Gate with Snow on Rose Bushes 2/226/2015

The left photo is a pencil sketch done in PSE 11. The original B & W HDR image was first given a blue color in Photoshop Express app filter "winter"  within the iPhone 5s as depicted in right image. This gives the image a cool feeling and typical of the lighting you may see very early morning.  This meant I did not have to get up at 6:30 a.m to capture this lighting. I got out about 8:30 a.m. EST.  I straightened, cropped, increased the midtones and sharpened in PSE 11.  Greensboro got about 5-6" of snow Wed. night.  Will be trimming those rose bushes this spring.                                               

Miniature Ice Mountains - Snow on Curb Closeup

Yesterday we had our first snow in GSO. It was maybe 1 1/2 inches and not sticking to the trees. Taking a picture in my immediate neighborhood would not be anything that looked unique or told a story. So, today I decided to see what snow mounds along the street might grab my attention. This image was taken close up with my iPhone 5s. I liked the edges of the ice and at least still white. It was about 12:30 PM- just past noonday sun. Maybe should have thrown something in for color like sliced limes, lemons, oranges or cranberries - then it would have looked like a fruit bowl. I took at an angle (every piece of ice not in same plane)  and with shallow depth of field in front lower corner not as sharp. First I used Snapseed but it did not give me the flexibility for changes in post processing I have found in PSE 11. I am calling it Miniature Mountains of Ice. I did add a blue tint in color variations to help give a feeling of coldness and then sharpening and a slight vignette in PSE 11.