Dahlia
Taken with Camera+ and then cropped and processed in Photogene2 – the give this high contrast mono image.
iPhone camera apps
Today’s Photo
I managed to shoot this in our garden just minutes before a huge thunder and hail storm hit Branston.
I used the Camera+ app – it has a useful function to split the exposure and focus points – so I could focus on the central flower but expose for the lighter right hand flower.
Then to lift the image I used the Clarify filter in the Camera+ Lightbox. Below is the original image.
…and here is the rain through the patio window.
A Short Walk
I am going to the Lake District next weekend so I thought I had better get a couple of miles walking in this weekend – so a quick walk down to the River Witham across the fields.
I took a brew kit and waterproof jacket with me and used the Molle water bottle case Diana recently bought me.
The case is large enough to hold a 600ml Sigg bottle, my titanium mug with lid, meths stove, 50ml of fuel, the makings for tea and still have enough room to pack the other small items in my kitchen kit and some food. I strap the rain coat and a sit mat to the outside.
The case can hold a 1l bottle, by using a smaller bottle I can pack extra equipment – the 600ml bottle is enough for two hot drinks. I am planning to use the case when backpacking to carry my lunch and brew kit in, so I do not have to open the main pack when I stop for lunch.
My lunch was freshly brewed Indian Spiced Tea with crackers and spicy lamb kebabs. The kebabs were made from scratch, by Jeremy, last night for my Father’s Day meal. The leftover patties, I took with me, were even more delicious when eaten cold whilst sitting out in the countryside.
click on the above image for a full sized version to see the details
This poppy was in a neighbour’s garden and is in better conditions than the one I photographed on Friday.
All photographs taken using my iPhone 4 – using the Camera+ app. Post processing with Photogene². The post was written on my iPhpone using the WordPress app.
Yesterday’s Photo
The photo I posted yesterday as part of my “Photo a Day” project had been post processed to give the final image.
The original image was taken with Camera+.
Although I have got a copy of 645 Pro, which is a good camera replacement app for an iPhone, I find Camera+ so much quicker to use and it returns great images. In this situation the dandelion was moving in the wind so being able to shoot at the moments it was still was essential, as it was nearly half of the images I took were blurred.
I used the Apple Picture app to sort through the images, firstly to delete all the ones where the framing was off or they were blurred and then to select the final image I was going to work on.
I was pleased with this initial image – it shows the detail of the seed head against a vague green background but I wanted to see if I could bring out some of the details and improve the impact of the final image.
This meant using my favourite iPhone image processing app Photogene2. One of the features of the app is that you can save your own custom image filters – and this I have done.
I have created a low exposure, high contrast mono filter, that creates an image similar to those I used to regularly print in my black and white “wet” darkroom, but on the way to creating this filter I also saved a version of the effect but without applying a grey scale to the image – so it is still colour. It was this filter I decided to apply as it would emphasise the white seed parachutes and reduce the influence of the backgound. This I think it did with good results.
If you click on either of the above images they link to full size versions (2592 x 1936 pixels) so you can examine the details.
Two Night Trip
I had been planning a two night trip further afield – but the variable weather and the unseasonably low temperatures meant I changed my plan to a walk to Woodhall Spa. (I have been walking for about 30 minutes, as I write this, it was cold and grey when I set out, it rained, the sun came out, it rained and now it is grey again!)
I put my iPhone in the waterproof case at the start of the day, to protect it, so I can use it as a camera for those bad weather photos and so I can write this blog as I walk – wiping the rain drops from the screen so I can read what I write.
The plan is walk to Woodhall Spa campsite from Bardney using the Viking Way – tomorrow loop out around Horncastle using the Viking Way and other paths – then Monday back to Bardney on the Water Rail Way.
Two days food, extra fuel and some spare clothes has added to my pack weight – the starting load complete was 12kgs. One thing I do need to manage is the power consumption on my iPhone – so I have disabled the 3G and data function, whilst walking, to conserve power and no movies tonight in the tent – I also plan to turn on flight mode over night.
It has now hailed on me.
The path has been very muddy in places particularly two stretches that go through cow fields. I found a convenient bit of low wall for lunch – but sitting still I got cold very quickly – so lunch was a quick stop.
I got the tent up in the dry.
I have my new inflatable pillow with me – as I do not have enough spare clothes with me to make a decent pillow. You can see the two days worth of food to the left – the milk I got from the campsite shop.
Here you can see how useful the small tarp is for giving me somewhere outside the tent to sit – and my sleeping bag in the stuff sack makes a useable stool.
A pitch right by the lake in among the trees.
Today’s Photo
Today’s photo is actually a photo of someone else’s photo!
I have been on a site visit today with one of the server engineers Octagon uses and during the coffee break he showed me some photos from his recent holiday to Las Vegas.
I could not resist sharing this.
I used Camera+ to get the image off his monitor – which gave a dark, high contrast result and then I used the Clarify function in Camera+ the give a useable image. I often use this process, when at work, when recording site data – it gives a result for screen photos.
Horncastle
I was in Horncastle today – where I saw this Secondhand Bookshop. Whilst I was shooting the shop, the Morris Traveller pulled up at the junction.
I tried to use the 645 Pro camera app for these shots but it was too slow – so I switched to the excellent Camera+ and I am glad I did as I would have completely missed the shot of the car waiting for 645 Pro. The opportunity was so short I only managed two frames in Camera+ but I did get the shot!
The subject matter meant the final images just has to be monochrome – I used the the Photogene2 simple black and white filter for the final effect.