Rose of Sharon CU of Single and Double Petal Cultivars

Rose of Sharon is in bloom in NC in June.  It can be a challenge to get
a good shot because the ants love to crawl in the center and between the petals.  The left image is a double petal variety that  was in my neighbor's yard.  I used Camera+ macro, HDR mode.  The backround contains blooms that have fallen on the ground.   I used PSE increased the highlights and midtones, cloned out some disfigured petals, and sharpened. This might be one to try on a black background with window lighting.  The image on the right is the single petal variety of which there are many cultivars.  This one I also used the macro mode & HDR. Post imaging I used a vignette to make the blossom stand out more.  

Crepe Myrtle Blossoms Macro - Stamens

 More crepe myrtle blossoms. Yesterday, I was trying for macro still life.  The owner gave me some blossoms and decided to use window lighting and try to get better view of the stamens.  At least I did not have sun shining on my LED screen,  the wind was not blowing and I could stabilize my shot with restingmy arm against a chair.  Cropped the left imaged for better composition, sharpened.  Right image I increased midtones, sharpened in PSE 11. Both images look more pink than purple/ I probably could have experimented more with WB. At least these images you can get a better view of the frilly petals and the left image almost looks like a painting related to shallow depth of field.  

Purple Crepe Myrtle with Fence and Close Up of Blossom Cluster

 

I saw this purple Crepe myrtle - Lagerstroemia indica in my neighbor's yard. I liked the backdrop with the fence.  I have always had trouble getting a good sharp detailed image even with a DSLR.  I liked the fence but need to experiment in Snapseed app with mask to paint upper right corner and the top of the fence post. Post imaging for both images I used PSE 11, increased highlights & midtones, sharpened.  

This shrub is a popular resting place for wrens and song birds. I captured that doll hanging from the branches last fall. This shrub is originally frrm Asia.  In the summer leaves are dark green but change to yellow, orange, red in the fall. Tree trunks are smooth.  Flowers come in different colors: white, pink, mauve,  purple or carmine with crimped petals in panicles up to 4 cm.  Can growm to height of 20 ft,  There seems to be an ongoing controversy about whether to prone on not.    

Dusty Miller Leaves Ethereal Look & Altered Art

 I was out late last evening and saw the shape of these prong shaped Dusty Miller (Senecio cineraria) leaves.  Normally these leaves have a soft almost suede-like texture. It was so late and did not change WB in Camera+ app...so, it had a blue cast, and probably a lot of digital noise which cannot always be seen on the LED screen.  It looks like something ethereal.  I did not do much editing in PSE 11 other than increasing midtones, contrast, & a little sharpening.  The image on the right I decided to go for a more altered art or background look.  I choose saturated film filter maybe 4 times, then the posterize filter.

Yucca - Close Up of Petal and Late Afternoon Blossoms

Yucca is a plant you will find in hot and dry areas of North America. It is a genus of perennial shrubs and trees in the family Asparagaceae, subfamily Agavoideae. Its 40-50 species are notable for their rosettes of evergreen, tough, sword-shaped leaves and large terminal panicles of white or whitish flowers. My neighbors do have some blooming in June, but they are starting to wain. The right image was taken in late evening and has the golden glow.  Normally the flowers are hanging down. In the image on the left. I tried to open up the one blossom to get a close up view -Camera+ macro. Post editing was done in PSE 11. I sharpened the left one more than usual. I had posted an image earlier of one with varigated leaves looking down the center - no stalks then. Be careful not to get too close to the foliage as the leaves are very sharp and "ouchy".

Blue Sky with Clouds - HDR

It is fun to watch the cloud formations in the sky.  Sometimes you can not stop along the highway to capture the clouds as no safe place to pull over. I have sometimes used parking lots at sunset because my house location has too many trees.  I was on my way home mid day and happened to be able to drive by an open field.  There is no lovely lake or a majestic scenic view like a National Park.  Sometimes I just capture the image in case I need to put some clouds in a picture that has a completely blah sky. The wonders of Photoshop.  LOL   This was taken with the iPhone 6 HDR mode so sky more blue like a polarizing filter on a DSL-R.  No post editing this time.  

