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.

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..

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".

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.  

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  

White Asian Lily CU - Stamens

Image should have been posted on Wed. Nov. 18th. Saw this Asian lily when I went to T'ai Chi class. Took a close up of the stamens.  iPhone 6. Edited with PSE 11 - midtones and highlights.  Slight sharpening.

Red & White Berries -Climbing Spindle Tree Sarah Duke Gardens, Durham, NC

Image should have been posted on Mon., November 9th, 2015.   Found these berries on an unlabeled plant at Sarah Duke garden on Sunday.  I took it in the horizontal mode, but thought with the arrangement of the berries I should really crop it.  As you can tell it is not an exact square.  I had to ask a horticulturalist at the garden about the identification of this plant.  See Comment.  The information from the web site she provided showed that the distribution of the plant is more likely to be in the Northeastern part of the US, i.e Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire. Camera+, Edited in PSE 11.

White Double Petal Camella - Neighborhood

These images should have been posted on Fri., Nov. 6, 2015.  I saw this white camillia blooming in my neighbor's yard.  It is the Camillia sasquanqua which blooms in Oct. - Dec. here in NC.  When I lived in OH the only time I ever saw these were in a Conservatory. Camera +.  Both images edited in PSE 11.  The image on the left I cloned battered leaves, increased brightness, decreased contrast, sharpened to the max because it had soft petals. Last applied a vigmette.  The right image I then applied an urban B & W filter but reduced the sharpness to about 29 -- petals appear softer. 

White Camellia Sassanqua - Country Park

Went to Country Park in Greensboro on Monday afternoon and was very surprised to find a white Camellia sansanqua blooming.so early in October. There are fall blooming camellias and Jan & Feb (japonica) camellias.  Being from Ohio, the only camellias I saw there in gardens were in conservatories.  About 4 years ago I bought 2 of the japonica species: a pink and a red one but they will not bloom until Jan or later.  Some camellias are single petals and others have double petals.  If you look closely this one has faint pink edge.  I will be looking for more culivars to photograph. Taken with iPhone 5C,  HDR mode, Camera+ app.  Edited  with PSE 11.

White Ginger Lily - Nannette's Yard

My white ornamental Ginger Lily just started to bloom  (9/24/15). I have been trying for days to get a good image but it has been raining for 3 days and windy.  So, I am going with the best capture I could get. I shot these with native camera   app for the iPhone 6. I did try to adjust exposure because of white blossoms.   The image on the left was edited normally in PSE 11. The image on the right I wanted to try for an altered art effect.  I  cropped to a more square image and used the lighten/darken sliders, sharpened to the max to show more texture in the petals and give a more painterly appearance.  I did not clone out the rain drops.  As a result of the super sharpening the grass in the foreground and background became more pixelated.  Too bad photography does not allow you to pass on the fragrance of these blossoms.

Southern Porch - Church St. Downtown GSO

This image I took downtown in GSO on Sunday.  Lighting was not that great but I liked this porch which reminds me of homes in the South.  The sky is blown out from the sun coming from an angle behind.  I need to go back when it is morning or overcast to see if I can get a better image.  However, I never promised that all the images I posted would be great.  I think the side angle is good to show the chairs on the porch and it would have been nice if there was a person in one of the chairs. Then there is some sign in the yard and some bagworms in the tree limbs which I could have removed with Touch Retouch.  Native camera app iPhone 5C - slight editing in PSE 11.

Snail Vine Blossoms CU at Reynolda Gardens, W-S, NC

This is an image of a snail vine (cork screw vine) blossom that I captured at Reynolda Gardens, W-S, NC, on Saturday about noon. The botanical name is Cochliasanthus caracalla.  It is a perennial vine.  Because it is a close up the blossoms in the left area are immature and further back from the camera - not in sharp focus.  The mature blossoms should resemble the shape of a snail shell but this image does not show that very well.  Camera+ app, HDR.  Edited slightly in PSE 11.  

Autumn Clemitis CU Blooming in the Neighborhood

This should have been posted Fri. 8/21/2015.  My neighbor's Autumn Clematis (Clematis paniculata) is blooming.   It is very fragrant and one of those images you wish the photo could capture that fragrance.  This plant is growing around her lamp post.  It was captured in the evening and in a shaded area.  I hope I can find one in the neighborhood that blooms in a sunny area and do more of a macro image. I usually see this blooming in September. I hope I can find one in the neighborhood that blooms in a sunny area and do more of a macro image. I usually see this blooming in September.
Native Camera app- HDR.  Post processing in PSE 11.

