I watched the revelation on TV a few weeks ago about the discovery by a conservator of a Kingfisher in Constable’s Millstream. I was lucky enough to have helped wrap this stretcher in protective blankets before it went off for forensic examination in 2013. Before it went I archived the image in the Wolsey Art Gallery in Christchurch Mansion.

I had to use the gallery lighting for the archiving process and at the time the curator and staff were having issues with the colour temperature and lux levels. I used the D3S to make my records with long time exposures whilst the gallery was closed.
With the discovery of the Kingfisher, a bird that fascinates me and has consumed many hours of my time over the years, I decided to try and find it in the dirty layers of the images I made.

Here are the two crops of where the Kingfisher is.

And this is the same area with the exposure adjusted. The bird can clearly be seen but obviously this was not obvious to the naked eye before cleaning took place.

I went in to the Mansion today to see this and the two Salisbury Cathedral paintings. Every Ipswich resident should visit this gallery to wonder at the legacy that the Borough Council manages and the loans that come in from other museums and galleries.