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TL:DR – Towards the end of 2024 there may be a bright, new comet in the sky. Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS
If you’re lucky enough to get a clear sky…it’s snowing here, so no chance…look up at the constellation known as constellation Serpens Caput with your big telescope and you might see a faint fuzzball. It’s an icy visitor from the far reaches of the solar system, the Oort Cloud, and it’s heading this way. Give or take. Thankfully, it is not on a collision course.
Right now, this comet, which was first spotted in early January is about a billion kilometres from Earth, just past the orbit of Jupiter. But, as we approach Christmas 2024, we might be in for a treat as it flares up and becomes visible to the naked eye. You can find all the details of the discovery, the name, and what to expect from Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS on the Universe Today website.
Comet NEOWISE in 2020
Late last year, you may well have caught sight of another comet, the green comet, C/2022 E3 (ZTF), which never did live up to hopes of outshining the stars. And, of course who can forget the early months of COVID when some of us were distracted by Comet NEOWISE [C/2020 F3 (NEOWISE)]. I managed to get some mediocre photos of that comet when we escaped COVID lockdown and had a few days at the coast.
Comets are typically named after their discoverers or a group of discoverers, with the addition of a prefix indicating the type of comet. The prefixes used are:
“C/” for non-periodic comets (i.e. ones that appear irregularly)
“P/” for periodic comets (one’s that return within 200 years)
“D/” for comets that have been lost or have disintegrated
“X/” for comets that are of an uncertain
Here are a few examples of some well-known comets with their colloquial names:
Comet Halley – This is perhaps the most famous comet, named after astronomer Edmond Halley who calculated its orbit and predicted its return in 1758. It is a periodic comet with an orbital period of approximately 76 years and was last seen in the inner solar system in 1986.
Comet Hale-Bopp – This was a non-periodic comet discovered in 1995 by Alan Hale and Thomas Bopp. I remember it being very bright in the sky for many months and would endlessly point it out to family and friends on night-time pub trips.
Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 – This was a non-periodic comet that collided with Jupiter in 1994 and was destroyed. It was named after its discoverers, Carolyn and Eugene Shoemaker and David Levy.
Comet Lovejoy – This is a periodic comet discovered by Australian amateur astronomer Terry Lovejoy in 2011. It has an orbital period of approximately 7 years and was visible to the naked eye in the Southern Hemisphere.
Of course, whether Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-ATLAS lives up to expectations in late 2024 will depend on the local solar weather conditions as the comet’s orbit brings it closer and closer to the sun. If conditions are right, it may well flare up and become visible to the naked eye, we’ll have just have to wait and see, with our telescopes, binoculars, and cameras at the ready.
TL:DR – An antiviral drug called ensitrelvir could cut the time a person tests positive when they have COVID-19 by about a day. There is a controversial suggestion that it might also reduce the risk of developing long-covid.
An antiviral drug developed by Shionogi in partnership with Hokkaido University is an orally active 3C-like protease inhibitor, which can shorten the time between first testing positive after infection with SARS-CoV-2 and getting a negative test. Early signs are that it may well reduce the risk of developing long-covid, although that data is yet to be peer reviewed. There are some scientists sceptical of the claim having heared the results presented at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections in Seattle, Washington, USA, in February. They suggest that more work in clinical trials is needed before the claim can be accepted. Mariana Lenharo has all the details in Nature.
Long-covid is also known as long-haul COVID, post-COVID-19 syndrome, post-COVID-19 condition, post-acute sequelae of COVID-19 (PASC), or chronic COVID syndrome (CCS). The term describes the long-term symptoms and effect on various body systems and organs following infection with SARS-CoV-2.
Currently, there are two orally active antivirals for treating COVID-19, Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir/ritonavir) and molnupiravir. The antiviral ensitrelvir has the brand name Xocova.
The controversy surrounding whether or not ensitrelvir can reduce the risk of a person developing long-covid is about whether or not the trials and the definitions offered by Shionogi on this point are valid. There had previously been a more general suggestion that shortening the time that a person tests positive for COVID-19 could be beneficial. That said, there is evidence that even those who only have mild symptoms of COVID-19 can still develop long-covid. It could be that long-covid is a side effect of the body’s immune response to infection rather than being due to residual virus. There is much we are yet to learn about this virus.
TL:DR – Software used to predict which chemicals in a database have potential as new medicines has been flipped as a warning demonstrating that the same system could be used to predict whether they are highly toxic.
