Day #41 – A Photo A Day 2013
Today I am busy editing photos from Friday’s photo walk and I don’t have anything that I feel is ready to post here yet, so for now I will leave an experiment with long exposure from a few nights ago.
Long Exposure of Downtown San Francisco
Slow Shutter app was used – I really need a tripod attachment for my iPhone… or a bendable Joby tripod! 🙂
Okay… back to editing!
Day #40 – A Photo A Day 2013
Once again I felt inspired today to take one of my photos and make a “dirty” painting out of it.
Today’s subject is one of the shots of the Golden Gate Bridge that I took yesterday – like I did a few days ago on my balcony I used the Slow Shutter app and held as still as possible to get a bit of a blurr to the picture, and then I edited the Dickens out of it.
Golden Gate Bridge – February 8th, 2013
I really let myself go crazy with color this time – do you like the result, or would a pallet more true to the actual colors have been more pleasing?
Day #39 – A Photo A Day 2013
This afternoon I had the opportunity to go on a iPhone Photowalk with some users from Instagram – some were local, some were from as far away as LA or San Diego!
I am so glad that I went! Not only did I take some great shots, but in the company of like-minded people who understand the need to stop and “take a picture of that”. Also… they don’t mind being in your shots, which is something that many of my friends just won’t do.
We met at Crissy Field and walked from there all the way to Fort Point which sits right underneath the San Francisco side of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Fort Point visitors hours were over, so we could not go inside, but there was plenty to keep us busy outside for sure.
The sun was going down, and it was the PERFECT time for shadow pictures – here is the first edit from today, with 4 of the Instagrammers casting shadows for us:
Instagrammers Shadows at Fort Point
It was great to spend time with that group, and I’m already looking forward to the next outing! Hopefully it won’t be too soon, because I have around 200 iPhone photos to sort through – hopefully I’ll have a few gems to edit and share!
Day #38 – A Photo A Day 2013
More fun was had with the Pro HDR app this afternoon. I was on Market Street running some errands and the late afternoon sun was blindingly bright and casting the most interesting shadows from the mass of people walking toward me.
Market Street was even more crowded than usual due to the droves of people freshly out of a day of convention going over at Moscone Center, which made it difficult at times to move upstream (since I happened to be going in the opposite direction of what seemed to be EVERY person who had been at the optics convention today) but this proved to be the PERFECT conditions for capturing people in motion without them noticing me taking their pictures. Stealth for the win.
I am really having such fun with movement while using this Pro HDR app. I end up with some very interesting double exposures and in this case, some of the people toward the top of this picture look like ghosts.
Shadows on Market Street
Look for a couple more pics from this day! I have a couple of unusual edits in mind.
Day #37 – A Photo A Day 2013
Epic clouds today! It’s been so sunny this winter and I have LONGED to see some epic fluffy clouds like we get back home in Portland, Oregon – today did not disappoint!
I was working away at my desk and glanced out my window when I noticed the clouds… grabbed my iPhone and started clicking when it hit me… I could get a really cool effect with the Slow Shutter app if I held the phone instead of setting it on a stable surface or using a tripod for the long exposure.
So, I held my breath, tapped the screen and the seconds ticked by… 1… 2… 3… 4… 5… ahhh done!
Wow! I was pleased – it looked a little like a painting, and I wanted to enhance that a bit so I pulled up Iris and started editing…
Balcony View – Slow Shutter and Edited
Rather sort of an impressionist painting, dirty gritty look – I like it! I am really having fun experimenting with the scratched gritty looks that you can achieve. It’s interesting to see how it can transform an every day sort of photo into something a bit more unusual.
Day #35 – A Photo A Day 2013
A pic from our walk to The Presidio for today – there were loads of these skinny trees everywhere near the entrance to the area and it smelled like eucalyptus! I think they may have been some variety of such, but a little research is due before I say it is thus and so.
I was particularly struck by the lush green grass carpeting the floor of this “forest”. I’d really like to come back here for a few more shots, this time with people.
Trees In The Presidio
I wish there was some way to give you the scent of these trees as well – it was heavenly!
Shot with Pro HDR.
Day #30 – A Photo A Day 2013
Tomorrow is MacWorld and I am SO excited to attend a few Tech Talks on iPhoneography!
There was a special all-day event today called iPhoneography: The Mobile Masters Sessions that I was not able to attend, but many of the people (and others besides) that taught classes in today’s lineup will also be giving shorter Tech Talks in the two days that I will be attending MacWorld. I can’t wait to hear what they have to say, and I’m hoping to learn a bit more about using apps to edit my photos.
