BugGuide using new image compression?

Sorry, perhaps "terribly degraded" is a little hyperbolic, but I do think it's significant degradation.

I generally only submit jpeg images. I've typically edited them using Picasa photo editor to do basic edits (i.e., crop, lighting adjustment, etc), however, I've recently been told that Picasa directly edits the jpeg, causing loss each save. That makes sense, so I'm now going to use Photoshop. I tried a couple in Photoshop, saving as jpeg in "maximum" and "progressive" with a scan of 3. That seemed to help (here's a recent example) - at least I didn't notice any degradation when uploaded to BugGuide on that one.

I'm still a little lost on why the jpegs edited in Picasa editor looked worse on BugGuide than on my PC (edit degradation aside), and only relatively recently at that. But regardless, I definitely think I need to use Photoshop from now on. I'm just not certain whether "high" or "maximum" is a better setting, and whether "progressive" is improving the image (seems to). I think once I tinker more with it, the problem will be resolved.

I appreciate the reply John. I'm not sure what it is then. I use the same post processing (crop, lighting, etc) that I've always used, so I don't know why I'm getting such degraded images now. I've heard before, that editing the photo in the jpeg format can cause unnecessary degradation, but I've never had a problem previously. The only real difference is that I upgraded my camera (which seems to produce better images) - perhaps it saves the raw data differently?

Anyway, since it's not a change with BugGuide, I'll see if I can track down where I'm losing quality as I handle my images that might not be evident until the ImageMagic gets hold of them.

Thanks again.

I'm not sure why it is. Maybe because my photos are now higher resolution than usual (shouldn't have an impact, though?).

This is quite clear on the small version shown on pages for all viewers. The full screen photo (as seen by myself and editors on clicking) is perfectly fine, though. And I know some compression is likely when reducing the size, but it seems greater than usual.

As a test, have you tried submitting your own compression at the maximum bugguide size and then put the higher-resolution image somewhere else?

I uploaded an old image just to see. The result is the same as it "used to be", meaning the compression has not changed. What seems to have changed is my perception of my photos. I still wonder how people manage to post such high quality photos though, without any apparent degradation.

Original photo on right, compressed bugguide image at left. The original photo has been resized to match the size of the bugguide display size.

https://i.imgur.com/2RjUVt1.jpg

Note obvious degradation present on left image, especially on the eyes. (if the above link takes you to a gallery, close it and try again--it should take you directly to the photo)

Photo uploaded at 1500x1258, displayed on bugguide at approximately 560x468.