Buddha Fingers - Citron Fruit @ The Fresh Market

A few weesk ago I was at the Fresh Market and saw a fruit called Buddha Fingers. The image on the left.  I took a picture of them in the produce bin because of the shape of the projections of the fruit. The lighting was overhead and I assume incandescent which gave a more yellow orange color to the image. After I got home I "Googled" the name for more information and images.  I finally got back to the store yesterday and there was no fruit on display.  I talked with the produce person, who brought out some from storage and told me this was an ornamental fruit used as a room deodorizer.  You keep cutting off the fingers as the smell lessens.  These were not as pretty because the tips of the fingers were starting to turn brown but I still had in mind as part of the iPhone challenge taking a picture of this fruit.  The right image is taken with iPhone 6 using Instagram with a white sheet as a background.  In images I have seen of them on a stalk the fingers are hanging down or the fingers can have more space between them. I have read more on wikipedia and about 5 things you can do with this fruit. I have not done any experiments yet.  I think I will try some zest in my Lebkuchen recipe.  

Beetle Larva on Milkweed Pod - Cherry Lane Meadow

Found a milkweed pod with beetle larva present.  I really did not like looking at this cluster of insects but it was kind of cool to see them in orange and black. If you look closely one has a different design and may be an adult. Took image with the pod on the diagonal.  It almost looks like a halloween monster.  LOL   Camera+   Increased shadows, midtones, slight sharpening in PSE 11.  Wonder how this would look at the library show for TOPS images?

Virgina Creeper on Neighbor's Fence - Autumn

Image should have been posted on Thurs. November 5th, 2015. I saw this Virgina Creeper( Parthenocissus quinquefolia) vine on my neighbor's fence. Normally during the summer all the leaves are green but in the fall the leaves change color. Sometimes a more brilliant red than the ones I captured. This is one image after seeing on the computer, it makes me think I should have tried with a selfie stick so I could take a view from the top down.  Camera+.  Edited in PS11.  I did clone out some spots in the leaves.   For more information about this vine:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthenocissus_quinquefolia

Fallen Maple Leaves in My Neighbor's Yard 10-24-2015

Leaves are falling from the trees. Sometimes it is just nice to take a picture of the fallen leaves.  I was walking in my neighborhood.  This maple had yellow, orange and various shades of red leaves on the grass. I tried to find a patch that had the leaves mostly facing forward. The left images is without editing and had a blue tone because late afternoon in the shade.  So, I had to decrease that in PSE 11.  I also wanted to give the leaves of this image more "pizzaz" which would make them appear brighter and more satrated with post processing.

Fall Leaf Colors on an Unknown Shrub/Tree @Guilford Military Park

This post should have been for Fri., Oct. 23rd, 2015.   I stopped by Guilford Military Park on my way home from a meeting.  It was noon so harsh lighting was present.  I liked the colors of these leaves against the blue sky.  The left image is without any editing, but to show the colors like I thought I saw them I edited in PSE 11:cropped, increased highlights, mid-tones, sharpened.  I think I did zoom in since the branches were not at eye level and there seems to be digital noise in the sky which can happen when you use that feature on the iPhone.  I do not have a telephoto lens for the iPhone.
This image really reminds me of fall with all the colors on one tree/shrub. I do not know the name by the shape of leaf.  It soon will peak color in Guilford Co.

Autumn - Maple Leaves with Blue Sky GSO 16th St.

The maple leabes and beech trees are beginning to change color in the Triad.  I like to capture some of these with the "Carolina" blue sky.   However, since I don't have a zoom or telephoto lens for my iPhone 5C., it is hard to get the leaf detail.  It was windy but even a tripod won't help if wind more than 7 mph. Vignette helped to make sky darker. This was takein about noon in full sun. Camera +, HDR.  Edited minimally in PSE 11.  

Rust Image #1 Dumpster

Last Thursday I was in downtown Greensboro and saw  rust splotches various places on a dumpster.
I spent at least 1/2 hr taking images of these because of textures and designs. I knew when I was taking the image that I would want to be using some apps or altering the images--just in case I ever get around to making digital collages.  So, this week I will post a rust image every day.  Some I used the native app or Camera+ and I did not take notes, don't remember if I did HDR or not since it was an overcast day but it is usually the default setting. Some I was showing my husband various filters and the program did not save a copy.  So, you do have to be careful about destructive editing.   The left image was clarified in camera in PS Express and I am not sure what filter I applied to get the colors. This image was rotated 90 degrees as I liked that composition better.    I can't show the original but you will see others with a muted turquoise background.  The image on the right I rotated to the right another 90 degrees, sharpened and then in PSE 11 I changed enhancement in color variations the color by decreasing red highlights x2 which resulted in blues and greens.which reminds me of a churning sea.      

Autumn Maple Leaves - Backlit Rankin School

Today is the first day of fall.  Some of the leaves have a hint of color in Greensboro, NC, especially some maples.  It can be difficult to find them at iPhone level to get a close up.  One of my favorite things to do is to let the light shine from behind the leaves so you can better see the various colors of the leaves, plus the texture and the veins.  I stopped at an elementary school in my neighborhood. The Left image was taken about 4:30 PM EDST.  Camera+ HDR.  Edited in PSE 11.  Played with lighting, brightness, saturation and decreasing green in color variations. The Right image was cropped to a square and then posted on Instagram.  I had selected the "Hudson" filter.  I guess I like the Instragram one better because the red veins stand out more more texture. It was also a lot less work than  editing with sliders in PSE 11.

Tiger Lily - Upside Down Cultivar

One of my neighbors has a cultivar of tiger lilies that are different than the ones you see along the roadside in the summer time.  They are still called tiger lilies (Lillium lancifolium) but I call them upside down lilies.  I should collect some seeds and start in pots and winter over.  It is my understanding it will take 3 years for them to bloom. Taken with Camera+ app, HDR mode.  The stamens were hard to see on the LED screen, and so I cropped the foreground lily too close...but I liked this composition best.  It was evening when I took it and the foliage had a blue cast which I removed in color variations in PSE 11.  I also increased the highlights and midtones slightly and sharpened. Left image is CU of back of blossom.which was more upright - vignette applied. .
For more info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilium_lancifolium

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.

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.