Denoising with DxO PureRaw4

The kind folks at DxO let me have a copy of the latest version of PureRaw ahead of launch last month and so I’ve been using that to process my RAW photos from my camera for a few weeks now. It does an excellent job of basically knocking out noise to the equivalent of about 3 stops of ISO.

So, if I were shooting birds in flight at dusk and the camera needed an ISO of 6400 to compensate for a short shutter speed, then PureRaw4 is giving me the photo as if I’d shot at ISO 800, which is a lot less noise than one gets at ISO 6400 on a 2/3 frame camera like the Canon R7, especially with my big Sigma lens zoomed in to 600mm across the fens. PureRaw adds a new level of sophistication in terms of the algorithm it uses to denoise your photos when compared to the previous version.

PureRaw4 also adds a nice, but subtle sharpening process to the denoising that does not destroy details nor add artefacts of the kind you often get with the more basic tools in photo editing packages. There are sliders for controlling the denoising process based on luminance or “forced details”, so while it can be an autonomous process you do have some control over how the output is generated.

There are lots of enhancements to the workflow for the software that simplify processing for photographers who have a stack of RAW files to process in a given session. Personally, I usually work with just a single photo at a time, but I can see that if I were running a big photo session that the new workflow would make for a much slicker job.

When you first load a photo into PureRaw4, it identifies the camera and lens combination you used and downloads a package that allows the software to improve lens softness, reduce vignetting and fix other aberrations known for that combination. It saves the information for the next photo, but when you load another photo where you swapped out the lens or used a different camera it will download that appropriate file to fine-tune the output.

Anyway, I’ve been testing this new version of PureRaw for about a month now and all my photographic output in that time including pictures of stork, starling murmurations and those photos of moths that were not focus-stacked, have all benefited considerably from its denoising. Check out shots on the Sciencebase blog as well as my social media.

 

 

PickBait

So much of what shows up on social media, Threads in particular, it seems, is what might be referred to as “engagement bait”. It’s often inane or perhaps an inflammatory comment, it could be a boring or open-ended question, a reboots of stuff from other places that might be years old, some cliched statement with no qualification, for instance. It all seems like a rather pathetic and lame attempt to boost one’s reach and gain attention, to get interactions for the sake of interaction. I won’t embarass anyone by sharing examples, they’re endless anyway and it would take weeks.

The phrase “engagement bait” is itself a bit lame though. There must be a better phrase. “Interaction bait” is one alternative, but just as inept. We need something closerto “clickbait”. Perhaps “likeBait” or thinking of Donkey in Shrek, “PickMeBait”…or to abbreviat that “PickBait”. That’s it, PickBait!

Pah! Are we there yet?

What a beauty! An Oak Beauty

First Oak Beauty of the year seen in the garden last night (6th March 2024). It’s a quite stunning creature, isn’t it? Sharp-eyed readers will note this is a geometer moth. So-called because their larvae (caterpillars), known as inchworms in the US, move in such a way as to give the appearance that they are measuring the earth, geo-meter, inch by inch.

This is a male Oak Beauty, you can tell from its enormous feathery antennae, which it often folds underneath its body to protect them.
This is a male Oak Beauty, you can tell from its enormous feathery antennae, which it often folds underneath its body to protect them.

You might also be thinking it looks like a Peppered Moth but with more colourful and more pronounced markings. Well, the Peppered Moth is a kissing cousin of this species, seen a little later in the year than peri-spring. The Oak Beauty is Biston strataria, the Peppered Moth is in the same genus, and is B. betularia. While the shape of the moth is very like the Peppered, the markings resemble those of some of the so-called carpet moths. By the way, they don’t eat carpets, but look decorative, like the luxury item that was a carpet back when the early lepidopterists were giving all these species their names.

What did you do during the Facebook downtime, Daddy?

In a recent incident that caught the attention of billions of users, a major social media platform (Facebook) experienced a widespread outage, leaving users unable to access their accounts for several hours. Many of them quickly migrated to their other social media accounts to gripe. Of course, as such disruption unfolds, initially users will perceive it as an individual issue, a problem with their phone or PC. We all occasionally get “session expired” notifications but are able to log back in to our apps, many people faced with this tried and were then told their password was incorrect and 2FA systems failed. It soon became apparent that this was a system-wide problem affecting all Facebook users.

The incident highlights an important lesson in recognizing systemic failures. Often, when faced with technical difficulties, individuals may assume that the issue lies with their own devices or accounts. However, as demonstrated in this case, persistent problems affecting numerous users indicate a broader issue with the platform itself.

