Day #41 – A Photo A Day 2013
Today I am busy editing photos from Friday’s photo walk and I don’t have anything that I feel is ready to post here yet, so for now I will leave an experiment with long exposure from a few nights ago.
Long Exposure of Downtown San Francisco
Slow Shutter app was used – I really need a tripod attachment for my iPhone… or a bendable Joby tripod! 🙂
Okay… back to editing!
Day #40 – A Photo A Day 2013
Once again I felt inspired today to take one of my photos and make a “dirty” painting out of it.
Today’s subject is one of the shots of the Golden Gate Bridge that I took yesterday – like I did a few days ago on my balcony I used the Slow Shutter app and held as still as possible to get a bit of a blurr to the picture, and then I edited the Dickens out of it.
Golden Gate Bridge – February 8th, 2013
I really let myself go crazy with color this time – do you like the result, or would a pallet more true to the actual colors have been more pleasing?
Day #39 – A Photo A Day 2013
This afternoon I had the opportunity to go on a iPhone Photowalk with some users from Instagram – some were local, some were from as far away as LA or San Diego!
I am so glad that I went! Not only did I take some great shots, but in the company of like-minded people who understand the need to stop and “take a picture of that”. Also… they don’t mind being in your shots, which is something that many of my friends just won’t do.
We met at Crissy Field and walked from there all the way to Fort Point which sits right underneath the San Francisco side of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Fort Point visitors hours were over, so we could not go inside, but there was plenty to keep us busy outside for sure.
The sun was going down, and it was the PERFECT time for shadow pictures – here is the first edit from today, with 4 of the Instagrammers casting shadows for us:
Instagrammers Shadows at Fort Point
It was great to spend time with that group, and I’m already looking forward to the next outing! Hopefully it won’t be too soon, because I have around 200 iPhone photos to sort through – hopefully I’ll have a few gems to edit and share!
Day #38 – A Photo A Day 2013
More fun was had with the Pro HDR app this afternoon. I was on Market Street running some errands and the late afternoon sun was blindingly bright and casting the most interesting shadows from the mass of people walking toward me.
Market Street was even more crowded than usual due to the droves of people freshly out of a day of convention going over at Moscone Center, which made it difficult at times to move upstream (since I happened to be going in the opposite direction of what seemed to be EVERY person who had been at the optics convention today) but this proved to be the PERFECT conditions for capturing people in motion without them noticing me taking their pictures. Stealth for the win.
I am really having such fun with movement while using this Pro HDR app. I end up with some very interesting double exposures and in this case, some of the people toward the top of this picture look like ghosts.
Shadows on Market Street
Look for a couple more pics from this day! I have a couple of unusual edits in mind.
Day #37 – A Photo A Day 2013
Epic clouds today! It’s been so sunny this winter and I have LONGED to see some epic fluffy clouds like we get back home in Portland, Oregon – today did not disappoint!
I was working away at my desk and glanced out my window when I noticed the clouds… grabbed my iPhone and started clicking when it hit me… I could get a really cool effect with the Slow Shutter app if I held the phone instead of setting it on a stable surface or using a tripod for the long exposure.
So, I held my breath, tapped the screen and the seconds ticked by… 1… 2… 3… 4… 5… ahhh done!
Wow! I was pleased – it looked a little like a painting, and I wanted to enhance that a bit so I pulled up Iris and started editing…
Balcony View – Slow Shutter and Edited
Rather sort of an impressionist painting, dirty gritty look – I like it! I am really having fun experimenting with the scratched gritty looks that you can achieve. It’s interesting to see how it can transform an every day sort of photo into something a bit more unusual.
Day #35 – A Photo A Day 2013
A pic from our walk to The Presidio for today – there were loads of these skinny trees everywhere near the entrance to the area and it smelled like eucalyptus! I think they may have been some variety of such, but a little research is due before I say it is thus and so.
I was particularly struck by the lush green grass carpeting the floor of this “forest”. I’d really like to come back here for a few more shots, this time with people.
Trees In The Presidio
I wish there was some way to give you the scent of these trees as well – it was heavenly!
