Day #34 – A Photo A Day 2013
Yesterday Chris and I took a walk to The Presidio here in San Francisco, partially to take a nice long walk, but also our main destination was the Walt Disney Family Museum.
Unfortunately, they do not allow photographs in the museum and it was very tempting for me to snap a few, but I respected the rules. The museum was very different from what I was expecting – many interactive displays done in creative ways! It was a very fun and interesting experience for both me and Chris.
On the way there, I decided to take some pictures “from the hip” with my iPhone… in other words, I wasn’t looking at the screen to see what was going to appear in my shot – I just pointed my phone in the general direction that I wanted to shoot and clicked.
I ended up with several pleasing shots that I want to edit a bit – I won’t be posting them in successive order most likely, but probably all of them will be posted before the end of this month, and I’ll be sure to note which ones are from that walk.
This is one that was most stunning to me:
HDR While Walking – From The Hip
Pro HDR functions like this: you tap the screen and it analyzes the lighting, then it takes one picture with a longer exposure (more light) and one picture with a shorter exposure (less light, you see the darker portions of the pic) and then matches the two up as best it can.
This process takes around 30-45 seconds, so if you are moving at all the pic will be blurred. In daylight, if you are walking, you can get some pretty interesting results!
I’m pleased with this result, and it’s something that I plan on trying with Slow Shutter also in the coming weeks. What do you think of this experiment?
Day #31 – A Photo A Day 2013
The first day of MacWorld was TODAY and OH! I am so so SO inspired and encouraged!
iPhoneography is THE next big thing – I’ve been saying this for about a year now, and have been ridiculed by a few, and gently dissuaded by others seeking to keep me from finding rejection of my photos taken with my iPhone.
Interestingly, all of the speakers at these Tech Talks say the same thing – iPhones won’t replace SLRs (big cameras) but rather are finding their own niche of an art expression. iPhone apps offer mobility and ease of use that you just don’t find with editing software for your computer (such as Photoshop).
Photoshop isn’t bad, but it takes a long time to edit your photos. On your iPhone or iPad, I find it easy to find what I want in each app that will make what is in my head translate into the photo or photos that I am merging on my iDevice.
I have been “layering apps” for quite some time now in order to get the results from pics that I am trying to achieve. Most of that work I have not published at all, just a few on Instagram here and there, but I was afraid of rejection.
Not so after my first round of classes today! All of these people giving the talks were either already artists or professional photographers or both, and all of them have found an unusual creative outlet in their iPhones that is very different from their professional (big camera) photography.
Are my edits good enough to show people? I think so, and that’s not an over-inflated view either. Each one of my photos is agonized over to the point where I probably obsess too much over this light level or that color in that exact spot – I am my own worst critic, and THAT is what has been keeping me from moving forward and making my art known.
Starting today, I am not holding back. I will allow my creativity to flow and I’m putting it out there for everyone to see. Will any of this go anywhere? Maybe! I made a few connections today with local photographers, and they have put me in touch with a few other contacts that I think will be great to network with.
Oddly, in one of the classes today, I was reminded that I had entered a contest on Instagram for Mobile Masters, a chance to have your work featured in the Mobile Masters book to debut today at the conference.
Long story short, I checked Instagram (which I had not done in a week), and found this message, which I snapped a pic of on my phone…
Mobile Masters Winning Entry Notification
I almost let out a squeal of delight in the middle of the lecture! MY picture made it? REALLY!?!?!?! It DID!
This was my winning entry – the Matterhorn Edit I originally posted here in December when I was talking about Filtermania 2.
Disneyland’s Matterhorn Heavily Modified
DEFINTELY a validation moment for me! You can purchase the ebook here at iTunes: Mobile Masters Book for your iPad. I am so honored to be a part of this – my first published photo!
Now comes today’s photo, since this IS supposed to be a picture of the day entry, and so far all I have done is gush a bit about my day at MacWorld.
I give you a photo that I edited during one of the talks today, originally posted here on Day #16
Here is the edit:
Edit of 4th Street Bridge at Mission Bay
I edited this one in three different iPhone apps, but right now I don’t remember which ones – I was editing this as I was listening to the lecture because I was so inspired at that moment to do something creative that I just went with the flow! Funny though… the speaker was talking about her use of color in her art and I was totally in a black and white and gritty sort of mood.
