Photographer Finally Gets The Perfectly Timed Snap Of A Kingfisher After Trying For 6 Years With 720,000 Shots
Have you heard of kingfishers before? They are small, easily recognized birds with bright blue and orange plumage that thrive near slow-moving or still water.
They hunt fish from perches along riversides, flying quickly and low over the water, and occasionally hovering just above the surface. Kingfishers are vulnerable to harsh winters, habitat loss due to pollution or careless management of watercourses, and other threats.
Kingfishers are common, particularly in central and southern England. Further north, they are becoming less common, but after experiencing some declines in the previous century, they are currently expanding their range in Scotland.
In lowland settings, they can be found beside motionless or slowly moving water in the form of lakes, canals, and rivers. Even though many people consider it to be the ideal profession, becoming a wildlife photographer requires more than just talent and enthusiasm.
Behind every "perfect snap," there is undoubtedly a significant amount of work and time invested. It truly requires an abundance of patience beyond comprehension.
Alan McFadyen, a wildlife photographer since 2009, recently detailed the length of time it took him to capture the ideal picture of a kingfisher on camera.
Being a wildlife photographer requires a level of patience beyond imagination, and behind every ‘perfect snap’ is a significant amount of work
Alan spent more than 6 years, over 4,200 hours, and took 720,000 frames before he was able to capture the ideal moment of a kingfisher diving into the water without making a single splash.
Alan spent over 6 years; that’s more than 4,200 hours and took 720,000 frames until he managed to achieve his goal
"The photo I was aiming for, of the perfect dive—flawlessly straight, with no splash—required not only me to be in the right place and get a fortunate shot, but also for the bird itself to perform perfectly," McFadyen told The Herald Scotland.
"I would often go and take 600 pictures in a session, and not a single one of them would be any good. However, looking back on the thousands and thousands of photos I have taken to get this one image, it makes me realize just how much work I have done to achieve it."
The photographer captured a perfectly timed snap of a kingfisher diving into the water without a single splash
The photographer, who is 46 years old and lives in Scotland, recalls that his grandfather took him to watch kingfishers near Kirkcudbright when he was a young child, about forty years ago. Since then, he has been completely in awe of the vivid plumage of these birds.
The 46-year-old Scotland-based photographer said it was his grandfather who took him to observe the kingfishers
"I remember my grandfather taking me to see the kingfisher nest, and I just remember being completely blown away by how magnificent the birds are," Allan said. "I’m sure my grandfather would have loved it; I just wish he could have seen it," Allan added.
The photographer used to visit the kingfishers' nesting spot about twice a day, around 100 days a year
On the sandy riverbanks, you will find burrows made by kingfishers. The burrows are typically one meter long and consist of a horizontal tunnel with a nesting chamber at the end.
Roughly 100 days a year, the photographer would spend about two hours each day visiting the kingfisher breeding area. During each session, he took over 600 photos, many of which were "useless."
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