Purple By Name

Quite what purple by nature might mean I'm not sure. The purple martins took off in a cacophony of excited chatter as I approached the colony. They circled high overhead, some disappearing down the length of the lake, only to return a short while later and go round again.

The only chance of a shot is against a clear sky. Unfortunately there are many trees and the colony itself sticking up into the sky, to disrupt focusing. I've tried many times to capture one in flight, but they are too fast.

This was my best effort. A stop under exposed so very noisy. I tried Topaz sharpen, but the result was a little plastic looking. I decided to blend that with the Lightroom version to get this image. Not too bad.