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..

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
.  

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.  

Yellow foliage - Unknown Plant Autumn @ Sarah Duke Garden, Durham, NC

These images should have been posted Sun, Nov. 8th, 2015.  
Went to Sarah Duke Garden to see what images I could find of fall foliage.   I was disappointed in what was available as we have had some colder temps ( no hard frost) --some of the plants had brown leaves and flowers. Camellias were pretty good but even some of the edges of the petals were altered colors.  The terrace garden now has winter pansies, etc. which were recently planted. The toad lilies (a favorite in the fall) were toast!!  I found this yellow foliage in several different locations, but none of it had the plant name labeled.  I liked the bright golden color and that it looked like a firecracker.  Camera+, Edited  PSE 11.  For the image on the right, after I increased highlights and midtones, sharpened, I choose an adjustment filter called "invert".  Used color variations and increased the red which made some fronds more purple cast.   Lastly I used the artistic filter "posterize edges" to make the fronds stand out better like firecrackers. Unfortunately there are issues with focus--not all foliage is in the same plane. I really need to review images consistently after I capture it.  LED screen can be misleading.

Spikey Weed - Meadow @ Kathleen Clay Price Library

This images should have been posted Sat. Nov. 7, 2015.
Do not know what this weed is.  I photographed it back in August at the Kathleen Clay Price Library meadow.  I liked the monochrome colors and so there is a blue tone to the image despite being taken about 4 p.m.  There were no labels of the the plants in the meadow. This plant was in a shaded area. Camera+   Edited 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.      

Acorns& Oak Leaves from Neighbood Walk - More Signs of Fall in NC

Found some acorns and oak leaves on my walk around the block last week.  Acorns can have different sizes and shapes. I do not know one oak tree from another and last week I did post an image with the bur oak branch and acorns.  These acorns are small and have points on the bottom.  They were not very shiny either.  The Native Americans and  Pioneers used these ground as food source like flour.
I tried using the macro mode in Camera +.  The image looked sharper on the LED screen and you can only sharpen so much within PSE plus the image was downsized.  I did like the posterize version where sharpness doesn't matter.  Before I did editing in PSE I did clarify & applied an orange tint in the native iPhone 6 camera app. The image on the R is the posterize filter in PSE 11 - an altered image look.

Burr Oak Dried Leaves with Shaggy Base Acorns - Haganstone Park, Pleasant Garden NC

Yesterday at our NC Unit Herb Society Meeting for Herb Study one of the gals brought a burr oak branch with a different kind of acorns and leaf structure.  She had found it on Sat. near a dump site where she was camping.   This burr oak is a member of the beech family and some cultivars can have leaves that are not lobed but look more like smaller beach leaves with the serrated edges.  I borrowed the branch from her so I could take a picture.  It had dried leaves and they were not portrait material.  I put  the branch on a black shirt background.and tried to arrange so you could see the leaves, the tops of the acorns with shaggy base and then 2 additional acorns I placed in the "nutcups" to see that view.   I did not use the original image and it was downsized.  Therefore, you can see some pixelization.  In post processing using PSE11 I had to do some major cloning of the leaves with insect bites or ???. I may have to go to Haganstone Park in Pleasant Garden to see if I can capture some other images with fresh leaves and acorns still adhered to the base. Did you know that at one time acorns were a souce of food for the American Indians and Pioneers?    

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.

OrnamentalGinger Lily (Ms Elizabeth) from Nannette's Yard

This image should have been posted Fri., Sept. 11th. This image is of an ornamental ginger lily from my garden. The stalk is over 7 feet tall and the siding on my house would not have made a good background.  I decided to bend the stem down and use the green lawn for a background.  This culrtivar is Ms. Elizabeth and it blooms earlier than the white cultivar I have.  It is also much shorter and should be able to get a better close up. The flower head blooms in stages and by the time the top has blossoms prime, the lower ones are looking wilted, etc.   Camera+, Edited slightly in PSE 11. If I have more blooms I may  try a still life with a stalk when top blossoms in bloom--may be able to get a better close up of the blossoms.  This plant is considered subtropical but I have had this plant winter over for 2 years and given away some baby plants.  

Southern Dogwood Seedpod - Neighborhood

Was walking in the neighborhood and captured the left image close up of the Southern Dogwood.  Not all the fruit has this arrangement of berries.  This tree blooms with the white blossoms and is in another neighbor's yard.  The birds love this fruit. Camera+ HDR  Slight editing in PSE 11 which included some cloning of disfigured leaves. Did not use rule of 3rds or center because I was trying to get this particular seed pod and avoid others in the same area.

