New Year's Evening Sunset - Gareen Needle Dr., GSO, NC 12/31/2015

The iPhone 365 Challenge has been met!!

I was walking in my neighborhood tonite for exercise when I happened to see trees that had a bright pink and blue sky at sunset.  What a way to end the week/year after all the rain and dreary skies we have had. I don't think the camera really did the scene justice as the colors were more brilliant.to my eye.  This is a case where the saying,"the best image may be behind you".  So, this is image 365 of the 365 day iPhone challenge, i.e. taking a photo and posting on my blog.  In some cases there were additional images of the subject that allowed me to try different apps in camera like Instagram or Camera+ to take the image. Since the iPhone screen small, most of my post editing was done on the computer with Photoshop Elements 11. It did take more time than I had imagined.to complete this goal/committment.  I will probably start another blog for 2016 but it is my hope that I can complete Bob Weils course that takes digital imaging to the next level in the digital darkroom.    

Foggy Night - Puddle Reflection

This image should have been posted on Wed., Dec. 30th.  There was some fog in our neighborhood from all the rainy and humid weather we have been having.  I was never able to find a safe place to pull over during the day to capture a foggy scene as it was sporadic patches around the city.  But I noticed the reflection of the street light in a puddle in my driveway and tried to capture this eerie atmosphere. Did not use a tripod as too difficult to even get this angle of composition. I even waited to see if my neighbor's Christmas lights on her house would be out after midnight...but that didn't happen.  So, this was the best I could do.   iPhone 6  native app, edit in PSE 11   More practice with night photography needed.  

Beech Tree Leaves Still Hanging on in Winter

One of the trees that retains a lot of their leaves in the winter time is the beech tree.. The image on the right I took a of some leaves with the dull sky as a background which the camera read as white. You can see the leaf vein patterns. In the fall when they first have color they are a medium yellow but now various shades of tan. I did increase the saturation a bit  in post processing to make the veins more prominant agains the sky.  Then I saw a stand of trees that looked interesting on a street I drive a lot. The roadway in the picture I did make straight.   Still it is a better picture with the gulch than just a straight shot of a stand of beech trees.  Of course it would have been nice if a person with a red jacket happened to be walking in the gulch with a black dog.  Well, you can't have everything.  iPhone 6, Camera +,  edit PSE 11.

Christmas Lighting @ Dusk on Rankin - Neighborhood

Tried to capture some Christmas outdoor lighting display at dusk the other night. This one was a little late for ambient light, but it also hid some of the house and other yard structures. I need more practice with taking photos at night or low lighting situations. This is definitely out of my comfort zone. I was walking in my neighborhood with the iPhonein my pociket.  No, I did not have a tripod or a stabilizing object.  iPhone 6, native camera, edit: PSE 11 which included some healing brush and cloning to a bench and other yard artifacts.

Purple Ornamental Kale - Ruffled Center CU - Neighborhood

Found a nice purple ornamental Kale when I was walking in the neighborhood.  Thought the center would look good as a close up. Camera+, iPhone 6.  Edit in PSE 11.  Sharpened to the Max to show more detail in the ruffled edges if you zoom in close can see the purple veins.   .  

Varigated Viola - Nannette's Garden

Took a close up of one of my varigated viola with some raindrops on the petals. We have had extremely warm weather for December in NC. The actual size of this bloom maybe 5/8 inch.  Square Mode,  iPhone 6, Camera+, Edited in PSE 11. Did some cloning and use of healing tool to blur out more of the background and applied vignette. The viola flowers are edible and can be used to decorate food plates, used in salads or crystalized to put on cakes and pastries. For more info:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viola_(plant)

Merry Christmas 2015 - Dinner: Chicken Cordon Bleu, Rice Pilaf, Green Beans. Roll

It was a rainy day. I could not use my outdoor lighting to capture the image of my dinner plate of food for Christmas Dinner. I cooked Chicken Cordon Blue, Rice Pilaf, Gravy, Green Beans, & a Roll.  I used the black cooktop of my stove with overhead Halogen lighting which there is a spotlight effect in the upper portion of the plate.  From previous experience I have found it best to use a white paper plate to avoid glare if using China dinnerware. Had to clone out light flare and use healing brush to get the backround really black all around the plate and then added text for "Merry Christmas". . For dessert we had Peppermint Ice Cream which was not included in the image.  I was the "Galloping Gourmet" sipping Chardonnay wine while I was preparing the meal.  Bon Appe'tit!!
 iPhone 6, Native camera. Edited with PSE 11.
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Hickory Nuts CU from Shagbark Hickory Tree - Greenhill Cemetary

