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ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Upton Warren (16 Viewers)

teal and what?

saw these three on beach at yarmouth monday is the front one a golden eye, noticed it was larger than the teal so it caught my eye, once again does'nt seem to tie up with owt in my books, cheers in anticipation.
 

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Today's highlights ( similar to yesterday).

MOORS:
Wigeon (1)--------------------Pochard(2)
Teal (35)----------------------Shoveler (16)
Cormorant (15)---------------G C Grebe(6)
Kingfisher---------------------Snipe(2)
Greylag Geese (14)----------Fieldfare (2)

NORTH MOORS:
Raven (4)

FLASHES/SAILING POOL:
Redpoll (11)----------------Grey Wagtail
Meadow Pipit (4)-----------Skylark (3)

PUBLIC FOOTPATH GOING EAST FROM SOUTHERN BOUNDARY:
Blackcap (m)--------------Coal Tit
Goldcrest-------------------Nuthatch (2)

Des.
 

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8-P Will the person who removed the butterfly poster from the feeding station hide at the flashes, kindly put it back.
The poster was for all members to have a look at
 
8-P Will the person who removed the butterfly poster from the feeding station hide at the flashes, kindly put it back.
The poster was for all members to have a look at

Is that you Alan....
I will ask the Trust if they have got a chart with the regular species on :t:
B :)John
 
A strange afternoon where, despite there being some good light to utilise (and having the company of JC again), nothing appeared to want to land in the sunlight. So, some rather grainy shots from amongst the reeds...
 

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Continuing my experiments with layers. I took two copies of the first of yesterday's shots. The first copy I blurred and on the second I lightened it and upped the contrast levels. Layering the two together has given this effect which makes the bird and perch stand out, but a bit too much, if you ask me... I'm going to have to learn to do 'subtle' me thinks!
 

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Hi folks, I`ve just popped in to say thanks to Gary P who we met in the hide at Leighton Moss yesterday. It was great to have a natter with him while watching the Starlings come in. Hoping you had a good day at Martin Mere.
Hoping we get some water soon here in Midlands, they`ve had plenty up there over the summer, must have had our share as well!
 
Hi folks, I`ve just popped in to say thanks to Gary P who we met in the hide at Leighton Moss yesterday. It was great to have a natter with him while watching the Starlings come in. Hoping you had a good day at Martin Mere.
Hoping we get some water soon here in Midlands, they`ve had plenty up there over the summer, must have had our share as well!

Looks like you've brought the rain back with you Pam. Hope after 12 hours of persistent rain (well in Redditch anyway) there might be a few wet channels , I don't think this will have any effect on the main Flash though.
B :)John
hopefully we will get some feedback today.
 
Continuing my experiments with layers. I took two copies of the first of yesterday's shots. The first copy I blurred and on the second I lightened it and upped the contrast levels. Layering the two together has given this effect which makes the bird and perch stand out, but a bit too much, if you ask me... I'm going to have to learn to do 'subtle' me thinks!

Sy,

Great picture. While I agree that this hyperrealistic image does, as you say, lack subtlety. It does focus the viewer's attention on the bird's details. This might not be necessary with such a recognisable bird as a kingfisher but it would be an admirable identification tool with more difficult subjects. What about pairing a chiffchaff and willow warbler? or willow and marsh tits?

Peter
 
Interesting idea Peter (and I love the "hyperrealistic" word). Unfortunately, I have only good photos of the Chiffchaff, record shots of Willow Warblers and nothing of the two Tit species at all!
Which I suppose reflects their respective numbers at UW.
 
Sy - I can email you some tips on image processing, if you're interested. It's definitely an artform, and if skipped over, you can lose out massively on the end result.
 
Sy - I can email you some tips on image processing, if you're interested. It's definitely an artform, and if skipped over, you can lose out massively on the end result.

Sy and Pete.
Im always looking for ways to improve my images once it gets to the processing stage, so any help would be appreciated from 'true' photographers ;) any tips/hints you could pass on?
MB
 
Looks like you've brought the rain back with you Pam. Hope after 12 hours of persistent rain (well in Redditch anyway) there might be a few wet channels , I don't think this will have any effect on the main Flash though.
B :)John
hopefully we will get some feedback today.

BBC national weather today stated that the Midlands has experienced its driest Jan-Sept in 50 years. You can add onto that most of October.


Des.
 
Sy - I can email you some tips on image processing, if you're interested. It's definitely an artform, and if skipped over, you can lose out massively on the end result.

Pete

That's most generous of you - I'd be most appreciative if you could.

Sy
 
Pete

Reply e-mail sent and thanks again. I think the guidelines are worth sharing within our band of brethren, especially as there are so many more people posting pictures, from Compacts, Bridges, DSLRs and digiscope set-ups.
The only caveat I would have is that, unless readers have already experimented with picture processing software, some of the terms may be confusing... at least initially.
I would not recommend spending a fortune on software to start with - things like Adobe Photoshop are hundreds of £s. There are some very capable freeware applications available.
I use ACDSee (OK, I now have a licensed copy, but I've used the freeware version of the same software for years) and GIMP, one of the very best freeware applications with an interface which is very Photoshop-esque.
 
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I recently purchased photo elements 9..it's around £50..but I have only used the guided editing to sharpen , and adjust contrast etc and crop.

The problem, like with a lot of software applications and electronic equipment nowdays is the instructions are utter rubbish.:C

I have ended up purchasing a book for Photo Element's called ' The Missing Manual', and pencilled in the dark nights of the coming months to get to grips with it..However I would welcome a heads up from those with the knowledge on getting to grips with basic layering.
 
I use Elements 9 too. I think the price will drop, as version 10 is now available. I've never bothered with the full blown version though - way too expensive, unless I was using art / design for a living.

Those additional books are helpful, though Googling is just as effective, as quite a few boffins out there have contributed their work flows to forums, with examples, and they can be just as helpful, and free.

My software costs have been only Elements, which was about £70 when I bought it, and Neat Image, as I find it so useful and needed to use it on images larger than 1000x1000 pixels, which the free version allowed.

I barely scratch the surface of what Elements can do, I suspect!
 

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