These pittas are very colourful but extremely shy. More often than not they can be heard but not seen until mating season. Here is one gathering nesting material. The "blue" feathers has an iridescent sheen and can be easily "blown". This was taken under heavy canopy cover in the mangroves of Penang, Malaysia.
5D Mark II + EF 800mm 1/10s f/5.6 ISO1000 EV +1 Fill flash -3
Very colorful and a new one to me. Good exposure under very difficult circumstances.
The head/eye isn't as sharp as the back. I thought at first that perhaps there had been some head movement that the slow shutter speed couldn't handle, but the twig is very sharp when in the same plane as body, so I think it is a DOF/focusing issue. The bird is a bit too centered for my tastes.
Appears to be a bit of noise in darker areas of background, but really pretty darn good under the conditions and ISO>
I don't think I have seen this species, either. Thanks for sharing! Details look very good considering shutter speed and ISO. I would run NR on the BG, though.
Hey guys thanks for the comments. Indeed it was actually movement and not due to shallow DOF. Here in the tropics the settings may seem absurd but we do still get them good. Here's another.
5D Mk2 + EF800mm 1/30s f/6.3 ISO1600 EV +2/3 Fill Flash -3
Last edited by Phil Liew; 05-17-2009 at 10:55 AM.
Reason: Trying to show another photo in this same thread
Mangrove Pitta
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