This image should have been posted Thurs., Dec. 24th.  This was an image of some hickory nuts from the shagbark hickory tree.  If you look close there may be some holes in the shells of some  The outer hard shell had been removed before I picked them up from the ground.  I cracked open the shell tof one to see how it would look with the small nut meats in place and another portion where the nutmeat had been removed.  When I was a girl living on a farm, we would pick hickory nuts but it would take forever to get a significant amount of the nutmeats for my Mom to use with baking.  I used a green piece of cardstock for the background and used lighting from a bay window in the kitchen.  iPhone 6, Camera +; edited in PSE 11.
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Camillia Pink & White @ Karen Talbert House

I was out and about and took a picture of my neighbor's two tone camilla. This fall we have been having much milder temperatures and so there are more blooms.   The center is white and the edges of the petals pink.  A darker pink when it first blooms and gets lighter as it ages.  This particular cultivar has more than one bloom on some stems. These flowers are particularly attracted to ants...so, you really have to look close at the sepals   Camera+ app,  square format,  edit PSE 11--added a vignette to help emphasis the flowers.

Holly Berries - Genus Ilex

This image should have been posted on Tues., Dec. 22nd.  I took this image at Rankin School about a month ago. This is not the native American species.  There are 400 - 600 species in this genus.  The berries are red but the leaf shape is oval.or with less notches than the native holly.  In order to produce berries you need a male and female shrub.  Native iPhone 6,  edit PSE 11. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holly

Shattered Glass with Clarity = Altered Image

Today I am using a photo I took of a shatter glass section from my backdoor fiasco.  I took with Camera+ and used macro mode to zoom in.a section of the piece I liked.   You can see it has texture but really appears a blah color beneath the glass and edges not very well defined.  Could use as texture in a digital collage. I  used light blue cardstock for background.  This is the type of image I say...."what if I tried this app" or filter.  I got some real surprises.  Just using clarityin Camera+ app completely changed the colors.  See Right image. I even tried invert filter in PSE which changed to all different colors of orange and yellow. The right image would make a great background for a greeting card, but, do not want to think about how much ink it would use.  The photo on the left is the original taken in shaded area on deck  The image on the right has just the clarity filter in Camera+ applied.  Then in PSE 11 I used auto fixed Lighten & Darken plus sharpened to the max which defines the shards of glass better.  Who would think you could make something out of nothing at all. It really looks like an abstract painting.

Cut Glass Pieces Mosaic - Backdoor Accident - CU

It is getting to the point in this 365 challenge that it is more difficult to find images because flowers are not blooming and most trees have lost their leaves. No snow yet and frost unreliable.. About 2 years ago I had to break into my back door which resulted in broken glass.  I saved some pieces in a rubbermaid container. I was always going to make a "Cracked Glass" album (before I got my iPhone), but that has not happened.  So this a.m. I used a light blue piece of cardstock as a background and placed some small pieces of glass in mosaic fashion on it.  Then I took a close up in the shade on my deck area.with Camera+ app.  The image on the left is the original and you can see a few specks and reflections which in the image on the right I removed  most of these with the healing tool in PSE 11. Then I used the filter "cut out" which further defines the lines. This is an image that you could spend hours looking at different effects. Tomorrow will use a piece that did not shatter.

Sarfari Truck at NC Zoo

When I was at the zoo, I saw a truck that is used to take workers to visit the animals. It was one of the Safari trucks and was parked in the African Elephant area.There are other safari trucks more open used to take people in designated tour areas for a fee with a zoo employee to get closer to the animals. Sometimes this can be a photographer safari. I have never been able to get an image of a rhinoceros up close at this zoo. iPhone 6 native, edited in PSE 11. I do not have a telephoto lens for my iPhone but I did take other pictures at the zoo with my Nikon P600 (hi end compact camera) which has a 50x zoom.  

Ornamental Kale CU @ A & A Nursery, Brown Summit, NC

This image should have been posted on Friday, Dec, 18th,.  In the winter time Ornamental Kale can be found in various border beds, by mailboxes,or in planters.  They come in various colors from greens and whites to dark purple/lavender.   I was at a nursery and took this image a couple weeks ago.  Not like you have a choice of light or the best surroundings.  So, I decided to take a close up. iPhone 6, Camera +,  used accent edges filter in PSE to make the texture stand out..

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.  

Alligators at NC Zoo

The alligators were resting when I visited the zoo on Sunday.  The one in the forefront was moving and the one in back may have moved his head.
The image is not as sharp as I would have liked.but you can see the
texture of their skin with the side lighting.. Should have used a tripod and reviewed the image with magnification. Cannot see on an iPhone screen the clarity that well like you see it as it really is on the big monitor.   Edited in PSE  I could have tried removing the log with Touch Retouch   I did crop out some other logs and debris from the top of original image.