The implications of such a widespread outage extend beyond inconvenience for users. First off, imagine not being able to use your social media and having to interact with the real world, chatting face-to-face with other humans, listening to bird song, smelling the roses, going for a walk in the fresh air!?!?!?! Whatever next?

Social media platforms do play a significant role in our lives and in modern communication, commerce, and information dissemination in general. When these platforms experience downtime on such a large scale, it disrupts not only individual users but also businesses, organizations, and even governments that rely on them for all kinds of activities including meeting social and healthcare needs in many instances.

Such incidents underscore the importance of strong infrastructure and contingency planning for technology companies. In an increasingly digital world, ensuring the reliability and resilience of their online services is important. Companies must invest in putting backup measures in place, in proactive monitoring systems, and rapid response protocols to minimize the impact of potential outages and so be in a position to resume normal service quickly. I mean, imagine having to spend more than an hour talking to other people face-to-face or taking a long walk, like maybe a mile or more!

This is Planet Earith – Starling murmurations

UPDATE: I mentioned the murmurations to a choir friend, Sara, and bumped into her and her husband on the Fen. I warned them that, because it was very windy, we might not get such good murmurations as I’d mentioned before. But amazingly, as dusk rolled on, even though it wasn’t a bright sunset, we got some wonderful activity from approximately two-hundred thousand Starlings.

The main activity was very much over the reedbeds among which we stood rather than being half a mile away as occurred on my previous two visits.  This made it hard to get the full murmuration in the camera frame at the level of zoom I had with me. So, the above video was done on my phone as a record.

The birds would whoosh over out heads at about 50 metres altitude. I warned the people around me not to look up with their mouths open and within a few minutes, my choir friend had undergone a full birding initiation with three deposits from above in quick succession. Amazing that I didn’t get splashed as I was standing only a metre or two away from her.

Anyway, the birds gathered in a very dense flock at about 17h50 and bedded down into the vast reedbed in front of the entrance to the reserve. There were undulations for a good ten minutes as it got darker and darker. At one point, a Merlin was reported to have caught one Starling on the wing. The other 199,999 were fine and had roosted down among the reeds by the time we departed.


At the end of February, I got wind of there being very large numbers of Common Starling murmurating at a local nature reserve – RSPB Ouse Fen (Earith). I got a few photos on an evening visit. There were probably half a million birds, it was quite astonishing. I based my estimate on counts I’ve done of photographs of smaller flocks and extrapolating to the huge patches of sky that were covered with birds on the evening.

I got some nice photos at sunset but my phone video was very smeary and low-res. So, a second visit was essential. Unfortunately, rumour had it that the numbers the next night were smaller, that some of the birds had moved to roosting over the Over side of RSPB Ouse Fen…nevertheless, Mrs Sciencebase and myself headed over to Earith on 3rd March.

Short-eared Owl "chasing" a Chinese Water Deer
Short-eared Owl “chasing” a Chinese Water Deer

It was a much better evening and definitey fewer Starlings, but still many tens of thousands. This time I got some decent video footage of the murmurations.

A pair of Cranes coming in to roost
A pair of Cranes coming in to roost

We also ticked three Short-eared Owls, half a dozen Chinese Water Deer, heard numerous Cetti’s Warbler and saw just one, saw Great White Egret and Grey Heron, heard a couple of Bearded Reedling, and heard one or two booming Bitterns, lots of Geese, Cormorants, Reed Bunting, Widgeon calling, Little Grebe, Water Rail etc. The Cranes that had been displaying south of the car park on the gravel works land flew in to roost about a quarter of a mile in front of us as we watched the starling murmurations. It was a wonderful evening of nature watching.

Sunset over the Fen
Sunset over the Fen

I played my video to the Merlin app, although we all knew what birds we could hear, but it came back with Coot, Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Cetti’s Warbler, Ring-necked Pheasant. It didn’t pick up Wigeon, Little Grebe, Reed Bunting, Bearded Reedling, which we had heard.

RSPB Ouse Fen (Earith)
Sunset over RSPB Ouse Fen (Earith)

I opened up one of my stills with a huge flock across it and enlarged it on my laptop screen. I drew a square around a patch that I estimated had 100 birds in it. Double-checked and adjusted the size of the square to make sure it was very close to 100. I measured the square in pixels and then worked out how many such squares would fill the area of the photo filled with birds. It came to about 75000 birds. This assumes average density across the photo. There were probably areas outside the area of the photo that would be around 25000 birds. So, the biggest flock would be around 100000, there were probably about half the same number of birds in the air elsewhere. The previous evening of murmurations I’d have said there were 5-6 such flocks, so guesstimating at least half a million birds going to roost on this patch of the reserve.

