Unknown ? Shrub - Greensboro Arboretum 3/9/2015

Despite the winter weather, I did find some different images at the Greensboro Arboretum in March.  I have no idea why this shrub has red branches sticking out of a trunk that has been cut off.  There were no labels present. I took the image with Camera Plus and edited it in the same app.  I used clarify and it made the branches a more vibrant red.   It will be interesting to see what happens this spring and summer.   

Witch Hazel Shrub inBloom - Greensboro Arboretum 3/9/2015

Winter is a great time to capture images of a witch hazel shrub in bloom.  It took several trips to the Greensboro Arboretum to capture an image to post.   There are numerous cultivars, this one was labeled "Sunset". There is a native one. It was overcast and so I had to change the hue to more yellow. I did price the cost for a 5 gallon one at New Garden Nursery. It would cost me like $65. It was shot in HDR mode.  This image was not cropped.  I increased the midtones and shadows and sharpened --maybe a little too much but the petals are part of the uniqueness of the bloom.  I would like to try some macro shots when the sun is shining.  They even had one with red petals but none of those images were in focus.  See previous post for a one with smaller petals.
   

Colorful News Stands for Community Papers

I was in downtown GSO near the Carolina Theater and saw these newsstand boxes that were
all different colors, sizes, and shapes. An instructor once said "the best image may be behind you".  My original thought was that this image might be an opportunity to use filters or some new app.  It was shot in HDR. I used PSE 11 to edit.  I cropped, increased the saturation.  Considering the Internet as a source of information, it was amazing to see this many options of community publications.  There were actually 3 more but a lightpost was in the way.   I actually edited out the window and filled it in with the navy blue color using the fill bucket.  The original had a refection of a car which was OK but this makes the boxes stand out more.  

Viola Close-up with Ollieclip 21x Lens

Not a lot of choices for blooms in NC in the winter time.   I bought some pansies in Dec. Only one of
the 12 plants had a bloom 3/8/2015..  I put on my 21x macro (OllieClip 4-in-1) lens for my iPhone 5s to take a picture of this viola.  It was about 1 inch in diameter.   Because of the shallow depth of field and not everything being in the same plane, it is difficult to get everything in focus.  I wanted to see the texture of the petals and it took a lot of patience to get this shot.   I will show you the before and after.  I cropped,  cloned and sharpened the image.  I may have played with midtones a bit for a richer color.  Edited in PSE 11

Witch Hazel - A Winter Bloom @ GSO Arboretum

At the Greensboro Arboretum yesterday I found a witch hazel shrub in bloom.  Not native and the petals/blooms were a lot smaller.  It was difficult with the witnd blowing to capture a sharp image.  I added contrast & sharpened contrast to image on Left.  The Eight image I used an invert filter in PSE 11.  I want to go back and try again - even a overcast day..  I did get better images with a Nikon P600 camera which has more megapixels and much easier to stabilize  for branches not close to the camera by using the zoom. If I go back may, also want to try for macro images with my Olliecip 4 in 1 macro lenses.

Wind Chimes Sculpture in Winter - GSO Arboretum.

Today I was at the Greensboro Arboretum looking for spring flowers or something I could use for my  challenge image.  This is a wind chime sculpture that has been in place for some time.  Recently they have added a ring walkway around  it. Usually there is green foliage in the background but I like the bare trees and blue sky.  I did take in HDR mode so sky is more blue.  I used the Camera + app to take the picture and to edit.  I cropped and used clarity.  It is not as noticeable on this small scale but there is a piece of wood leaning against one of the center posts.  On the small LED screen difficult to see.  I am not very good about remembering to enlarge the image to check for clutter/debris.  Then it shows up on the monitor and it is too late to remove and retake the image. At a public park removal can be an issue.      

Carnation Bouquet -Window Lighting

For Vaentine's Day I bought a bouquet of carnations from Wal-mart to enjoy as my favoirite flower as well as celebrate the day.  Carnations are my favoirite flowers becaise of their clove-like scent. Pinks just not as good.   I used window lighting from my bay window in the kitchen. The background is a very dark green background cltoh over the back of a kitchen chair. The background was a material remnant about 2 yds in liength and 45 -54 inches wide.  Despite these carnations being in different planes, the focus was pretty good for a close up.  The color range for the flowers another challenge R/T white balance and white areas being blown out.  You don't get blinkies for highlights on an iPhone 5s.  May not be able to evaulate that well on a small LED screen. on playback.  I was not able to figure out how to eliminate the glare on the green vase. I have not mastered WYSWG for the amount of space around a close up object.  I don't remember doing any editing with this image. ? Maybe sharpening.. Scott Kelby  believe every digital image needs sharpened.