Sweet Autumn Clematis becomes a silvery mass of fluffy seed heads in the fall.  It is a prolific, small-flowered species that will look equally impressive covering an upscale arbor or embellishing a utilitarian fence or garden shed. It is a hardy climber and can reach a height of 30 ft, but can be kept in check if stems cut back in spring.  It blooms on the current year's growth and will thrive and bloom well in partial shade.  Usually does not bloom the first year, but expect them to begin blooing the second year.

Anniversary Tuberosa Bouquet and CU blossoms

This should have been posted 8/17/2015  Yesterday was our 52nd wddding anniversary.  On Sat. I went to the Farmer's Market to buy a bouquet.  These images are of Tuberosa.  They bloom in August and are very fragrant. Too bad you can not attach smell to a digital photograph.   Native camera app.  for the left image. I know I cropped the top of the left image too short but I could not really spend the time I needed.  This image shows that the buds were not open and for some reason they did not open up as I had anticipated. So I could take more images.  I used my kitchen window lighting and the black background is the side of my refrigerator.  The image on the right I used outdoor lighting.  Camera+  Macro mode.  Post processing  PSE 11.

For more information:  The tuberose (Polianthes tuberosa) is a perennial plant related to the agaves, extracts of which are used as a note in perfumery. The common name derives from the Latin tuberosa, meaning swollen or tuberous in reference to its root system. Polianthes means "many flowers" in Greek. In Mexican Spanish, the flower is called nardo or vara de San José, en.wikipedia.org

Tuberose Bouquet from Yanceyville Farmer's Curb Market

Saturday I was at the Yanceyville Farmer's Curb Market and purchased a bouquet of Tuberoses from a vendor.  If you have never purchansed these, you are in for a treat.  They are very fragrant and will perfume a small room.  I took this image in a hurry thinking more flowers would open up and I could rearrange the bouquet for a better capture of the blossoms and maybe take some macro images. I used my kitchen window lighting.  Well, that didn't happen as my kitchen was being painted this week and I had used this black background which is the side of my refrigertor.  The blossoms really never opened up and the older blossoms started to not look fresh.  So, I will just have to go to the Market again this Sat.  Used native camera app. Increased the highlights and sharpened with PSE 11.

Queen's Ann Lace Close Up - A Challenge To Get Detail of Flowerettes

I have been trying to find a Queen's Ann Lace image to photograph the flower head close up. This is really a challenge.  If you try to do it on the stalk, they are usually blowing in the wind even if a calm day--so, a tripod won't correct that movement.  There are different cutivars and was hoping to find one with a concave head, but had to settle for one more convex.  The small individual flowerettes heads are not all in the same plane, which is an issue.  The lens on the iPhone can go down to 2.2 but it can still have a very shallow depth of field. White flowers can have the highlights blown out. I tried to capture hand held. I am waiting for a new tripod holder and a new macro lens that will work with the iPhone 6.  So, I picked a flowerhead from a weed patch along a ditch and am trying a still life. I used a black background and window lighting= no wind. You can tell what it is, but not happy about the sharpness of the individual flowerettes. Used Camera+, macro mode, square format.   Tried to adjust lightness and darkness and could only use minimal sharpening in PSE 11.  Will have to try again and compare with a designated macro lens with use of a tripod vs using D-SLR macro lens. 

Peace Lily (Macro) - RDU Airport Lobby

This image I wanted to post on July 6th but delayed due to other commitments.  I took this image when I was taking Ginger to RDU airport on Saturday.  It had window lighting and was a sunny day. Used Camera+, HDR, and macro setting.  The original composition was rectangle, but I felt that it should be sqaare. I increased the highlights and sharpened in PSE 11 which made the stigma more detailed.  This would have be a good shot for an Instagram image and I could still post as such. I could probably use as sympathy card with Text "With Sympathy" or "Thinking of You".  

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.

Clematis with Different Variations

My neighbor had these clematis blooming.  It is weird how the one in the forefront is a different variety than those in the background.  If a cultivar maybe reverting to one of the previous cultivars.  I waited till evening--maybe too late to capture the image because would have been blown out with the sun.  I had to do some cropping and editing -so more digital noise and cannot always remove with a denoise filter.  Did some cloning of artifacts.  Taken with Camera + .  Editing with PSE 11.

Rosemary for Remembrance - Red, White & Blue for Veteran's Day

Monday was Memorial Day.  I took a picture of this red, white & blue bow secured to my Rosemary plant in a pot.  Rituals of remembrance for the dead are known to have involved rosemary in a variety of cultures. In Europe and Asia, rosemary has been planted at grave sites and sometimes used as mediums to communicate with ancestors. Rosemary wreaths are associated with Remembrance day. The backdrop was a beige cloth I  used over my banister on the deck.   Every day veterans and those serviceman who have serveour country, or those currently enlisted should be honored for giving us our freedom. Image shot with Camera +. Editing and text message done in PSE11.