Since the first time his grandfather took him to see a kingfisher hunting 40 years ago, photographer Alan McFadyen has always been impressed and wished to capture that beautiful moment.
When he was 46 years old, he decided to return to the lake in Kirkcudbright, Scotland to capture the beautiful scene when the bird swooped down to catch its prey. After 4,200 hours of waiting for 6 long years, he took a total of more than 720,000 photos to find the most beautiful moment.
In the photo above, the songbird is diving into the water to hunt. The long bill touched the water but not a single drop of water splashed out. This perfect moment combined with the calm lake surface creates a beautiful photo with the bird’s reflection in the water.
McFadyen said: “There are not many people in the world who can take this photo. The kingfisher dives very fast like a bullet, so to get a good photo you need a lot of luck and patience.
My photo captured a perfect, vertical, splash-free dive. My position was perfect, the bird was in a beautiful position and I was very lucky.”
His goal was to capture the image of the bird putting its beak into the water without any water splashing, affecting the bird’s reflection on the water. It was the “perfect photo ” in his memory and the motivation for him to overcome difficulties.
Of course, he didn’t stay here for 6 years, but he spent many days a week on photo hunts. On average, he spends more than 100 days a year doing this job
He spent more than 4,200 hours waiting for the moment of his life. Every day he comes here about twice, each time taking about 600 photos.
He said that before taking the most perfect photo (the photo at the beginning of the article), he had to take more than 720,000 photos.
He shared that letting the birds continue to live at this lake is not easy. When he returned here, the rising tide swept away the kingfisher’s nest and only a few individuals remained here. McFadye had to build nests for them himself to ensure the birds continued to live and hunt at Kirkcudbright. He dug holes on the shore of the lake and filled them with clay to create a place for them to live.
” About 70% of kingfishers die because they do not have a place to live and do not learn to dive properly. Learning to dive is also very important and difficult because the birds must judge the refraction of water to catch prey. exactly ” – McFadyen shared
The birds often perch on a 1.3m high tree branch and dive down to catch prey about 4 times a day. McFadyen said the bird he photographed was female, about 2 years old
Even though he took the photo of his life, McFadyen said he will continue this job because he feels relaxed when capturing images of birds.
After taking the most perfect photo to his liking, he was extremely emotional: ” I’m sure grandpa will love it and I wish he could see it (the photo). All the members in the group The family called me when they saw the photo and said he would be very proud of this.
Three generations of Alan’s family: Pictured on the left are grandfather and Mc Fadyen. On the right is McFadyen’s 8-year-old son, Leighton, who he always wished would follow in his father’s footsteps and share his love of nature with everyone.
And here’s some of the beautiful work McFadyen captured throughout the shoot:
