It is no secret that being a wildlife photographer is a difficult task because it takes extreme patience and a high level of dedication. Alan McFadyen, is a photographer who shows us all the amount of effort that wildlife photography requires. Since the year 2009, he has been working in this profession. All the sweat and tears that went into his work finally became worth it after he managed to capture a perfectly timed photograph.

After 4,200 hours and 720,000 attempts, he was able to capture the perfect image of a kingfisher diving directly into the water without a single splash. Every session consisted of around 600 photographs, but none of them pleased him. When looking back at all the photographs he took in order to get the perfect one, he realizes the amount of effort that went into it.

Common kingfishers are known to own a bright plumage because it is rather atypical for those birds living in colder climates. These kingfishers can usually be found residing close to bodies of water and they catch fish by diving in. Alan developed an interest in wildlife photography after his grandfather managed to instill in him an admiration for nature and wildlife.

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“I remember my grandfather taking me to see the kingfisher nest, and I remember being completely blown away by how magnificent the birds are. So when I took up photography, I returned to this same spot to photograph the kingfishers,” Alan commented.

For the perfect photograph to be taken with a flawlessly straight dive and no splash, it required the photographer to be in the right spot and also for the bird to be in the right place.

When thinking of the level of dedication it took for Alan to capture this photograph, he expressed, “I never really stopped to think about how long it was taking along the way as I enjoyed doing it, but now I look back on it I’m really proud of the picture and the work I put in.” Even though Alan’s grandfather passed away before Alan captured this image, he would surely be filled with pride if he were still alive.