High Point University Campus - May 12, 2018

 On May 12th my photo friends, Pat, Fred,  and I went to Highpoint University campus to take pictures of flowers and campus buildings.  They have a wonderful rose garden that was in bloom.  I asked Pat to take my picture among some roses in another area of the campus. It was a bright sunny day.  Both images were taken with the iPhone 6S.  I took a lot of other images with my new Panasonic Lumix ZA75 compact camera.  Will post some later.  The image of me with the roses I did increase the highlights, crop, and apply a vignette with PSE 15.

Banshee Rose from Nannette's Yard Close Up

 In my yard I have a Banshee rose which is considered an "old fashion or heritage rose".  I actually got the start from the Heartland Unit of the Herb Society of America.  It only blooms once a year in the spring.  The left image was taken in the shade using a deck table  as a background with the leaves behind the flower.  This rose starts out with pink tones but as the blossom matures there will be less pink and more white.  It is very fragrant.   The right image I had the flower and leaves in a very small vase on my kitchen windowsill. I wanted to show the petals from a side perspective.  This was taken with overhead florescent lighting after dark. Both images taken with the iPhone 6S - Camera+ app.  Minor editing in PSE 15. 

Azaleas in Bloom - April 2018 in My Neighborhood

Spring has sprung in Greensboro.  I have been taking a lot of images of azaleas in my neighborhood and at some parks/gardens.  There are so many colors and varieties.  The image on the left was taken after the rain as a close up and I like to call it Peppermint because of the color variations.   The image on the right is more like a rhododendron cluster of petals.  The yellow color is unusual. I have a similar type image of an orange flowering azalea but it was difficult to photograph because of chain link fence.  It was just begininng to bud and you can see the fine hairs on the stem.  I did apply a vignette to blur out background.

 I am still confused about the terminology of rhododendon and azalea.  All azaleas are rhododendrons.  Maybe this article will help and also provides info about growing them.
https://www.thespruce.com/varieties-of-azaleas-and-rhododendrons-2131197

Rust Image on Dumpster (Abstract) - Windows 10 Photo Editing

I am always looking for texture and abstract images.  About a week or so ago I was at the Shopping Center off New Garden Rd.  There was a green dumpster in front of the Novant Health Building that was gigantic and originally a green background color.  I had my new P & S Luminex ZS70 camera with me.  It was mid day.   I used the iA mode (Intelligent Assistant) to shoot about 30 images. I had difficulty reading the lighting on my LED screen to see the sharpness of the image in camera.  I got 30 images that I could further edit with changing orientation, color, texture using the Windows 10 media editor.  This software has limited editing capabilities.   The image on the left is the original which I increased color and contrast.  The image on the right I used a blue filter ?Arctic.  Pushed the clarity a lot and the increased brightness.  I also changed orientation to landscape.  I plan to share images at a later date with the TOPS camera club.  I may have to do a wall collage with some of these images.  Nice background for male Birthday greeting card.