Two words to sum up day 1 of MacWorld iPhoneography Tech Talks? SUPER INSPIRED!
Oh Noooo!
I did it again! I skipped a day!
Quick summarization of the past two days since it’s late and I should be sleeping….
Yesterday was Wednesday – long day at work followed by an evening of awesome at Al’s with friends.
Today was a better work day, which included a treat from our bosses – we all went to lunch at Chevy’s – a nice loooong lunch! Worked the rest of the day and relaxed a little at home, then spent some time at my parents’ house and then home again…. watched a new episode of CSI: Vegas that seemed to be promising but the plot left me wanting. I may elaborate on that tomorrow
Time for bed for me – tomorrow is FRIDAY! 😀
Early Spring Cleaning
It’s time for spring cleaning… a little early.
I’ve decided to take another look at selling or giving away a lot of my things. I need to pare down my “stuff” – some of it I’m not sure if I want to part with, but right now it makes more sense to lessen my inventory and fatten my wallet a bit.
It’s not something I am looking forward to doing, but I do think I’ll be glad that I did. The one thing that I am really wanting to do is to sort through the miscellaneous things in my storage – I have a feeling there are things that I have forgotten about that I’ll be happy to find again, and I’m certain that there are things I could sell.
The first thing I am hoping to sell is my dining room set – I liked it when I bought it, but I’m tired of the style now. It’s in really good shape, and I’m hoping that it will sell quickly. I’m thinking Craigslist. I’ll be without a table then, but perhaps I’ll find something that will work until I find what I want.
Turning Bad Into Good
There are some days that are extraordinary.
There are some days that are routine.
There are some days that are laid back and relaxing.
There are some days that are busy.
Then… there was today. Today was a day of physical un-comfortableness, boring and un-productive. It gave me a lot of time to think this afternoon, and it was good productive thought that I think will move me in some very good directions in the near future and most certainly spawned some highly creative thought. Even though today was awful in a few ways, I definitely cannot deem it a “bad day”… some good actually came out of it.
I’m winding down the day with this awesomeness Jurassic Park Theme – 1000 times slower. I know that I said it the other day on Facebook but I just cannot stop listening to this song – hearing it this slow it’s almost like a new song. I’ve always been emotionally moved by this piece in real-time, but hearing it this way… well, it’s beauty tears at my heart and moves me to tears no matter how many times I listen.
Project Update and a Visit From A Ball of Fur
This evening was not super productive in regards to “the project”, but I DID kick my sewing machine into gear! YAY I WIN!
It seems that I had ONE little thing wrong with how I had my thread run from the spool down to the bobbing arm thing… once I fixed that, the thread stopped slipping off the the bobbing arm thing. Go me. Whoooo.
Earlier today I met the CUTEST ball of fur! I think her name was Sophie? She’s a mini-Maltese, and that is TINY. She’s tiny ball of fluff that won’t sit still and likes to use my long hair as a pull-toy. She also used my pen as a pull toy and tried to carry off a small pad of paper that was actually twice as large as she is. SO CUUUUUTE! If she’s at the office again tomorrow, I’ll get a picture… if she will hold still long enough.
Blogging Again
I used to blog all the time… every day, even several times in a day. I used my blog as a way to remember special moments, catalog ideas and sometimes just express creativity or the emotion of the moment.
During a not-so-happy period in my life, I lost the desire to blog, and with that diminished desire also faded a creative part of me that I thought I could never find again.
Fast forward a few years from that time and you will find me a much more happy, well-rounded individual with a renewed desire to be creative and expressive once again. Will I post anything personal here? Perhaps. Mostly I think I’ll record thoughts and opinions, with perhaps a bit of creative writing for public consumption, if I feel brave enough.
For now, I am making a commitment to myself to blog at least once a day, even if it’s an un-important and drab post about a menial task or a passing thought. I think sticking to this discipline may give me the boost I need to motivate myself toward a more productive and thoughtful blog perhaps.
First Post!
My my, what an original title! I have to wonder just how many new blogs have that exact same title for their first post.
Ah well, why break with tradition?
At this time, I intend to use this blog mainly for creative writing, but perhaps there will be an editorial here and there, with a sprinkle of life updates.