Artificial intelligence, AI, machine learning, language models, neural networks, generative models, algorithms trained on big data. A lovely collection of buzzwords that have been littering grant proposals for years and are now emerging into the real world as apps and websites and citizen science projects. For chemists and pharmaceutical scientists, AI has been a tool to experiment with for a long time. Creating molecular diversity, simulating physiology and screening for drug-like activity have been high on the laboratory agenda for quite some time. They have also used it to test for toxicity in silico and so reduce animal testing and problems once a drug gets into early. clinical trials.
Scientists at Collaborations Pharmaceuticals Inc., which focuses on drug discovery for rare diseases, commonly use trained AI to help them determine the likely toxicity of various novel molecular structures. Molecules with physiological activity are a prerequisite for finding new pharmaceuticals but it is also necessary to avoid those compounds that have a toxic effect on the patient rather than the disease.
A thought experiment flipped this work for good on its head and had team leader Fabio Urbina and colleagues wondering about the implications of an AI that seeks out life-taking toxic compounds rather life-saving pharmaceuticals. The team was asked to carry out simulations and to present the findings and implications to an international security conference.
The Convergence Conference is convened every two years by the Swiss Federal Institute for NBC (nuclear, biological and chemical) Protection – Spiez Laboratory – on behalf of the Swiss government to identify developments in chemistry, biology and enabling technologies that could have implications for the Chemical and Biological Weapons Conventions. The conference seeks to spot the next VX or Novochok.
Urbina and his colleagues have been careful not to disclose the details of their simulations, but by setting their AI in reverse so that it seeks out structures that are likely to be toxic rather than safe pharmaceuticals they were able to generate a whole molecular library of potential toxic agents on a par with VX and Novochok. Indeed, six hours on the computer produced a database of 40000 such molecules any one of which might theoretically be synthesised in a rogue state laboratory and many of which were predicted to be more toxic than VX. Of course, it could be that the AI has got it wrong (it happens!) and that none of these compounds are at all toxic. The details the team provides were published in the journal Nature Machine Intelligence.
It is rather worrying. But perhaps also inevitable and better that we know this is now a possibility rather than our ignoring the risks. It’s worth remembering, that the invention of dynamite had a notable dual use, noble and not so noble, you might say. This is in some way just a modern take of how an invention for good might so easily be manipulated for bad.
To quote from the paper: “We can take inspiration from examples such as The Hague Ethical Guidelines, which promote a culture of responsible conduct in the chemical sciences and guard against the misuse of chemistry, in order to have AI-focused drug discovery, pharmaceutical and possibly other companies agree to a code of conduct to train employees, secure their technology, and prevent access and potential misuse.”
That is unlikely to be enough in the long-term and it is perhaps inevitable that some rogue team somewhere is already building its own database of toxic agents using AI. We just have to hope that the worst in any such database are false positives or that they all prove to be too to tough to crack even for the best, bad chemists. But, given that we already have AI tools for devising chemical reaction schemes and have done for many years, it feels unlikely that this particular toxic genie is going to stay in its reaction flask for long.
UPDATE: 22nd Feb 2024 – Spawn present in the morning, perhaps been there a day or two, it’s been raining heavily so hadn’t checked since the weekend. 40+ frogs in the pond, mating activity still ongoing at the beginning of March, masses of spawn.
I have resculpted the rear edge of the pond to allow it to spill when it is very full and creates a potentially semi-permanent swamp area to increase invertebrate diversity. This was prompted by a chat with a member of our village nature recovery project.
2023: Several frogs active in our garden pond, some of them mating, but no spawn as of 2nd March 2023. UPDATE: 11th March, sudden appearance of spawn and ongoing frog activity, croaking, mating, at least 30 frogs. UPDATE: 11th April. Frog activity down, lots of tadpoles, one batch still very small an older batch looking big-headed and perhaps just about to start sprouting limbs.
I’ve not mentioned our wild garden pond for a while. It’s still thriving with iris, reed, and sedge shoots beginning to show already and it is just late February. Matt often checks on the frogs after dark and reported that there were a pair mating on the night of 26th February, which is a good sign, we might soon be with spawn again. We had spawn on 21st February 2021, but not until 5th March in 2020, nothing in 2019 when I’d only just resurrected the pond.
