Bee-Eater, a photo from Gaza, South

Photographer's Note

Another photo from my recent bike trip to Mozambique...

Whilst looking for birds to photograph I came across this little Madagascar Bee-Eater (Merops superciliosus). Its wingspan is 23-31cm.

This species of bee-eater is distinguished by its brown crown, dark rufous throat and pale green underparts. It has a dull brown cap and a brown mantle. Its habitat is open, broad-leaved woodland near lakes, rivers and swamps. Its call is a 'Prrrup'.

This beautiful bird sat in a tree quite close to me for a while, not moving while I hurried to photograph it. Unfortunately the sun was behind it, therefore most of the bird is shadowed (and I didn't have my flash unit with me), but I still thought it might be worth a posting because of all the beautiful colors.

Galeota, cgrindahl, Bat, Cool-ice, jhonny_blue, carper, Jaap, prlcs, PechePassion, Kenny10pin, nwoehnl, sunny, avigur_11, jrj, cool_s15, charmante, Benedict, tzourob oznaczył to zdjęcie jeko użyteczne

Critiques | Translate

Galeota (10352) 2004-05-19 3:40

This is sooo beautiful. The branch seems to be a part of the Bee-Eater. Very, very good shot. The composition is superb in its simplicity!

olli (2091) 2004-05-19 3:46

Bee-eater is abolutely my favorite bird. They can be seen also here in Finland sometimes not every year. I haven´t seen it so, it is one of my biggest dream in bird watching.

About your image... What a great capture of that beautiful bird. Technically excellent shot I like the light, too. I especially like how the diagonal twig works so well with the position/shape of the bird. Very-very well done, Henry.

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cgrindahl (6113) 2004-05-19 3:48

This is a fine photo with the gracefully arching twig supporting the regal bird with luscious markings against a pale sky. The fineness of detail in the well lighted head is a pleasure. With the head, shoulder and side of the face illumined by the sun, the contrast with the parts of his body in shadow simply adds interest. I'm glad you chose to share this lovely image with us. Very well done.

Cool-ice (5289) 2004-05-19 3:58

Incredible, this long bird with so beautiful colors.
The composition in diagonal is perfect and very graceful here.
A really nice shot, Henry !

Bat (102) 2004-05-19 4:00

Superbe prise de vue, l'exposition est parfaite, la PDF aussi car l'oiseau est entiérement net, la branche est flouté. Les couleurs sont vives, l'oiseau est bourré de details...

Bravo !

Baptiste.

jhonny_blue (4956) 2004-05-19 4:23

Wow Henry, it´s amazing !
Great shot, very sharpe and very good colours !
Very weel done !
A thousand points ! :)

carper (96) 2004-05-19 4:37

Goede foto Henry,
Goede scherpte, prachtige kleuren, ontzettend goed werk, goed gedaan.

gringofil (0) 2004-05-19 5:05

WOW, this is very cool. I know nothing about bird photography, but when I see good shots like this it makes me want to go out and try some shots of my own. Very simple composition with a light blue sky as background that makes the colorful bird stand out even more. Nothing really to nit pick here. This is excellent work! Well done.

Jaap (0) 2004-05-19 5:41

Dit is baie mooi Henry, pfeww absolute Stunning!

robbertjan (2906) 2004-05-19 5:54

Hai Henry what a beautiful bird! The colors are realy magnificant!!! Very well composed and super sharp. Very good job!!!!

manny (22032) 2004-05-19 6:51

Henry, this is a beautiful shot. extremely clear and nice diagonal line here. The pale blue sky is a good contrast to its bright colors. Great shot.

maciekda (19895) 2004-05-19 6:54

hi Henry, beautiful picture, very simple but effective. wonderful colors, nice compo with the bird on the diagonal line. and the sky... very nice.

prlcs (63) 2004-05-19 7:36

Trčs belle photo. L'absence du flash n'est pas préjudiciable, les couleurs sont bien rendues malgré cela. La composition est trčs réussie. Bien vu !

jhm (211736) 2004-05-19 7:59

Wath great Henry, this beautiful, EXCELLENT!!!

PechePassion (483) 2004-05-19 8:12

SUperbe sur toute la ligne, cadrage, couleur et néteté.
Rien a dire sur ce cliché hormis bravo !

Kenny10pin (19301) 2004-05-19 9:18

very very nice capture here, I like the pose and the colours are very nice, the angle, great note and very informative too

Spoony (3539) 2004-05-19 13:27

Fantastic this one! The bird and the photo... ;)
Well done.

nwoehnl (122) 2004-05-19 14:09

A great diagonal composition you made with this bird, and I like how his beak and the end of the branch are pointing up towards the corner. The colors are beautiful, and you retained a very good definition in the bird's plumage. Well captured against a non-distracting background of blue sky. Very nice work, Henry.

sunny (3069) 2004-05-19 15:43

Seems your bike trip to Mozambique has been really interesting, Henry! :-)
Very clear and simple composition with bird and a branch, thus - in a fine diagonal. The light is lovley and makes the bird's feathers glow. Very good job!

kooreman (321) 2004-05-19 16:59

It is absolutely worth posting! Colours and composition are impressive on this shot. The shape of the bird is perfectly matching with the shape of the branch it is sitting on.

milloup (1829) 2004-05-19 17:41

Beautiful capture. I think the backlighting actually works very well here, as you probably get better colours than with bright sunlight directly on the bird - and you even got a nice catchlight in the eye, despite the angle of the sun ;-)

avigur_11 (22553) 2004-05-19 23:05

A very dynamic angle, I like the way the body goes almost parallel with the branch. Colors are amazing, a very good capture, Henry.

yesterday (9833) 2004-05-20 4:22

Excellent pose and compocition the dirgonal way.

Excellent light and color, good sharp, great contrast, beautiful photo.

joseelias (0) 2004-05-20 8:12

Dispite the light conditions the photo came out very, very well. Colors, details and exposure are excelent. Also like the diagonal made by the bird in combination with the branch.

dsidwell (9783) 2004-05-20 22:14

Clarity, light, composition and colors--all come together here to make a very nice shot!

cdewet (0) 2004-05-22 10:09

Dis unfair! Ek het nog nooit een gesien nie!, en hier pos jy een! Baie nice. Het jy een wat die kop wys? Ek kan nie die bruin keppie sien nie, hy lyk baie soos die Blouwang kyk die blou-groen bo en onder die oog, ook die wit lyn is dun in vergelke met die Olyfbyvreter sin. Ek stry nie, k wil net sekermaak vir myself.

jrj (34843) 2004-05-22 10:18

Very elegant, fine lines and structure of this bird and the branch Henry. A really great posing for this little bird. Good job..

cool_s15 (4050) 2004-05-24 6:10

I just saw this Beautiful shot!
Nice colorful colors here, nice DOF and plain background. Very well captured.

charmante (1090) 2004-06-11 0:16

aaH !! I just love birds..specially these fragile ones- & he is magnificent, looks as if he's thinking about sth important...|& the colors are so energetic !

hver (0) 2005-10-03 9:27

one word: great!

partha (14023) 2005-11-18 8:42

Simple but excuisite.
The colours are vibrant, the background is well chosen.
Bravo

Benedict (7076) 2007-06-20 1:14

hi henry,
so simple yet a gem!
sharp and vivid. kudos!
benedict

Lee30 (78) 2007-10-12 16:30 [Comment]