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Photos from Joe G.'s Passenger Pigeon Sighting
by Pam Rotella
10 November 2016, last updated 6 December 2016
HoriconBirds.com
TECHNICAL NOTE: I originally posted this article with photos derived from .JPG files sized about 4 MB each. After that, Joe found his original .PNG files, each about 20 MB. Due to the large file size, all photos had to be processed (cropped and/or resized) before posting them online. However the larger files had better resolution, which yielded bigger photo enlargements for readers. I feel that better enlargements are important because these are valuable pictures in the documentation of living passenger pigeons. Therefore I've replaced the original pictures on this page (derived from the .JPG files) with the larger PNG file enlargements. Joe had also renamed the .PNG files with numbers 1-8 instead of the original camera numbering system.
It finally happened. A birder with a passenger pigeon sighting (4 August 2016 by "Joe G.") gave me permission to post his photos of the bird(s).
I knew that the first photos would be grainy and far away, but these pictures are of high enough qualitys to show some of the bird's characteristics.
In the original photos, the birds are just a speck in a tree, and the first three photos below are simply reduced file size versions of the original pictures to give readers a sense of perspective. Then enlargements from all eight photos follow those pictures. I've ordered the photos by what I feel is importance (the best pictures first), rather than following the 1-8 file names provided by the photographer. Some of the photos seem redundant, but I felt the entire series could benefit readers and so all of them are posted here.
First, 3 of the original photos before enlarging and processing (files resized for online viewing but otherwise unaltered)...
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An unedited passenger pigeon photo #7 by "Joe G." which was reduced in size (original file size was over 20 MB and too large to post online), but otherwise unedited to show the bird's location
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Photo #4 unedited by "Joe G."
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Photo #8 unedited but reduced in size by "Joe G."
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Next, 3-4 cropped variations on each of Joe's eight photos. Each photo is cropped close to the bird, allowing the existing number of pixels in the image to determine the width of each image. The large file size of his original photos yields large enough images to actually see the birds, despite their small proportions on the original pictures. These photos have different widths and heights as a result of the custom cropping.
After cropping the photographs, I made the same two modifications to each, which gives a total of three variations on each image, and for a few, a fourth variation:
1.) The first variation is cropped only, without any exposure adjustments or enhancements.
2.) The second in each photos's group is enhanced with all four auto-correction tools from Adobe: a.) "Smart Fix," b.) Lighting/Levels, c.) Lighting/Contrast, and d.) Color.
3.) The only enhancement to the third photo was boosting Adobe's Color Saturation beyond what a photographer would use to fix a photo, in order to investigate the colors that Adobe found in each image. (Each photo is boosted about 50% of Adobe's slider.) This will exaggerate the colors in each, but also reveal colors that Adobe software found in the original image. (I'm working on a separate article explaining Adobe's Color Saturation feature, which will be linked when finished.)
4.) For a few photos, I've boosted saturation 100%. This gives the pictures a cartoonish appearance, but the technique exaggerates the colors found into large enough samples to see, which could help when deciding whether images depict a bird with a red eye and reddish breast.
Also, I'm sorting the photos by how useful I think the images will be to readers, and the "group" numbers below are the sort order that I've assigned. The group numbers are separate from the photo numbers provided by the photographer. We're all trying to determine whether these images depict living passenger pigeons, and so all photos may have some value. That's why I won't withhold any of the enlargements from readers. What one person doesn't see in a photo may be apparent to someone else. However, some images do seem to be clearer and more interesting than others, and so I'll start with those.
Group 1, picture number 1:
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Passenger pigeon picture #1 by Joe G., enlarged without enhancements. This picture isn't very clear, but I think a smaller bird's outline is in front of a larger bird, and maybe another bird behind them. Perhaps the appearance of a bird who had recently fledged (mentioned in the sighting) was because this is a parent with chick. Readers are welcome to write in with what they see.
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Passenger pigeon picture #1 by Joe G., with auto-enhancements applied.
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Passenger pigeon picture #1 by Joe G., with high saturation (about 50% more) to boost colors.
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Passenger pigeon picture #1 by Joe G., with saturation boosted to highest levels to investigate colors found. I'll be boosting saturation to 100% for only a few photos where I think the picture is clear enough for the extra processing to be of interest to readers.
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Group 2, picture number 4:
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Passenger pigeon picture #4 by Joe G., enlarged without enhancements.
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Passenger pigeon picture #4 by Joe G., with auto-enhancements applied.
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Passenger pigeon picture #4 by Joe G., with high saturation to boost colors.
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Passenger pigeon picture #4 by Joe G., with maximum saturation to boost colors.
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Group 3, picture number 2:
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Passenger pigeon picture #2 by Joe G., enlarged without enhancements.
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Passenger pigeon picture #2 by Joe G., with auto-enhancements applied.
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Passenger pigeon picture #2 by Joe G., with high saturation to boost colors.
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Passenger pigeon picture #2 by Joe G., with 100% saturation to investigate color pixels found.
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Group 4, picture number 8:
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Passenger pigeon picture #8 by Joe G., enlarged without enhancements.
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Passenger pigeon picture #8 by Joe G., with auto-enhancements applied
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Passenger pigeon picture #8 by Joe G., with high saturation to boost colors..
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Passenger pigeon picture #8 by Joe G., with saturation boosted to highest levels to investigate colors found..
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Group 5, picture number 5:
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Passenger pigeon picture #5 by Joe G., enlarged without enhancements.
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Passenger pigeon picture #5 by Joe G., with auto-enhancements applied.
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Passenger pigeon picture #5 by Joe G., with high saturation to boost colors.
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Passenger pigeon picture #5 by Joe G., with 100% increase in saturation to investigate colors.
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Group 6, picture number 7:
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Passenger pigeon picture #7 by Joe G., enlarged without enhancements.
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Passenger pigeon picture #7 by Joe G., with auto-enhancements applied.
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Passenger pigeon picture #7 by Joe G., with high saturation to boost colors.
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Group 7, picture number 3:
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Passenger pigeon picture #3 by Joe G., enlarged without enhancements.
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Passenger pigeon picture #3 by Joe G., with auto-enhancements applied.
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Passenger pigeon picture #3 by Joe G., with high saturation to boost colors.
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Passenger pigeon picture #3 by Joe G., with maximum saturation to investigate color pixels.
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Group 8, picture number 6:
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Passenger pigeon picture #6 by Joe G., enlarged without enhancements.
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Passenger pigeon picture #6 by Joe G., with auto-enhancements applied.
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Passenger pigeon picture #6 by Joe G., with high saturation to boost colors.
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[This article is in progress and will be updated later. - PR]
Photographs © by Joe G. 2016, other original content © by Pam Rotella.
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