It's a pleasure to shoot with my Nikon 200 f/2 lens. Most times, I shoot with the aperture wide open (at f/2) when using this lens. Yesterday, I captured a variety of images using the Nikon D800 and the 200 f/2 while visiting the Brookfield Zoo.

The subject of this image is a White-crested Laughing Thrush. This bird was photographed in the free fly area of the Perching Bird House.

White-Crested Laughing ThrushWhite-Crested Laughing Thrush (Garrulax leucolophus) at the Brookfield Zoo in Brookfield, Illinois on September 11, 2014

1/50th, f/2, ISO 125

I think the very narrow depth of field directs the viewer's attention to my subject by making the bird the only sharply focused area within the frame. The shallow focus zone also helps blur out what otherwise would be a very distracting background of branches and leaves.

The wide open aperture also allows me to select a lower ISO setting--which in turn maximizes image quality. By comparison, if I had selected an aperture of f/8, the ISO setting would have increased to 2000 to maintain the same exposure. While ISO 2000 might still generate a salvageable picture with today's digital sensors, the image quality is not nearly as high as with ISO 125.

The use of my Nikon SB-900 flash unit also helped this image. The viewer's attention is once again directed to the bird due to the added illumination from the strobe. And, the short duration of the flash burst helps freeze any motion (from the bird or from camera shake) to provide a sharper image. Finally, the added light helps in that I can select a lower ISO setting.

The bird's position in the frame provides for a strong composition. The branch provides a leading line to direct the eye to the bird. And, the bird has plenty of space in the direction that it is looking within the frame.

I'm glad that I live so close to the Brookfield Zoo. It makes it easy to go out and practice shooting--rain or shine. There are interesting subjects to photograph in both the indoor and outdoor exhibits. Here's another entirely different image from yesterday that I captured with the Nikon 200 f/2:

ConeflowerEastern purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) at the Brookfield Zoo in Brookfield, Illinois on September 11, 2014