Shot with Pro HDR.
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!
Day #30 – A Photo A Day 2013
Tomorrow is MacWorld and I am SO excited to attend a few Tech Talks on iPhoneography!
There was a special all-day event today called iPhoneography: The Mobile Masters Sessions that I was not able to attend, but many of the people (and others besides) that taught classes in today’s lineup will also be giving shorter Tech Talks in the two days that I will be attending MacWorld. I can’t wait to hear what they have to say, and I’m hoping to learn a bit more about using apps to edit my photos.
I didn’t get out to take any photos today, but here is an un-edited sunset pic that I took from my balcony with my SlR and a zoom lens.
January 15th Sunset in San Francisco
Day #29 – A Photo A Day 2013
Proximity to San Francisco Bay is one thing that I love about living in this city – just a few short blocks away are seabirds, seawater, a huge bridge, restaurants, people watching, tourist traps and photo opportunities galore.
Today’s pic is one that I snapped two days ago on a walk with Chris – the Bay Bridge again, but this time by day using, again, the Pro HDR app.
Basically, I like this picture as far as composition goes, but I do think that I over-adjusted the saturation and I am not completely happy about it. I share it here so that I can look back at it with more objective eyes later.
In the future, I may have to heavily edit this one and see what I can do to make it a bit more to my liking.
The Bay Bridge
Day #28 – A Photo A Day 2013
I’ve been a little fixated on the Pro HDR app lately – here is the latest addition to my iPhone HDR experimentation:
HDR Pier Light Near AT & T Park
Taken at the pier near AT & T park – it’s a nice place to walk around!
Day #27 – A Photo A Day 2013
What a beautiful day it was today! The sun shines here in San Francisco very often, but today was just extra special despite the cold biting wind!
Chris and I decided that we NEEDED to get a coffee from Phillz Coffee so we threw on our coats and started the short walk to the Berry St. location.
We tried Phillz for the first time three weeks ago and we are hooked! BEST. COFFEE. EVER. Hands down, the best coffee experiences we have ever had have come from this place. They grind your coffee at the time you order it so it is fresh fresh fresh – also, it’s not weighted down by heavy syrups and sugar. They’ll add as much, or as little sweetening as you want, and they have many sweetener choices to choose from – even Stevia or honey!
From Phillz, we decided to continue on to AT & T park to go walk near the marina. Right next to the park is the Left O’Doul Bridge, which I find to be an endless source of fascination.
Lefty O’Doul Bridge
It’s a fascinating looking thing… I had never seen a drawbridge quite like this one, and I am from a city that is filled with bridges – Portland is affectionately called “Bridgetown”.
I figured those concrete “things” on that one end were counterweights, and turned out that I was correct. The link posted above is where I found some of my information – it turns out that the bridge is “a heel trunnion type bascule drawbridge” and “A heel trunnion is a pivot mounted on bearings and a bascule bridge has one end is weighted to counter balance the structure on the other end when the bridge is open.” They used concrete as the counterbalance because it was a less expensive option to iron.
My only disappointment about this bridge: there were no rusty spots to photograph. Oh well. You can’t always have what you want.
Photo taken on my iPhone 4s with the Pro HDR app.
Day #26 – A Photo A Day 2013
Another search for my CF card reader was fruitful so I was finally able to offload all of the pics from last night onto my MacBook! Wouldn’t you know… it was exactly where I KNEW that I had decided to store it, but another item in the drawer was covering it up and I must not have shuffled things around well enough.
Here is a close-up shot that I took with my SLR – I haven’t processed this one, so what you see is the raw photo:
San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge – Leo Villareal Light Art Testing
The beautiful Bay Bridge – lights being tested for Leo Villreal’s Art display that will officially start on March 3rd.
I read that later that night after Chris and I left that the testing was even more exciting with crazy patterns flashing in the lights. What we saw was pretty cool, but by the sound of it, it’s going to be pretty spectacular!
