03 Jul 13. The 15th century's attributes for the ideal surgeon went something like "The eyes of an eagle, the heart of a lion, and the hands of a woman." The T.V. drama, Dr. Kildare, that ran from 1961 - 66, began each episode with something similar, but somehow I think that they had four attributes as a logo displayed in a 2x2 matrix. The eye of an eagle part always intrigued me, and has to this day from the perspective of how a bird flying a few hundred to a thousand feet or more in the air can spot some small prey moving across the ground. In the last couple of years, playing around with digital software as I have, I've come to the conclusion that one way the birds could do it is by having the ability to see things with increased micro contrast. To make this concept a bit more obvious, think about the images I've been sharing with you in which I've stated that I've enhanced the micro contrast (detail) somewhat. In particular, consider the cloud images. Whenever I adjust the micro contrast even a small bit, you can see far greater detail in the subject. Being able to do this real time with the eye/brain combo would allow for far better identification of what was being observed. Any of you having a background in ophthalmology feel welcome to comment. Having messed up and missed sharing a B&W image for Tue, I'm going with one for today, albeit a day late. Lacking the distraction of color, you are forced to look at variations in contrast only - in this case the different hues of gray from black to white - to make out the detail in the subject. As such, I'm wagering you will see far more detail in this chunk of petrified ginko than you would had I presented it to you in full color. Further, since I've tweaked the detail some, you can see far more structure than you would had I left it as shot. With that in mind, I think you may perhaps find some credence in the idea of contrast enhancement as an aid to improved vision. This image was created by first cropping to remove unnecessary elements, then given some contrast enhancement, next converted to B&W, and finally had some selective noise reduction applied to control the enhancement. Four layers total; each rather easy to do. Nikon D300s; 18 - 200; Aperture priority; ISO 200; 1/250 sec @ f /11.