superb!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS R5
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L II
 06/24/2012 01:23:28 PM
Really lovely kingfisher. Would probably score even better with a less drab background, I think.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D Mark IV
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0 L IS II USM Lens
 06/23/2012 07:48:53 AM
Wonderful kingfisher, but not a species we would see in North America. Great colors, focus, sharpness, clarity and composition. Bumping the score now, because I have identified this magnificent birds as a Malachite Kingfisher, Alcedo cristata. I expect this to be a ribbon contender. 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon Z8
Nikon NIKKOR Z 28-400mm f/4-8
 06/22/2012 04:52:41 PM
Another beautiful bird, well presented.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-7D
Canon MP-E 65mm f/2.8 1-5x Macro MF
 06/22/2012 08:01:42 AM
Stunning image - voted earlier
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D Mark III
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM II
06/22/2012 06:51:20 AM
There is nothing I can say about this that you don't already know. Fabulous. Don't like the uneven border, but that's just me. Wow. Wow, wow, wow.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-60D
Sigma 70-200 /2.8 APO EX DG Macro HSM II
06/22/2012 03:11:12 AM
Beautiful little Jewel! One of my favourite birds!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-6D
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 L Macro IS USM
 06/22/2012 12:32:51 AM
Beautiful! Background is more than a bit dull... but golly! That bird!! Wonderful.


(commenting only)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
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