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Originally Posted by Zaqarbal
I've got a new DSLR too. Finally I bought a Canon EOS 1100D. And a 70-300mm zoom lens too:
So now I can take better pictures of architectural details or birds. For instance, magpies. They look very beautiful to me. I love to photograph them:
They say European Magpies are one of the most intelligent of all animals (in fact, they pass the mirror test). This one looks like a smart bird, indeed: 
It's difficult to photograph them in flight. This is my best attempt so far:
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European Magpies *are* lovely and clever birds!
I like how you combine your artistic eye and artistic hand(s) to photograph them, Zaqarbal.
I especially like your use of the in-focus/out-of-focus metal fence as the backdrop for magpie #1, because both the fence and bird have contrasting black and white. I notice, too, that the smudges of blue in the gray road pick up the shimmery blue of some of the bird's darker feathers. I also like the moment you captured, because you can really see from the photo that this particular bird is looking somewhere and paying careful attention to something that interests her or him, just like you were paying attention to the bird.
I can imagine that photographing a flying subject would be difficult. I didn't realize until seeing your final photo that magpies' wings have such a striking black/white pattern, since my only memories of magpies are indistinct ones from Europe years ago.
While reading more about magpies today on Wikipedia, I learned about other signs of their intelligence besides passing the mirror test: "In captivity magpies have been observed counting up to get food, imitating human voices, and regularly using tools to clean their own cages. In the wild, they organise themselves into gangs, and use complex strategies when hunting other birds, and when confronted by predators. They cut up their food in correctly sized proportions, depending on the size of their young." I also learned that magpie pairs are monogamous, and "remain together for the duration of their lives." Neat birds.
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Originally Posted by Burning Down
Looking towards the sky in the Financial District. This one is by far my favourite photo I've ever taken. I'm quite proud of it!
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Burning Down, your photo is wonderful!
I love the purple-blue coloration of the buildings against the pale blue sky, and the way you arranged the shot so that the buildings fit close together like jagged puzzle pieces and appear to lean in toward each other as if in conversation. The composition is pleasing, too, with much of the upper diagonal devoted to the larger building, balanced by the other three to the right. Very nice.