I didn’t get out to take any photos today, but here is an un-edited sunset pic that I took from my balcony with my SlR and a zoom lens.
January 15th Sunset in San Francisco
Day #29 – A Photo A Day 2013
Proximity to San Francisco Bay is one thing that I love about living in this city – just a few short blocks away are seabirds, seawater, a huge bridge, restaurants, people watching, tourist traps and photo opportunities galore.
Today’s pic is one that I snapped two days ago on a walk with Chris – the Bay Bridge again, but this time by day using, again, the Pro HDR app.
Basically, I like this picture as far as composition goes, but I do think that I over-adjusted the saturation and I am not completely happy about it. I share it here so that I can look back at it with more objective eyes later.
In the future, I may have to heavily edit this one and see what I can do to make it a bit more to my liking.
The Bay Bridge
Day #28 – A Photo A Day 2013
I’ve been a little fixated on the Pro HDR app lately – here is the latest addition to my iPhone HDR experimentation:
HDR Pier Light Near AT & T Park
Taken at the pier near AT & T park – it’s a nice place to walk around!
Day #26 – A Photo A Day 2013
Another search for my CF card reader was fruitful so I was finally able to offload all of the pics from last night onto my MacBook! Wouldn’t you know… it was exactly where I KNEW that I had decided to store it, but another item in the drawer was covering it up and I must not have shuffled things around well enough.
Here is a close-up shot that I took with my SLR – I haven’t processed this one, so what you see is the raw photo:
San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge – Leo Villareal Light Art Testing
The beautiful Bay Bridge – lights being tested for Leo Villreal’s Art display that will officially start on March 3rd.
I read that later that night after Chris and I left that the testing was even more exciting with crazy patterns flashing in the lights. What we saw was pretty cool, but by the sound of it, it’s going to be pretty spectacular!
Day #22 – A Photo A Day 2013
What a good day it was today! I’m finally feeling more like myself than I’ve felt in a week and it was good to actually get outside and stretch my legs for a bit!
My wanderings took me over to the Mission neighborhood here in San Francisco, which was not my original destination, but regardless of where I was going to begin with, I was glad that my wanderings ended up taking me to a couple of places that I totally did not expect to be going to.
At one point when I was way off course, I spotted some street art that looked intriguing, so I went even further out of my way to go take a look. Again, I was without my SLR unfortunately, since I had planned to go shopping and I didn’t want to haul heavy camera equipment around in a clothing store… but of course I had my iPhone at hand!
This mural was so awesome – several notable figures from mythology, some of which I did not recognize, but some I most definitely did like the ones in the picture below:
Wadjet, Horus, Anubis & Nekhbet
I thought that the portion of the mural with the Egyptian gods Wadjet, Horus, Anubis & Nekhbet was particularly awesome, especially since the style very much reminded me of Stargate: SG1 and I am a HUGE fan of that series. Also notable was the boom box that they have with them. 😉
I have a couple more pictures of that wall to share – perhaps in the next couple of days I will post those as well, but that may be trumped depending on what the next few days bring in photographic opportunity.
Day #21 – A Photo A Day 2013
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is today, and while I was not able to go out to take pics, I do have a nice pic of a place that I pass by and visit often here in San Francisco.
Today’s pic is of the Martin Luther King Jr. Fountain in Yerba Buena Gardens. I love the fountain itself, but one of the nice things is that you can walk behind the fountain! There you will find quotes from the man himself; in this picture, the lovely green glow behind the water is of the illuminated glass panels that bear the etchings of those words.
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Fountain
Day #20 – A Photo A Day 2013
Oooof! Today I am feeling worse than yesterday – no fair! I had photography plans for today!!!!
Ah well. So, today I give you… another window view from breakfast yesterday. (this time, panning to my left)
I like varying colors and the worn look of the window decal.
Worn Out Coca-Cola Window DecalWorn Out Coca-Cola Window Decal
Day #19 – A Photo A Day 2013
Despite not really feeling well, I made a bad decision to go to breakfast with Chris. Breakfast tasted wonderful, but my stomach is quite angry at me for selfishly trying to give my body sustenance!
It is my intent to go back to this restaurant when I am well and do a proper review of the offerings there, since I really did enjoy my meal other than the pain that my body is in, which is obviously no fault of that fine establishment.
