It looks like it eats the soy beans faster than most deer.
It probably is a downy the only similar specie is the hairy woodpecker. Downy woodpeckers are more common. The best way to tell the difference is that the length of the downy's beak is less than the distance from the base of the beak to the eye. The hairy's beak is longer and its length would extend behind the eye.Looking again at the photo it might be a hairy. I cannot see the position of the eye in this photo but the beak does look a little long for a downy.
That is a very creative idea but I would not suggest trying it with a high school class. You would probably get photos that were, umm... 'unsuitable for the classroom.'
birdpix wrote:
Isn't that special! Actually, I would say that somebody had a little fling with some domestic turkeys that got loose for a night on the town. You know how it is.....a little music...... a little alcohol........a dimly lit room....
I tend to agree. A hybrid is certainly a possibility. The alcohol was probably bourbon or good old fashioned bootlegged white lightning. Turkeys seem to have a preference for corn.
There are several sub-species or races of wild turkeys.
Here is the link to a Wikipedia article on them.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_turkey#Osceola_Wild_Turkey_or_Florida_Wild_Turkey_.28M._g._osceola.29_.28Scott.2C_1890.29
Here are a couple more references:
http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CFPageC?storeId=10151&catalogId=10001&langId=-1&&mode=article&objectID=32138&catID=&subcatID=0
http://www.foremosthunting.com/Turkey/TurkeyLibrary/WildTurkeySubspecies/tabid/322/Default.aspx
I hope this helps. I was unable to reach any conclusion as to which sub-species is in your photos but you did see them in person. Tying your personal observations and your geographic area to the information in the references might help. You also might contact your local turkey hunters association. They are usually quite up to date on local turkey information.
From what I have learned and experienced, the issue is digital noise. Noise becomes more evident as the exposure time increases and when the capture is under exposed making it necessary to adjust the exposure.
To minimize noise, expose to the right of the histogram. That is increase the exposure as much as possible without 'blowing out' the highlights.
If possible, shoot in raw so you have more information in your capture.
I am sorry I can't help you with Noise Ninja, It is integrated into my post processing software, Corel AfterShot Pro. I invoke it just by clicking a check box and adjusting a slider.
Depending on your camera and its ability to capture without undue noise, try an ISO of about 800. I have very little noise with my canon T2i at ISO 800 and even ISO 1600 is not too bad.
I like this study. It shows that members of the same species have individual differences just like Homo sapiens.
B&W seems so appropriate for these old timers
Whoever surveyed the road in the second photo must have had a sense of humour.
Beautiful beast but is it a cow ... or a bull?
Maybe you did not get close enough to tell for sure.
Great Shots and even better titles
For most amateurs PSE will do the job. however if you shoot in RAW, you might want to use Lightroom.
Don't overlook the Corel products, PaintShop Pro and AfterShot Pro. Both are available as 30 day trials and frequently go on sale from Corel directly at up to 50% off. They are also much less expensive than the Adobe products.
The key to keeping more of the object in focus is a small aperture (larger f/stop number.) Since the aperture is small you must compensate with a greater sensitivity and/or longer exposure, and/or more light .
Set the ISO to 800, use aperture priority, and f/16 or f/22. (You will probably need a tripod.) If you are in bright sun so much the better, if not, you may need to use flash or reflectors.
As a new member, I cannot speak for the rest of the group but I can say that its not the equipment, its the person behind the camera that makes a difference.
Back in the '60s, I had a summer job sell in the camera department of a department store. The department manager went on a camping holiday and took an Kodak Instamatic (126 format non adjustable, $19.95) camera with him.
He came back with astounding photos including a shot of the moon, another of a snake swallowing a frog and a campfire scene.
It was the photographer that made the difference not the equipment.
A good photographer can make a good photo with ANY camera. A snap shot shooter will still take a snap shot with any equipment no matter how expensive. There is nothing wrong with a snapshot, it preserves a memory but it is not art.