By Jim Zuckerman
My primary goal in going to Costa Rica – photographically speaking – was to capture macaws in flight. Although I saw many of them fly, I found it extremely difficult to fill a significant part of the frame with them and follow focus at the same time with a long lens. I hiked all over the place, looking for the trees they frequent and then waiting for them to fly. I could get relatively close but I found that my 500mm f/4 was too long because the birds would be in and out of my frame before I could focus.
I started using the 70-200mm f/2.8 and then was able to capture some of the action. I was looking for good wing spread and good color. I never got what I consider an outstanding image, but I came close. Here are two of the images I took, and I’ll upload another one soon. I like the unusual body language of the first image because the bird almost looks like dancer. In the second photo, I like the elongation and grace of the macaw, but this one is less artistic and more literal. At least that's how I see it.
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