Flowers

Lens-Artists Challenge #154 – One Photo Two Ways

Mei-Mei9 Comments

This week’s photos are brought to you courtesy of the Google Photos editor. Being a scrapbooker as well as someone who uses my phone as my camera, I am big on photo editing and it is amazing to me how easy it is nowadays. I did all these edits on my phone with one hand while feeding my 9-mo-old at 3:30am. (Hey, I’ve got to stay awake somehow.)

I was skimming through photos of flowers from my yard and decided to do some editing to make some look extra special. First we have this shot of a quince bush which had nice color but was quite backlit. I cropped it, then used the Bazaar filter to make it pop more.

Next we have my weeping cherry tree, which I cropped, then Enhanced, and then added some vignette effect around the edges to give it even more focus.

Do you think the edits were an improvement? I’m happy with how they turned out. Do you guys normally edit all your photos, at least a little, like I do? Or are you more of a purist?

You can find more photos two ways at the original Lens-Artist challenge.

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #147: Gardens

Mei-Mei6 Comments

I love visiting gardens wherever I am in the world. They are like a secret to be shared with the others who seek out their magic, an interesting combination of civilization and wilderness.

Ecuador (Hosteria La Cienega)

Spain (Royal Alcazar, Sevilla)

Ohio (Franklin Park Conservatory)

Ohio (Columbus Park of Roses)

You can find more gardens at the original Lens-Artist challenge.

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #143 – Colorful April

Mei-Mei6 Comments

Pink and purple are the colors to be found around my yard this month. I’m having a great time discovering all the plants in my new yard as they bloom.

My favorite so far is this weeping cherry tree!

Vinca is nice, too.

You can find more April colors at the original Lens-Artist challenge.

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #142 – You Pick It!

Mei-Mei9 Comments

“Spring, spring, spring!” sang the frog. “Spring!” said the ground hog. 

“Spring, spring, spring!” said the robin. It was Spring. The leaves burst out. The flowers burst out. And robins burst out of their eggs. It was Spring.

Home for a Bunny, Margaret Wise Brown

A walk around the neighborhood revealed the first signs of spring. I love crocuses: not only are they pretty but they are such hopeful flowers. When you see them you know good things are on the way!

You can find more personal picks at the original Lens-Artist challenge.

Lens-Artists Challenge #110 – Creativity in the Time of Covid

Mei-Mei11 Comments

My photography efforts have stayed very close to home in the past six months since the COVID-19 pandemic started.  Most of the camera roll on my phone involves my two-year-old, with a few of the new house that we are moving into next week.

My most common subjects in the summer are always the flowers in my yard; I gave a few examples for this recent challenge.  Since then, I’ve been working on close-ups of flowers, something I’ve always struggled with in terms of framing and focus (my phone does not have a good macro setting).  I was really pleased with this hydrangea from my front yard.  I will miss this bush when we move!

I used the editor in Google Photos to give it just a tiny bit of pop.  I’ve also been doing some cropping for better focus.

You can find more creativity at the original Lens-Artist challenge.