This is how it looked in May 2019 when I first re-dug our garden pond (it’s just half the size of the original)This is how it looked in April 2022
Just for the record, no fish. This is a wild pond for frogs, water snails, and dragonflies etc. Anything else that turns up by chance will find a home, but I’ve not introduced any creatures other than two species of watersnail from a friend’s wildlife pond.
I asked ChatGPT to act as a herpetologist to explain the lifecycle of the Common Frog:
The Common Frog, Rana temporaria, is a species of amphibian found throughout much of Europe and parts of Asia. Here’s a general overview of its lifecycle:
Egg Stage: The lifecycle of a Common Frog starts when the female lays eggs in water, typically in ponds, lakes or slow-moving streams, usually in the spring. A female can lay up to 4,000 eggs in a single season. The eggs are enclosed in a gelatinous mass that floats on the surface of the water.
Tadpole Stage: After several days, the eggs hatch into tadpoles. Tadpoles are aquatic and breathe through gills. They feed on algae and other small organisms found in the water. During this stage, they develop legs, absorb their tail and undergo metamorphosis.
Metamorphosis Stage: As tadpoles grow, they start to develop legs and eventually lose their tails. They also start to breathe air through their lungs instead of gills, and their digestive system changes to accommodate a more carnivorous diet. This metamorphosis can take several months, depending on the temperature and food availability.
Juvenile Stage: Once the metamorphosis is complete, the young froglets leave the water and begin their life on land. During this stage, they continue to grow and develop, and their diet shifts to insects and other small invertebrates.
Adult Stage: After a few months, the young froglets reach sexual maturity and become adults. They will continue to breed and lay eggs, thus completing the lifecycle.
The entire lifecycle of a Common Frog typically takes around 2-3 years, although it can vary depending on environmental factors such as temperature and food availability.
TL:DR – Thanks to GINA I have not needed to use salbutamol to treat my asthma for three years at the time of writing.
It’s three years since my asthma nurse introduced me to GINA, the Global INitiative for Asthma. It was a phone consultation because the then new virus SARS-CoV-2, which causes what became known as COVID-19, was beginning to spread. At the time, I was very worried that it would be a killer for me given my asthma. Eventually, medical science learned that people with asthma were not necessarily at any greater risk of morbidity and mortality.
Anyway, it was nice to meet GINA. GINA contradicts some of what general practitioners (GPs) in the UK have been advising asthma patients for years, but supports what the medical evidence suggests one should do in terms of medication. The main thing is GINA told me to stop using Salbutamol (the reliever spray) and to use my Symbicort (combined preventer with reliever spray) instead. Salbutamol is an old, out-of-date drug with some unpleasant side effects in long-term use, partly because it can affect the heart but mainly because inappropriate use in the absence of proper control of the condition with a preventer can lead to scarring in the lungs.
Modern relievers are more targeted to the lungs rather than other organs. Moreover, using the preventer at a higher dose, which is what my nurse recommended, means you reduce inflammation and mucus production, which are the main issues with asthma in parallel with episodic bronchoconstriction.
For three years, I have been taking twice as much preventer each day as I was before, and only very occasionally need to take extra to get a dose of reliever. I have not used Salbutamol at all in those three years and don’t expect to have to ever again. I no longer carry Salbutamol with me.
A GP friend was concerned when I told him about GINA, he reasoned, quite sensibly that taking this approach would be increasing one’s exposure to the preventer drugs, which are corticosteroids. This is true. But asthma is mostly about inflammation and these drugs reduce inflammation and so should reduce asthma symptoms. They do. He discussed the issue with colleagues and is now persuaded that GINA is a more sensible approach to asthma control than the current NICE recommendations in the UK. Hopefully, someone will introduce NICE to GINA soon.
TL:DR – An answer to the question why are so many science writers also birders?
Someone on social media asked me as a science writer why so many science writers are also birders. My initial thoughts were as follows: Well, to be a science writer, I think you have to be curious, analytical, interested in lots of stuff…a polymath. Birds are interesting, identification requires analysis, writing about them is fun and if you’re a togger [birder-photographer], you always have a decent photo to illustrate your article.