Cougar at NC Zoo

One of my favorite animals to photograph at the NC Zoo is the Cougar. Today she was sunning.You cannot always control the branches, etc.in her habitat. I guess her cubs have been placed at another zoo.
iPhone 6 Camera+.  Edited in PSE 11 -- cropped to square mode.

Zebras and Giraffes at NC Zoo

It was a warm 70 degrees on Sunday when I decided to go with my photo friend, Pat, to the NC zoo. Difficult to get the animals looking at you, so you have to get some of the animals facing you. iPhone  6, edit PSE 11  

Red Berries with Blue Sky @ NC Zoo

Image should have been posted, Sunday, December 13, 2015.  Just as I entered the NC Zoo on Sunday I saw some red berries and I knew I had to capture this image against the NC blue sky. The clouds in the background give a painterly effect.   iPhone 6, edited in PSE 11.

Lichen& Moss with Orange Ant/Insect - Neighborhood

I have been trying to get an images of these lichens for weeks but still need to try with a tripod or designated macro lens to see if I can get more lichens in focus. Yes, it was hand held, but instead of trying macro in Camera+ I tried standing back a little father. Imagine my surprise when I found the orange like ? ant/insect? Used auto focus on the insect. Because of the various layers in the tree trunk, the DOF is very shallow. I took in landscape mode but cropped to square to make ant in the upper third area for better composition.  There is moss in the cracks but with highest aperture being f8, not going to get everything in focus.   iPhone 6, Camera+. Edited in PSE 11.

Italian Anise Cookies with Holly Sprig

Time for Holiday baking to begin.   Thurs. our Herb Study Group had a cookie exchange. I made Italian Anise Cookies.  I took this image with 3 cookies placed on a white paper plate with a small dollie as both items were matte  using a piece of navy blue polyester fabric. The paper plate avoided glare like china/dinnerware usually gives off.   iPhone 6, edited with PSE 11. Taken about 5 PM and starting to get dusk. So, I changed color variation to decrease blue and lighten from the original which I felt  had a blue tone. I used the healing brush to delete white artifacts on the navy blue material . I found a native holly sprig along a roadside and clipped a piece to include in the photo.  I may stamp a sentiment like Merry Christmas to place on the plate..  Then I could use for a greeting card.  Recipe from www.food.com.

December 14th.   Just could not get the image to be light enough and still see the doily pattern.   So, I decided to take another image with a red fleece material as the background.  Also went outside earlier in the afternoon.  I actually shot the right image with the camera in Instagram.   Did not apply any filters.  Immediately posted to Facebook page as well as Instagram.  

Varigated Poinsettia - Center CU Nannette's

Went to Mitchell's Nursery & Garden on Sun., Dec. 6 th.  They have over 150 cultivars. of Poinsettias and are always doing research for new varieties.  This is one I bought is called December Ice.  I was trying to get a sharp close up of the center, but I  need to try and see if I can do better with a tripod before it loses it's center buds. I like the detail of the veins in the leaves. It was taken at dusk and had more pink color but I decreased the blue in color variations.  Have shallow DOF issues since not all of subject in same plane.  I like the composition and square format.    iPhone 6, Camera +, IS0 32, 1/30th sec.   Edited in PSE11.

Geeter - Soft Focus Related to Low Lighting

This image should have been posted Wed., Nov. 9th, 2015.   My neighbor's dog, Geeter.  I am going to say this is a soft focus image, but in reality, it was a low lighting situation.  Taken at dusk.  I have been trying to capture an image of this dog for awhile. The dog had just had a trim, so not much texture to his fur. I just have to keep trying.  I was lucky to get close up as he was in a howling mood about my presence.  It was shot at ISO 100, 1/30th of a sec.  iPhone  6, Camera+,  Edited with PSE 11.

Mosaic Gazing Ball - Penn House, Reidsville, NC 12/05/2015

Thiese images should have been posted on Tues., Dec. 8th, 2015.. 
On Saturday I saw this mosaic gazing ball at the Penn House in Reidsville, NC.  I really liked the bright colors and thought it had great potential for texture.   iPhone 6, Camera +, edited with PSE 11.  Image on left cropped slightly, increased highlights, sharpened. Image on right was a section of the same ball to take CU of mosaic patterns.and color variation.  Increased contrast and sharpened to the max which gave it more shading of the glass pieces.  

