# My first ever kingfisher shots



## John Starkey (30 Oct 2010)

Hi all,i have been after these all summer,i finally found i place where i can get quite close,i got quite a few good ones but these i liked because of the fish in the mouth,

















i hope you enjoyed them,
regards,
john.


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## Mark Evans (30 Oct 2010)

John mate, these are incredible.


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## Nick16 (30 Oct 2010)

that last shot, he is thinking 'mmmmm' after eating that fish. looks quite smug! 

excellent snaps.


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## George Farmer (30 Oct 2010)

Wonderful, John!  What an incredible subject.    

My only improvement would be to perhaps adjust the blue of the sky in Photoshop.  It's almost too rich and monotonous - but that may be my monitor.

Thanks for sharing.


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## Dolly Sprint 16v (30 Oct 2010)

John 

Spot on mate.

Regards
paul.


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## chump54 (30 Oct 2010)

brilliant, great shots 

kingfishers are beautiful birds... I have only ever seen glimpses of them whizzing past me.
Chris


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## John Starkey (30 Oct 2010)

George Farmer said:
			
		

> Wonderful, John!  What an incredible subject.
> 
> My only improvement would be to perhaps adjust the blue of the sky in Photoshop.  It's almost too rich and monotonous - but that may be my monitor.
> 
> Thanks for sharing.



Hi George,the blue is the water in the pool,when it was cloudy the water was clear and dark,but when the sun was on it,it was very blue,i do take your point though it does look a bit harsh,but i am trying to avoid too much editing and try to do it in camera,

thanks all,
regards,
john.


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## John Starkey (30 Oct 2010)

Thanks everyone,they are very hard birds to photograph even when they are perched they still bob up and down,which makes your hit rate very low,
regards,
john.


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## George Farmer (30 Oct 2010)

john starkey said:
			
		

> George Farmer said:
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Ah, fair points mate.  Great shooting, nevertheless.  Better than I could ever do, no doubt.    

What lens were you using?  How did you hide?  Can you explain more about your technique, please?  

Bird photography is something I know very little about and it would be great to hear more about it.


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## John Starkey (31 Oct 2010)

George Farmer said:
			
		

> john starkey said:
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Hi George,my setup in camera was f/4 which is wide open for the 500mm f/4 L,i do go to f/8 sometimes but found f/4 best,AV mode was used as it,s best for birds because manual mode can make you miss shots of fast moving birds,AL servo,continuous shoot,centre weighted average,AWB (but i do use cloudy at times as it adds warmth to a shot),centre focus point (as this is the most sharpest area of your focusing points,the light was very bright at times so i was under exposing by 1 2/3 of a stop at times,
i was shooting from a hide and using a bean bag for support,
regards,
john.


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## George Farmer (31 Oct 2010)

Thanks mate.  What kind of shutter speeds and ISO are we talking on these beauties?

I played with a mate's 7D the other day.  What a beautiful piece of engineering!  Love the AF in particular.  Makes my 50D look quite amatuerish!  I reckon I'd prefer this over the 5D2 for my needs.  

How are you finding yours?  I remember you with your first DSLR at a UKAPS meet at Sam's a few years ago.  Funny how things progress so quickly...


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## John Starkey (31 Oct 2010)

George Farmer said:
			
		

> Thanks mate.  What kind of shutter speeds and ISO are we talking on these beauties?
> 
> I played with a mate's 7D the other day.  What a beautiful piece of engineering!  Love the AF in particular.  Makes my 50D look quite amatuerish!  I reckon I'd prefer this over the 5D2 for my needs.
> 
> How are you finding yours?  I remember you with your first DSLR at a UKAPS meet at Sam's a few years ago.  Funny how things progress so quickly...



Sorry Mate forgot the shutter speed,i start at ISO 400,but its not unusual to go up to ISO 800 for a faster shutter speed,depending on the light of course,shutter speeds go up to 1/1000 of a second  and higher at times,i really like my 7D but i do experience some noise at times,on my wish list at the moment is the cannon 1D MK4,lovely bit of kit but i have  a wife too   , I also remember my first DSLR when i was at TGM,i was lost,didn,t have a clue,but do you remember me saying to you right i will sell this olympus e410 and get a cannon and i will not give up until i can use it   

regards,
john


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## flygja (1 Nov 2010)

Is that a cricket cartoonishly trying to keep the bird's beak from clamping shut?


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## John Starkey (1 Nov 2010)

flygja said:
			
		

> Is that a cricket cartoonishly trying to keep the bird's beak from clamping shut?


The object in it's mouth is a stickle back,watching these kinfishers fish is a awesome site,
Regards John


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## GHNelson (1 Nov 2010)

Hi John
As a non camera man these shots are absolutely stunning quality.
I would love to get a camera of that quality but that will have to wait.
It just shows that not giving up and perseverance can achieve.
Regards
hoggie


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## LondonDragon (1 Nov 2010)

Awesome shots John, you just keep getting better, the blue does look almost photoshoped in, other than that its great  congrats.


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