Short-eared Owl
One possible explanation for the prevalence of birding among science writers is the concept of “flow.” Flow is a state of deep engagement and enjoyment that occurs when a person is fully absorbed in an activity that is challenging but also within their skill level. Birding can be a highly immersive activity that requires focus, attention to detail, and knowledge of ecology and behaviour. Science writing also demands a similar level of engagement and attention to detail. Thus, individuals who enjoy birding may be drawn to science writing because it provides a similar experience of flow. [In my case, I’d say it was the reverse, I was drawn to birding, because I had a scientific mind and was a science writer and wanted an additional creative outlet].
A flock of 80 or so Avocet
Another possible explanation is that birding can serve as a form of “nature therapy” that provides mental health benefits. Research has shown that spending time in nature can reduce stress, improve mood, and increase creativity. Science writing can be a demanding and intellectually stimulating profession, and birding may provide a healthy balance by allowing individuals to connect with nature and recharge their mental batteries.
Red Kite
Finally, it’s possible that there is simply a correlation between the personality traits that make someone a good science writer and those that make someone interested in birding. For example, curiosity, attention to detail, and a broad range of interests are all traits that are valued in both professions. Additionally, both birding and science writing are activities that can be pursued alone or in groups, providing opportunities for social interaction and a sense of belonging. [I definitely think of myself as a wannabe polymath, hence my “songs, snaps, science” motif].
Overall, while there is no definitive answer to why so many science writers are also birders, it’s likely that a combination of these factors plays a role. Regardless of the reason, it’s clear that the intersection of birding and science writing provides a rich and fascinating field of exploration.
TL:DR – Tens of thousands of Knot murmurate over The Wash visible from the north Norfolk and Lincolnshire coasts.
We spent the night in North Norfolk, tried to have an early night at a cheap hotel, and were up well before dawn to get to Knots Landing (RSPB Snettisham). We hoped to be in plenty of time for the high tide and the potential for a Wader Spectacular. We, and dozens of other green-clad, enthusiasts were not disappointed.
Knot at dawn, RSPB Snettisham, Norfolk
The weather was damp and drizzly and very cold and we got soaked through, but we witnessed tens of thousands of Knot (Calidris canutus) murmurating over the advancing tide as we headed for the landing site.
Most have at this point already been pushed off the deluged mudflats of The Wash, their low-tide feeding grounds, and into the air. Within minutes, the murmurs flood the banks of the inland lagoons with birds crammed tightly together to ride out the high tide. They wait patiently for a distant trigger that calls them once the ebbing tide retreats along the muddy shoreline.
Flocking Knot looking like a live Escher etching
As the tide turns, they flock back to sea, murmurating along the way – strength in numbers – to confuse any preying Peregrines. Ultimately, the seem lost to the waves but are merely gone from view.
Murmurating Knot
This is not the first time we’ve seen the Knot murmurations, although it is the first time we’ve made a special trip to catch them at a dawn high tide. We visit the area often and have seen these wondrous flocks on numerous occasions and caught one wader spectacular just as the sun was setting a few years ago. Always amazing to watch the sun set over the sea when one is ostensibly on England’s east coast. You’ll have to look at the map for Snettisham, Norfolk to see how that can be. (Video from 2018 visit here).
Knot crammed together find refuge on the banks of the lagoon at Snettisham to escape the high tide
The bird’s name comes from the name of the King who demonstrated his fallibility to his subjects by failing to turn back the tide – King Cnut – better known to us Brits as King Canute. The bird’s scientific name is Calidris canutus. Kalidris, or skalidris, was a word used by Aristotle to describe various grey-coloured shore birds, waders. The (Red) Knot, C. canutus, is the “type species” of the genus, although unusually does not have a tautonym (it would have been Calidris calidris).
Knot heading back out to sea with a few Godwits along for the ride
Meanwhile, on the same trip taking in a visit to nearby RSPB Titchwell we also clocked Avocet, Bar-tailed Godwit, Black-headed Gull, Black-tailed Godwit, Brent Geese, Chaffinch, Common Gull, Cormorant, Curlew, Dunlin, Gadwall, Golden Plover, Goldfinch, Great Black-backed Gull, Grey Plover, Greylag Geese, Herring Gull, Lapwing, Linnet, Mallard, Marsh Harrier, Meadow Pipit, Mediterranean Gull, Mute Swan, Peregrine Falcon, Pintail, Redshank, Red Kite, Reed Bunting, Robin, Sanderling, Shelduck, Shoveller Duck, Skylark, Snipe, Spoonbill, Teal, Turnstone, Water Pipit, Wigeon, Wren, and others.