Air Plant CU - A & A Nursery

On Saturday at the A & A nursery they had a few air plants.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tillandsia_xerographica  Unfortunately these are not portrait type specimens but i really like these plants.I could not really remove the debris and there were leaves that had been clipped.  The Daniel B. Stowe Orchid Conservatory in Belmont has arches with these plants and I love taking those images because of all the textures.  iPhone 6,  edited with PSE  11.  Straightened & cropped, adjusted lightness and darkness sliders, sharpened
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Christmas Cactus Blossom - CU

I really like Christmas Cactus blooms this time of year. I may have waited too late to get close up images.  They come in different colors.  The one I purchased, just has not produced additional blooms.  At A & A nursery yesterday I tried to take one red bloom close up but unfortunately you cannot move plants around--so plants are crowded together or have other pots, tags, etc, in the view. Neither can you pick a blossom up and put it somewhere else on the plant like those you own.  This was the only good blossom in this pot.  Other varieties the petals were droopy or had a translucent look which was less than optimal.  So this is my attempt to capture a close up.. May see if my friend has any that look better.   She actually propagates for our H.S.A. Plant Sale.  

Pink Poinsettia CU - Posterize Edges Filter

This image should have been posted Saturday, Nov. 5th.  Went to A & A Nursery, Brown Summit, NC,  yesterday and tried to take some pictures of a pink varigated poinsettia. This plant is native to Mexico.  Sometimes difficult to get macro mode sharp with Camera Plus.  This is a difficult subject to hand hold because of the shallow depth of field. The center was not sharp.  So, decided to go for abstract look. Camera Plus app - square mode. Edited in PSE - posterize edges with slight sharpening for more texture. Going to Mitchell's Nursery Sun. Nov. 6th.  Open House for a large display of poinsettia cultivars.  Have been there before and lighting not the best.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poinsettia

Christmas Lights - Burst Mode

This image should have been posted on Friday, Nov. 5th.  Christmas decorations are starting to appear in my neighbor's yards.  I tried to capture some multicolor small outdoor lights on their bushes in front of the house. The left image is of lights on the bushes.  The right image is one of intentional camera shake by moving the camera in the burst mode 36 times. Native iPhone 6.  Post processing in PSE 11.  I took in square mode. Then cropped the most interesting area, increased the black background by making darker. I had hope for a more circulaf swirl but I guess more practice is needed for that effect.

Ginger's Wood Burned - Serving Spoons for Thanksmas

Ginger(daughter)  used some wooden spoons to perform floral wood burning design for me for an early Christmas present. A famous artist, Julie Fei Fen Balzaar had this technique on her blog this last week.  Need to figure out how I can display on the wall. I think I need a ceramic piece to hold them.  May have to go to a place that fires green ware.to get what I want.  My kitchen walls are now yellow.  It was raining the day I wanted to take the image with the iPhone 6.  So, decided to use the front porch as my outdoor studio.  The piece of  12 x12" cardstock I used for the background was actually amedium coral color. The original image I sent upside down to Instagram.  The left image I did post processing in PS Express app which has filters and changed the color to more pink and put on a vignette.  I took the image without vignette into Pixlar app, rotated and then applied a seasonal frame that looks like frost or snow.

Bromilaid CU - Walmart

Another image from the garden (indoors) section of Walmart.   Usually you see this flower at a conservatory as it is considered a house plant or tropical plant.  It can come in a varietuy of colors.  You don't have a lot of choice of background when taking an image at a commercial site. In lower right corner you can see evidence of the shelf but not too noticeable.  It was taken in landscape but cropped to more square format.   iPhone 6 - Edited in PSE 11.  

Thanksgiving Dinner 2015

This image should have been posted Thurs., Nov. 26th. We had a great Thanksgiving dinner but I was too busy cooking and organizing the feast to take pictures.of the turkey before it was carved...or all the other holiday week foods we had prepared.  My sister brought Swiss Cheese made in Ohio and a sausage called Trail Bologna, made in Trail, OH. We had turkey, mashed potatoes, dressing, cranberry apple sauce, green beans, herbal quick bread, turkey gravy, dessert was pumpkin bars which could be eaten plain or with non-dairy whipped topping or ice cream. Later for leftovers there were also brownies. One morning we made our traditional monkey bread but it got eaten very quickly. Taken with iPhone 6 - outdoor lighting.  China plate was placed on cardstock. This is an image taken of the leftovers at a later time. No editing.  

Japanese Maple Red & Gold Leaves

This image should have been posted, Tues., Nov. 24th.  Autumn leaves have been falling but I managed to find this Japanese maple with quite a few leaves in place with colorful red and gold colors.  iPhone 6.  Edited in Smart Fix PSE 11 but did some cloning of leaves to remove spots on some leaves.  