Day #25 – A Photo A Day 2013
Chris and I took a walk to the Embarcadero tonight, specifically to watch testing of the new light display that artist Leo Villareal has designed for the Bay Bridge.
Testing began tonight, and un-scheduled tests will go on for the next month, with the debut of the the nightly display happening on March 3rd of this year.
I DID bring my SLR tonight and I got what I feel to be some pretty good shots, but I will not be uploading one of THOSE pics this night because I seem to have um, misplaced my CF card reader, and until I find said reader, I will not be able to transfer those pictures onto my MacBook. (insert sadface here)
SO, for now, here is a pic of my SLR on it’s tripod from tonight’s photo sesh on Pier 14.
Photographing the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge
Hopefully another search for my CF card adapter will be fruitful and I will be posting one of my long exposure pics of the bridge tomorrow evening. 🙂
Day #22 – A Photo A Day 2013
What a good day it was today! I’m finally feeling more like myself than I’ve felt in a week and it was good to actually get outside and stretch my legs for a bit!
My wanderings took me over to the Mission neighborhood here in San Francisco, which was not my original destination, but regardless of where I was going to begin with, I was glad that my wanderings ended up taking me to a couple of places that I totally did not expect to be going to.
At one point when I was way off course, I spotted some street art that looked intriguing, so I went even further out of my way to go take a look. Again, I was without my SLR unfortunately, since I had planned to go shopping and I didn’t want to haul heavy camera equipment around in a clothing store… but of course I had my iPhone at hand!
This mural was so awesome – several notable figures from mythology, some of which I did not recognize, but some I most definitely did like the ones in the picture below:
Wadjet, Horus, Anubis & Nekhbet
I thought that the portion of the mural with the Egyptian gods Wadjet, Horus, Anubis & Nekhbet was particularly awesome, especially since the style very much reminded me of Stargate: SG1 and I am a HUGE fan of that series. Also notable was the boom box that they have with them. 😉
I have a couple more pictures of that wall to share – perhaps in the next couple of days I will post those as well, but that may be trumped depending on what the next few days bring in photographic opportunity.
Day #21 – A Photo A Day 2013
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is today, and while I was not able to go out to take pics, I do have a nice pic of a place that I pass by and visit often here in San Francisco.
Today’s pic is of the Martin Luther King Jr. Fountain in Yerba Buena Gardens. I love the fountain itself, but one of the nice things is that you can walk behind the fountain! There you will find quotes from the man himself; in this picture, the lovely green glow behind the water is of the illuminated glass panels that bear the etchings of those words.
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Fountain
Day #20 – A Photo A Day 2013
Oooof! Today I am feeling worse than yesterday – no fair! I had photography plans for today!!!!
Ah well. So, today I give you… another window view from breakfast yesterday. (this time, panning to my left)
I like varying colors and the worn look of the window decal.
Worn Out Coca-Cola Window DecalWorn Out Coca-Cola Window Decal
Day #19 – A Photo A Day 2013
Despite not really feeling well, I made a bad decision to go to breakfast with Chris. Breakfast tasted wonderful, but my stomach is quite angry at me for selfishly trying to give my body sustenance!
It is my intent to go back to this restaurant when I am well and do a proper review of the offerings there, since I really did enjoy my meal other than the pain that my body is in, which is obviously no fault of that fine establishment.
This is the view I had at the counter that Chris and I supped at:
Lunch In The Window
It’s not a fancy place, but I think that adds to the charm. It’s lack-luster decor certainly doesn’t deter customers, as that place is always really busy.
Day #18 – A Photo A Day 2013
Sunsets – I just cannot get enough of them, and I fear that at times my photography library contains a few too many examples of sunsets.
I am certain that some of them look a bit redundant, but then again, I always find a different beauty in each one.
I have been feeling very under the weather today, and when I saw this beautiful view out of my window, I had to drag myself over with my iPhone, sick or not to take this pic. I snapped a few with my SLR, but I haven’t even checked them out to see if the turned out alright. (I am DEFINITELY not feeling well if I can’t even be bothered to see how I like my photos!)
Sunset over San Francisco on Jan. 18