Three of my favorite things are Star Trek, the films of Michel Gondry, and iPhones. Here are a couple of great videos that combine all three.

These have been out for a while, but in case you missed them, DustFilmsOriginals, the YouTube channel of filmmaker Dustin McLean, regularly release “homemade” versions of big movie film trailers. Recently, they released both a “sweded” version of the “Star Trek Into Darkness” trailer, as well as a fascinating behind-the-scenes look. >>>

Star Trek Into Darkness Trailer – Homemade Version: Shot-For-Shot

Why is this post here and not on AintItCool.com? (I hear you ask…) Because Dustin shot this film on an iPhone and used only practical effects.

The trailer is a shot-for-shot recreation of all 42 shots of the theatrical trailer. It was filmed using only an iPhone with no visual effects and I think it’s funny and entertaining in a “Be Kind Rewind” sort of way. The behind the scenes look at the production is an interesting glimpse into creative yet barebones filmmaking using an iPhone.

Dustin uses Apple Camera on an iPhone 4. It’s mounted onto the tripod using a Studio Neat Glif Tripod Mount. In the behind-the-scenes video, he goes into detail about his props, wigs, costumes, even Foley for the video. All effects are practical, shot in the camera.

Granted, the quality of the production is on par with stuff we did with our buddies in junior high filmmaking class. Or, on par with the sweded versions of films from the 2008 Michel Gondry theatrical release. Either way, the trailer is amusing and the making of it is pretty interesting. Both are worth a watch.

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Star Trek Into Darkness Trailer – Homemade Version: Behind-the-Scenes

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"Sweded “Star Trek Into Darkness” Trailer Shot With an iPhone." originally appeared on Life in LoFi: iPhoneography. © 2013 LifeInLoFi.com. All rights reserved.

iPhoneographer Dilshad Corleone (Twitter/@italianbrother, Instagram/@italianbrother) recently emailed me with a heads up to a short video he is featured in. In addition to introducing you to the iPhoneographer, it’s a great, inspirational, well-shot video with some great advice for shooting, composing and telling a story with an image. >>>

About his iPhoneography, Dilshad says, “I am fond of having my black and white street images look as if they were stuffed in an old shoebox for the last 30 years. Or that you looked down on the street and found an image that 100 people just stepped-on. I very much try to bring an analog feel to my digital images. I love the grunge, the dirt, the grit! I love the unspoken London, the untold London, with heavily blurred background! Men with big, long beards and hats! Characteristic and peculiar faces! I see, I shoot and I go! It is difficult to analyse the why behind my subjects, or to describe what are my favourite subjects. It is very much like when you fall in love and you feel the butterflies, yes, that is exactly how I feel when I see something that I want to shoot. Iphoneography and Street- photography has given me the power to tell my stories, what I see and what touches me!”

Check it out. It runs just over 3 minutes and is well worth the time.

If the embed above doesn’t work, here’s the link to “Dilshad’s Story“ on YouTube.

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"Cool Link: Dilshad’s Story." originally appeared on Life in LoFi: iPhoneography. © 2013 LifeInLoFi.com. All rights reserved.

“Juice” and space are the new film in the digital camera age and going out hunting without plenty of both is like going on a photo shooting safari with just two rolls of 36 exposure film.

Mophie has finally released its new battery pack case for iPhone 5. We don’t have a review unit yet, but Mashable does. Keep reading for more. >>>

I used a Mophie juice pack plus with my iPhone 4S and absolutely loved it. The case not only offered great protection for my iPhone, but also effectively doubled the battery life of each charge. The case did not obstruct the camera or flash in any way. It’s a design feature the Mophie helium shares.

The Mophie juice pack helium is an ultra-thin, 1500mAh protective battery case made just for iPhone 5. Because of the low profile nature of the case, Mophie says that the Helium offers up to 80% additional battery life — a little bit less than other Mophie cases, but the extra juice will still extend your iPhone 5 usage by hours.

The heilum is not the first iPhone 5 battery case available, but it’s the most high-profile so far. With a cost of $79.95, it’s priced at the high end, but you’re also getting Mophie’s excellent customer service.

Andrea Smith’s review “Mophie Juice Pack Helium Is First iPhone 5 Battery Case to Market” can be found here on Mashable.

For more information or to order a Mophie juice pack helium, visit the Mophie web site.

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"Cool Link: Mashable’s Review of the Mophie juice pack helium for iPhone 5." originally appeared on Life in LoFi: iPhoneography. © 2013 LifeInLoFi.com. All rights reserved.

