![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/black-billed-magpie-5643-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"black-billed-magpie-5643-ron-dudley\\"")
<\/p>\nYesterday morning a twist of fate resulted in one of my most unusual Black-billed Magpie photos.<\/p>\n
Before dawn we were socked in with heavy clouds and the forecast called for more of the same. On days like that I never go shooting – the last thing I need is more mediocre to simply awful photos taken in poor light. But yesterday I made an exception because I wanted to test my new camera’s autofocus and high ISO performance in very low light.<\/p>\n
But a half hour after I got to Antelope Island the clouds miraculously parted and I had good light for the next two hours, even though it appeared to be socked in nearly everywhere else (including the south half of the island which I avoided).<\/p>\n
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1\/5000, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n Not long after the clouds broke I watched as this Black-billed Magpie brought a stick to its nest deep inside this bush and then came out to the top of the bush before taking off. Before the leaves come out these nest bushes are never attractive settings for my photos but there’s always the possibility of interesting takeoff and flight shots so I often make the effort just to see if I’ll get lucky.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/4000, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n In the initial takeoff shot the magpie had its nictitating membrane closed, which in this species stands out like the proverbial sore thumb.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/5000, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n It had taken off into a moderate headwind from the north which allowed the bird to flare and rise quickly from the nest bush as it began to turn to its right. The resulting flight posture put the magpie at a good angle to the sun to begin to reveal some of the flashy iridescence that we typically don’t see in this species.<\/p>\n But it was the last photo in the series that I consider to be the ‘money shot’.<\/p>\n .<\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/5000, f\/6.3, ISO 800, Canon R5, Canon EF500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n This is the most iridescence that has ever been revealed in any my magpie photos. Magpies only have iridescence in their dorsal blacks, excluding their head, neck and nape which have no iridescence, so in this photo I pretty much captured all iridescence that was possible (unless the tail had been flared). Because I had no more room in the frame on the right I don’t have an ideal composition but for a photo like this I can live with it. I could easily add canvas on that side if I choose to.<\/p>\n You typically need direct light to reveal iridescence in all its glory so if it had stayed cloudy, or if I’d stayed home as a result of the poopy forecast like I normally would, a photo like this would still be only a pipe dream.<\/p>\n Testing my new camera’s low light performance will have to wait for another day. And another atypical decision on my part.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Yesterday morning a twist of fate resulted in one of my most unusual Black-billed Magpie photos. (4 images)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/black-billed-magpie-5644-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"black-billed-magpie-5644-ron-dudley\\"")
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