A female kingfisher plunges into a pond in southwestern England hot on the tail of a tasty little fish. These birds’ eyes have special filters thought to reduce glare, giving them a clearer view of underwater prey from above. A third eyelid, called a nictitating membrane, protects their eyes when they strike the water at high speed.
Photographer Charlie Hamilton James placed the camera in a waterproof box and set it up in the pond, wired to an infrared trigger that fired when something crossed its path. This image was the result of several weeks of patient monitoring. James: “When shooting wildlife my aim is to show the subjects as they exist in their environment. This is particularly the case with kingfishers, which are more often than not shot close up with wide-angle lenses in order to show them in their river landscape.”
July 20th, 2010 at 5:14 pm
Fantastic !
July 20th, 2010 at 5:57 pm
The beauty and skill involved in nature photography is amazing. It makes you glad Charlie is a shutterbug and not a hunter.
July 20th, 2010 at 6:40 pm
Congratulations.
July 20th, 2010 at 7:29 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Ron Simon, Geoffrey Dyson, Maggie, World Amazing Things, Al Poe and others. Al Poe said: What You See When a Kingfisher’s About to Eat You | Visual Science: A female kingfisher plunges into a pond in so… http://bit.ly/95I1mL [...]
July 22nd, 2010 at 9:22 am
Absolutely breath taking..
July 22nd, 2010 at 9:23 am
# Crawford Best Says:
July 20th, 2010 at 5:14 pm
Fantastic !
# 2. Rhacodactylus Says:
July 20th, 2010 at 5:57 pm
The beauty and skill involved in nature photography is amazing. It makes you glad Charlie is a shutterbug and not a hunter.
# 3. ErnestPayne Says:
July 20th, 2010 at 6:40 pm
Congratulations.
# 4. Tweets that mention What You See When a Kingfisher’s About to Eat You | Visual Science | Discover Magazine — Topsy.com Says:
July 20th, 2010 at 7:29 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Ron Simon, Geoffrey Dyson, Maggie, World Amazing Things, Al Poe and others. Al Poe said: What You See When a Kingfisher’s About to Eat You | Visual Science: A female kingfisher plunges into a pond in so… http://bit.ly/95I1mL [...]
July 22nd, 2010 at 10:07 am
awesome shot! how did you find this photographer?
July 22nd, 2010 at 10:41 am
Amazing shot. I think the link to Nature Picture Library is busted, though. Should be http://www.naturepl.com/
July 22nd, 2010 at 11:34 pm
Amazing !
July 23rd, 2010 at 9:17 am
Simply astonishing on so many levels. This is an incredible photo.
August 2nd, 2010 at 11:33 pm
Hi pal, your blog’s layout is basic and clean and i’m keen it. Your blog posts are excellent. Please keep them coming. Greets!!?!!
August 24th, 2010 at 2:51 am
The beauty and skill involved in nature photography is amazing. It makes you glad Charlie is a shutterbug and not a hunter, anyway thanx.
September 15th, 2010 at 9:34 am
the photos give you a fantastic sense of the quality. I’m certain I’ll be back.