Shoot the Moon by Alon Goldsmith

I spent a bit of time hanging out with iPhoneographer Alon Goldsmith at Macworld in San Francisco last week. Most of the time, this very creative photographer was shooting everything. My best recollections, though, were talking for quite a bit of time about music — The Stones, The Who, Pink Floyd, et al. Alon has a great story about sitting next to David Gilmour during a performance of The Who’s “Tommy.” I’ve seen The Who several times and I’m envious of this one….

Alon was recently featured in Forbes online — less as a guy who shoots with an iPhone and more as an artist who uses the iPhone as a tool to create and share (there’s a difference). A link and more of my thoughts after the jump. >>>

Even as recent as a year or so ago, a high-profile publication like Forbes would have never touched a story on iPhoneography. In David Hochman’s post, not only are the words and the work of Alon Goldsmith featured, but the iPhone itself is treated more like another tool in which to create — not like the novelty it was viewed as in iPhoneography’s early years.

Recently, I’ve been seeing some great press about iPhoneography that’s been less “Oh, you did this with an iPhone?” and more about the art. This critical acceptance is another big step in the evolution of iPhoneography and the mobile arts.

When Alon Goldsmith points his Apple iPhone, surreal things happen. The South Africa native, who lives in Los Angeles and works in advertising, uses the iPhone camera like an artist might wield a brush; that is, if that brush came with apps for blurring, antiquing, blending, grizzling and otherwise fancying up the image at hand.

Read all of David Hochman’s article “Stunning iPhone Photos From L.A.’s iPhoneography Wizard” on Forbes.com.

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"Cool Link: Alon Goldsmith – “Stunning iPhone Photos From L.A.’s iPhoneography Wizard”." originally appeared on Life in LoFi: iPhoneography. © 2013 LifeInLoFi.com. All rights reserved.

Dan Marcolina introduces the Meet The Mobile Masters panel

Last week, the largest gathering of the iPhoneography movement brain trust assembled at MacWorld/iWorld. It was several days of workshops, presentations, panels, meet & greets and photowalks. Big thanks to the iPhone-obsessed mobile master Dan Marcolina for letting me be a part of several of these events.

Already the event has been covered by several high-profile outlets. Keep reading for links. >>>

I am very honored to have been part of the Mobile Masters panel discussion and workshops. I was able to attend several of the workshops, including presentations from Dan Marcolina, Stephanie Calabrese Roberts, Richard Gray, and Jack Hollingsworth. And that was just a small part of the event.

I can see how sitting through an entire day’s worth of workshops would be brain overload. Even in the few sessions I attended, I picked up some great tips and advice from other leaders in the iPhoneography arts.

It wasn’t simply a day of “which apps to use” or “the rules of taking better photos.” In addition, presenters shared the most valuable information of all — history, experience and insight.

The hows are shared all over the internet. These sessions gave attendees several days of getting into the heads of these movers and shakers of iPhoneography. More important, all of the presenters were easily accessible for one-on-one conversation.

Here’s what several other media outlets have said about the sessions so far:

San Francisco Chronicle: “‘IPhoneography’ breaking into mainstream”

Some see it as nothing less than a revolution in photography.

“It’s not too dissimilar from when film went from black and white to color, or when Kodak first brought the camera to the masses,” said Dan Marcolina, author of “iPhone Obsessed” and organizer of the Mobile Masters workshop on the opening day of Macworld.

Click here to read more of James Temple’s column at SFGate.com.

AllVoices.com: “iPhoneography tips and tricks from Macworld’s ‘mobile masters’”

The fact that you generally have your phone on you makes the iPhone all that more valuable as a camera. You catch subjects and situations you’d not have caught otherwise. People don’t behave differently around the discreet little smartphone camera. Since the iPhone is so unprecedentedly handy, a few other iPhoneography mobile masters chimed in with additional advice to beginners.

“Your device matters,” said Jack Hollingsworth, a professional photographer who often goes iPhone-only. “Run out and buy an iPhone 5. It’s so much better than the 4S.”

Click here to read more of Joe Kukura’s column at All Voices.com.

Connect: “7 iPhone photography trends at the Macworld Expo”

The Macworld Expo (now known as Macworld/iWorld: The Ultimate iFan Event) dedicated the first day of the annual conference to iPhone photography. The day hosted a combination of developers, professional photographers and iPhone fans ready to discuss iPhone photography’s progress in mainstream art photography and photojournalism.

“This is the Woodstock of iPhonography,” said event organizer Dan Marcolina. “It’s like the time when rock and roll went to mass media.”

Click here to read more of Lauren Crabbe’s column at connect.dpreview.com.