Burgandy Dayliily Close Up & Mega Photo App - FG

Daylilies are blooming in NC.  My neighbor has several varieties.  I liked the burgandy color.  Shot the image on the Right with Camera+ and edited in PSE 11: increased shadows and midtones, cropped, applied vignette. The image on the left was taken into Mega Photo app to give a painterly appearance. In PSE used eye dropper and paintbucket to change a little of the lighting and applied vingette.  I could probably use this for a greeting note card.  

Miniature Garden Scene - High Point Museum

A couple weeks ago I went to see some miniatrue room dsplays at the High Point Museum.  It was amazing the detail these miniatures had and can not be really seen that well in this small file.  However, it was a difficult situation to try to take images hand held. There were issues with glass reflection and lighting within the rooms that had furniture.  This was an outdoor scene of a garden. I am sure a macro lens on a DSLR would have given better detail and I could have shot in RAW to correct the color cast post processing.  Not sure if I used Camera+ app to capture the images but lightened the shadows, increased midtones, sharpened                                                           and used healing brush to improve sky in the upper corners.  

Mosaic Street Paint Design - Texture & Altered Art opportunities.

 Another texture find.  This time I found a crosswalk that the white paint had cracked. I took it close up but do not remember if I used macro setting.   The image on the left is the original with some increase in shadow & midtones plus sharpening.  The image on the right I chose the sketch filter in PSE 11 and selected "stamp" which inverted the colors.  If I had selected another color in the color palatte it would have selected that for the white in the default. Orange gave me ideas for halloween background.  I also played around with the paint bucket trying to fill in various colors.  So many opportunities to use this in digital art images abound. .  

Happy Father's Day Card

Today is Father's Day.  This a photo of a card we made at a Stampin Up class.  I did put brown cardstock underneath the base card just to have a better background. The image was taken in the shade on my back deck.  However, because of the small sensor in the iPhone when  you try to get too close and avoid pixelation, you get distortion. I only increased highlights so colors were better and added "Special Wishes" text in PSE 11.  I will . probably send an e-card to Jack, my brothers and Son-in-laws. Plan to make some lemon bars for dessert. We celebrated by eating at a German Restaurant on Thursday night - plan to avoid big crowds on the actual day.  The red cabbage that was an image yesteday going to be on the menu as a side dish.

Purple Cabbage Head and Smaller Section - Macro

Decided to take some images of a red cabbage for textrure.I used outdoor lighting.  The turquoise background was a piece of 12" x 12" cardstock.   The one on the right is the head sliced vertically.  The image on the left is a section using macro mode in Camera+ app.  Both images I used lighten and darken sliders, and slight sharpening in PSE 11.   If you use filters can create different textures, tints, or colors for a more altered art appearance.  Now the cabbage going to be used to make German cooked red cabbage with some apples and craisins.  Yum!

Dark Burgandy Hollyhock Blossom and Top Buds Closeup - TN

The right image is a double petaled dark burgandy Hollyhock which my neighbor planted from seed.  Hope to catch more blooms in the future.   Taken with iPhone 6  HDR mode, Camera+ app.  No post editing.
The left image is the top of the same plant but the top buds.  Used macro mode in Camera Plus which gave a lot of texture.  I did some minor post processing in Photoshop Express App.

Blue Hydrangea Close Up

I was walking in the neighborhood and captured an image of this blue hydrangea.  The blossom heads have a tendencey to be close together and I only wanted a close up of one bloom.  Therefore, I have a narrow margin. I think I shot with square mode in Camera+.  Post editing done in PSE 11.  I cropped, increased shadows, used healing brush to get rid of some stray blossoms around the edge, and  lastly I applied a mild vignette.  I also cloned some artifacts out of the leaves. So far I have not found an in camera app that I like for post editing in iPhone camera. The Snapseed update has more functions, but I have not found a  program that will do cloning.  Need to experiment with Touch Retouch app as it is more like the healing brush.

