To Be a Bird

To Be a Bird, a photo by bichonphoto on Flickr.

The Longwood Gardens must be one of the most beautiful gardens in the United States. This photo was taken with the Camera+ app in the conservatory. I love all the colors and the reflections in the shallow fountain pool. Within the app, I applied the backlit scene, the special FX effect of HDR and finally the Old-Timey border.

Haddy 4th!

Haddy 4th!, a photo by bichonphoto on Flickr.

This house is all decked out for the 4th of July. It is located on Kings Highway in Haddonfield New Jersey. Photo was taken with TrueHDR and then processed in the Camera+ app using the sunset scene followed by the Lo-Fi FX effect and a light grit border.

Sky Maze

Sky Maze, a photo by bichonphoto on Flickr.

This is part of the exterior of the Fred B. Karl County Center, which is a 28-story building, housing Hillsborough County government offices, located Kennedy Boulevard and Pierce Street in downtown Tampa. Photo was taken in the Camera+ app, applying clarity scene, HDR FX effect and a thin black border.

A Place to Retire

A Place to Retire, a photo by bichonphoto on Flickr.

This is one of the older buildings at the Minnesota Veteran's Home. It was the original administration building. It was once called the Old Soldier’s Home and was established in 1887 for indigent veterans of the Civil War. It is located on a 51 acre wooded campus overlooking the Mississippi River near Minnehaha Falls. Their philosophy is a “willingness to serve in an environment of person-centered care with compassion, accountability, respect and dignity with excellence as our standard.” The Home provides skilled nursing care, which includes Alzheimer’s/dementia care, domiciliary care and adult day care will be available in the near future. This photo was taken in the TrueHDR app. Below is a circa 1900 photo of this building and a mapquest view of where this building is located.

Sunday Brunch

Sunday Brunch, a photo by bichonphoto on Flickr.

Fabulous dining room of the Saint Paul Hotel in downtown St. Paul, MN. During their Sunday brunch, they serve freshly baked sticky buns. Yummy! One of my favorite things in life. What a great surprise. I will be back. Photo was taken with Camera+ app. The Diana FX effect was applied along with an Old-timey border.

Bay Pines VA Post Office

Bay Pines VA Post Office, a photo by bichonphoto on Flickr.

The Bay Pines VA in St. Petersburg has beautiful buildings and this is the Post Office. What a great place to mail a letter. Photo was taken with the Camera+ app using the Clarity scene, FX Effect of Diana and an offset border. Who knew snail mail could be so exciting?

Don CeSar

This is the Don CeSar, the infamous "Pink Lady," located in St. Petersburg Beach. Photo was taken with iPhone and process in Mill Colour app to make the colors pop. It was known as Florida’s Pink Castle or Pink Palace when it opened back in 1928. It has Mediterranean and Moorish architectural motifs, a distinctive coral pink facade, and a tropical setting, which all stand out against the blue Floridian sky. Originally named after Don Ce-Sar in Vincent Wallace’s light opera Maritana, the Don (as it is locally known) was built by Thomas Rowe. It has marble fountains, lofty ceilings, rich furnishings, and gorgeous views of the Gulf of Mexico or Boca Ciega Bay. The Don served as a hospital during World War II and later a Veterans Administration office. By the late 1960s the building was abandoned. It was purchased, restored and reopened in 1973. Now a full-service resort, the Don CeSar offers easy access to the beach, golf shuttles, two pools, a full-service fitness center and spa, children’s activities, daily sailing and wave-running clinics. It also has several top notch restaurants, including "Maritana." 

This HDR photo was taken with the  Nikon D7000 and 55-200 mm lens. A normal exposure was combined with an over and under exposed version and then tone mapped in Photomatix Pro.