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 #13 – A Photo A Day 2013
Back on the 8th I was still visiting the Portland/Vancouver area, and while I was there I met a friend for lunch at the Stardust Diner in Vancouver, WA… a greasy spoon that does not disappoint!
They have an amazing breakfast menu that’s served all day, really good hamburgers and the best milkshakes and sundaes around! I didn’t get a pic of the chromed exterior (think Airstream trailer, only HUGE) but I did remember to get a shot of their colorful menu covered in pictures of old-fashioned ads.
Stardust Diner Menu Cover
Mmmmmmmm… I’m really craving a sundae now!
Day #12 – A Photo A Day 2013
Today I give you TWO pics, simply because I could not decide between the two!
Again, using the Pro HDR app for iPhone, I have re-visited the “Seasons of the Sea” at Yerba Buena gardens…
Seasons of the Sea HDR
… and close-up:
Close-up Seasons HDR
Holding still for these shots was difficult at best – if I’m going to use this app much more, I need to invest in a tripod.
Day #9 – A Photo A Day 2013
Flights to San Francisco have been delayed due to weather (I am guessing most likely fog or a really low ceiling) so I am still sitting here at the Portland Airport, listening to live music entertainment! (I think that I’ll post the video I took in another post – it’s amusing!)
So, having time on my hands I decided to play with the Pro HDR app again. There is a steady stream of people walking by so I thought hmmmmm, wouldn’t it be nice to get a longer exposure and see them as a blur?
I decided that it would be fun to see how long of an exposure I would get with this HDR app, and wondered if that movement would translate well into the picture:
Portland Airport – HDR with Movement
I am pleased with the outcome! In fact, I have a few apps that have “longer shutter speed” so that you can get longer exposure times out of your phone, and I feel like Pro HDR did a better job of that than the apps that I have which are specifically designed to do that.
To be fair, I have not tried out those long exposure apps with night time exposures – just daytime, so before I write them off completely, I have a bit more experimenting to do.
For now, it’s Pro HDR for my long exposure needs.
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 #2 – A Photo A Day 2013
Winter has definitely arrived in the Pacific Northwest!! I have been here for just over a week visiting friends and family for the holidays, and it is very very cold!
Apparently after only living in San Francisco for three months, I have already climatized to San Francisco weather already, because I do not ever remember a winter where the cold east wind and near freezing temperatures bothered me so much. It’s like I’m chilled and I can’t get warm!
Wintery weather has made me long for a warmer place, which brings me to today’s photo:
Egyptian Sunset Edit
I took a pic of the sunset and then added four filters – a pyramid, a sphinx and an overlay of a “sunny” tint for the entire photo. These were all done in Filtermania 2. For the added stars in the upper left hand corner, I used WowFX HD and reduced the opacity by a little more than half.
WowFX HD was recently released for iPad, and I am liking it as much as the iPhone version, perhaps even more because it’s optimized for the new generation of iPad’s Retina Display. I’m enjoying it so much that it really has me in the mood to edit and post a few more tonight!
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!
A Picture a Day – Day 6
Today is day #6 of my Picture a Day challenge – that means just one more day to go!
Today’s pic is of a bit of the desert-y vistas you will see at the new Radiator Springs Racers ride at the California Adventure park at Disneyland Resort.
When Chris and I were there at the Disney Resort for our honeymoon, 98% of the pictures I took were with my iPhone 4S… I made a decision to leave my SLR camera at home so I didn’t get so caught up in photography and focused on enjoying our honeymoon trip.
As we would be in lines for various rides, we would both end up with our iPhones in hand, reading email, showing each other hilarious photos saw on Facebook, checking out the wait times for other rides and I would sometimes play with new photo editing apps that I’ve picked up.
A couple of months ago, I downloaded an app called Filter Mania which I have found to be a lot of fun. While I was in line for Space Mountain, I received a message that another of Dropico’s new apps called Colormania was available for free for a limited time. (It is not yet available on iTunes)
I decided to play with the Radiator Springs Racers photo that I had snapped earlier in the morning. It was a particularly cloudy morning with flat grey clouds that made for a SUPER bright background – too bright for me to get a very nice photo with my iPhone, but I snapped the pic anyway since I figured I could play with it later.
First, I added a couple of layers in Filtermania, and then I went to Colormania to play with the color levels a bit… here are the results, which are WAY better than the original!
Altered Radiator Springs Racers
There are so many photo editing apps out there that it’s hard to choose. I’ve downloaded so many free ones that didn’t work well, but once in a while you get a REAL gem that you go back to over and over. Filtermania is like that, and Colormania looks like it will be another one. An in-depth review of both apps to come!
A Photo a Day – Day 5
While Chris and I were walking to a restaurant for lunch this afternoon, we passed this lovely sculpture in an art gallery on Geary St. (haha we found hope!)
Obviously patterned after the original Love postage stamp – I like it! 🙂
A Photo a Day – Day 4
While I was out running errands, I found a happy little tree! (has Bob Ross been here?) 🙂
A Photo a Day – Day 3
We had yet another beautiful sunset here in San Francisco tonight!
I stopped in the middle of the crosswalk on Mission St. near the Moscone Center to snap this one.
Photo A Day – Day 2
Here is today’s photo post! It’s actually a photo that I snapped of yesterday’s sunset… I am so blessed to live in a spot with such a grand view! Prime spot for sunset viewing for sure.
A Picture a Day?
Posting at least one picture a day can be quite the challenge, as I found out in 2011 when I decided that I would do so for 6 months.
It wasn’t taking the pictures that was a problem, but disciplining myself to actually upload them. At the time, I was using Facebook exclusively for this, and at that point the process was a tedious one with the uploads timing out quite often.
I made it for 5-1/2 months… Not a bad run, really but still short of my 6 month goal.
I am once more seriously considering it, only this time it would be for 1 year, and this time I would upload all of the photos to this blog.
Short term, I’m challenging myself to one solid week of daily photo uploads, starting with this pic:
These are the lights at the entrance to the Superdry Store at the San Francisco Centre. Normally they have old-fashioned looking incandescent bulbs in them, but since Thanksgiving they’ve had beautiful colored ones for the Christmas season. I’m a sucker for glass and colored lights!
NextGEN Gallery Plugin Test
Well, here is a test of the NextGEN Gallery plugin – wheee!
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