Estimate - 75000 Starlings
Estimate – 75000 Starlings

What’s a skeuomorph, anyway?

A skeuomorph, derived from the Greek skeuos, meaning container or tool, and morphe, meaning shape, refers to a design element retaining attributes of older structures that are redundant in the current form. These elements serve to imbue novelty with familiarity, aiding users in understanding new devices or systems.

They’re not solely functional; aesthetic considerations often prompt their use. There are lots of examples: pottery adorned with imitation rivets reminiscent of metal pots, lightbulbs mimicking candle flames complete with a flickering effect, and software calendars and address books resembling their paper counterpartsplanners.

There are also auditory skeuomorphs, such as clicking sounds when you tap a “button” on a touchscreen. Indeed, the notion of buttons on a touchscreen is also an example of a skeuomorph. Another familiar auditory skeuomorph is the faked sound of a camera shutter moving in a device, such as a phone or digital camera, both of which lack a conventional, physical shutter.

Skeuomorph design cues have a practical and aesthetic component often helping to bridge the gap between an old familiar device and the present system with the aim of improving the user experience.

There are countless other examples of skeuomorphs:

The tiny, non-functional handle on a glass maple syrup bottle.

Embellishments on stone buildings reminiscent of construction features on wooden buildings

The graphical user interface of modern computing, which commonly emulates switches, toggles, dials, and buttons of conventional electrical and electronic devices. The file and folder symbols resembling pieces of paper and filing cabinets. Even the floppy disk icon that is used to represent the Save function. Screen-based typewriter keys that also click like a typewriter when tapped. An envelope symbol to represent email

Vinyl and other plastics patterned to resemble their earlier wooden counterparts in various areas, vehicle trim, flooring, furniture, wall coverings

Pushbutton telephones designed with a fake dial to resemble an earlier type of telephone. Dialtone sounds on digital phones that no longer require a dialtone for technological reasons

Electric kettles with the design of stove-top kettles

Velcro fastenings with a fake buckle overlay

Mock Tudor architecture

Faux leather

Distressed furniture

Fake stone facades and brick veneers

Artificial flowers and fake plastic trees

Animal print fabrics

Artificial turf

Leatherette

Scented fabric softeners, scented candles, air fresheners, perfumes, scents, eau de cologne

 

 

Rinse your recycling

Rinsing food packaging before putting in your recycling bin is critical to making the process as efficient and as effective as possible. Efficient recycling processes can significantly reduce the environmental impact compared to producing new materials from virgin resources.

Rinsing packaging helps reduce contamination in the recycling stream. Contaminated materials can lead to lower-quality recyclables, which may be rejected or require additional processing, thereby increasing costs and energy consumption. Higher-quality recycled materials fetch better prices in the market and have broader applications, contributing to a more sustainable recycling industry.

Rinsing packaging does require additional water usage. However, the amount of water needed for rinsing is generally minimal compared to other household activities. If you can use grey water, or even collected rainwater, for rinsing all the better. The simplest approach is just to add the dirty packaging to the end of your normal washing up. There is no need to put tins, cans, or plastic pots in the dishwasher, of course.

Rinsing also avoids residues that can affect the maintenance requirements and lifespan of recycling equipment. Residue buildup can lead to equipment corrosion, increased wear and tear, and the need for more frequent cleaning and maintenance cycles, all of which contribute to higher operational costs and resource usage.

Encouraging rinsing as a standard practice can also have broader effects on environmental awareness and behaviour. It reinforces the importance of proper waste management and encourages individuals to consider the environmental consequences of their actions.

When it comes to Lepidoptera, plus ça change

An analysis of the genomes of more than 200 butterfly and moth, Lepidoptera, species reveals that genetic framework of what is ostensibly a very diverse group of insects, has remained remarkably stable since they diverged from their last common ancestor over 250 million years ago.

In a study published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution, shed new light on the evolutionary history and genetic structure of the Lepidoptera, which could help in conservation efforts for what is an incredibly important group of pollinators, food source for birds, bats, and other creatures, and a vital part of a healthy ecosystem and environment. I’ve discussed the importance of moths and mothing on Sciencebase before.

Despite the wide range of physical appearance and behaviour of the Lepidoptera, of which there are some 160000 extant species around the world, the team has demonstrated that 32 ancient chromosome building blocks, termed “Merian elements,” have changed little in 250 million years and remain consistent across most species. Even the arrangement of genes within these chromosomes has shown consistency over time.

However, some species, notably the Blue butterflies (Lysandra) and the White butterflies (Pieris), exhibited significant chromosome rearrangements, deviating from the typical genome structure. These exceptions offer insights into the mechanisms driving genetic diversity within Lepidoptera.