The image on the right is for reference.  It was taken with my Verizon cell phone before I had the iPhone in another neighbor's yard in spring 2013.  

Paw Paw - Forsythe Ag Center, W-S, NC

Saturday I went to the Forsythe Ag. Center to a Paw Paw Festival.         I learned a lot about them but I did not buy a plant. They had samples of ice cream, salsa, and a bread for tasting ...handouts. The taste is between a mango & a peach. Will not  keep long-- not in groc. stores.. Camera+ app. Edit: PSE 11 & Touch Retouch.  

Inside of Milkweed Pod - Neighborhood & Posterize Effect

OK if this image did not have a title I bet you could not guess what it was? I am always looking for texture images and what kind of filters might change the look. I was trying to release milkweed propellors from a pod but they were not really dry yet. Then I noticed that the inside was moist with an abstract pattern. This
texture prompted me to take a closeup/macro image.  Taken with Camera+.  Cropped and edited in PSE 11. Probably could have tried higher level of sharpening and lightness/darkness sliders on the original image.  I decided to go with a posterize filter in the right image.  

Osage Orange Fruit - Green Monochrome

This should have been posted Wed. 8/19/2015.   I was walking in the neighborhood last week and saw that the Osage orange (Machura pomifera) tree fruit was starting to appear.  Because it is not ripe yet this made a monochrome image.  I was trying to do a close up in Camera+ but it almost looks like this fruit is floating if it were not attached with a stem.  When it is ripe it will be yellow and can have more texture.  Some people make bows with the trunks which can be very time consuming.  he neighbor said the first year it bloomed it was orange.  This tree has very sharp thorns.  In the spring it has pretty white flowers.  Post processing in PSE 11:  cropped, increased highlights, sharpened to show more texture.
For more info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maclura_pomifera

Spider web with Raindroplets

I was at the dentist this a.m. When I went to get in my car there was a tree with  a spider web and rain drops on it.   I tried to capture the image to get a close up.  However, I was not able to hold the camera very still as it was higher than my arms.  Although I used autofocus and tried to lock, I could not capture a sharp imageof the bubbles.  Probably were blowing in the wind too. Oh well, it is something beside a flower and would be considered "a pattern of nature". . Will keep looking to find a better one.  There was no spider hole evident.  Used native camera app: cropped, clarity to increase hue and saturation.

Green Foliage at Tanger Garden, GSO, NC - Texture

I took this image about a month ago at Tanger Garden.  I do not know what plant it is but thought I might be able to use for texture.  I would class it a monochrome green image.  No, I did not use any color variations to manipulate..  I do not think I have done any post editing.  It would be interesting to see how it looked with various filters or to push lighten and darken, plus sharpen to the max.  Unfortunately, this a.m. PSE 11 was not letting me access my photos from the external drive.

Garden Fairy on a Frog Garden Sculpture

I was at my hairdressers on Tuesday.  On my way out to my car I noticed a garden fairy in a pot on her patio. Love garden sculpture.  Compared to the plants in the pot this is a macro. Shot with native camera iPhone 6.  Used PSE 11 to crop, increase midtones, but did not sharpen as it would have been evident. Applying a vignette filter also affected edges of the fairies extremities and did not like that look.  

Dwarf Conifer Collection - GSO Arboretum 7 /14/2015

Yesterday was an overcast morning and so I decided to take some images at the Greensboro Arboretum.  I liked the display of this dwarf conifer collection. I edited it in the native camera app first.  I  tried using frames and labeling the image in the border. I could have cropped out the blown out sky. You can see that the iPhone does have issues with buildings and there is distortion due to the small sensor.  I have not invested in an app that is supposed to help correct this.  Getting farther away might have helped but then cropping would have contributed to pixalization. I did edit the shadows and sharpening in PSE as I feel it gives more control than native app.  P.S. It is not a flower image. LOL

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.

Bubbles in Fountain at Gateway Gardens 5-27-2015

There was a modern statue with a fountain at  at Gateway Gardens, GSO, NC.  These bubbles in the water were fascinating and thought it might be a great pattern or texture.  These are not exactly the same image but taken at the saeme place...but bubbles are ever changing..  The one on the left I did a "smart fix" in PSE 11.  The right one  I used Camera + post editing.: clarify, the tint lab with green color and to me it looks like a lot of jade gems.  The bubble facets are more distnct in the right image.   .