One of a couple of Snipe feeding at RSPB Titchwell
TL:DR – Scientists have developed a life-saving antidote for exposure to the deadly gases hydrogen cyanide and carbon monoxide.
Scientists have made a groundbreaking discovery in the field of antidote development by creating a synthetic heme-model compound that has the potential to save lives in the event of simultaneous poisoning by carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide, which are frequently encountered in building fires. The compound, which has been tested on mice, resulted in an impressive 85% survival rate and rapid recovery. The chemical group known as heme is at the heart of hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying molecule in our blood, and various enzymes in our body.
The researchers, led by Qiyue Mao of Doshisha University in Kyotanabe, Kyoto, Japan, and her colleagues, have published their findings in the scientific paper “A synthetic porphyrin as an effective dual antidote against carbon monoxide and cyanide poisoning.” The study shows that the antidote is highly effective and exhibits low toxicity. Moreover, the compound can be rapidly eliminated from the body through urinary excretion, making it an ideal antidote for emergency situations.
The fact that the synthetic heme-model compound is storable at room temperature is a significant advantage for emergency services, as it could be rapidly prepared and administered at the site of accidental exposure to fire-generated gases. The potential benefits of this discovery could be life-saving, and it represents a significant leap forward in the field of antidote development.
The compound was developed using porphyrin, a molecule that is known to bind to oxygen-carrying heme proteins in red blood cells. The synthetic heme-model compound mimics the structure of natural heme and binds to carbon monoxide and cyanide, preventing them from binding to the body’s own heme proteins. This mechanism of action makes the compound highly effective in treating poisoning by these deadly gases.
The findings of this study have significant implications for public health and emergency services. By providing a safe, effective, and easy-to-administer antidote, lives could be saved in emergency situations where carbon monoxide and hydrogen cyanide poisoning are a risk. The potential for this compound to be used in human patients is exciting and offers hope for those at risk of exposure to fire-generated gases.
Mao, Q. et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci, Feb 20, 2023
As an experiment, I used ChatGPT to edit the press release about this work from PNAS. The only changes I made were to add the sentence in italics at the end of the first paragraph, add the institution, and to change team to colleagues.
A rainbow is an optical phenomenon. They are seen when light is refracted and reflected by water droplets in the atmosphere. They do not exist as physical objects in the same way that a solid object would and so do not block the path of light from the sun or any other light source so do not cast a shadow. You only see a rainbow when the light source is behind you and you are looking at the region in the atmosphere where the water droplets are present.
TL:DR – Tips on choosing which photo to process how to denoise and sharpen software, adjust levels, and crop.
Recently, I wrote about the beautiful Short-eared Owls that turned up on our patch over-winter in the slightly warmer climes of the Cambridgeshire Fens. I got photos of three hunting in the hour before dusk. The photos were okay, but I knew I could make them better with a few simple tools.
UPDATE: The SEOs are back. At least six of them on the fen. I got a few more shots late November 2023 including this one of a grumpy-looking Shortie that had just missed catching a vole.
Short-eared Owl hunting (unsuccessfully at this point) over the fen
The problem is always hand-holding a big lens when the light’s fading. There’s camera shake and a short shutter speed is also needed to freeze the action. This adds up to the camera switching up the sensitivity, the ISO, and that makes for more photographic noise.
So, what can you do to improve a noisy photo that might also have a bit of motion blur. First off, you must make sure you’re shooting in RAW mode. RAW mode lets you download what is essentially an unprocessed digital negative of the photo you took.
I’ll run you through what I do with the RAW files out of my camera. First, I select from the photos the one I think is the most dramatic or has the most character, the best light, the sharpest. I also try to pick one that doesn’t have distractions like foreground twigs or foliage or a cluttered background. Often your choices are limited with bird flight photography as the birds appear on their own terms and where you happen to be standing at the time determines a lot of that. A slight movement left or right might help sometimes in terms of foreground and background.
So, I’d picked this photo as the best of one of the owls flying in front of me. It was fairly close. Background isn’t too bad. The blurred building in the background almost adds to the composition although might have been more appropriate if it were a Barn Owl. That stem in the bottom left is a distraction and could do with being removed. We’ll see.
The original photo was shot at 600mm zoom, 1/3200s shutter speed, f/6.3 aperture and ISO 6400. That ISO number is way too high and I might’ve got a similar result if I’d used a slower shutter speed to get the ISO down a few stops.