The study’s implications extend beyond entomology. By understanding the genetic foundations of butterflies and moths, researchers can inform conservation strategies. This knowledge could assist targeted conservation efforts, ecosystem health monitoring, and adaptation to environmental changes, particularly those related to climate change.

Additionally, this research aligns with broader initiatives such as the Darwin Tree of Life Project and the Earth BioGenome Project, aiming to sequence and understand the genetic makeup of all life on Earth. By unravelling the mysteries of Lepidoptera genetics, scientists contribute to a deeper understanding of biodiversity and evolutionary processes.

Understanding butterfly and moth genetics not only provides insights into their past but also lays the groundwork for more effective conservation strategies to protect these important pollinators and herbivores in our ecosystems.

Wright et al. (2024) Nature Ecol EvolComparative genomics reveals the dynamics of chromosome evolution in Lepidoptera

Beware the March dagger

In the world of entomology, the naming conventions of moth species often reflect a fascinating interplay between scientific and vernacular language. While some moth species boast evocative common names like Angle Shades or Setaceous Hebrew Character, others, particularly those belonging to the category of micro moths, are identified solely by their scientific nomenclature, lacking universally recognized common names. This situation draws a curious parallel to the realm of dinosaurs, where species like Tyrannosaurus rex are known exclusively by their scientific designations.

Diurnea fagella moth
Diurnea fagella moth

However, amidst this taxonomy, there exists a notable exception: Diurnea fagella, a moth species that straddles both worlds of nomenclature. Officially classified by its scientific name, Diurnea fagella, this moth also bears vernacular names, albeit inconsistently. It is sometimes referred to as the March Dagger moth or the March Tubic, though within international and Lepidoptera communities, it is unequivocally recognized as Diurnea fagella.

This dual nomenclatural identity of D. fagella underscores the nuanced complexities of species classification and naming conventions within the field of entomology. While some species remain firmly entrenched in scientific terminology, others manage to acquire colloquial names, reflecting perhaps their significance or visibility.

Beyond the realm of moth identification, this phenomenon prompts broader reflections on the relationship between scientific precision and common language. It highlights the ways in which organisms are categorized, named, and understood by both experts and the general public. Moreover, it invites contemplation on the cultural and linguistic dynamics that shape our interactions with the natural world, illuminating the intricate tapestry of human-animal relationships.

How many songs is too many songs?

As with guitars, you can never have too many songs, surely? My modern period of writing and recording began around April 2012, although I’d done a lot of noodling guitar instrumentals with beats and synths for many years before that going way back into my teens.

But, this modern period which started in my 40s when I co-established an Arts Night happening got me writing and recording on a more regular and frequent basis. Some of the early stuff is lost to my old SoundCloud page. That said, I could probably resurrect those files if there was a demand. There were also dozens of cover versions, some of which are still on my Youtube and Spotify etc.

Anyway, my recorded musical output, as opposed to the live stuff I do solo, with C5 the band, with bigMouth/TyrannoChorus choir, and in various collaborations with Barbara, Patrick, Liz, and several others is mainly found on my BandCamp pages.

Genre Fluid (2023) – 8 tracks – 32’28”
Lifelines (2022) – 8 tracks – 31’22”
After the Lockdown (2021) – 14 tracks – 63’36”
Lockdown (2020) – 14 tracks – 61’50”
Bridge of Sighs (2019) – 17 tracks – 71’36”
The Sea Refuses No River (2018) – 11 tracks – 44’36”
Who is Really Fooling Who? (2017) – 9 tracks – 33’55”
Detail is a Devil (2017) – 13 tracks – 53’53”
In Transition (2016) – 15 tracks – 64’03”
Push the Button (2015) – 15 tracks – 65’14”
If at first… (2014) – 25 tracks – 98’13”

Total 149 tracks, 11h30m

The chronology of these various collections may be slightly skewed in places, where I shuffled songs from one collection to another over the years. There was at one point an EP called Bait and Switch (2016) and another called Life, Love, Lonicera(2016). The songs from those were spread around the playlists from around that time to make the whole collection more balanced. “Push the Button”, “Wild Honeysuckle” and “Burning Out” ended up on the Push the Button album. “Escape to the Stars”, “The Silent Spring”, “Bait and Switch”, and “White Line Warrior” ended up on the Detail is a Devil album.

I should perhaps adjust the playlists to balance the album lengths properly but there are natural gaps between the songwriting periods of the last 12 years. Anyway, I am now awaiting a new playlist from Clive-upon-Sea who is working his way through all 150 songs, all eleven and a half hours of my music to pull together an Essential Dave Bradley collection.