Bee Balm - Raspberry Wine Cultivar in bloom (Nannette's Garden)

My bee balm is blooming.  This is not the red Monarda didyma which was herb of the year in 1996. This is a cultivar, "Raspberry Wine".  One view is from the side of the bloom which bees, butterflies and hummingbirds like.  The other view is looking down from the porch to see the tops of the buds and blooms.  The one on the right was in bright sun.  The one on the left in shade about 7 PM EDST. Taken with Camera+ app but images have not been edited. One on left macro setting.- could have allowed more space at the top but difficult to read LED screen in bright sun light and am still learning iPhone6.  This is a periennal plant. It grrows about 4 1/2  feet tall. and adds a lot of color to your garden.  

Mimosa Close up

It is June and the mimosa shrubs are in bloom. It is considered an invasive plant.  I did not take the image this year, but took last year with my iPhone 5s.  It was late evening which is why you see more blue tones in the foliage.  This plant is difficult to find all blooms optimal in one area. This image reminds me of a firecracker and is one of my favorite photos.
It was taken at the Greensboro Arboretum and when I went back this summer I was unable to find the shrub.  Other shrubs blooming just have not been as "photogenic".   I know I cropped and added saturation to make the pink stand out.  When I submitted for a critique for my online iPhonology course, I was told I needed more margin but I have a feeling there were other blooms too close I did not want in the image.  

Wire Wrapped Gem Display - Gem & Rock Festival GSO, NC 6/13/2015

At the Gem and Rock show on Sat.  There was one vendor who was demonstrating how to free form wrap stones to use as jewelry pendants.  Some had findings of silver plate but others had various colors of wire and different guages with a loop for the cord or chain.. The one with black wire was actually around petrified wood.  He gets the wire locally from craft stores but said Fire Mountain (online) was the best bargain for the bezels, jewelry findings, etc.  The vendor lives in Burlington, NC, and when my daughter comes we may try to see his shop.  He did not have any slabs of gems or rock for sale. He and his wife had recently been to AZ collecting rocks and gems.

Pyrophyllite Close Up - Facet Rosette Patterns

Yesterday I went to a rock and gem show at Greensboro Day School.  I was looking for some rock or gem slabs for my oldest daughter, Cinda, who lives in MI.  She has begun to do some jewelry with various stones and made me a few necklaces. I used this opportunity to take some photos that I could post on the blog.  Some of the vendors had rocks or gems that were for display onlyl.  This stone is a stone called Pyrophyllite. One vendor said that her source was from a friend in Randolph County. On the left, I took a close up of the design.  It was not something I wanted to buy so I did the best I could with the lighting situation.  I used native camrea app on iPhone 6.  The image on the R is to show the bigger stone which does not have has much detail of the texture.  Post processing I used  midtones, lightness & darkness sliders and sharpend to give the rosettes more texture. The left images was sharpened a lot - thus the color variation. You see that the facets of this stone not all in the same plane so the top area not as distinct.  The right image is actually the same rock but in bright sun and the color more like it looked to the eye.

Wikipedia:  Pyrophyllite occurs in phyllite and schistose rocks, often associated with kyanite, of which it is an alteration product. It also occurs as hydrothermal deposits. Typical associated minerals include: kyanite, andalusite, topaz, mica and quartz.

Green Flower Ecchinacea - Trish

This is an ecchinacea that was in my neighbor's yard.  She told me what she what cultivar she thought it was but did not write it down. A lot of the plants she chooses to grow have medicinal properties.  You can see the sepals are not as rounded as the regular ecchinacea (cone flower purpura).  Would have been nice if a bee or butterfly would have been looking for nectar but you have to capture the :"moment in time" as is..  This image is without any post processing. I have upgraded to iPhone 6  but not sure which iPhone-- sometimes I borrow Jack's 5 C.  This could be considered a monochrome image with the green flower and then green foliage.  The background of the wood chips is blurred with shallow depth of field. My Echinaccea purpura will be blooming soon.