CU Tree Lights on White Artificial Christmas Tree

This image should have been posted, Wed. Nov. 25th.  Trying to find Christmas decorations to post since not much blooming outside with our colder weather temperatures in NC.  Another section of Wal-Mart had tree lights on artificial trees.  Tried a close up image of 2 lights with my iPhone 6 native app.  Edited in PSE 11.

Ceiling Lamps NCMOA - Raleigh, NC

This image should have been posted Mon. November 30th.   We had a beverage at the Cafe of the North Carolina Museum of Art and I really like these lamps. Took an image of 3 of them at an angle - square mode.    Taken with iPhone 6 - edited first with Touch Retouch to remove a relection image, then in PSE 11.  The right image I altered by pushing highlights to maximum which changed the colors of the lights and then used filter to denoise color. If I maxed the midtones it made the lamps glow more (not shown). The left image I appled a Paint Dauber filter to the original image and it also gave denoise effect and you can see subtle color shades.   I really like this image for "thinking outside the box".

Rust - Dumpster @ Rankin School

This image should have been posted Fri., November 27th.  Found another dumpster rust picture at Rankin School.  It has different layers of paint and rust.  Taken with iPhone 6.  Edited in camera with PS Express but then sharpened further in PS Elements 11. Taken about 4 PM EST.

Glitter Ornament CU @ Wal-Mart

Christmas time is a good motif  to look for representation of the season or decorations.   I was shopping at Wal-mart and came across this glitter ball ornament.  I took it off the hanger and placed it on a grey colored shelf surface.  It was difficult to avoid tags as you cannot pull off price tags or labels.  Taken with native iPhone 6 in square format. Used Touch -Retouch app to get remove a gold string,  Edited in PSE 11.  There was glitter on the surface of the shelf, which I tried to clone out a bit but not perfect. Reminds me more of Mardi Gras colors.

Ornamental Grass - Green & White

Ornamental grass can provide textures to an image.  I did not want to take a picture of the standard upright look with sky etc.  This one I was looking down from the top to the middle of some stalks for a different perspective. You can see some close up details of the fronds. iPhone 5c, do not know if HDR on.  Edited with PSE 11.  Did Quick Fix, then enhanced green color under color variation as wanted to get rid of yellow color cast in the midtones.  

Red Berries - Autumn @ Sarah Duke Gardens, Durham, NC

There are lots of berries in the fall, but they are a challenge to photograph.            I have trouble seeing lighting with LED screen on the small iPhone.  Even on an overcast day berries are shiny and can reflect off light. The iPhone does not give you the blinkies like the DSLR.  I took this image at Sarah Duke Gardens in Durham, NC, a couple weeks ago.  I didn't see a sign to know for sure what these are.  My guess would be a Viburnum. Taken with iPhone 5C.  Edited with PSE 11, adjusted highlights, shadows, midtones, sharpened.

Pink Camellia CU & use of Ocean Ripple Filter in PSE 11

There were several varieties of camillias blooming at the Presbyterian Church Cemetery which can be accessed from the GSO Historical Museum.  This pink double bloom is one like I have but does not bloom until Jan. or Feb.It was a cloudy day. Taken in square mode with native camera  6 iphone. Edited in PSE 11.  Petals have a soft focus. The right image I added a PSE filter called "Ocean Ripple"  which makes the camillia look more like it was painted by Monet. LOL

Autumn Clematis Bloom CU with Seed Pods @ Trish's Lamp Post

Autumn Clematis is very fragrant, but after the white blooms in the fall there are strange looking seed pods.  Reminds you of tangled wires.  Tried to capture both in one image.  This was on my neighbor's lamp post.   iPhone 5C, edited in PSE 11  

Mexican Marigold Mint ( Texas Tarragon) CU Still Life

Image should have been posted on Thurs., Nov. 19th.  My attempts to capture the Mexican Marigold Mint (Texas Tarragon) image has been difficult.  It blows in the breeze because blooms at end of a long stalk.  The flowers are small and in different planes.  Decided I wanted to try to take a picture of them in a vase resting on a piece of white paper which would make it more like a still life.  iPhone 6 Left image edited highlights, mid-tones, sharpened in PSE 11.   Too bad you cannot smell a photograph. It blooms in the fall and has a wonderful anise flavor. I took in shade so white paper has a blue cast to it. and you can kind of see a blue rim of the vase.  The right image, I used eye dropper to select white area, then used paint bucket to fill in white background.  I also decreased the blue cast x2 in color variations and then lightened the image x2.  
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