Actually, I don't know. The plant guy on the radio is always saying to make sure you have an adapted variety, especially with trees. He says you can amend the soil for an azalea or a gardenia, but not an oak tree. He warns regularly about getting the wrong kind of oak. In the discussion regarding the yellow oak tree, I was trying to ID the leaf of a squirrel planted oak tree that seems to want to live in my yard, as I've cut it down twice. It turned out to be a Texas red oak. so, I'm reversing course and gonna start babying it. I used to see the (yellow) oak pictured on the way home from work every day. I discussed these trees, the one that is yellow and the one with the hardware in my previous post. The hardware tree (it's on my block) is a poplar tree where someone tried an old fashioned method to try to put iron into the soil. I was a little surprised that the yellow oak is as green as it is right now. It's not quite as yellow as I've seen it and the camera does not get the "odd" shade of green that it is. (Maybe I can get a photo when it turns bright yellow.) bkay

The Hosta Library states, Hosta Library photos are not to be used without permission, even at reduced size. No exceptions. This is an old topic...There was a previous posting on this Forum regarding using photos from the Hosta Library. Bob Axmear clarified what is intended by not copying photos from the Hosta Library...Basically, he said it was fine to post photos on this Forum from the Hosta Library, but he just does not want the photos to be used for commercial purposes. His response was sent in an email dated November 29, 2009 as follows: Hi Janice, It doesn't matter how you link when you are on a forum, people just don't want their photos used on commercial websites. They pay for the photos to be taken in some instances and donate them to the library and someone else takes them and adds them to their website. Hope that is what you are wanting to know. Bye, Bob Bob Axmear, 208 2nd St NE, Waukon, IA 52172 IMO, if photos are copied or used from another source, it is proper to get permission first, to give the photographer credit, and to cite the source from which the photos were obtained, whether the photos are copyrighted or not. This is true for written material as well. Here is a link which may be helpful: Previous GardenWeb posting regarding using photos from the Hosta Library

Marci, according to my almanac, (picky me) winter officially starts at 7:22 p.m. EST tonight. Then, on Christmas Day, we will gain one full minute of daylight! What a present for our orchids and us! Lots of buds are patiently waiting for more sun, and it's a really sunny day today! Carol

I agree with Pieter that using a color chart or a grey card in a photo would be a way to really establish a more true color value - especially if the photograph is out of context. Color balance in digital media (and even for print labs) is still a floating target. I suppose why Pantone is still a major company in industry/production - different companies look at their physical samples for comparison. As for a grouping of photos, I try to make everything look similar to each other (within reason). As for the challenges regarding color: Auto white balance on a camera can meter incorrectly. Most computer screens aren't color calibrated (and even if they were, they fall out of calibration often). Some people use a ColorMunki or a Spyder. The human eye - as we age, yellows. So, an older person's color perception will lean yellow. Also, even if someone does has a perfect color perception score, our eyes tend to adjust to colors to try to 'normalize' the situation (like how our nose adjusts to a smell & then the smell 'disappears'.) --- But, if you want to have a good, middle of the day 5500 kelvin (aka daylight value) photograph, that is evenly lit - use a diffuser. Seriously, it's almost like cheating in photography. It makes everything look great. They are not that expensive and you can probably still use your camera/iphone in auto mode if you'd like. Why use a diffuser? A diffuser evens out the light - it essentially makes shade. However, the difference here is that it is still true color value from the sun whereas shade from trees tends to look blue. See how harsh the light is on Spencer & the couple's legs, while the couple's faces are evenly lit? So, when photographing hostas, I would suggest using a diffuser when full sun is on the plant. This would even out the lighting, give you a good kelvin value (true color), and make the resulting image look great. (Now, we could also go into setting a custom kelvin value to get accurate color - but, that's a whole other topic and much more in-depth). In the shade from trees, the subject will photograph blue, but you could still use a diffuser to even out dappled lighting.