Sometimes I just come up with weird images. Last week for my pic of the day I ended up with the above.

Started with recent photo from Alien Jerky Shop in Baker, CA. In Photogene lightened shadows. In Glaze used blue eye 2 followed by Tangled FX blurred. In Noir removed most color with sepia setting of 51, 70, 0.

My 2013 April/May/June pic a day flickr set.

We have one rose bush in the backyard that goes crazy with yellow-red flowers. I was trimming dead buds - and dodging bees - so decided to take some pics. The bees were going crazy for the almost dead roses making it easy to capture this image with Camera+ on the iPhone.

I added it to my flickr set: 2013 April/May/June pic a day

For this image I started with a 2005 photo taken with long telephoto lens in Wildwood Park, Thousand Oaks. The background is very blurred because of the shallow depth of field.

I selected this image because I wanted to see how Tangled FX - an unusual app that applies changes to sharp edges — and boom got something very interesting. The plant was popped but the background was largely left untouched. I used small details preset.

Next was into Painteresque - an app that adds grain — and again did the opposite. I used the portrait preset that mainly left the plant alone, but smoothed the background even more.

Looked great so used Koobik Photo 03 and in Pixlr-Express+ used smoke border.


Tangled FX small details only enhanced the plant. In Painteresque Portrait the background blurred more. Ended with Koobik Photo 03 and Pixlr-Express+ used smoke border.

My Jan/Feb/Mar 2013 pic a day flickr slideshow. This slideshow is getting long, it now has 81 images.

I should label this post as Rising from the Ashes. I'm back up and running after trying to move RapidWeaver software and this web site from one computer to another. Nothing went right. But today everything is working correctly on the MacBook Pro.

This photo was taken back on Feb. 27th of Giraffes - fake - on 5th Street near Pershing Square in downtown Los Angeles.

For this image I started with another old tri-x black and white from the 1980s. I started with Photogene to lighten the midtowns. To add color I used Cinema FX's Egyptian Gold and Japanese Memory presets.

To darken the edges, I used Alternate Photo's wet plate border. For some texture, I used Distressed FX's lade. Next stop was in Shock My Pic, followed by ArtistaOil landscape 01.

Next I used Tangled FX small details that added great texture, but left white halos around the dark edges — similar to an oversharpened image in Photoshop. To remove the halos I combined the ArtistaOil version in Blender with the last version using 100% darken mode.

Works!

Made this image with a new — to me — app, Tangled FX which offers several interesting presets and good adjustment controls. In this image Tangled FX added the the streaks flaring off image highlights.

I started with a 2012 image from air show at March Air Force Base near Riverside, California. In Tangled FX, I used fibers preset. Final stop was in Distressed FX using lily filter and lode texture.

For this image, I started with a 2012 photo of the family dog Woody. First I used Lo-Mob Instant Emulsion and turned off the photo filter for that border preset. Next I tried several presets in the new watercolor app Aquarella ending up using Aqua Color 27.

A week ago I made some new images of flowers with iPhone and OlloClip macro lens. Today was time to add one to my Flowers and Kyboobik Flickr set.

For this image, I first lightened in Photogene then ran through Percolator and Painteresque' lithograph style. Last two versions combined in Blender in 40% overlay mode. Final step was using Kyoobik's kyoobert 3D.

My Flowers and Kyoobik Flickr set.'

After doing the recent Civil War post, I continued to play with the Faded Time look — now up to 13 images in this Flickr Faded Time set.

The basic process is first using DynaLight HD to add snap to the image, followed by conversion into grayscale with Dramatic Black and White HD. Last step is using Faded Time, part of the Vintage Scene app. I usually play with the various settings, overlays and borders in Faded Time.

The photo above of a World War II Sherman Tank was taken at last year's The Great Los Angeles Air Raid event at Fort MacArthur.

Here's a link to the slideshow version of Faded Time flickr set.

Since I worked on New Year's Day, dinner break was a walk up to the Music Center for one last looks at the Christmas Tree and fountains. I downloaded the iPhone camera replacement app NightCap and used it for this image. I saved the image at Hi-Res jpeg and cropped out this 1/4 of the final image. Held up pretty well. NightCap gives longer exposures for low-light situations and higher quality saved files. It also has manual controls and many other great features. More in future posts. I am still new with this app.

Happy New Year!

The original image was taken Civil War reenactment in Nov. 2012 in Moorpark, CA. This version was made using DynaLIght HD and Vintage Scene Faded Time 01.

The key to making this image was using DynaLight HD to really pop the highlight and shadow detail before moving into Vintage Scene - which does the opposite - removes detail.

Picked up dinner at Sprouts Sunday afternoon and while leaving had to take this image. The reflection is from the top of a car in later afternoon light. I used Camera+ on iPhone to capture image. While still in Camera+ used clarity and vignette.

Last weekend was spent doing the Holiday rush. But I also took the time to photograph holiday decorations around the house with a 50 mm lens — wanted shallow depth of field. Ended up with 33 images posted on flickr.

My Holiday Decor 2012 Flickr set.

Next step is playing with iOS apps. On the image above I just used Perfectly Clear and AutoPainter 2 felt tip. The result is below.

Saturday mornings I usually purchase flowers from the local farmers market. Of course I also photograph the flowers. This's weeks purchase led to this image another upload to my Flowers and Kyoobik flickr set.

Tech note: In Photogene lightened image. Then made two versions. First version in Glaze face 3 preset. Second version done in Percolator then Painteresque style 2. In Blender the two versions combined in multiply 30% blend mode. Then lightened again in Photogene. In Kyoobik used Kyoobert 3d cube 05 and made adjustments. Back in photogene desaturated -35.

My Flowers and Kyoobik flickr set.

Mannequins can be fun to shoot. They never blink, they hold their pose and they don't require model releases. A month ago I found these two starring out of a store after the security gate had been lowered. It made a good image crying for post processing.

Tech notes: In Photogene first used dramatic b&w. In DyneLight HD used old photo fx. In Jazz used film 68,1; tones -34, -17,0,0; focus 98, 24,0,0; vignette 50,22 and border 22. In Pixlr-o-matic used bocea light. In Blender combined the jazz version with Pixlr-o-matic version in 60% hard light blend mode.

My Oct/Nov/Dec 2012 flickr photo of the day set.

As part of my pic of the day project, I started with this recent photo of Los Angeles City Hall. I used DynaLight HD's comic fx preset followed by GrungestasticHD's bleached 02 preset. A simple two step process!

My Oct/Nov/Dec 2012 pic of the day flickr slideshow.

Back in August, as part of my pic of the day project, I came up with this image I titled "Vortex."

Here are the steps and apps I used:



The original image of dinosaur style sculpture was taken at Carhenge in Alliance, Nebraska in 2010.



The second image was of 2011 holiday lights at Pershing Square in Los Angeles. I panned the camera during a long exposure streaking the lights. I then ran the image through Tiny Planets, making the vortex.



The last two images combined in Blender using 80% hard light blend mode.



In Pixlromatic additional streaks added with divine film preset.



In Grungetastic I used pop 8 preset.



For the final image, I used Koobik preset 02 and played with the shape, gutter, border, tone and other adjustments.

My July/Aug/Sep. 2012 flickr set slideshow mode - has 97 images.

My current Oct/Nov/Dec. 2012 flickr set with 17 images.

My recent step by step posts are also being posted at the Show Me How discussion group on The iPhonegrapher's Network website.

Here's another image from my pic of the day project. The process is similar to the beach sunset I posted last week. I started with a 1979 black and white photo taken with a long telephoto lens in Massachusetts.


To prep the original I used Photogene auto histogram and Perfectly Clear.


Then I started adding the color and texture. For this step I used 100 Cameras in 1 "How time drained away and was lost forever" preset. I turned glow on.


Next stop was in ScratchCam using a yellow color, crumpled paper texture and scratch filter.


To lighten shadows and add pop, I then used DynaLight HD.


In Moku Hanga used the strong color preset.


To reduce the Moku Hanga version, the DynaLight step added back in Blender with 50% normal blend mode.


Final version made with Kyoobik 03.

I have many old black and white images – time to turn one into a color image.


I started with this 1982 photo taken in Ventura, California on Tri-X film.


To add some basic color, I used 100 Cameras in 1's preset "Where the thunderdome shook the earth."


Next I made another version of the original In Pixlr-o-matic using the Ivan film preset and the Deep light preset. The Deep preset added an ocean wave effect.


Now the last two versions are combined in Blender with 70% color mode.


To begin the breakup of the original image, I used Moku Hanga fluid motion preset with no border.


Next I played with various AutoPainter presets. My favorite, above, is the AutoPainter 2 felt tip.

A month ago, Kyoobik Photo HD popped up as a Free app for a day. Being cheap, I grabbed the $1.99 app and threw it on my iPad. Besides, I loved the other apps from the developer JixiPix - apps like ArtistiaOil, Vintage Scene and Grungestastic.

Basically Kyoobik Photo adds a geometric grid, mosaic, pop-art overlay to your image. The presets are good, but the key is in the ability to make numerous adjustments to the presets. I have yet to leave a preset alone.

Here is an example of how I use Kyoobik:


I started with this 2008 photo of landscaping at the Thousand Oaks Library.


In Glaze I used the first sunset preset to make this version.


Then I ran the image through Painteresque - a great app but with no adjustments.


With Painteresque, I usually back off on the effect by using Blender. For this version I blended the Glaze version back into the Painteresque version with a 33% normal blend mode.


Finishing in Kyoobik I started with the Kyoobik Photo 02 preset, then went into adjustments and reduced gutter to about 10, zero border, gray tint about 25%, and Image Shift about 75%. I changed to paper background to a dark gray.

For this image I started with a 1982 photo of sunset at Naples Florida. In Laminar I used fibres FX grunge and lighting engine. In Kyoobik used photo 03. In Touch Re Touch removed couple white spots caused by Kyoobik's image shifting.
Link to my July/Aug/Sep 2012 photo of the day flickr set.
Same flickr set in slideshow mode.

The original image was taken with Slit Scan app on iPhone of train at Travel Town in Griffith Park. Then I used photogene, DynaLight HD and Jazz apps, but kept the slit scan effect in center area of image.
My current flickr photo of the day set:

The original photo from 2009 was of a worn out Angels antenna ball. In IRIS I darkened highlights, then used vintage FX old paper 2 and grunge frame. In Blender I used the original image to restore some color with overlay mode at 65%. In Glaze used sunset 2 setting.
Current Flickr pic of the day set.

Today's iOS pic of the day was taken in Dec. 2011, in downtown Bend Oregon. A local resident had placed a Santa hat on the seagull portion of the "Art" sculpture. For this photo i used Jazz and Moku Hanga iOS apps.
The full cast aluminum sculpture titled "Art" by Richard Beyer was installed in 1982 at the corner of Wall Street and Franklin in Bend, Oregon. Sculpture is of a man holding empty wallet with two seagulls looking on.
My July/Aug/Sep 2012 flickr photo of the day set.

This image was taken last evening in the reopened Los Angeles City Hall park. Photo taken with Camera + app on iPhone and processed in iPad with Laminar's LCA B&W preset. A beam of sunlight passing through trees lit the bench.

The more I play with Mogu Hanga, the more I like the effect. I often add a grain effect by also making a version with Painteresque and blending the two together.
I started with this 2008 image of the famous Downey eatery halfway torn down. The sign was saved and place reopened as Bob's Big Boy Broiler. I used Perfectly Clear, Mogu Hanga soft color, Painteresque and Blender.
In Blender combined the Mogu Hanga and Painteresque versions at 20% plus lighter blend mode.
My July/Aug/Sep 2012 Flickr pic of day set.

This last week I have been playing with a new iOS app Popsicolor - makes a watercolor version of my images. Fun app, but still working a some bugs. This morning I came up with this version of a 2007 photo of Cathedral of St. Vibiana. The building on right is the new Los Angeles Police Department headquarters, then under construction.
My Apr/May/June 2012 flickr photo of the day.

Back in 2008 I photographed Preston's Pride, a B-17G on display at Mefford Field near Tulare, California. Along the fence guarding the B-17 are large eagles. For this image I used DynaLight HD to open up the backlit eagle. Then in Pixir-o-matic I used Sara film, metal light and old border. In ArtistaOil I used realism03 and did some sharpening in Photogene.
Here is my iOS pic of the day flickr set for March-June 2012.

More adventures with pixel destruction.

Original photo, below, taken at Peggy Sue's near Barstow in April. First used Decim8 with bunker and precog settings. Then in DynaLIght HD used comic. Final version made in MySketch sepia.

Flickr slideshow of my Apr/May/Jun pics of day.

Over the weekend I purchased Moku Hanga – another pixel punishing app for my collection. It's a new app from JixiPix software based on a Japanese woodblock printing technique. I've been playing with combining this app with Painteresque for interesting images.

The original photo is from recent (April 29) Civil War Reenactment at Pierce College in Woodland Hills. In DynaLight HD made into black and white image. I use DynaLight to start because I want an HDR look with shadow details really opened up.

Next in Noir used sepia with 0,70,25.

Now in Moku Hanga I used thin outline preset. Then used Painteresque. In Photogene lightened image. In ArtistaOill used realism01. In Photogene sharpened and dodged face. Final step was using Ripped From Reality HD.

My flickr Apr/May/Jun pic of day set in slideshow mode.

The original image is of an old sign near Barstow taken in 2009. For this version I used photogene, Jazz, Painteresque and ArtistaOil.

Jazz is a new iPhone app that is similar to Plastic Bullet. It automatically generates four different random versions of an image. But unlike Plastic Bullet, Jazz gives me controls over every special effect. I love this.

Call me a control freak.

For one of my pics of the day, I gave a photo the shock treatment. The original image of Salvation Mountain, a pano, was shot on April 9th with the You Gotta See This app on my iPhone. To make this version, I started in Photogene using auto histogram and bleach preset. Then used Shock My Pic app. Final version made with Ripped From Reality.

My April/May/June 2012 pic of day Flickr set.

This morning played with Olloclip macro lens on my iPhone and took this image.

Last week I was playing with the Olloclip fisheye lens on my iPhone. Of course I had to try a frame using Slit Scan iPhone app. Here are the results. Above is the straight image taken with Camera+. Below is the same image taken with Slit Scan.

During the last week I've been doing several images in Photoshop Touch and iPhoto. For me — each has strengths and weaknesses.

First - gotta point out, I love to turn my old images into illustrations. So right out of the box — I mean iTunes app store — iPhoto struck out. It has a good selection of special effects, but two I was interested in, Oil Paint and Watercolor do not have adjustment options. I only realized this after an hour of digging around. iPhoto help files do not state this. Other special effects have some options, but only by searching other web sites was it confirmed: Oil Paint and Watercolor have no options to control their effects.

The photo below was done in iPhoto app. First I lightened used contrast/brightness sliders — good feature — then applied the water color special effect. But with no controls, I could not dial back the effect. I also tried the oil paint effect on this image, but it hardly made any changes.

So out of the iTunes app store, iPhoto had two major negatives. Lack of special effects filter options and poor help files with no tutorials. But other features in iPhoto are good, just takes time to figure them out.