Graduation Card - Impression Obsession Die (for 5/31/2015 posting)

I see I missed a post for May 3lst.  I was making graduation cards for relatives and took a picture of one I made that the school colors were yellow and blue. I used Snap Seed app to crop and rotate using the iPhone instead of PSE 11.  I need to practice more with doing this type of editing,  Snap Seed just updated and it has some neat new features..  I used overhead lighting over my kitchen table.  There is a little shadow from me trying to take the image in the right lower corner.  The cut outs are Impression Obsession dies.  Because of the small sensor in the iPhone,there can be distortion when taking images that have lines like this card or if you are trying to take pictures of buildings. This can be a reference
for future cards.  I may post on Pinterest...or "senior moments". LOL

Tiger Lilies - Photoshop Express App

Having computer issues and unable to edit images in PSE11 on my computer. Used Photoshop Express app which means I cannot clone and do more precise post editing of images.  There were some tiger lilies at edge of parking lot at St. Francis Episcopal Church, GSO, NC.  I tried taking one with many lilies and another close up of the stamens.  It was about 9:30 a.m. and they were in a shaded area. So, the one on the right has more blue tint in it since I did not adjust the WB when I took the image.   The one on the left has vibrant filter attached and if I left it normal, colors would have looked like the CU.   PSE 11 definitely gives you more adjustments with lightness, darkness, mid-tones and can change color variation.  

On Saturday, June 13th I had the opportunity to find some tiger lilies in bloom at mid day and so took an image of a single bloom which shows more like what the orange color of the tiger lily would be. I only sharpened.  Yeah! today my PSE 11 program is working.

Street Lamps on Bridge over RR Tracks at Dusk

Late this evening I went looking for some mimosa shrubs but could not find any nice specimens.top photograph. Too many were past their prime or too far up to try to photograph close up with the iPhone.  I saw these lamps on briidge which was recently redone over the railroad tracks.  However getting the angle I wanted did not happen.  The side walk is next to the street and I could not really lie down on the side walk as I was by myself.  It would have been nice if the lights were turned on by the city while there was still ambient sky ligjht. I liked the angle rather than a straight verticle.  I used sliders for light and dark.  Because of the low lighting I did try to use denoise filter in PSE 11 as my last step.  

Blacksmith Door with Hinge and Lock -HP Museum

 This is the door to the blacksmith cabin at the HP Museum that I posted a few days ago.   I tried to make the lock centered because I was aiming for symmetry with the diagonal lines.The left image is in color and I did increase the shadows and mid-tones, sharpend in PSE 11.Then, for the right image I changed to "old fashioned" look by choosing tone and hue to give a sepia old wood look.  

NC Museum of Art, Raleigh, NC - Marble Statues of Agnostino Cornachinni

 When my sister was visiting last week we went to the NC Museum of Art in Raleigh, NC.   You can take photos for your own use in the regular collections.  These two marble angle sculptures were in the Italian section   They were carved by Agnostino Cornachinni between 1730-1735. The one of the left:  AngelHolding the Veil of Veronica.  The one on the right: Angel with the Instruments of Passion.  Light was overhead in the museum so there are shadows. .  Taken with iPhone 6 HDR, no flash, native camera app.  Post editing with PSE 11, cropping, straighting, & sharpening slightly..

Borage Buds and Blossoms - June 2015

On June 2nd I posted an image of some Borage buds and surrounding leaves.  The borage is now blooming. It was better lighting then late evening when I took the other image.  So there are 3 images. Another of the buds before bloom. One of a single borage blossom,  and one of  a cluster of several blossoms with a little foliage.  Used Camera+ to capture the images.
For the single borage blossom, I used the macro slider.   This blossom difficult to phtograph.  Any breeze aan blur the photos.  You can see in the upper right photo that these blossoms also droop. This was in my neighbor's yard and she was talking to me.  Post processing done in PSE 11: Slight cropping, light and dark adjusted with sliders as well as
mid-tones, minimal sharpening.  Applied vignette, but tried to make it very subtle.  My neighbor gave me some seeds to plant.  I think this is great detail of the plant with my iPhone 6 hand held.

Log Cabin End of Log.Support - High Point Museum, NC (B &W, Sepia).

