The fourth and final photo in my mini-series, a Kestrel hunting from a frozen tree in the morning mist. Not rating highly in colour or detail, but in atmosphere and simplicity I think it makes it worthy of posting up. It was -11°c this morning and the mist was freezing onto everything, the metal legs of my tripod were sticking to my scarf and gloves it was so cold, how birds can continue to function in these conditions is amazing. The mist diffusing the light created a natural vignette which works well when cropped square.
400mm, 1/500s, f/5.6, ISO200, cropped, levels, desaturated
I must confess to annoying myself on the day I took this photo. I was walking along approaching a river bridge when I saw something colourful on a frosty branch just to one side, less than 5 meters away. I had my zoom lens on and camera at the ready, but stood for several seconds trying to figure out what it was - was it a kingfisher? It was so still that I started thinking it was a childs glove.. or even a dead kingfisher.. then in an instant it turned its head and flew away. Ouch! I've missed some photo opportunities in my time, but that was a corker! Nothing like learning the hard way.. again!
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