Meanwhile Photoshop Touch has both good layer options and tutorials. After doing a couple tutorials, I was quickly applying effects to images. Above is one example. I simply lightened the image with curves, made a duplicate layer, used graphic pen special effect, set opacity to 75% and used overlay mode. Done.

Now, not all is great with Photoshop Touch. It has a file size limit of 1600 x 1600 which is about a 2.5 megapixel file. My iPhone 4s shoots an 8 megapixel file. Also at times, I find Photoshop Touch is not responsive on the iPad. I have to slow down.

So for my work, I like Photoshop Touch over iPhoto. But both programs I only give three out of five stars. Many other iOS photo apps have many more options at cheaper price. (iPhoto $4.99, Photoshop Touch $9.99)

Both photos taken at the Hays Antique Truck Museum in Woodland, California, in 2011.

Last week I found myself with a free day while staying in the Bay Area - perfect time to visit the USS Hornet, the World War II era aircraft carrier on display at Alameda, California. Besides the ship's Second World War history, the Hornet also was the ship to welcome home the crew of Apollo 11 in 1969.

For this USS Hornet flickr set, I converted all the images to black and white. Many of the images were taken on my iPhone.

For this image, I took the black and white version into Photogene and used 40s vintage preset. In Pixlromatic I used Dazed preset. In NIR Color HD used silver buff. In ArtistaOil used oil realism 01 and sharpened in Photogene.


My USS Hornet flickr set slideshow.

One of my current favorite iPhone photo apps is You Gotta See This by Boinx Software. It's a simple camera replacement app — start the camera and slowly wave your camera around the scene. When finished, the app presents seven different collages to choose from. Swipe through and save your favorites.

To get a handle on this app, I took a basic and simple photographic approach. I chose subjects that would dominate the center of the image. Then when doing a swipe, I try to end with the last image being of the center subject. When the app builds a collage, this image will be the last used. This is how I finished the Babe Muffler Man image above. This image was taken in San Jose on March 4, 2012.

To see other examples, search You Gotta See This in Flickr.

You Gotta See This is $1.99 in the iTunes Store.

I find myself cranking out many iOS post processed images. I just love playing with all the apps.

This montage was made in Dec. at San Francisco Airport with the You Gotta See This app on an iPhone. Once moved over to my iPad I started in Photogene using high contrast b&w. In 100 Cameras in 1 used "A glowing Ember Lurking About" with yin overlay. Next stop was DynaLight HD to open shadows. In IRIS Photo Studio, I used sketch, then grunge.

My Jan/Feb. 2012, photo of the day flickr slideshow.

I took this photo last summer of B-17 and pigeons, at former gas station in Milwaukie, Oregon. As with many images, to bring out detail, I lighten the image. This time I tried a new app, PhotoFlash – which does a good job.

Then I got carried away using In IRIS Photo Suite. First I used B&W red filter to change image to black and white, then lightened the image more — as the B-17 was originally in the shade. Next I used FX filters in IRIS: color sketch, burnt paper, grunge, craquelure surface and vintage stain border at 75%.

Jan/Feb. 2012 flickr set.

Another year, another new years resolution, well sort of. Instead of just iOS images, like this one, I am planning to experiment in other areas of photography. So 2012 is free-form pic-a-day. I started this Jan/Feb 2012 flickr set, check it out.


This image is from 1980 as a Massachusetts kid heads back to school - End of Summer. The original is in black and white. In Photogene I lightened the image. In PhotoToaster used old school. In PicGrunger used weathered at 80%. In IRIS used Fibres in dust and scratches at 80% to make dark border. In ArtistaOil used oil portrait 09 and sharpened in photogene.

This image, part of my on-going iOS photo of the day, started on film. In the fall of 2010, it was shot on Kodachrome film under the Santa Monica pier. Once scanned, it ended up on my iPad's photo library waiting for play time.

This morning, I worked up this version. I started with DynaLight HD to add detail to shadows and highlights, also converted image to grayscale. Next stop was Photogene to use curves to lighten shadows more, but preserve highlight detail. In PhotoStudio used Lindale to add color. Then in Pixlrmatic used cyborg light to add red hot spots. Also used hassel border.

The final step was using Oil Portrait 01 in ArtistaOil with sharpening in Photogene.

My iOS Nov/Dec Flickr set. Only one more photo to go, then 2011 is done!

This new iOS image of the day was taken at San Francisco Airport with iPhone app "You Gotta See This." This app automatically assembles a photo collage after shooting a burst of images. I usually save the collage with black background — called "Dark Table Collage."

Once in my iPad, I used mysterious light FX in DynaLight HD. Then lightened image in Photogene. These two steps added color and contrast to print edges in the photo collage. Once prep work done, went into ArtiistaOil and used oil impressionism 09. I do not like the blur added by ArtistaOil, so off into Photogene to sharpen.

Flickr iOS Nov/Dec 2011 set.

I just uploaded three more of my iOS pics of the day project. After almost 12 months, I am only 8 days behind. It may take a few days of 2012 to finish my 2011 pic of the day project, but I think the photography gods will forgive me.

The photo above was shot at the Wings Over Camarillo air show this last summer. In Photogene used dramatic black and white. In PhotoStudio HD used old sketch. Image looked muddy so went into Photogene and used auto histogram to lighten. Last step was in PicGrunger using cracked at 75%, pulp texture and border on.

My iOS flickr Nov/Dec gallery.

Last weekend was a quick family trip to Bend, Oregon, with an unplanned eight hour stopover at San Francisco International Airport. I had time to play!

The only camera traveling with me was the new iPhone 4s. Most of my images were from the exhibit Television: TV in the Antenna Age. Besides regular images, I took some with the collage iPhone app You Gotta See This!

In addition, I had fun with Slit Scan, turning it on the nearby people movers — above photo.

Here are the results: San Francisco Airport flickr set slideshow.

On Friday, I missed my flight from LAX. Ended up flying standby to San Francisco, then waited eight hours to fly to Redmond, Oregon.

The kicker was on Monday. Was onboard my return flight from Frisco to LAX when United cancelled the flight. The newly merged United - Continental maintenance folks could not agree on how to do a five minute engine test. Each airline had a different procedure. So after 45 minutes of useless phone calls, United cancelled the flight and moved everyone to a larger aircraft. I was three hours late getting home.

For an image to play with in SpookyPIc, I pulled a 2010 image of Jack antenna ball posed in the jaws of a dinosaur along Interstate 10 in Arizona.

When I first started playing with this image, I found SpookyPic filters would add density — rapidly darkening the image. Normally this is good for dark and stormy night Halloween images, but I was trying to add several effects. Jack went jet black.

So back to photogene. I lightened a lot with opening up shadows and using curves. Back in SpookyPic I used a color reversal filter, texture cracks, hand and small flames. But then it was back into photogene to lighten again.

Once back SpookyPic I added the lightning bolt, fingerprints and tree.

My iOS flickr Sep./Oct. 2011 pics of the day.

One week till Halloween. Time to use SpookyPic, a 99 cent app on the iTunes store. For the photo above I started with 2009 image of a witch in downtown Tehachapi, California. I first used DynaLight HD mysterious light. Then going into SpookyPic I used filter 8, texture 2, the lightening bolt and flames.

My iOS pics of the day Sep./Oct. flickr set.

Just for fun, I ran the same image through three different sketch iPad apps. I took this photo in August of the USS Turner Joy museum in Bremerton, Washington. The 1960s era destroyer served in Vietnam.

First I lightened the shadows and added contrast with DynaLight HD. Then in PhotoStudio HD, it was the charcoal color sketch, top. Below is a version in MySketch using classic mode. At bottom is a SketchMee version.

Personally, for this image I like the MySketch version. Basically this program takes the center portion of the image, makes a black and white and frames it with faded in pencil lines. On some images, I did not like the effect, but on others works great. One hint, don't use tightly cropped images — use ones with space around the center of interest.
MySketch does add some canvas, as the 5 inch gun turret is smaller in the MySketch version than the other two.

I purchases MySketch over a month ago, but put it aside. Today I took a fresh look at it. Overall MySketch is an addition to my arsenal of iPad photo apps.

Oh, and by the way MySketch looks like its free right now at the App Store.

My iOS Sep/Oct Flickr pic of the day set.

My latest favorite look for iOS images is the AutoPainter2 Felt-Tip. During the last week, I uploaded these three images to my iOS pic of the day project.

Above is an Aug. 2011 image of the Gospodor Monument Park near Toledo, Washington. To end up with this AutoPainter2 Felt-tip image I first used another favorite program, DynaLight HD with Mysterious Light. The Mysterious Light was mainly used to darken the upper left edge. While Mysterious Light has great color, my next stop was in Photogene to convert the image to black and white.

Yes, black and white. For many images, I love to build a basic image in black and white, then add color.
For the color it was off into PhotoForge2. I used texture 10 in soft light blend mode. Then in PopCam section of PhotoForge 2, used Barcelona lens, cooling filter, yellow gel flash, pull film processing and texture paper 06. After a quick stop back in DynaLight HD to lighten image, off into AutoPainter2 Felt-tip.

Then in Photogene changed to Black and White. Then in PhotoForge2 used Texture 10 and soft light blend mode. Then in PopCam section of PhotoForge2 used Barcelona Lens, cooling filter, yellow gel light, pull film processing and paper 06. Then used AutoPainter 2 felt tip.

Left is another recent image from Old Shasta. After using DynaLIght HD, then went straight into AutoPainter2 and used Felt-tip.

Below is a photo from 2008 of building with TV antenna in downtown Los Angeles. I used ToonPaint without color and then went straight into AutoPainter2 Felt-tip. I wanted to see how Felt-tip would handle a black and white - works for me.

For this image, I started with a 2010 sepia image of the Civil War reenactment in Moorpark, California. I started with ToonPaint and used xs, xs and medium settings keeping the color. In Halftone use Aurora, no border. Final step was in AutoPainter 2 using felt tip.

My flickr Jul/Aug 2011 iOS photo of the day set.

In typing up my how-to captions for my iOS Photo of the Day project, I've noticed one app getting a lot of use - DynaLight HD. So time for a quick review.

In working on my images, I've found a lighter mid tones and shadows leads to better results with in later steps. Detail is brought out. To quickly pop an image, DynaLight HD has turned our to be the quickest app to use. Basically it's a single frame HDR app with a good collection of special effects. The most popular FX is Mysterious Light.

Controls are simple — two sliders controling strength and radius. The extras are the FX presents, before/after side by side comparison and Color Mixing Light Ball.

In one minute I ran this 2009 skeleton photo through DynaLight HD. I loaded image, adjusted radius and strength, added Mysterious Light and moved the Color Mixing Light Ball to the lower right. Final version is above, original below.



Well worth the 99c price.

With the 10th anniversary of 911 coming up soon, for this image I used started with a photo from last summer of the 911 Memorial in Winslow Arizona. The two beams are from the World Trade Center in New York.

I started with ToonPaint and made a grayscale base image. In ArtistaOil I then used Realism 01 to give a painting look. As with many ArtistaOil images, I like to sharpen right afterwards. So I went into Iris Photo Suite and sharpened.

Iris Photo Suite has a good collection of special effects presets and overlays, so for this image I used old book 2, splatter at 35% and vintage stains border at 50%.

My July/Aug. iOS pic of the day flickr set.

After being closed for three weeks for safety reasons, Angel's Flight reopened yesterday. So this morning I had to do a pic of the day on Angels' Flight.

I started with a 2010 photo of the short railroad. In Camera+ used clarity, then fashion FX, followed with a light grit border. The 2nd app was PicGrunger. I used the Aged setting at 80%.

I just started my iPhone/iPad photo of the day July/August Flickr set. It only has four images so far. Wait, today is the 6th. Yes, that means I am a couple days behind. Oh well. enjoy.

Here is my recently finished May/June 2011flickr set.

On Monday a B-17, nicknamed the Liberty Belle, was destroyed by fire after an emergency landing. The Los Angeles Times posted this Liberty Belle photo gallery.


For the LA Times From the Archive Blog, I posted this 1943 photo of the Memphis Belle B-17.


Finally, I pulled out my favorite B-17 image and added it to my iOS pic of the day project. I shot this image of the Virgin's Delight at Castle Air Museum in 2007. Right after I entered the museum, the clouds parted and this image of the B-17, framed by fall leaves, was there to shoot.

For this version I used DynaLight HD, ArtistaOil and some sharpening in Lightroom. ArtistaOil adds blur, which is great for some images, but for this one it needed to be sharper.

No one has asked, but I'm letting everyone know a little secret. My iOS pick of the day images are usually created during my morning diet coke break. The above pic from this morning was made only using two apps - DynaLight HD and ToonPaint. The original image is of a Nipomo, Calif. church taken in 2007.

My May/June iOS flickr gallery.

While playing with BlurFX, I was able to come up with this image of skulls on Olvera Street in Los Angeles. This app blurs the entire image, restricting some areas with a user defined mask.

I started by lightening up this image in DynaLight HD. Then went into BlurFX and used motion blur. I removed the mask from the two center skulls, blue one on top and right skull on right. Other areas were blurred.

The final artwork was applied using ArtistaOil's oil expression 01 and border 06.

I am just having too much fun with these iOS photo apps.

My flickr May/June iPhone/iPad pick of the day project.

For a recent pic of the day, I started with an image shot a year ago at Paramount Ranch in Agoura. This pic looked like a good candidate to go grunge with.

First in DynaLight HD the shadows were lightened. Then in Photogene, some sharpening, saturation added and the overall image lightened.

Now for the fun grunge part. In PictureShow, HolgaGraphy, vintage dust frame and Light Leak 6 were used. My final stop was in PicGrunger were weathered at about 50% and cement texture were used.

My iOS pic of the day Flickr collection.

During the last week I keep going back to play with AutoPainter iOS app. Since it has four basic impressionistic styles, time to pull our a classic scene - a lighthouse - for my artists to work on.


The basic photo from 1984 was run through DynaLight HD to give it some contrast and snap. Then off into AutoPainter.


The Aquarell version.


The Benson version.


The Cezanne version.


Finally, the Van Gogh version.

I am usually wanting to hold some detail, so my first pick isl usually be the Benson setting, followed by the Aquarell.

The app has a basic mask tool to hold additional detail in parts of an image - say a face.

Back to play time for me.

AutoPainter web site.

Yesterday I purchased a new $1.99 iPhone app called AutoPainter HD. First results look great.

For this photo, I started with a recent photo from the DC-3 celebration at the Santa Monica Airport. First I used DynaLight HD - great Shadow/Highlight app — and lightened the cockpit area. Then I applied the ultra contrast special effect filter in DynaLight. Next stop was in PictureShow where I used half gray, burned border, light leak 1 and grunge noise.

Final stop was in the new AutoPainter HD. I used the Benson setting.

My flickr pic iPhone/iPad pic of the day project.

I used DynaLight HD and PictureShow iPhone apps for this image. First in DynaLight HD, I lightened the aircraft and darken the sky. In PictureShow I used vintage khaki, grain, light streak 4 and worn out border.

Both images have had recent updates. DynaLight HD has a new interface that his much easier to use. The iPhone/iPad app is similar to Shadows/Highlights in Photoshop AND does a good job at it.

PictureShow recently updated, and while adding a couple of filters, removed a few others. The outcry from users was heard and most will be restored soon in a new update.

My iPhone flickr pic a day March/April slideshow.

As part of my iPhone/iPad image of the day project I started with a recent photo of "Bus Home" a large 2002 art work by Dennis Oppenhim located at a bus transfer station in Ventura, California. For this final image I used Iris Photo Suite and ArtistaOil, a new iPhone app recently purchased. In Iris Photo Suite I used auto histogram setting, cosmic scene and black and white red filter. In ArtistaOil I used abstract 04 watercolor preset.

In Iris Photo Suite auto histogram and cosmic scene used. Then Black and white red filter. In ArtistaOil iPhone app, watercolor number 4 preset used.

My pic of the day flickr collection.

Yes I am continuing to post an iPhone photo a day, but am starting to fall behind with blog posts. So today is a catch-up post.

Above is my Tuesday post, from a 1982 photo of wind turbine near Fairfield, California. First the image was processed with PhotoTropedelic iPhone app. Then in Iris Photo Suite I used Comic Scene, Rock texture and Splatter surface texture.

This week I added Image Blender to my arsenal of photo apps on my iPhone. It only does one thing, combines two images into one. Open the app, pick one image, then the second, pick a blend mode and off you go.

For this image I first made a base image in ToonPaint. Then a copy of the base image was given color with Cinema FX's heat vision preset. Then this second copy was blurred in PhotoStudio.

Then into Image Blender, the first ToonPaint image was combined with the final color image in Overlay mode.

Image Blender modes are normal, multiply. overlay, screen, darken and lighten.

While working on my iPhone Pic of the Day project, I found myself going back to a creative technique I first used in 1973.

The basic process is first build a simple grayscale or high contrast image, then combine with a fantasy color overlay.

The seagull image above started as a grayscale negative shot on Plus-X film. I made a positive with the help of a cheap slide duplicator onto high contrast copy film, but processed to get some tones. The grayscale positive was then sandwiched with a colorful out of focus image shot on Ektachrome slide film.

Back in 1973, I made a series of 20 slides sandwiches, many similar in technique to this one. The group was well received, got my a show at a local camera store, opened some doors, and got me an A in an advance photography class.

Many of my daily iPhone pics are done in a similar manner. I build a black and white image, then add the fantasy.

The DC-3 image below was taken into ToonPaint to build a high contrast base. The base was then modified with PaintMee. Next was into 100 Cameras in 1 and Pic Grunger for the color fantasy.

My iPhone Pic of the Day flickr set.

I added three new iPhone apps in last few days. All three looked great - lots of effects and filters.

The first one - a free app - called Picture Effects Magic, looked great to move images into to start artistic conversions. I took a black and white image of a gymnast and applied the Oil Paint Effect. Then in PictureShow I applied vivid preset, light leak 1 and a border.

Then the surprise: once in Lightroom I discovered it the images were about 300 by 300 pixel images.

I do not work with such small images.

After tracing the problem to Picture Effects Magic, it went poof - no longer on my iPhone.

I still have 100Cameras and PictureShow to play with.

Last February I took a look at RetroCamera iPhone app. Then is had two flaws, small output size and crummy size/crop functions. I liked many of RetroCamera's effects, but the 480 x 320 pixel output was way to small.

Yesterday I worked up these two images shown above at full size. Nothing has changed. I love the effects, but same flaws. RetroCamera was removed my iPhone.

The program has not been updated in a year, despite promised improvements.

Time to move on.

This morning I came up with this image. I started with this Sept. 2010, image of a tank on display in Barstow, CA. Then using my iPhone apps, a poster look applied using PhotoTropedelic. Then I used the Noir Blue filter in PhotoStudio.

All these recent posts using iPhone apps - along with additional images - are in my new flickr set iPhone apps 2011. Today is Jan. 13. Guess what, there are 13 images in the new flickr set. Works out to one iPhone post-processed image a day. My new fun one pic a day project.

Now we will see how long this New Years Resolution lasts.

This image started out on Kodachrome film, shot Dec. 2010 at Santa Monica Pier. Once scanned it was transferred to the iPhone to use Adobe Photoshop Express app.

In Photoshop Express, the sketch preset used, then tint, followed by exposure and contrast. Finally, staying in the Photoshop Express, the border also added.

Adobe Photoshop Express is still a free app. The latest version 1.3.2 was released in Sept. 2010.

Eddie, from Georgia, relights his cigar at the Fremont Experience in Las Vegas 2009.

After exporting from Lightroom into the iPhone, PaintMee app used. Then in Camera+, the concert preset used which added saturation. Final border, thick black, also added in Camera+.

Image of the Los Angeles Times building from 2009 was run through PaintMee iPhone app. The border is from the Camera+ app.

The current version of PaintMee, 3.01, was released in November. A couple of new features I appreciate are the additional cropping options and working in landscape mode.

This weekend is the 10th annual Civil War Reenactment in Moorpark, California. I'll be there. I pulled several images from last year's event and processed through PaintMee, SketchMee and ToonPaint iPhone apps. The PaintMee ones turned out best and I posted two, above and below.

I uploaded a dozen to my 2009 Civil War flickr set. More next week.

PhotoTropedelic is a fun, 60s pop art on an iPhone. After playing with the app back in February, I moved on.

Recently, I took another look. After turning off several pop art settings, I ran several images through PhotoTropedelic. The results, which I like, were added to this flickr set. These airplane, guitar, and peacock photos are examples of the poster effect — without the balloons, stars, etc.

In the settings, I turned off stars, circles, rays, gradient, merge known colors, mirror left to right and enabled Image Colors.

Of course, an upgrade of PhotoTropedelic is out. Version 2.0 features a new workflow, iPad support, pdf email, line width control, border reduction option, review previous work, and upload to facebook. The upgrade is free for previous owners.

Check out PhotoTropedelic web site.

In this flickr set, I have posted versions with the pop art settings on, and off.

SketchMee turns photos into hand drawn sketches. I've been using this program for several months.

Link to my flickr SketchMee gallery.

SketchMee is one of my doodle iPhone apps. You know, something to do when watching TV, waiting in lines, etc.

I am using a round-trip work flow, moving images between Lightroom and iPhone. Once in the iPhone, SketchMee is one of the photo apps I'm using to punish those pixels.


SketchMee has four basic windows: Color Pencil, Grayscale Pencil, Color Chalk and Grayscale Chalk. Each window has additional multiple controls for endless combinations.

Images can be saved at sizes up to 1920 x 1920 pixels. The basic app costs $2.99. Try the free version, SketchMee Lite to see if this app is for you. The Lite version has the save function disabled.

A new SketchMee HD version is available for the iPad. SketchMee HD is $4.99. For both versions a PDF upgrade allows you to email an "infinite resolution" PDF to yourself. The upgrade costs $4.99 for SketchMee and $9.99 for SketchMee HD.


July 2010, photo of a totem pole in Weeds, California, with Mt. Shasta in background. SketchMee iPhone app used.

Now this is a iPhone six-pack. I took my postcard photo of downtown Chadron, Nebraska, and played with some iPhone photo apps.

1 - Original Image

2 - Photo after using SketchMee.

3 - Pic Grunger applied.

4 - PhotoStudio aging filter used.

5 - PhotoshopMobile to desaturate.

6 - PaintMee with wild settings.

Hey send me an email with your favorite. I like all the versions but do have to admit that 2 and 4 are very similar.

Larger versions of images on flickr

My Flickr iPhone images

OK, time to let my secret out. Did you think I just found all the off-the-wall locations during my recent 15 day jaunt around the West? Na - I cheated.

Check out RoadsideAmerica.com. Their slogan gives away my secret: "your Online Guild to Offbeat Tourist Attractions."

I simply went to the site, pulled up state maps and researched all the offbeat spots along my planned route. Outside of two planned stops: a three day family reunion in Nebraska, and two days with family in Oregon, I had ten days to cruise and make images. And thanks to RoadsideAmerica.com, I hit the road with a list of offbeat places to check out.

And oh yeah - I also hit the road with the entire Roadside America web site on my iPhone.

Roadside America for the iPhone costs $2.99. The base price gives you full access to one of six regions around the United States. An additional $5.99 in-app purchase gives full one year access to the whole USA, some 6,000 plus attractions.

Immediately I did the full $8.98. My trip included California, Southwest and Northwest, three of the six regions.

Now the real fun begins. Start by pressing the "near me" feature. The Roadside America app finds your location and bam — up would pop a list of nearby attractions with distance, directions, tips, photos, cost, theme and "worth a stop" ratings. And to keep yourself from staying too long — use the "Tourist Interruptus" feature. The Roadside America app will call your iPhone with a reminder "YOU ARE SPENDING TOO MUCH TIME at this stop!"

Oh - also there is the special photographers feature: Sunset Alert. Nothing like arriving at that perfect location in the dark!



Roadside America has many staff generated reviews of attractions, but really depends upon its users for updated information.

While in southeastern Oregon - admittedly an area of few Roadside America attractions - I tried to locate The Shoe Tree near Juntura. It's gone. A couple of 2008 tips lamented that the tree died and the shoes were removed. A couple of photos from 2005-06 showed a tree covered with hanging shoes. But my search found nada — gone — zip. Oh well.

But I do have a museum Roadside America needs to add: The Collier Memorial State Park Logging Museum. Its located on Highway 97 about 30 miles north of Klamath Falls. I stopped and spent a good ninety minutes walking around taking pics. The place is packed with hundreds of pieces of logging equipment on display from the 1880s to present. Lots of train stuff! In addition, there is a relocated pioneer village, campground, horse camp, trailhead and more.

The Roadside America web site and iPhone app has many more features. Check them out before hitting the road!

Image from Carhenge near Alliance, Nebraska, shot with a Lomo Supersampler 35 mm film camera.

Today I finally got some 430 images posted on Flickr from my recent vacation. I went from Los Angeles to Hay Springs, Nebraska, for a large three-day family reunion. Then I drove to Bend, Oregon, to visit other family members. Finally I was back in Los Angeles 15 days after leaving. I drove some 3400 miles, with many stops to take photos.

In addition to my digital cameras, I took two 35 mm cameras: a new Lomo Supersaver and the old Lomo Oktomat. And yes, I also used my iPhone camera. But to keep life simple, I only used the Hipstamatic photo application.

My planning was based around using http://www.roadsideamerica.com/ and its companion iPhone app. Roadside America advertises itself as "Your Online Guide to Offbeat Tourist Attractions." I skipped many "A" list attractions like the Grand Canyon and Mount Rushmore to free up time for my "offbeat" agenda.

After uploading all 400 plus images, I broke out smaller duplicate sets to make viewing easier.

Enjoy,

Scott

Well, here is a list of my flickr sets:

2010 West Tour - the full 400 plus images

Hipstamatic images

Carhenge Alliance Nebraska

Sunset Chadron Nebraska

Lomo Cameras

Route 66 Arizona, New Mexico

Nuclear Museum Albuquerque, New Mexico

Eccles Dinosaur Park Odgen, Utah

Petersen Rock Garden, Redmond, Oregon

Collier Logging Museum, Highway 97, Oregon

The Leftovers - Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon

Once you go to each link, click on the Slideshow icon to start a flash slideshow gallery. This is the easiest way to view images on flickr.

Sculpture at Carhenge in Alliance, Nebraska. Original photo shot with Hipstamatic iPhone app, then post-processed with the PaintMee iPhone app. Original image shot on June 24, 2010.

I was walking around Las Vegas, New Mexico, today and shot this Calumet mural with the iPhone Hipstamatic photo app. The sign was used in the 1984 movie Red Dawn, with many scenes shot around Las Vegas, New Mexico. The movie plot told the story of a fictional city of Calumet, Colorado, during a Communist invasion of the United States.

Photos from last evening using the Hipstamatic Camera iPhone app. For those Hipsters out there, I am currently using the Helga Viking Lens, Blackeys Film and standard flash. These photos were taken along Broadway in downtown Los Angeles.




An A-Team movie ad on bus — wasn't that TV show on in 1980?


I do remember Pigs In Space from the old Muppets show.

This 18 foot tall fork was placed in Pasadena in the fall of 2009.

2009 Los Angeles Times story

I stopped last Saturday and shot a few images. Then Monday came the news that CalTrans wants the fork removed.

New Los Angeles Times story

Am I bad luck?



Image of the fork after using iPhone SketchMee app.

Sunday was the 50th Topanga Banjo Fiddle Contest & Folk Festival at Paramount Ranch near Agoura Hills. Tonight I uploaded sixty images to flickr. The music was great, but I had to most fun roaming the streets of the Western Town where hundreds of musicians held impromptu jam sessions.

Flickr set flash slideshow

Flickr set

Of course, I just cannot just post images. This one image went from Lightroom into my iPhone.


Original image


PaintMee iPhone App.


Photo Studio and Pic Grunger iPhone apps.

Enjoy.

Thursday evening was Art Walk night in downtown Los Angeles. I found myself back at the Museum of Neon Art exhibit taking some photos with my iPhone. One of the exhibits is this green neon glass tube with reflections of other exhibits. While very cool looking, right after I shot this image, my iPhone freaked out and locked up. After a complete shut down and five minute wait, the iPhone came back to life. I guess it’s not a good idea to stick an iPhone right up next to one of these tubes — there is a strong electro-magnetic field around them.

A 2010 photo of portion of the Thousand Oaks Library after post-processing with PhotoStudio iPhone application. The pencil and leather filters were used.

My logo photo, taken in 1981 in Naples, Florida, was given an artistic look with two iPhone apps; PaintMee and Pic Grunger.

This iPhone photo app has two versions: free and paid. The only difference are ads across a top strip. Stick with the free version. I didn't mind the Microsoft Bing ads. The full version is $4.99.

Edwin Little is a frames and filters app. The workflow is very simple. First shoot or pick an image to work on. Then pick from frames. Then pick a filter to apply. Last step is save or email result.

The app uses the center square portion of an image, slicing off ends. There is no crop function. Output is small, about 425 x 425 pixels. The Edwin Little manual says output depends upon model iPhone. Well, other apps give a larger output on my iPhone 3G.

Edwin comes with the following filters: default, old time, lomo style, holga style, random, sepia, portrait, HDR or none. The frames are: photo, none, instant, classic, brushed, emulsion, white, metal and grand.


After playing on and off for over a month, today I gave Edwin Little its last chance. With no cropping option, I went through several images until this Angels Flight crop was to my liking. This version of the photo has the Lomo filter and brushed frame. Final output was 412 by 437 pixels — including a lot of white space.

With no levels or other controls, I had to run the image through Lightroom to lighten. The original was too dark.

I have a one star thumbs down on Edwin Little. It has good filters and frames, but nothing else. Again, stick with the free version, the paid version is overpriced.

This review was supposed to be the ultimate eight shooter shoot-out. My favorite 40 dollar red toy film camera, the Oktomat, versus the 1.99 Johnny come lately iPhone app, the QuadCamera.

But alas it was not to be. My trusty Oktomat wilted under the pressure and started refusing to advance its film correctly.

But first some background. Both the Otkomat camera and QuadCamera shoot eight frames onto one image. The Oktomat has eight tiny lenses that place eight images onto one frame of 35 mm film. Quad Camera places four or eight frames onto a single iPhone image.

About a month ago I downloaded QuadCamera. Right after this purchase, the Oktomat camera flipped out. The next couple rolls of film came back from the lab with the doubles and triples exposures I blogged about last week.


Two weeks ago I tried to do a shootout of the same subject. My Oktomat camera refused to advance film correctly, top, while QuadCamera images, below, came out great.



I tried a couple more rolls of film through the Oktomat camera, this time carefully advancing the film. The result is a random mixture of good frames, overlapped frames and multiple exposures.

So much for my shootout.

Well I am left with a quick review of QuadCamera.


Frame grab of QuadCamera.

QuadCamera version 2.30 was released on February, 23, 2010. The new version added in-App animated GIF export.

Main features:

4 or 8 serial shots.
0.1 to 3 seconds control between shots.
4 effects: bright, vivid, full, hi-contrast. Also black and white or no-effect.
Layout variation: 2x2, 4x1, 4x2, 8x1
Resolution 800 x 600
Email, Twitter export
And the Animated GIF export.

(Note the 8x1 layout is best viewed on a computer.)

When using QuadCamera, simply pick the settings and fire away. No post-processing functions.

Good program - I am giving it four stars. My main complaint was the very small type face used in the settings panel. I found the setting panel very hard to use in low light or without my glasses. This should be easy fix, as the setting panel does not fill the entire iPhone window.

Also I found the black and white very flat. Images shot in black and white needed post-processing to set a good white point and add contrast.

The vivid mode works great. I use it as my default.

The app is receiving about 33% five stars, with next largest group four stars. QuadCamera has got good reviews in Time, NY Times, MacWorld and many other websites.

One great feature is the gif animation. The eight images play back like a very quick video. Works great when the subject is moving. My problem, the two dogs just lay around and look at me.

Art & Mobile Web Site.

The final word on QuadCamera vs Oktomat.

QuadCamera gives good quality results and works every time. QuadCamera wins the shootout by default.

Oktomat camera gives grainy images and very unpredictable film advance. Results are unknown until the film is developed.

When I need results immediately, its QuadCamera. When I want a grainy mood, I will carefully use my Otkomat. Each has a place in my camera bag.


Gumballs taken yesterday with my iPhone and QuadCamera using vivid mode.

The first Apple iPad commercial was broadcast last night during the Oscars.

Link at Apple.com

UTube link

Four weeks till launch on April 3rd.

My new happy app is PhotoTropedelic - 60s Pop Art in your pocket.

PhotoTropedelic is just too much fun. I've been cranking out wild 60s era graphics for almost two weeks now. Then last night, after working on this photo of the LA Theater with Happy sign, I was jolted back to the present. I have to write up a column on this $1.99 app.

Ok this is a good 5 star iPhone app. In fact, PhotoTropedelic has a control to add up to 170 stars to a pic. Now which app can beat that?



Photo of Jack in the Box antenna ball with flowers given the star treatment with PhotoTropedelic.

This list of features if very basic:

1-5 Detail Levels

Tropedelic or Image colors

4, 6, 8, 11, 16 or 22 colors

0-170 Stars

On/off controls for: Circles, Rays, Gradient, Color Merge, and Mirror left to right.

But its in the mixture of these controls that leads to either very wild or only slightly wild posterized images.

The workflow is very straightforward. From the main menu, first go into the Change Setting menu and pick the combination of the above features you want to try. Then either take a photo or pick a photo from the camera role.

PhotoTropedelic immediately begins the process of applying the settings to the image. At the end, it automatically saves a jpg version back to the camera role. In addition, PhotoTropedelic saves a PNG and PDF version.

Once saved, you have the options of reviewing the image, changing the settings and run again on same image, or move onto another image.

In no time my camera role was full of different PhotoTropedelic versions of the same photo. I did notice about a ten percent failure rate where the app would lock up and not save the image. But no problem, rerunning the same image with the same settings will output the same results. I tested this, getting the same result several times.

Output size seems to vary either 768 x 1023 pixel or full 900 x 1200 pixel. But this large size is nice when compared to the downsized 300-400 pixel size output done by many iPhone creative photo apps.


Frame grab on my Safari window to download PDF or PNG versions of my images.

Then there is the PDF output.

Unlike most other iPhone photo apps, PhotoTropedelic saves a PNG and PDF version of the images that can be downloaded to your computer through a wireless ftp feature.

Guess what, PDF is a vector based version of the image. It can be opened in a program like Adobe Illustrator and enlarged to any size. Just for laughs, I opened one PDF in Photoshop. After the graphic was rasterized it was 50 megs.

Bottom line. With PhotoTropedelic, I can now make billboard size graphics on a $1.99 iphone app.

Version one of PhotoTropedelic always included a watermark for the product. After many complaints, the version 1.1 release removed the watermark.

About 50% of the 75 reviews on iTunes give this app 5 stars. I suspect this app will continue to be developed onto the iPad. Also the developer, Larry Weinberg has a good web site with examples. There is also a good active flickr and facebook community.

PhotoTropedelic web site.


The PhotoTropedelic PDF version of Tiger, my cat, can be made into a poster or bigger.

While cruising iTunes for photo iPhone apps, up popped RetroCamera's cool logo based on an old 120/220 film camera.

Then I was completely hooked by RetroCamera's screenshot examples and long list of features: 28 types of color or grayscale film, noise controls, contrast sliders, 15 types of textures, 19 types of frames and blur controls.

And all this is in the free version too - except the RetroCamera Logo is put into every image. So for $1.99 I purchased the app.




Then the fun began. I did a couple retro looking images and uploaded to my Flickr account. When I checked Flickr, oops, the final images were only 320x480 pixels - the old size used by many very early digital cameras. Now this was taking retro too far.

Where was my 1200x1600 iPhone photos?

Answer - gone.

NEVER USE THIS APP TO SHOOT ORIGINAL iPhone images. It only saves them at 320x480 pixels.

This app is ONLY for post-processing. Now I understand why it is so stable and never crashes; RetroCamera is only working on a small file. Other apps I am using work with full files and if too many steps, lock up my iPhone.

So I went hog wild. On this image of Victor the Dog, I cropped, rotated, tried many film types, added noise, contrast, added multiple textures, tried several frames, added additional contrast, added more noise and finally saved. I lost count of the number of changes I applied - no crash.

Since Victor the Dog, left, is a very retro image, upsizing really doesn't hurt the image. I posted two versions on my Flickr page.

flickr link

RetroCamera has many mixed reviews. It averages 3 stars in its ratings - same as I am giving it. The tiny output size cost it two stars.

Developer CLBITZ Ubiquitous Communications Inc., only has a single page web site and is based in Japan. The paid version is currently 1.1. The free version is currently 1.2. On the Free Version iTunes page, high resolution is scheduled as a feature in a future version.


January iPhone rainbow photo given 35-mm film look with RetroCarmera.

Let's see, I have used this app for a couple months, how do I like it? Ah - I shoot EVERY IMAGE on my iPhone 3G with this app and never use the original iPhone Camera app.

This free app will live forever on my iPhone 3G for one feature - Tap Anywhere Shutter. When I first opened 321 Photo, I accidently touched the screen and got my first foot shot. Cool, no more searching for that small red shutter button as the moment got away. Now I concentrate on the subject, frame and touch the screen. Makes shooting candids a snap.

Yes, 321 Photo has other features: Continuous Shooting Mode, Steadycam, three second Countdown Times, Autosave, full Rotation Support and Vibration Feedback for silent operation. You can also review images in the Camera Roll from within the app.

The Steadycam feature is unusual. When in use, 321 Photo waits until you hold the iPhone still as possible before firing the shutter. Great feature for low-light situations.

OK, I admit these features are on other iPhone photography apps. But early on I was hooked by this FREE app.



There are two major bummers to this app. First it does not support video or tap to focus on the iPhone 3Gs. Second, location and other meta-data is not saved with images taken with 321 Photo.

Actually there is a third downside. I find myself taking images of my stomach, foot , knee and pocket just by accidently touching the iPhone screen when 321 Photo is on. I have ten times the number of butt photos vs butt calls.

The current version only has five reviews on iTunes. When reviews from previous versions are included - some 279 - only about 25% are giving 321 Photo 4 or 5 stars. If you own a 3Gs model, I would skip this app. If, like me, you have a 3G model, this is your app.

The developer, Room1337 Ventures, has a small but useful web site.

Bottom line: great replacement camera app for 3G model, not for 3Gs.


With 321 Photo I got this pic of Woody before he ducked under the table. He was trying to sneak a snack during the Super Bowl while no one was looking.

Photo at the Satwiwa Native American Indian Culture Center near Newbury Park taken on Monday with iPhone. The photo was cropped, saturation added, sharpened and border added with Photoshop.com Mobile.

When I got my iPhone last fall, the first photography app I added was the free Photoshop.com Mobile from Adobe.

As a 19 year user of Photoshop, I assumed it would be the default photo processing App on the iPhone.

Wrong.

Photoshop.com Mobile is nothing like its big brother. Its just one of hundreds of free or inexpensive photography Apps available for the iPhone. But it is one of the better free Apps!

Adobe released Photoshop.com Mobile to help build up its Photoshop.com web site. But for other users like me, its a good quick post processing App for my iPhone pics.

List of top features:

Basics: Crop, Straighten, Rotate and Flip.

Color: Exposure, Saturation, Tint, Black and White, Contrast

Filters: Sketch, Soft Focus, Sharpen

Effects: Vibrant, Pop, Border, Vignette Blur, Warm Vintage, Rainbow, White Glow, Soft Black and White

Borders: Rectangle, Rounded, Oval, Soft Edge, Vignette, Rough Edge, Halftone and Film emulsion

What I really appreciate is the ability to edit in both vertical and horizontal modes on the iPhone.

Yes there are plenty of iPhone photo apps with larger feature sets. But I keep coming back to Photoshop.com Mobile for its ease of use and stability - never crashes.

At the iTunes store there are over 3500 reviews of the current version of Photoshop.com Mobile. About 40% of the reviews are giving it five stars. Me, I am going with a 4. I just expected more from the makers of Photoshop.

p.s. - Adobe the iPad is coming. Are you ready with a real versions of Photoshop and Lightroom?


This recent iPhone photo of a black propane grill was converted to black and white, given tint, over-sharpened, and had a border applied all in Photoshop.com Mobile.

Good idea, but concept flawed I believe by iPhone hardware limitations.

My first test of this app was a complete failure. On one of my recent dinner walk in downtown Los Angeles I took some street scenes images. Being a dark and stormy night, I knew I was pushing my iPhone 3G camera. The images in standard mode, 1600x1200 pixels, were easily save to the Camera Role. But in 5.0 MPX Mode the app crashed every time while saving the image. Not a single 5.0 MPX Mode image was successfully saved.

I did power down my iPhone and restart. This trick did not make a difference. In 5.0 MPX mode, the app still crashed.

5 Megapixel Camera works by up-sampling the original iPhone pic. It adds pixels between existing pixels and assigns the new pixel a value by averaging the original neighboring pixels. I suspect the grain and high contrast of the night images gave 5 Megapixel fits.


Examples posted on iTunes store that go my attention to 5 Megapixel Camera.

On my 2nd try during flat daylight lighting - mixed results. I tried to shoot a normal 1200x1600 pixel normal image and match it with a similar photo shot at 1920x2560 pixel. Again 5 Megapixel Camera locked up about half the time when trying to save. Bummer.

And when the 5.0 MPX image did save - it took 15 - 20 seconds. After opening up the images on my computer, I could see the additional detail.

But the 5 megapixel feature seems to push the processing power of my 3G model iPhone. Way too many crashes. So I will go back to up-sampling in Photoshop. A much more reliable workflow.

5 Megapixel Camera does have other useful features. The main three I find useful are self-timer Countdown Mode, Time-Lapse Mode and the Big Button Shutter which turns the entire screen into the shutter.

The App has had several hundred reviews. About 50% give this app 5 stars. Most of the others 1 star. I also gave it a single star.

Why - the main feature crashes on my 3G iPhone and I could not troubleshoot this bug since the the developer CrowdCafe web site/support site is not up and running.

My suspicion is that this app works fine on the 3Gs model iPhone but does not on older models. This would explain why many reviewers love the app and the rest don't. But there is no way to check this theory of mine.

The bad: Takes about 20 seconds to up-sample and save a 1920x2560 image -when the process does not crash. Also the CrowdCafe web site and camera support web site are not up and running.

The good: Has several useful features like "Big Button" that turns the entire screen into a shutter, Time Lapse photography and self-timer Countdown Mode.

One Star out of five.

5 Megapixel Camera is currently 99 cents at the App Store in iTunes.


When 5 Megapixel was able to save an image I got good results. Enlargement of 2 megapixel image is on left, 5 megapixel version on right.

One of my sons put me on to this iPhone App. iVideoCamera adds video to the non-video iPhone 3G model. Unlike the more expensive iPhone 3Gs, the 3G model does not support video out of the box.

So instead of buying the 3Gs, I paid a total of 99 cents to shoot video.

What was most surprising, my first attempt actually produced a video on YouTube.

During one of my dinner breaks, I visited the Los Angeles Police Department Memorial Wall. For three minutes and 45 seconds I rambled along about the memorial and iVideoCamera. Once done, I saved the video to the iPhone cameraroll, then uploaded to YouTube.

The only problem came when trying to connect to YouTube. I had to try three times to connect. For the third time, I moved farther away from the large LAPD building to see if I could get better AT&T reception. It worked, but on the AT&T network took about 15 minutes to upload.

The video quality was not good, but most of the blame is on me, not the software. The current version captures unlimited video at ten frames a second at 160 x 213 resolution. Guess what, if you move and pan, you get blur. When I held my iPhone study I got a decent image.

I tried two more short videos this last week with better results. These two videos were shot at the lower quality setting. Higher quality 320x426 resolution is possible for clips lasting about 30 seconds.





The finished video can be uploaded to several web sites like YouTube. The app has a large number of reviews - some 2700 for this version. Most reviews either love the app or hate it, not much of a middle ground.

Most complaints are about low frames per second or small resolution. I ignored these because for 99 cents on a non-video camera, what do you expect.

The one common complaint is a bug mentioned by numerous reviewers - they could not upload to facebook.

The one feature I would like see improved is easy exporting to my desktop computer. Currently I have to ftp the file on my home wifi network. But once set up through Transmit, I was able easily able to move several videos to my desktop.

iVideoCamera is developed and sold by Laan Labs at http://labs.laan.com/.

The iPad looks like a hit, but not for me. I am planning to wait a year or two for additional features and better software like Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom. Otherwise I have no use for the iPad.

The key features I liked were the external keyboard and case.



Is the iPad a computer, left, or a book, right? The new dock for the iPad, left includes a keyboard that turns the iPad into a computer. The new case, right, makes it into a book. Either way the new iPad and these accessories will attract a lot of interest from educators. I suspect iPads will be scooped up by school districts, resulting in declining MacBook sales.

The bad: no video conference camera, video output, USB ports or multitasking.

The good: price. At $499, the iPad is half the price I was expecting.

I will take a pass on the original iPad. I need a better way to import and export images (USB ports) and software multitasking to easily jump between programs. I will stick with my trusty MacBook.