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)

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.  

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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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.

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.

Jerusalem Artichoke Close Up - Nannette's Garden

I have some Jerusalem Artichokes (Helianthus tuberosa) growing in my garden.  This was a close up of a single blossom  taken on a rainy morning.  Some people consider it a weed, others a gourmet vegetable.  In France used in production of beer and wine.  It has a taste similar to a potato. This plant is a member of the sunflower family.  They bloom late summer and eveuntually you can harvest the root as a vegetable.  It can be pickled or roasted with seasonings and baked with other root vegetables.  Some restaurants list on their menu under side dishes as "chokes".or sunchokes not related to artichokes. These  plants can grow 7 ft tall. It is a rhizome/tuber and will come back again next year. Once you have them they multiply.  Camera+ HDR. Edited in PSE 11.

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.

Spider But Not Itsy Bitzy

I was walking in the neighborhood and saw a big spider in a web.  I did try to grab that image. However, the spider web did not really show up except for the zig zag.  It was noontime and the angle of the light and light green grass background was not the best.  I will say my light shirt helped
to act as a reflector to fill in lighting.   I walked around the other side and it would not have been any better, probably worse as it was cement street. I really hate spiders.  Camera+ macro.  Edited with PSE 11.

Goldenrain Tree Blossoms on Pavement at GSO Arboretum

One of my favorite trees in spring through fall is the Goldenrain Tree (Koelreuteria paniculata).  It is native to Eastern Asia, China, & Korea.   As I was walking on the paved asphalt path @ GSO Arboretum,  I looked down to see the petals that had fallen to the ground -- as you can see a nice golden color in the image on the left. Unfortunately I did not think to take a closer image as I was thinking of this as a background when I get into digital imaging.. In another month there will be wonderful seed pods to photograph close up. I decided to do some altered art with this image because of the textures.  The image on the left I darkened and increased the contrast and sharpened.  The image on the right I wanted a more altered art effect.  So, I increased the highlights and midtones, sharpened to the max, then applied red color variation x2.   Taken in Camera + HDR mode.  I elected not to crop  the image.  This might be one to try to change to square , choose a filters and send in Instagram.  For more info, "Google" wikipedia.  

Goldenrod in Meadow near Kathleen Clay Price Library

Yesterday I went to a meadow near Kathleen Clay Price library in GSO.  I will probably go back again as one of the things about a meadow is there are lots of dead weeds which can be a distraction. These are not always that noticeable until you look on your computer.
It was not a windy day which can be an issue.  There were lots of butterflies flitting around but difficult to capture--mostly tiger swallowtails but I did see one Monarch..  Will have to go back in the morning when cooler and they are not as active.  Taken with Camera+ app, post processing with PSE 11.  

My Native Rubeckia around the Light Post

My native rubeckia is blooming and I previous posted an image with lots of them and two closer = bigger in the image that had an appearance of them in a field.  This time I wanted to capture the light post which they surround. If you look closely in the glass you can see some reflections.   Native camera app.  No cropping, increased brightness as this was taken on overcast day, sharpened in PSE 11. Maybe I should turn on the light at dusk or later and see what kind of image I can capture. I could even try with filters in Instagram.  

Native Rubeckia Blooms in My Front Yard

I have a lot of "native" rubeckia blooming in my front yard.   Decided to take an image that would show more blooms but have some closer to the camera that could show more detail. It is a periennial and seems to have more plants every year.   Taken with native camera. Post processing with PSE 11. Cropped, shadows increased and midtones slightly, sharpened.

Sunflower Rear View of Petals & Plant Structure

I like sunflowers.   I took this image a couple weeks ago when I purchased several varieties at the Yanceyville Farmer's Curb Market. Sometimes I like to look at the flower and petals from a different agle.  Taken with Camera+ HDR.  Increased highlights and mid-tones, sharpened slightly in PSE 11. Oh Happy Day!

Gloriosa Lily - J.C. Raulston Arboretum Raleigh, NC 7/12/2015

On Sun. I went to J.C. Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh, NC.  It is part of NC State University.   These images are of the Gloriosa lily.   It is a tropical plant orginally from India or Asia. It is considered an invasive weed in Australia.  The image on the right is as taken with no post processing.  Camera+ HDR mode.  The iPhone does not have RAW image capabilty. The flowers were in a shaded area but there was bright sun.in the area.  I did not see the foliage with blue cast and did not think about changing the WB to shade.  So when I viewed the image on the computer I felt it was too blue.  On the left image I increased the mid tones, and then selected color variations and decreased the blue by 2 and increased the red by 1.  When I tried to sharpen or apply a vignette the stamens got pixelated.  So, I omitted that change.  I posted the left imaged to FB Photo Nuts Group.

Sunflowers from Yanceyville Farmer's Curb Market 7/11/2015

On Saturday morning I went to the Yanceyville Farmer's Curb Market to buy some sunflowers. The area I found them last summer, the farmer had not planted any this year.  I found a vendor that had different varieties and they were the smaller ones that did not droop.  I selected about 9 stems and some were duplicate colors.  Later in the day I tried different lighting situations and backdrops with the iPhone. The one I am posting today was a dark green background, used window lighting but there was not much outdoor light.  So, I decided to useon camera flash.   I tried to arrange these so that some of each sunflower was showing.  I did not have a vase tall enough for the flowers.  I used a paper towel roll and cut it shorter to look like a vase. I cropped to a square, increased the midtones and shadows, sharpened in PSE.   I still want to try to find a field of sunflowers that might be planted along the state highways by the NC DOT.

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.

A Yellow Rose from My Garden for Mother's Day

For about 2 weeks I have had several roses blooming in my garden. I decided to take an image of a yellow Julia Child florabunda rose.  I first tried with grass as the background but did not think that was enough negative space.  Then I tried a purple tee shirt and a black turtle neck placed over the grass. The rose was about 6 inches above the ground.  I positioned myself at an angle for the stem & leaves..It was overcast about 10 a.m. I used Camera+, HDR mode, square format.  Post editing I used PSE with slight cropping, sharpening, increasing highlights & mid-tones slightly.  I also had to use eye dropper to pick up black color and brush the background with brush and paint bucket to get rid of the dog hair and artifacts on the black turtleneck.  Also removed some foilage in the lower right corner which I did not think helped the image.  I had added the text before the final use of the paint bucket and so edges of the text have some black flecks around the edges.  I was not willing to spend the time to remove the text and re-do but it should have been the final step. I plan to send an electronic greeting to friends/relatives who are Mothers.