Pica pica (Magpie)

Pica pica (common name: Magpie)

I had seen the magpies flying many times and always admired the shape of their bodies in the air. A quite common bird on the ground, with an unpleasant voice, it becomes a beautiful animal when in its natural environment. Getting good photos of it in flight was always difficult because it is a rather small bird which never comes close to houses, at least at the suburbs of a large city. The main difficulty was always to focus quickly while the bird was already in flight. The acquisition of the really fast focusing 80-200 mm Nikkor made it possible. I woke up early on a Sunday morning (most birds are particularly active during that time) and waited till the magpies started their aerial dance. All shots were taken with the lens wide open since maximum speed was absolutely necessary to have a reasonable sharpness.

Photos by George J. Reclos

Shooting Data:

1. Camera: Nikon D2X
Lens: Nikkor AF 80-200 mm f/2.8 ED D @ 200 mm.
Sensitivity: ISO 100
Shutter speed - aperture: 1/1600 sec - f/2.8, Aperture priority mode
Flash: none
Image: JPEG edited in Photoshop CS2, levels adjusted, smart sharpening added and resized.

2. Camera: Nikon D2X
Lens: Nikkor AF 80-200 mm f/2.8 ED D @ 200 mm.
Sensitivity: ISO 100
Shutter speed - aperture: 1/2000 sec - f/2.8, Aperture priority mode
Flash: None
Image: JPEG edited in Photoshop CS2, levels adjusted, smart sharpening added and resized.

3. Camera: Nikon D2X
Lens: Nikkor AF 80-200 mm f/2.8 ED D @ 200 mm.
Sensitivity: ISO 100
Shutter speed - aperture: 1/2000 sec - f/2.8, Aperture priority mode
Flash: None
Image: JPEG edited in Photoshop CS2, levels adjusted, smart sharpening added and resized.  

Pica pica (common name: Magpie)

This juvenile magpie was sitting on a fence in a park nearby. The repetitive pattern of the fence inspired me to use my lens wide open to get an very narrow DOF

Photo by Frank Panis

Shooting Data: