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Day #36 – A Photo A Day 2013

Today was errand day – I hardly sat still! Same goes for a bazillion people out on the streets of Downtown San Francisco today after some convention for optics going on at Moscone Center, and this gave me a chance to photograph people in motion.

I again used Pro HDR as I was walking and the results were rather interesting. I was walking west-ish on Market St. and the sun was setting – very bright light ahead of me and I could hardly see for all of my squinting, but I did notice that people walking toward me were casting some very interesting shadow patterns…

So, again I “shot from the hip”, this time so no one would be cognizant of me taking photos of them on approach and here is one of the results – un-filtered and un-edited.

HDR Shadows On The Sly

This one is BEGGING for an edit, so watch for that to be coming soon(ish)!

February 5, 2013 | Categories: Uncategorized | Leave A Comment »

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.

February 4, 2013 | Categories: A Photo A Day 2013, HDR Photography, iPhone Photography Apps, iPhoneography, Photography, San Francisco | Tags: APAD, iPhone, iPhoneography, Nature, photography, The Presidio, Trees | Leave A Comment »

Day #34 – A Photo A Day 2013

Yesterday Chris and I took a walk to The Presidio here in San Francisco, partially to take a nice long walk, but also our main destination was the Walt Disney Family Museum.

Unfortunately, they do not allow photographs in the museum and it was very tempting for me to snap a few, but I respected the rules. The museum was very different from what I was expecting – many interactive displays done in creative ways! It was a very fun and interesting experience for both me and Chris.

On the way there, I decided to take some pictures “from the hip” with my iPhone… in other words, I wasn’t looking at the screen to see what was going to appear in my shot – I just pointed my phone in the general direction that I wanted to shoot and clicked.

I ended up with several pleasing shots that I want to edit a bit – I won’t be posting them in successive order most likely, but probably all of them will be posted before the end of this month, and I’ll be sure to note which ones are from that walk.

This is one that was most stunning to me:

HDR While Walking – From The Hip

Pro HDR functions like this: you tap the screen and it analyzes the lighting, then it takes one picture with a longer exposure (more light) and one picture with a shorter exposure (less light, you see the darker portions of the pic) and then matches the two up as best it can.

This process takes around 30-45 seconds, so if you are moving at all the pic will be blurred. In daylight, if you are walking, you can get some pretty interesting results!

I’m pleased with this result, and it’s something that I plan on trying with Slow Shutter also in the coming weeks. What do you think of this experiment?

February 3, 2013 | Categories: A Photo A Day 2013, HDR Photography, iPhone Photography Apps, iPhoneography, Life, San Francisco | Tags: APAD, Disney, From The Hip, HDR, iPhone, iPhone Apps, iPhoneography, Museums, San Francisco | Leave A Comment »

Day #33 – A Photo A Day 2013

Accidental photos are always fun when they pop up in your phone photo album… you know the ones, the completely black ones where you must have hit the button while you were setting down your phone, the kitchen tile ones where you must have bumped the button after taking a pic of your dinner, and then there are ones like this:

Accidental Photo of Myself – Feb 3, 2013

I was talking to Chris as I had been messing around with pictures, and the only thing I can figure is that I left a photo app open and I was either picking up my phone from the bed or setting it down.

I like how my hair is all over the place as I’m bent over the phone. I decided that it needed editing.

I tried this, and then I tried that, and finally decided that it needed more color… and scratching. I came up with this:

Edited Accidental Photo of Myself – Feb 3, 2013

I am pleased with the edit, despite it’s subject! It’s rare that I like a photograph of my own self – I much prefer to snap pictures of others but still, this one turned out okay… now I’m just wishing that I had cropped it down to a square. Never say it’s a “final edit”!

February 2, 2013 | Categories: A Photo A Day 2013, iPhoneography, Photography | Tags: Accidental Photos, APAD, iPhone, iPhoneography, Photoraphy, Self Portrait | Leave A Comment »

Day #32 – A Photo A Day 2013

Today marks the 1 year anniversary of Chris proposing to me, so I decided that today’s pic would be of him.

We went out to dinner at Chevy’s (Which turned out to be one of the most disappointing meals – did they change their recipes or something? It is NOT as good as it used to be) and while we were waiting for a table, I snapped a pic of Chris with my iPhone.

I have been playing with motion in photos as I use Pro HDR, and I asked him to move his head a bit while I was taking his picture. The result was rather cool, since the background was obviously not moving and he was – the effect was rather creepy.

I decided to make that look a bit more creepy by layering a pic of a Chinese lion I took the other day – I used the Blender app for that… adjusted the amount of lion that I wanted in the pic, ran the photo through a few more adjustments in a couple of other apps and I finally decided that I liked this version of my edit:

Creepy Chris Edit

I made 6 versions of the edit, and this is the one that spoke to me the most. This is not a face that I would want to meet in a dark alley – such a dark pic is very opposite of Chris himself, so perhaps this is what his alter comic book villan self would look like.

By the way, Chris was pleased with the edit. (and that is some of the best praise of all!)

February 1, 2013 | Categories: A Photo A Day 2013, HDR Photography, iPhone Photography Apps, iPhoneography | Tags: APAD, iPhone, iPhone Apps, iPhone Edits, iPhoneography | Leave A Comment »

Day #31 – A Photo A Day 2013

The first day of MacWorld was TODAY and OH! I am so so SO inspired and encouraged!

iPhoneography is THE next big thing – I’ve been saying this for about a year now, and have been ridiculed by a few, and gently dissuaded by others seeking to keep me from finding rejection of my photos taken with my iPhone.

Interestingly, all of the speakers at these Tech Talks say the same thing – iPhones won’t replace SLRs (big cameras) but rather are finding their own niche of an art expression. iPhone apps offer mobility and ease of use that you just don’t find with editing software for your computer (such as Photoshop).

