It took Alan McFayden, of Kirkcudbright, Scotland, 6 years, 4,200 hours, and 720,000 photos to get the shot he wanted.
“The photo I was going for of the perfect dive, flawlessly straight, with no splash required not only me to be in the right place and get a very lucky shot but also for the bird itself to get it perfect,” said McFayden. And he sometimes took as many as 600 shots in a single session.
But he finally got the shot:
Of course, along the way he got a few other great shots.
As a child, McFayden was often taken by his grandfather to watch a certain kingfisher nest. He was intrigued by the birds and as an adult wildlife photographer, returned again and again to the same spot.
Now that really is brilliant, absolutely brilliant. If he never takes another picture he knows he took the perfect one, unbeatable.
I agree. The picture of a lifetime. He must have been ecstatic.
Incredible. And beautiful.
Amazing action shot, it must have taken such patience to capture this special moment.
I’m sure I’d have given up after the first few hundred shots, if that.
Wow!
I agree!
Wow!
That was my reaction too. Just wow!
The third one blew me away! Well, all of them did, to tell the truth..I can believe it took him thousands of tries. They are spectacular!
I like the colors in the second shot. And the symmetry of the wings. That’s the one I keep going back to.
All beautiful. But, the first shot is most interesting. Notice how the birds image is sharp while its reflection isn’t. It means the shot was made much more difficult because the photographer was panning with the bird. Fantastic!
Okay, so now I’m impressed and amazed all over again, but even more than the first time! But I suppose he had to be panning since he couldn’t have known in advance exactly where the bird would hit the water. I suppose I’d just attributed the blurred reflection to dirty water or something.
Extreme persistence resulted in perfection. Usually, just a few humans seeking perfection are able to attain excellence. This guy made it all the way. Beautiful!
A hard-earned, well deserved victory. I hope he celebrated outrageously!
Being a Scot, I have no doubt whatsoever that he would certainly, not only know how to, but did!
😆
So remarkable these are almost surreal. Nature provides an endless supply of wonder, yet so many don’t notice.
We owe photographers a huge debt of gratitude for capturing such moments. Otherwise most of us would miss them. Now we can all enjoy and relive these moments again and again.
Exquisite shots – the years of dedication to the craft of getting the perfect shot show up in these images – speed, accuracy, preparation, knowing the bird and where it’s likely to dive. Fantastic!
I can’t begin to imagine how he must have felt when he knew at last he’d gotten this shot of a lifetime.