Grackle (peanut thief)

Funny, all of our Grackle's are totally black.  A superb shot... Mike

The range of colours surprised me too, especially when viewed 'Larger'.   In the sunlight they look black with a blueish neck & head.  Cheeky rascals anyway & they make short work of the seeds in the feeder.  Thanks for checking in.  Best, Len.

Hi Len,

  Wonderful image with beautiful colors & details.  Take care, Patsy

Thanks for stopping by.  I'm generally pleased with this image in spite of the high ISO.  Best, Len.

Your comment about high ISO and potential noise made me think of a little program I purchased and use on occasion.  If you want and like to shoot at high ISO and don't like the subtle noise, "Neat Image" is a viable option.  Like I said, I don't use it often but when I do it does a good job.  The controls aren't the most user friendly of programs but after some practice it gets easier.  You do have to be careful not to over filter and then sharpen to make up for it because it can create a halo around adjacent objects.

Just for fun I ran this shot through and set the noise filters at 50% and applied some sharpening.  The differences are subtle but it does smooth out the noise.  See what you think. 

Just for the record, I don't find the original of this image too noisy at all, this is just an exercise... Mike

Very beautiful shade of blue on this fellow Len. The subtle colors in his wing is also quite nice. He's got the look of a thief with that bit of black near the eye. Good catch my friend.

BR, Holger

Thanks for going the extra mile on this one.  In truth, in most of my high ISO shots, I expect to see a bit of noise and for the most part, as with this shot, it doesn't bother me.  (could be aging eyes are the best noise reduction software & are the reason I don't see much difference in my version of the Grackle and yours)  I think noise is rather subjective; it bothers some people more than others.   Attached is a shot at ISO 3600 which I printed (OK, only to 8x10) & don't find the grain objectionable.  Perhaps larger prints would change my outlook somewhat.  I've heard of Neat Image & will keep it in mind for the future. Don't  be a stranger!  Best, Len.

Yah, looks like he should be wearing a mask.  I see more colours in this guy than I ever remember seeing before in a Grackle.  Ugly & annoying at a distance, not so ugly up close but still annoying. I was in a tent that I had put up for my grandchildren & was using it as blind. He was very close and if I hadn't made noise with the camera I likely would have ended up sharing that space with him. :-)