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"Cool Links: Coverage of Macworld/iWorld Mobile Masters Sessions." originally appeared on Life in LoFi: iPhoneography. © 2013 LifeInLoFi.com. All rights reserved.

The spice must flow. The Martian landscape recreated with Paprika and household objects.

This cool link isn’t about iPhoneography per se. It’s a cool link about photography and composition in general and some of the cool things photography can do to play with the viewer.

“Strange Worlds” is a very cool photo project from photographer Matthew Albanese. The link contains a video that needs to be seen to be believed… or should it? Keep reading for more. >>>

“Strange Worlds” has been an ongoing side project from Mr. Albanese since 2008. He uses everyday found objects to recreate spectacular landscapes and vistas that are unbelievable in how believable they look. Some of his dioramas take months of preparation. Using inventive construction and clever shooting techniques with a long depth of field — a kind of anti-tiltshift technique that’s possible using the iPhone camera — he “tricks” the viewer into seeing a realistic scene that isn’t. The photographs are often spectacular and the behind the scenes look actually enhances your appreciation for his technique and the images.

This is an inspiring short video of a very cool project that shows what is possible when an artists looks at something and asks, “Well, what if…?” Projects like these are possible with almost any camera and the imagination of the artist shooting with it.

“When I was young I was always very, very obsessed with movie miniatures and movie magic and things of small scale,” he says in the post on Flickr.net. “Even just to see a place that I couldn’t see in person, it was a way for me to try to see the surface of Mars.”

It’s a great read and short video that is very cool. If you’re watching at the office, the video auto-starts.

Click here for “‘Strange Worlds’ photographer aims to trick the eye” on Blog.Flickr.

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Tip of the hat to Dutch Doscher for the heads up on this link.

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"Cool Link: ‘Strange Worlds’ photographer aims to trick the eye." originally appeared on Life in LoFi: iPhoneography. © 2013 LifeInLoFi.com. All rights reserved.

One of my biggest soapboxes throughout the years here on Life In LoFi has been to raise awareness of low-res apps and how most of the time these apps do not do iPhoneographers a favor. Over the years, I’ve softened my position as there are many mobile photographers who only share to Facebook and Instagram and they really don’t want or need higher resolution photos.

I’m not one of them and still prefer full res, native res, and high res photo apps. I’ve preached about it here before from the perspective of an angry user. Here’s a great post by John Balestrieri from a developer’s standpoint about why some photo apps do and some apps don’t support high-res output. >>>

John Balestrieri is the developer of the popular Percolator and Popsicolor apps. This is a pretty straightforward and thorough look at the problems some app developers face and that some choose to ignore.

John writes:

As a user of photo apps, I think native resolution is great to have but full resolution support is even better.

As an photo app developer, I know that it’s sometimes hard to support even native resolution, so we pick a resolution we think is reasonable based on “how we think people will want to use the image” and support that. Then the App Store reviews start rolling in…

It’s a great, extensive read that covers camera hardware limitations, device memory, and even developer experience and ignorance.

This post first appeared as a forum post on The iPhoneography Blog and Life In LoFi’s iPhoneographers.net. He’s also shared a copy on his own site, tinrocket.com for periodic updating. Click here to read the updated entire post, “Why doesn’t every iOS photo app support high-resolution output?“ by John Balestrieri on Tinrocket.com.

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Life In LoFi keeps a list of iPhone photo apps and their resolutions. Check our “iPhone Photo App Compatibility“ page before you buy a new photo app.

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"Cool Link: Why doesn’t every iOS photo app support high-resolution output?." originally appeared on Life in LoFi: iPhoneography. © 2013 LifeInLoFi.com. All rights reserved.

In the spirit of the #FF Follow Friday hashtag on Twitter, I’d like to invite you to also follow Life In LoFi on our other social media channels. Keep reading for the wheres and whys….

Facebook

Like Life In LoFi’s Facebook page. Facebook is where we post most of the photo app sales and freebies. Steve Thomas does an outstanding job keeping our Facebook page updated with the latest photo app deals. We weed through the clutter and post only the photo app deals from apps that we know and have tried ourselves, saving you the trouble and disappointment of downloading “crap apps.” If you’re concerned about Wall clutter, we don’t post nearly as often as Mashable does….

Twitter

Follow @LifeInLoFiBlog on Twitter. Find out as soon as new blog posts hit. Have conversations with me and other iPhoneographers 140 characters at a time.

Google+

Follow us on Google+ for notifications when new blog posts go live. Interact with other iPhoneographers who respond and share on Google+. Like Facebook, we also post news of app sales and discounts that don’t always appear on the blog.

