Kingfisher

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co.Ltd"

We had a kingfisher visit one of our otter ponds on Saturday, isn't she a beauty!

Most of you know, I am a mammal man, don't get me wrong... I love all animals, but it is mammals that really get me excited. There is an exception to this though... the Kingfisher!

The kingfisher has and always will be one of my favourite animals. It is the reason why I now work with animals and am doing what I do today... Let me explain...

A long time a go now, I used to work on building sites. I have always loved wildlife, but guess never realised you could actually work with it and make a career out of it, so I worked helping a local builder for several years after college. One summer we were doing a renovation on an old cottage, using all old techniques... really interesting, and every break and lunch time we would all go out and sit on the large lawn out front that led down to a large pond. This pond had a kingfisher that used to visit each day at the same time we had our lunch, so I would just sit there and watch him dive, catch a fish and eat.

It was the highlight of my day, even after several weeks of being there I looked forward to seeing him with more enthusiasm and passion than anything else I had known. And then one lunch time it just clicked in my head... why not work with wildlife?.. There is obviously places out there that have this type of work, places that need people with a passion like mine for British wildlife. So after I had got over the "feeling stupid" stage of not realising this years a go, I went back to college to study animals and then went on from there... In other words, you could say it was a kingfisher that sparked off everything that got me to where I am today!

Anyway, a bit of an anecdote post today I guess, the photos are... well see for yourself, not great, but the experience (and that is still what I take photographs for today) was incredible! Bear with the first few, I am showing them for a reason, but skip to the last two to see her a bit clearer if you so wish.

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co.Ltd"

So... the reason I am showing these is not just to share the experience, but also to show off the frame rate and focus speed of the Samsung. The dive, catch of fish and return to branch took almost exactly one second. How do I know? The frame rate on this camera is 15fps, and I have 15 photos! :-)

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co.Ltd"

As I often do, especially with something as special as this, I was just watching her for a good while and enjoying the experience. But then I thought I would try and get a couple of photos. The lens I have goes to 150mm... no where near enough for this, you can see how small she is in the frame, but for a record shot and for the BWC blog it would be good enough.

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co.Ltd"

Having watched her for some time, she dived to the spot right in the middle of the frame above a couple of times... so to give myself a chance I focused the camera there and waited, hoping to fire of some shots as she entered the water and catch her coming back out again... but she caught me by surprise.

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co.Ltd"

She decided to dive to a different area, and for the first few pics you may only just be about to see her in the top right of the frame.

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co.Ltd"

So I pressed the shutter right away, out of excitement, and moved the camera round to get where she hit the water in the centre of the frame... you can see from the above photos her getting a bit closer to centre frame.

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co.Ltd"

This whole 15 photo sequence happened in only a second remember, so I had to be quick on the draw so to speak!

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co.Ltd"

Luckily I got the splash centre frame just before she came back out again... they usually leave the water where they enter!

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co.Ltd"

Next up, the camera had to focus. Not sure how clear the above is, they are all straight from camera, no editing, no crop, but she is not in focus.

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co.Ltd"

Here she is just above the surface shaking off the water, still out of focus, but a little clearer.

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co.Ltd"

A little clearer again, the camera really did focus quickly while firing off the shots... Not perfect, but I must admit I was impressed. Full size you can actually see the third eyelid across her eye for protection!

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co.Ltd"

And then finally flying off with the fish in her mouth! And it was in focus, camera made it just in time for the classic shot. Yes, still very small and not ideal, but a great record shot and a great souvenir of a magical afternoon.

I got a bit excited after that, and didn't catch the last couple going back to the branch... and then when there she was even further away to attempt taking a photo.

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co.Ltd"

Here are the last three again cropped in a bit.

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co.Ltd"

"This content is created with the Samsung NX1, which has been provided by Samsung Electronics Co.Ltd"

And perhaps my favourite photo of the year so far... and not due to quality, but due to what it means to me and the memories it shows... new and old! At the end of the day, Isn't that what photography is all about!

Thanks for looking :-)