seconds before sunset!

[Tom Wilson]

I decided that I had reached the end of the photographic day and started into the house when this gorgeous male Red Bellied Woodpecker decided he wanted a last seed for the day. I had to open the door back up, get the camera off the pod, turn the camera back on, re-adjust the settings (film speed) and get this shot before spooking him off the feeder tray. A little grainy, but this shot I love...

[Steve Foss]

Doesn't look too grainy online, though I reckon it would in a print. Very fine light and composition in any case.

I've recently acquired a program call Noise Ninja that mounts as a Photoshop plug-in and does a phenomenal job removing digital noise and grain without compromising image sharpness.

I'd recommend it to anyone. There are versions for those weighed down with PCs as well as for those buoyed up by Macs. I do a lot of indoor and low-light outdoor sports shooting at ISO 1600, and after washing the images through the plug-in, they become mighty fine.