Life In LoFi on Flipboard

Flipboard

Life In LoFi is featured content on Flipboard for iPhone and iPad. If you aren’t familiar with the app, Flipboard collects all the things you like to read on the web and and creates a great-looking, easy to read personalized magazine experience for your iOS devices. It’s a free download. Of all the iOS news aggregators I’ve tried, I like the look and functionality of Flipboard the best and we’re proud to be a part of it.

To add Life In LoFi to your Flipboard, from the homescreen click the search button at the top. Scroll down to Photos & Design and select the “+” to add the “iPhoneography (The art of the iPhone)” section. Life In LoFi also shares this tab with Instagram and tap tap tap’s blogs as well as image feeds from top iPhoneographers.

Flickr

Of course, we are on Flickr. Each week, over a thousand images are submitted to the group. Share yours and they may be selected for our regular Faved On Flickr weekend showcase.

However you get your LoFi fix, I thank you for making us part of your regular read.

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"Follow Friday! Follow Us on Facebook, Twitter, and Flipboard!." originally appeared on Life in LoFi: iPhoneography. © 2013 LifeInLoFi.com. All rights reserved.

There are a ton of money quotes in this one. I picked this one from the top:

When talking about mobile photography, “a lot of the visual filters are about nostalgia for the image. We’re embracing the cell phone, but desperately trying to link it to what we know, our histories and what is familiar.”

I highly recommend you spend a few minutes with the entire read here, “Photographs Are No Longer Things, They’re Experiences” on Wired.com.

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Tip of the hat to Jordi Pou for the heads up on this one.

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"Cool Link: Photographs Are No Longer Things." originally appeared on Life in LoFi: iPhoneography. © 2013 LifeInLoFi.com. All rights reserved.

It’s not iPhoneography-related, but it is iPhone-related. Since posting screenshots of my iPhone screens on my latest “My Camera Bag” page update, I’ve had several requests about the Blueprint wallpaper I use on my iPhone. It’s a great iPhone wallpaper created by Brad Hellyar.

Brad emailed me today to let me know that he’s updated the Blueprint wallpaper for the larger screen of the iPhone 5. He’s also created a more monchromatic Blackprint version if that’s your preference. Click past the jump for links and installation info.

Blueprint Wallpaper for iPhone 5

Blackprint Wallpaper for iPhone 5

The links will take you to Brad’s pages on DeviantArt.com. Click the link to open the page on your iPhone and simply tap and hold on the image above to save it straight to your camera roll at full size. Or, on your desktop or laptop, right-click to save it to your computer. Email it to yourself and save it to your iPhone. The file is full size at 640×1132 pixels and should look great as the background on any iPhone 5 or new iPod Touch. No DeviantArt.com account needed.

My original post for the iPhone Blueprint wallpaper is here. It’ll work on any iPhone 4S or older.

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"Cool Link: The iPhone 5 Blueprint Wallpaper." originally appeared on Life in LoFi: iPhoneography. © 2013 LifeInLoFi.com. All rights reserved.

There are times when I find myself doing this — either getting in a photography rut or just putting off taking pictures. Sometimes life gets in the way. At other times, it might be less urgent distractions (Twitter? Facebook?). While I was doing some housekeeping here on LoFi, I ran across this great link to a classic post on the MCP Actions blog with a dozen tips to break your photography rut. It’s aimed at professionals and photographers who shoot with rigs, but it still has some good, usable tips for breaking an iPhoneography rut as well. It’s been a while, so I thought I would reshare it for our newer readers.

As iPhoneographers, we have an advantage that others don’t and I’d like to add Tip #13 (#12B if you’re superstitious….).

TIP: Download that cool new photography app you’ve been eyeing. Experiment with it. Learn its quirks. For a dollar or two, it’s like getting a whole new camera. How many professional photographers get to say that?

Click here for 12 Tips to Break Your Photography Rut on MCP Actions >>>

Have you got any of your own tips to break your iPhoneography rut? Share them in the comments below.

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"Cool Link: 12 Tips to Break Your Photography Rut." originally appeared on Life in LoFi: iPhoneography. © 2013 LifeInLoFi.com. All rights reserved.

Processed with Instagram 1.8′s Gotham filter

Those of you who remember Instagram’s early, low-resolution days on iOS will also remember the three filters that didn’t make the upgrade when Instagram went high-res. The three filters — Gotham, Poprocket, and Apollo — were well-liked and a lot more visually interesting than many of Instagram’s current effects. Despite a loud user outcry and a few vague promises to add them back eventually, thee dynamic filters remain deleted.