This is the view I had at the counter that Chris and I supped at:
Lunch In The Window
It’s not a fancy place, but I think that adds to the charm. It’s lack-luster decor certainly doesn’t deter customers, as that place is always really busy.
Day #18 – A Photo A Day 2013
Sunsets – I just cannot get enough of them, and I fear that at times my photography library contains a few too many examples of sunsets.
I am certain that some of them look a bit redundant, but then again, I always find a different beauty in each one.
I have been feeling very under the weather today, and when I saw this beautiful view out of my window, I had to drag myself over with my iPhone, sick or not to take this pic. I snapped a few with my SLR, but I haven’t even checked them out to see if the turned out alright. (I am DEFINITELY not feeling well if I can’t even be bothered to see how I like my photos!)
Sunset over San Francisco on Jan. 18
Day #16 – A Photo A Day 2013
Abandoned building shot #2 is today’s photo. I especially like the rusty chain link fence that guards the building. Hmmmm…. I may need to do a special series of photos just of rusty objects since I do love rusty metal!
Without further delay… here is the picture:
Graffiti on the Mission Creek Park Abandoned Dock
Day #15 – A Photo A Day 2013
It certainly looks as if I will be visiting Mission Creek Park more often – I like the views, and also it’s a nice place to stroll and look at the scenery and watch people play with their dogs too.
For some reason, I love urban graffiti, especially so when it’s on an abandoned structure. This building is on a dilapidated dock… I wish that I could get inside to take pics of whatever might be in there, but the whole structure does look really unstable, so it’s probably a good thing that the access has been fenced off.
Mission Creek Park Abandoned Dock
Day #14 – A Photo A Day 2013
This evening I went for a walk – I was on a mission to photograph in the light of the sunset/twilight, and a few days ago I scoped out a spot that I thought would be interesting.
I brought my SLR, my point-and-shoot, and of course, my iPhone. I ended up taking a few with my iPhone that I liked quite a bit, so I think that over the next few days I will post those pics before I upload a few from my SLR.
Mission Creek Park Sunset
Here is one of my favorites that I took on my iPhone, again with Pro HDR.
Look for more from that park in the coming days!
Day #8 – A Photo A Day 2013
HDR is an aspect of photography that has intrigued me for quite some time now, and I am finally beginning to dabble in it a bit with my SLR.
Although I haven’t had the results that I have hoped for, I continue to experiment and I am not going to give up until I get the results that I am striving to achieve! Perhaps I need to read more on the subject.
Just a few days ago, I came across an app for my iPhone that claims to do the HDR work for you, so I decided to give it a go based on a plethora of good reviews.
Here is the result of my first experiment:
HDR Experiment
The app is Pro HDR and it is really easy to use. Set your phone on a stable surface or attach to a tripod and it does the bulk of the work – first it analyzes the light/shadow in the room, and then it takes two pictures to layer. That process takes around 20-30 seconds – that’s just an estimate as I didn’t actually count how long it took to finish.
Once the processing has finished, you then have the opportunity to adjust various levels of the picture: Brightness, Contrast, Saturation, Warmth and Tint. Beyond that, there are also crop, frame, text and filter options to add to your photo.
It’s easy to use, and I think that it’s an app that I will be apt to use very often which means that I am going to have to invest in a Joby tripod! 😉
Day #7 – A Photo A Day 2013
At the risk of seeming redundant, today’s pic is another one that I snapped with my iPhone the morning of January 1st.
My mother-in-law has a nice garden which supplied endless opportunity to capture shadows against the morning sky. This pic didn’t start out quite as vivid, so I helped it along a little in Photo FX – my go-to app for photo editing on my iPhone and iPad.
I darkened the shadows a bit and added a layer of color to the sky to make the shadows pop a bit more to my liking, and I’m happy with the result.
Suquamish Sunrise on Jan. 1, 2013
Day #6 – A Photo A Day 2013
Another day today where I didn’t take a pic – HIGHLY unusual for me and definitely something that I do NOT want to get into the habit of doing!
So, today’s pic will be one of my favorites from the past month… taken on the first day of mine and Chris’ honeymoon at Disneyland during the first week of December.
Tomorrowland has always been one of my favorite spots, so it was natural that we went there first on our arrival. There have been many improvements to that area in the not so distant past, but I do believe there is room for improvement.
There just aren’t enough rides or attractions there anymore in my opinion, but that opinion may be tainted since I’m not a little kid and I love thrill rides. Of course I love Star Tours – The Adventure Continues and Space Mountain (one of my absolute favorites at Disneyland!) – oh and don’t forget Buzz Lightyear’s Astro Blasters, which I ride over and over and over again and I love it more each time.
