I can thank the Canon R5 for this shot. I’ll explain why.
1/3200, f/6.3, ISO 640, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in
Six days ago this male Belted Kingfisher ran me ragged as I tried to follow him from fishing perch to fishing perch in my pickup. His three favorite fishing perches aren’t close to each other, which meant I often had to move my vehicle when he gave up on one perch and flew to another. Thankfully, by now he’s acclimated to my pickup so he pretty much ignores me but other vehicles, or folks on foot, will often spook him into the next county.
Here he has just left his perch (out of frame and above him) in a dive on a fish. With any of my previous cameras (Canon XTi, 40D, 7D and 7D Mark II) I’d have had virtually no chance to get the kingfisher sharp in this shot,
I’ll use a full frame (uncropped) version of the same photo to help me explain why.
The kingfisher had been perched on the short branch marked with the red X and he was surrounded by a tangle of branches and twigs. Immediately after he took off the active focus point of any of my old cameras would almost certainly have locked onto one of the branches (or somewhere in limbo) instead of staying locked on the bird. So the kingfisher would have been soft.
But using the R5, Canon’s animal/eye autofocus technology ignored all the branches and kept my active focus point locked on the kingfisher, even though he was flying toward me which is no easy task. It didn’t do it perfectly so the kingfisher isn’t tack sharp but he’s pretty darn close.
In addition, the huge file size of the R5 (46 MP compared to 10 – 20 MP for my old cameras) allowed me to crop drastically in on the kingfisher and still have enough pixels for acceptable image quality.
I’ll admit it, there are times when the R5 makes me look like a better bird photographer than I really am.
Ron
I could hold an R5 and get nothing but air and branches. It’s the skilled hands, eye, and brain of the photographer that in this case makes the magic!
Great demonstration of the capabilities of the R5. Pretty remarkable.
Your skills are getting pretty sharp as well. Also appreciate how you have made note of the “three favorite fishing perches”.
Michael, when he goes to one of those three perches I’ve learned that it’s a waste of my time to drive over there and try to take photos of him because he’s always partially blocked by branches. Most of my moving back and forth is between the other two perches.
In the days when I could do photography (eyes don’t permit it now) kingfishers were nearly always those fuzzy blue-gray dots leaving my frame. They always eluded my camera. So your photos are quite stunning for many reasons. The camera is great but your knowledge about the bird and its habits are important and along with your skill at using that camera create the final photo. There are some very well made paintbrushes that do me no good at all but in the hands of a master artist, they help make a beautiful painting. So it is with you and the camera.
Dan, I hope I’ve truly earned at least some of your accolades. Coming from you they mean a lot. Thank you.
What a difference a year makes! We all recall your trepidation/ambivalence about purchasing this camera but clearly it has paid off, especially as you’ve become more comfortable with it. And given your good luck with capturing your one-time nemesis bird in so many great action shots (including this one), I’d say it’s paid dividends. But as everyone has pointed out, the equipment would be pointless without a skilled, bird-knowledgeable operator at the helm.
“What a difference a year makes”
Boy, that’s for sure! Especially in photography and in surgery repercussions.
The R5 is an amazing piece of technology in the right hands.
Eventually you’re going to have to publish a compilation of your photo essays titled “The King(fisher) and I”. You’d be the royal photographer. Anna is abroad visiting relatives. The tree would have to play a significant part.
😂
Lyle, Margaret Landon and/or Rodgers and Hammerstein might have some issues with copyright if I did that! That’s my excuse to not publish the compilation…
I recall you had some trepidation, for various reasons about switching cameras. It sounds like the R5 is serving you very well now. I know there’s been a learning curve to get where you are with it, so congrats on that and the excellent pictures you’ve been sharing.
Linda, your reference to both my trepidation and my learning curve regarding the R5 are understatements. I no longer have the trepidation but the learning curve continues.
Thye R5 does not take photographs – you do. And your work is excellent, fun, interesting, and inspiring. Thank you.
Much appreciated, Richard. Thanks.
Technology is great BUT have to know how to maximize it’s use/potential – couldn’t be in better hands IMO. 🙂 Glad you got the R5
Me too, Judy. Me too!
A tool is just a thing until it is in the hands of a master.
That kingfisher is very crisp.
Interesting way to put it. Thanks, Arwen.
Remarkable camera and damn good photographer make for some excellent action photos. You are sure right about those on foot spooking a Kingfisher. All my attempts at capturing these guys and gals on foot have quickly driven them away.
Everett, what you said about approaching a kingfisher on foot made me smile. Been there, done that.
Amazing technology, but real credit goes to your skill and determination.
Thank you, Kenneth. Almost certainly it’s a little of both.
Great camera, but it could do nothing worth doing in an amateur’s hands, I’m sure. Your patience, experience, talent, determination, knowledge, and sense of humor are what brings us back here every morning. Another great shot; I love seeing the birds doing bird things, instead of posing for their guidebook shot.
Thanks for your confidence in my skills, Cheryl. And for what you said about humor.