Photoshop isn’t bad, but it takes a long time to edit your photos. On your iPhone or iPad, I find it easy to find what I want in each app that will make what is in my head translate into the photo or photos that I am merging on my iDevice.

I have been “layering apps” for quite some time now in order to get the results from pics that I am trying to achieve. Most of that work I have not published at all, just a few on Instagram here and there, but I was afraid of rejection.

Not so after my first round of classes today! All of these people giving the talks were either already artists or professional photographers or both, and all of them have found an unusual creative outlet in their iPhones that is very different from their professional (big camera) photography.

Are my edits good enough to show people? I think so, and that’s not an over-inflated view either. Each one of my photos is agonized over to the point where I probably obsess too much over this light level or that color in that exact spot – I am my own worst critic, and THAT is what has been keeping me from moving forward and making my art known.

Starting today, I am not holding back. I will allow my creativity to flow and I’m putting it out there for everyone to see. Will any of this go anywhere? Maybe! I made a few connections today with local photographers, and they have put me in touch with a few other contacts that I think will be great to network with.

Oddly, in one of the classes today, I was reminded that I had entered a contest on Instagram for Mobile Masters, a chance to have your work featured in the Mobile Masters book to debut today at the conference.

Long story short, I checked Instagram (which I had not done in a week), and found this message, which I snapped a pic of on my phone…

Mobile Masters Winning Entry Notification

I almost let out a squeal of delight in the middle of the lecture! MY picture made it? REALLY!?!?!?! It DID!

This was my winning entry – the Matterhorn Edit I originally posted here in December when I was talking about Filtermania 2.

Disneyland’s Matterhorn Heavily Modified

DEFINTELY a validation moment for me! You can purchase the ebook here at iTunes: Mobile Masters Book for your iPad. I am so honored to be a part of this – my first published photo!

Now comes today’s photo, since this IS supposed to be a picture of the day entry, and so far all I have done is gush a bit about my day at MacWorld.

I give you a photo that I edited during one of the talks today, originally posted here on Day #16

Here is the edit:

Edit of 4th Street Bridge at Mission Bay

I edited this one in three different iPhone apps, but right now I don’t remember which ones – I was editing this as I was listening to the lecture because I was so inspired at that moment to do something creative that I just went with the flow! Funny though… the speaker was talking about her use of color in her art and I was totally in a black and white and gritty sort of mood.

Two words to sum up day 1 of MacWorld iPhoneography Tech Talks? SUPER INSPIRED!

January 31, 2013 | Categories: A Photo A Day 2013, Abandoned Buildings, Graffiti, HDR Photography, iPhone Photography Apps, iPhoneography, Life, MacWorld 2013, Mobile Masters eBook, Photography, San Francisco, Street Art | Tags: Art, Inspiration, iPhone, iPhone Apps, iPhoneography, MacWorld 2013, Mobile Masters | Leave A Comment »

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

January 30, 2013 | Categories: A Photo A Day 2013, Photography, San Francisco | Tags: APAD, clouds, photography, San Francisco, SLR, Sunset | Leave A Comment »

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

January 29, 2013 | Categories: A Photo A Day 2013, Bridges, HDR Photography, iPhone Photography Apps, iPhoneography, Photography, San Francisco | Tags: APAD, iPhone, iPhone Photography Apps, iPhoneography, Ocean, photography, San Francisco, San Francisco Bay, The Bay Bridge, Walks | Leave A Comment »

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!

January 28, 2013 | Categories: A Photo A Day 2013, HDR Photography, iPhone Photography Apps, Photography, San Francisco | Tags: APAD, iPhoneography, photography, Pier, Pro HDR App, San Francisco, San Francisco Bay, Walks | Leave A Comment »

Day #27 – A Photo A Day 2013

What a beautiful day it was today! The sun shines here in San Francisco very often, but today was just extra special despite the cold biting wind!

Chris and I decided that we NEEDED to get a coffee from Phillz Coffee so we threw on our coats and started the short walk to the Berry St. location.

We tried Phillz for the first time three weeks ago and we are hooked! BEST. COFFEE. EVER. Hands down, the best coffee experiences we have ever had have come from this place. They grind your coffee at the time you order it so it is fresh fresh fresh – also, it’s not weighted down by heavy syrups and sugar. They’ll add as much, or as little sweetening as you want, and they have many sweetener choices to choose from – even Stevia or honey!

From Phillz, we decided to continue on to AT & T park to go walk near the marina. Right next to the park is the Left O’Doul Bridge, which I find to be an endless source of fascination.

Lefty O’Doul Bridge

It’s a fascinating looking thing… I had never seen a drawbridge quite like this one, and I am from a city that is filled with bridges – Portland is affectionately called “Bridgetown”.

I figured those concrete “things” on that one end were counterweights, and turned out that I was correct. The link posted above is where I found some of my information – it turns out that the bridge is “a heel trunnion type bascule drawbridge” and “A heel trunnion is a pivot mounted on bearings and a bascule bridge has one end is weighted to counter balance the structure on the other end when the bridge is open.” They used concrete as the counterbalance because it was a less expensive option to iron.

My only disappointment about this bridge: there were no rusty spots to photograph. Oh well. You can’t always have what you want.

Photo taken on my iPhone 4s with the Pro HDR app.

January 27, 2013 | Categories: A Photo A Day 2013, HDR Photography, iPhone Photography Apps, Photography, San Francisco | Tags: Bridges, Coffee, iPhone, iPhone Photography Apps, iPhoneography, Lefty O'Doul Bridge, Phillz Coffee, San Francisco, Walking | Leave A Comment »

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