However, there is a lack of interesting things to see there these days and every time that I pass by the Innoventions building I can’t help but wonder why they even keep it going. When that building housed America Sings it seemed like a much more interesting attraction than the current out-dated technology how housed in Innoventions.
To be fair, back in May 2012 when we visited Disneyland, they were still doing construction on the Innoventions Dream Home and on this trip I did not go in to see what it was all about. I just wasn’t interested. I know it’s a home of tomorrow, but it seems out of place in Disneyland despite what Walt did with Disney World and his futuristic housing there.
Personally, I’d like to see some sort of Tron attraction! (yes, I DID like the Tron hall on the People Mover!)
But, I digress… on to today’s picture!
Space Mountain – December 3, 2012
The first ride of our honeymoon was Space Mountain! It was a stormy day that day, but we certainly didn’t mind – we’re used to a little rain since we’re from the Great Northwest! Personally, I love some dramatic looking clouds, so the stormy weather set up the perfect shot for two of my favorite things – clouds and Space Mountain.
Day #3 – A Photo A Day 2013
Since I moved to San Francisco I could not help but notice the plethora of art sculptures scattered near my neighborhood… I suspect that I have barely scratched the surface of just how many public works of art there are, and I am very excited to discover and document as many as I can.
One of my favorites that I pass often is Seasons of the Sea ‘Adrift by John Roloff. There is a plaque near the structure that reads, “This glass ship is an art work that refers to the natural and geological history of California. Sediment gathered from the ocean floor four miles off the coast of San Francisco was placed inside in 1993. This sediment contains diverse mineral and organic matter extracted from the landscape by the rivers that flow to the sea through the Golden Gate. The greenhouse environment of the ship interacts subtly with these materials producing ongoing natural cycles of growth, decay and rebirth.”
I visit Yerba Buena Gardens quite a bit, and I always make sure that I stop to admire the sculpture and nearby fountain.
At night, it is lit up with green light, which is a nice contrast to the purplish blue lighting of a building that is just to the SE.
Seasons of the Sea ‘Adrift at night.
Unfortunately my iPhone did not pick up the intensity of the color of the clouds that were prevalent that night. Lights from the city were reflecting off of the low clouds, and the sky looked textured with orange and black.
During the day, “Seasons” is quite impressive as well, it’s bow jutting out from the concrete, living plants contained within. (perhaps a daytime photo for another post!) It’s a piece that I find to be quite contrasting with the area it’s been placed in, and perhaps it’s all the more at home there rather than bayside where it might have blended into the landscape more instead of surprising you.
Day #1 – A Photo A Day 2013
Here it is, my first photo post of 2013!
Today marks the beginning of 365 days of photo posts in addition to all of the other subjects that might inspire me to write in the near future. (I still need to start my iPhone photo app series!)
This was the first sunrise of this new year. I shot this photo with my iPhone at my in-laws’ house in Suquamish, WA – they have a nice view of Miller Bay!
I braved slippery steps in the freezing cold to get this shot. I originally thought that I’d get a sea level shot, but there are SO many steps and they were really treacherous this morning, so I only went down about a third of the way so that I didn’t take any further risk of falling.
I used Photo FX to sharpen it a little and add just a touch of haze.
iPhone Photo App Review Series
Okay, I admit it… I am a photography app junkie. I am always looking for a new app ESPECIALLY if it’s free – I know what I like when it comes to photo manipulation, so I don’t want to shell out $1.99 – $10.00 each time I want to try a new app on a whim.
Many developers make new apps available for free for a short time at the beginning of release to entice people to try it – sometimes these are full versions off the app and sometimes they are a scaled-down version.
This seems like a great way to market your product and get people hooked into buying the full version – it’s worked for me a few times!
One of the free apps that I have been using the most lately is Filtermania 2. I first downloaded it in September, just before my wedding so it’s only been in the past month or so that I’ve really put it through it’s paces.
I’m in the process of writing a full review of the app, but for now I am going to share this pic, because I’m so happy with how it turned out – a little taste, if you will, of what I’ll be showing you in the next few days:
Disneyland’s Matterhorn Heavily Modified
Just wait until I show you what the picture started out as! Is this a view of Disneyland’s Matterhorn or are we in The Alps?! I’ll show you how this pic originally looked vs. this edit – Filtermania 2 is pretty user friendly, and I think it delivers stunning results.
First review is coming soon!