After the rain... Photo

Photographer’s Note

After days and days of heavy rain here in Douala, I just met that incredible bird, resting on my balcony.

Nature under those lattitudes is incredible, you almost see nothing but grey dull clouds for days, you are almost shivering under 25°C.

But the minutes after the rays of sun hit the ground through the clouds, you feel you are missing air, you are oppressed by the heat and you notice that in spite of the conditions, the plants, the trees are growing incredibly fast. And birds are invading the city...

Deepforest kindly helped me to identify this bird as a Woodland Kingfisher. It's an African type which loves cloudy weather and humid banks. Douala is surrounded by mangrove and swamps... He probably can find his load of mosquitos for lunch :)

aimee, fixed, superpau, ALIRIZA, catalina, Albrecht, andante, HIRAKZ, albertopiubello, ydarias, Philippe, veve, MLINES, sowhat trouve(nt) cette note utile

Critiques | Translate

Silvio1953 (42533) 2006-09-08 9:10

A very nice bird in a good photo
Ciao Silvio

aimee (941) 2006-09-08 9:12

Hi Steven,
Beautiful shoot and the subject has been well taken. Good colors and a really good composition.
Have a nice week-end.

Aimée

fixed (3831) 2006-09-08 9:14

salut Steven
çà change des moineaux Français :D
trop une bonne tête celui là :)
si j'avais une critique, même si pas expert sur le sujet, j'aurai bien tenté de limiter l'éclat de lumière dû au flash.
... j'espère que tout se passe bien pour toi au Cameroun ;)
a+
Arnaud

superpau (1460) 2006-09-08 9:23

Great capture!
The colors are soft but still solids, and the bird is beautifully framed.

Thanks for sharing! and congratulations!

Saludos
Paula.

ALIRIZA (16197) 2006-09-08 9:24

Wonderful shot, Steven.Good POV,colorful portrait, framing, lighting and details are very well. Congratulations...
Have a nice weekend...
Ali Rıza

andeweg (139) 2006-09-08 9:28

Incredible good capture of this beautifill little bird. Very nice, but I think this is a picture for treknature.com a sister website of trekearth.

catalina (821) 2006-09-08 9:50

Hi Steve,
It looks perfect, just as if it was in front of my eyes. So much clarity and beautiful colors.
Focus is good to. Definitly a photo that can be use in documentaries.
Cati

Loic_bzh (7061) 2006-09-08 9:51

Salut Steven,

ce piaf-à-grand-bec (c'est le nom scientifique) est excellent et ta photo est parfaite avec l'oiseau qui se détache bien et ce balcon qui fuit progressivement... J'aime aussi la feuille jaune en arrière-plan.

Bonne journée,

Loïc

Albrecht (11177) 2006-09-08 10:21

Hi Steven
He's realy beautiful; well captured and good DOF and place of the bird in the picture.
* take care, Albrecht *

elisenda (302) 2006-09-08 10:23

Beautiful focus, the bird really seems to be thinking in something important :-)

andante (7092) 2006-09-08 11:10

HI Steven, Awesome light you have captured here. The image is so good it looks like oit was done in a studio setup. Well captured,
Cheers,
Enrique

HIRAKZ (168) 2006-09-08 15:21

Hi Steven,

What a cute photograph. I like the bird, its eyes tells us it is looking at the direction to fly if you close in much simultanteously looking right inside your lens.
Whats this bird called?

TFS
Hirak

gramma (3519) 2006-09-08 15:21

Hello Steven,

A very nice photography for a very nice bird. That's the first time I see this one, what is it ?

Christophe

Deepforest (8813) 2006-09-08 16:26

Hello Steven,
This is Woodland Kingfisher (Halcyon senegalensis), really beautiful...
Fantastic capture.
Best regards,
Andrzej

albertopiubello (2591) 2006-09-08 22:07

Salut Steven,
trés belle image capturée avec habilité!
Je vois que tu es déjà à Douala: l'offre de la bière au bord du Wouri est toujours valable!
Alberto

ydarias (657) 2006-09-09 4:54

Hello Steven. Very good image, and very sharp at 400 mm ! I like your lens :) Really the DOF is very good and the center of the attention is the bird. And great composition with the railing in this V aspect. Good light and colors too. Congratulations, the animals photo aren't easy.

Yeray

daddo (11479) 2006-09-09 10:37

Hi Steven. Lovely moment, this visitor bringing with him the colours of the rain forests.The red beak and the big dark eyes give him lots of character.The blurred background make the bird stand out dramatically. Nice work. Regards. Klaudio

PauloAJPires (294) 2006-09-11 4:43 [Comment]

Show Comment

Philippe (11785) 2006-09-14 12:41

Bonjour, Steven. Une excellente photo de ce martin pêcheur qui a de splendides ailes bleues et un bec rouge non moins coloré. La photo bénéficie d'une netteté sans faille et d'une très bonne profondeur de champ. J'aime beaucoup la fleur orange que l'on devine à l'arrière et qui ressort sur un fond gris.

veve (4149) 2006-09-19 13:14

Hi Steven!
Funny picture with this cool bird!
Good focus and composition!
I like it!
Well done!
Regards,
Veronica

MLINES (10934) 2006-10-02 6:42

Hi Steven, Excellent clarity of this beautifully coloured Kingfisher? It is very clear and crisp. Congratulations . Murray.

mishreyee (0) 2006-10-05 8:29

Hello Steven,
Extraordinary shot, a rare kingfisher one.. also a nice moment you have captured, many many thanks for posting it to TE.
Greetings from India.
Mishreyee

sebcz (2345) 2006-10-06 3:48

Superb photo! Perfect definition and narrow DoF, concentrated only on the bird. Clear colour aand, of course, cute model :)
Regards,
Seb

designsoul (21394) 2006-11-05 10:33

A marvellous and very touching portrait, Steven! The bird is very beautiful and interesting with a huge beak and the exquisite plummage. I wish I met one of these kingfishers one day, but that would also mean lots of moskitoes around and excessive humidity.... better on the screen!
From snowy Ottawa
sasa

scalerman (25783) 2006-12-15 14:13

Steven: perhaps you should consider a niche on TrekNature. Some fine wildlife here and you would have some severe competition over there. The beak gives the Kingfisher away... nicely tugged from your background bokeh as well... good stuff. regards, c

bhorerpakhi (559) 2007-03-17 4:30