I will often strive to photograph my wildlife subjects from as many different angles as I can in order to take advantage of the lighting or to highlight the details of their bodies. When I spot a subject, though, I initially try to capture whatever shot I can before I work to get a better shot—any of my subjects are skittish and there is always the chance that my initial shot will be my only one.
I spotted this perched male Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) last Thursday at Huntley Meadows Park in Alexandria, Virginia and one of my initial shots was the third one below. The perch was sticking out of a pond that was surrounded by a marshy wetland, so there was really no chance for me to get closer to the kingfisher—there was no way to work the angles in my usual way.
So what did I do? In the background I noticed there were some patches of colorful fall foliage, so I decided to see if I could include some of those colors in my images to give them an autumn vibe. By bending, twisting, crouching, and kneeling I was able to vary my shooting angle, while remaining more or less in the same spot, and eventually managed to get some photos that included portions of that autumn foliage. The kingfisher remained in place, but cooperated by changing his head position from time to time.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
We see these Kingfishers in our area. I love all of these images. Anita
😂😂, just the other day I had the same experience with a Kingfisher. Water, distance, background. Not as flexible as you so I assume my images will probably not be near as good 😊. Great shots of a near impossible subject.
Enjoyed your description, Mike, and it certainly added a colorful dimension to the photos.
Thanks, Jet. Sometimes it is fun to explain the process of acquiring the images and not simply display the images themselves–there is often an interesting backstory for the photos we take. 🙂
Lovely shots, I’ve never been lucky enough to spot a Kingfisher in the wild.
I can completely relate to your comment on the initial shot is sometimes the “whatever you can get” shot. This is especially true of wildlife photography more than any other genre I feel.
I am fortunate that my location in Northern Virginia gives me access to a whole lot of different wildlife species and I am especially blessed to see bald eagles on a fairly regular basis. I don’t see kingfishers very often, but they have such a distinctive rattling call that lets me know when one is in the area. Wildlife photography, as you note, is particularly challenging–you have to react quickly, knowing that you may only have a single change to get it right.