December 14, 2015

The Kingfisher

aaperfect-kingfisher-dive-photo-wildlife-photography-alan-mcfayden-311.jpg

.... if I have any taste
it is only because I have interested myself
in what was slain in the sun

                             I pose you your question:

shall you uncover honey / where maggots are?

                             I hunt among stones

The Kingfishers by Charles Olson : The Poetry Foundation



This Shot of a Diving Kingfisher Was 6 Years and 720,000 Photos in the Making
Nailing the perfect shot sometimes requires a lot of patience. Scottish photographer Alan McFadyen would know: he spent an estimated 6 years, 4,200 hours, and 720,000 exposures trying to nail the perfect symmetrical shot of a kingfisher diving into its reflection.“Kingfishers dive so fast they are like bullets so taking a good photo requires a lot of luck – and a lot of patience,” McFadyen tells the Daily Mail. He also says that female kingfishers only dive a handful of times per day, so the shot is hard to predict. Finally, last month, everything came together. A bird did a perfect dive, and McFadyen finally managed to capture a shot in which the tip of the kingfisher’s beak is touching the surface of the lake.

Posted by gerardvanderleun at December 14, 2015 10:31 AM
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"It is impossible to speak in such a way that you cannot be misunderstood." -- Karl Popper N.B.: Comments are moderated and may not appear immediately. Comments that exceed the obscenity or stupidity limits will be either edited or expunged.

Was it a *photo*?
Or a high speed video where he picked out the best frame?

If the former, why?
If the latter, big deal.

I've seen a picture of a .17 bullet that went all the way through a light bulb that hasn't exploded yet. Now THAT is fast.

Posted by: ghostsniper at December 14, 2015 1:23 PM

Kingfishers:

After you kiss me,
Sipping from my beak,
Will you miss me,
For something else you seek?
For my world is water-light
And yours, a world of form and flight.

Posted by: Howard Nelson at December 14, 2015 4:57 PM

I've done things like that, i.e. totally immersed myself in spending loads of time and a good bit of cash on producing something of little, if any value. Nothing like that stupid sensation you get when you realize what you've just done.

Posted by: BillH at December 15, 2015 7:32 AM

Makes you wonder when someone does not see the value of amazing images of fantastic beauty.

Posted by: Another Old Navy Chief at December 16, 2015 9:31 PM