I resized the photo to fit the website, but other than that with this first view it’s not cropped nor processed or edited other than a basic RAW to JPG conversion to make it displayable and to add my logo. The website loads the image as 1024 pixels wide with a JPEG compression of about 90%. It’s quite noisy, not as sharp as it could be, the levels (contrast, brightness, saturation etc are not optimised). And, in terms of composition, it’s not how I’d want the final photo to look.
TOP TIP: Push the sliders on whatever adjustment you’re making to the point where it is immediately obvious that you’ve made an adjustment and then claw them back ever so slightly. This way you will hopefully avoid making the photo too painterly. If you’re having to push anything beyond about 12% of the way up, then it might be worth abandoning the photo, unless you’re after a painterly effect.
So, stepping back I first feed the RAW file to DxO PureRaw. This removes a lot of the noise from any photograph really well. It also applies basic corrections that are known to be needed for the specific camera and lens setup used. I’ve zoomed in on the program in action so you can see, on the left just how noisy the photo was originally, and in the right of the frame, how well the noise reduction works.
The frame below is that same image saved in DxO PureRaw. Hopefully, you can already see some improvement from the original RAW capture above and displayed at the same composition. PureRaw lets you export as a DNG file, which is like a generic RAW format so you can do the subsequent processing as if the file were fresh from your camera.
At this point, I generally make an important choice. I can either simply open the denoised image from DxO in my photo-editor (PaintShop Pro) or add another step and open it in Topaz Sharpen AI. This software does denoising too but it can also sharpen and remove motion blur. Either way, at this point, I would first crop the image to give me the composition I would like in the final image and perhaps mirror the image so that the subject is facing in a more pleasing direction (flying left to right is better to my eye than having the bird fly off to the left.
The following photo is cropped and reversed to give me the composition I am after. I’d usually do a square crop for Instagram.
I am quite happy that this image is fairly sharp and so I won’t apply Topaz in this instance. Instead, I will use PSP to adjust various parameters: Overall brightness (raised 14%), shadows (up 10%), and highlights (no change). Saturation up 8%, Focus/sharpening up 66%. I’ve left the white balance as it was. I then brought in the blacks by 6% and the whites by 4%.
I then raised the vibrancy, which is an adjustment related to saturation but slightly subtler, I gave that a 12% boost, which I think gives the photo even more of a “golden hour” glow. Also added a few percent of “fill highlight” and boosting “clarity” by about 10%.
That grass stem sticking up from the bottom right is a bit of a distraction, so I removed it using what PSP calls the Scratch Remover tool. PSP also has a tool called Magic Fill which can do a much better job of removing objects from a photo if they’re not simple, thin lines.
Once all that’s done, the final couple of steps are always to apply a moderate “unsharp mask” to make the final image even crisper and then to add my dB/ logo.
So that’s probably as far as I’d take it. To my eye, it looks fine. At the very least, it looks a whole lot better than the RAW original, but that’s to be expected, you don’t expect to look at negatives instead of prints of photos. All photographs have to be developed, they always have been, in the digital age, we have more sophisticated tools to do the job for better or worse.
When looking close up at the originals (pixel peeking), I can see marked improvements with each stage of the above processing and would be confident that cropped closer it would still print nicely in a print magazine, screening at 300 dpi, at up to 6 inches width, but perhaps no bigger in this case.
Just for completeness, I did do a Topaz process on the DxO output and it does reduce the speckles of noise still further. However, there was also a bit more of a loss of detail. The image below was DxO then Topaz and then the same PSP processing as before. I cropped it a bit tighter for what I might use as a photo to accompany an article about this species, or owls in general, showing a bit less of the fenland background.
Instagram-ready version below
DxO and Topaz are the leaders in terms of denoising at the moment, I’d say. I prefer what DxO does though, but Topaz has the sharpening options that DxO PureRaw lacks. I trained on Photoshop but have stuck with PaintShop Pro for editing for many years, PSP has almost all of the same tools as Photoshop for the basic processing I do. Lightroom has advantages and there are, of course, many alternatives out there to all these programs. I must confess that I usually use SnapSeed for photos on my phone and sometimes for a landscapes, architecture, flowers, moths etc. I might do use the above workflow but then open the file on my phone in SnapSeed to bump what that app calls “Ambience” and “Structure” and adjust saturation a little more.