When I was at the Highpoint Museum I was looking for texture of the wood
used to make the log cabins.  I forget when this cabin was built.  The image was originally taken in color, but decided to use some filters. I edited  lightness/darkness sliders and sharpened in PSE 11 using  Old Fashion Photo  B& W Urban filter which was more the color I saw since wood had weathered, but I wanted to try another filter to make a sepia tone.  For the imageon the left I also rotated 270 degrees to right to get horizontal image. I pushed the sharpness to the max which I thought defined the lines better.

From Rob Depaolo, (an iPhone Editing Academy Webinar) I learned yesterday (6/6/2015) there are specific apps for the iPhone that you can shot in B & W and see what the image looks like instead of converting from color.   However, the downside is the photo can never be color unless you alter artistically. Three to try: Provoke, Lenke, Hueless and maybe Hipstamatic which I think was offering an infrared filter pak, Oggle which has lots of variations of grains.

Blacksmith Cabin with Herb Garden - High Point Museum

When my sister was here we went to the High Point Museum.  In all the years I have lived in the Triad, have never gone there. During the week they did not have docents in costume like they do on the weekends.
My main reason for going was to see the miniature small scale furniture displays. That is not the best venue for taking pictures with an iPhone. You really need a monopod.  There are several log cabins outside.  It was overcast.  This is the blacksmith structure.  I did take a picture of the end of one of the logs but will post separately.  It has texture and I converted to B&W. HDR Camera+. Minimal editing with PSE 11.

Margie in Floral Impatients Frame @ Cameron Village, Raleigh, NC

On Tuesday my sister and I went to Raleigh for the day.
We stopped at Cameron Village Shopping Center near NC State. We purchased some spices at Penzey's and ate lunch at Noodles Restaurant..  We saw this structure with impatiens around it.but center section open. I tried to capture Margie's picture like in a picture frame. However, there were cars in the parking lot behind her ...don't think Touch Retouch would work to remove them. It was overcast day-- sky was pale.  Camera + HDR.  Post Processing with PSE 11: cropped, increased highlights and midtones, contrast.  
                                                      She may use as a new Profile picture on FB.  She took one of me too.

Nigella (Love in a MIsrt) - Legacy Garden, GSO, NC

Nigella (Love in a Mist) is a really nice flower that blooms about mid-May in NC.
As you can see from the image they come in different colors,  The left image has various colors of blue, white, & purple.  The right image shows a close up of the center with a pink color..You can see in lower left hand corner the outline of a seed pod which in itself is very interesting.  I have some drying.
Camera+ HDR.  Post processing PSE 11.

Gaillardia (Blanket Flower) - Gateway Gardens, Greensboro, NC

I was at Gateway Gardens, GSO, NC, last week and took some pictures of Gaillairdia.(Blanket Flower). This flower always makes me feel happy. It is a member of the sunflower family.  They can be most any shade of  yellow, orange, red, purplish, brown, white or bi-colored. It was bright sun and I did not notice my shadow was in the right lower corner.  Used Camera+ app to take the image.HDR mode.  Minor editing PSE 11.

Borage Buds Close Up - Max Contrast

       This plant is borage taken in my neighbor's garden..  I liked the pattern of the buds which was more close up than macro.  These buds will eventually turn into 5 petal purple flowers. The herb can be used in salads.  It was difficult to get the image the way I wanted.

       It was late evening and overcast.  There was little negative space since the whole image was same color of green. .  This was taken with my new iPhone 6 .HDR mode.   I cropped, increased the highlights, but then played with lightness and darkness sliders to try to get more definition of space. Decided to push for max contrast, then sharpened   Post editing iin PSE 11.

Nannette's Banshee Rose Close Up

This is a Banshee Rose blooming in my garden the first week of May.  
It is an old-fashioned rose. I obtained it from my good friend and fellow Herb Society of America member, Dorothy Bonitz. . She originally got her plant from a member of the Heartland PA Unit.  It only blooms once a year and is a climbing rose. When it first starts to bloom it has a more medium pink center, but within a day becomes pale pink.  Camera+ with HDR mode for capture. Cropped for better composition and slight increase in highlights and sharpening for editing with PSE 11.