Here’s a link to some Instagram Photoshop Actions which recreate these lost filters on your desktop or laptop. Read past the jump for more. >>>

Photographer Jana Werner has created several Instagram Photoshop actions which recreate the three missing effects — Gotham, Poprocket, and Apollo — as well as Nashville, which is still an Instagram effect. Gotham was the unique, beautiful, moody monochrome filter with a convex frame. Unlike Inkwell’s comparatively flat black & white, Gotham’s monochrome was stark and very noir. Poprocket  was the colorful “berry pop” color splash style filter with good vignetting and a great reddish-purple color shift. Apollo was, well… replaced by better filters. Say what you will about Instagram, but Gotham and Poprocket were nice filters.

The actions are extremely easy to use. They come with great documentation. Simply install, then run from your Actions menu. Like Jana’s other Photoshop actions, these come very close to recreating the original effects. The set of four actions in the Instagram Filters Pack costs €3.95 — that’s currently about $4.78 USD or so.

Instagram filters seem pretty common but are fairly difficult to recreate and have them look right. I’ve tried. I previously posted a tutorial on recreating the Gotham filter on your iPhone using Camera+ and Simply B&W. If you’re not concerned about processing iPhone images off your device, Jana’s Photoshop Actions are much faster and easier.

Even if you have an early 1.x version of Instagram on an old iPhone 2G or 3G, you won’t be able to use it. Old versions no longer run. Now, the app won’t let you past the sign-in screen without updating. Until Instagram brings these nearly-forgotten filters back, this is the easiest way to get the look of these classic early effects.

More more information and to purchase these and other retro filters, visit Jana’s Photoshop Resource site.

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Instagram’s Nashville filter

Jana Werner’s Nashville-esque filter

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DISCLAIMER: Jana’s Photoshop actions don’t use any of the Instagram app’s content. All borders included in the package, are custom made.

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"Photoshop Actions for Instagram’s “Lost” filters." originally appeared on Life in LoFi: iPhoneography. © 2013 LifeInLoFi.com. All rights reserved.

“How I Made Instagram Images That Were Good Enough for Sports Illustrated”

iPhone photography is making news again. Literally.

I like iPhoneography a lot. It’s also no secret that I love baseball and bleed Texas Rangers red. So anytime the two come together, it makes me one really happy guy. Here’s an excellent behind-the-scenes look at photographer Brad Mangin’s upcoming six-page Sports Illustrated spread that was shot with an iPhone and processed using only iOS apps.

In his blog, Brad tells more about his process and the apps he used to create the images (Hint: it wasn’t simply Instagram). He gives his thoughts on shooting with an iPhone and how he first “felt pretty strange not using my Canon EOS-1 Mark IV and shooting with my iPhone instead.”

“I purchased my iPhone 4s in December of 2011 and immediately fell in love with the special effects and social networking aspect of working with Instagram…. Once Spring Training began, I felt like I had an amazing blank canvas in front of me just begging to be shot with my iPhone.”

You can follow Brad Mangin on Instagram/@bmangin.

Click here to read the entire post “How I Made Instagram Images That Were Good Enough for Sports Illustrated“ by Brad Mangin over on Mangin Photography Archive. Even if you don’t like baseball, it’s a great read.

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Big thanks to Miki Ballard for originally posting this link to Life In LoFi’s Facebook page.

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"Cool Link: Baseball, Sports Illustrated, and iPhoneography." originally appeared on Life in LoFi: iPhoneography. © 2013 LifeInLoFi.com. All rights reserved.

Zintan, 7/14. A damaged car. | photo by Benjamin Lowy/Getty Reportage.

In case you missed it, here’s a link to a great story and interview with conflict photographer Ben Lowy over on Storyboard. Along with photographer Damon Winter and others, Lowy is making waves throughout photojournalism by not only using his iPhone as his main camera, but shooting his stories with Hipstamatic. In fact, a photojournalism-inspired lens bearing his name is set to be released in Hipstamatic later this year.

Last October, New York Times Magazine published a photo story, “Life During Wartime” , a photo story shot by Lowy about everyday life in wartime Kabul. Currently, Lowy is in Libya, documenting everyday life and the country’s growing pains in the aftermath of Gaddafi’s overthrow, shooting his project with his iPhone, Hipstamatic, and the still-in-beta Lowy lens.

The Storyboard article is a great interview. Rather than resist or shun the iPhone like many other journalists, Lowy shares why he embraces it. In the story, we also get a preview of the new, upcoming Lowy lens for Hipstamatic, which Lowy used to shoot the images. According to another interview on Poynter.org, Lowy says of the lens,

“I thought turn back the saturation a little bit, have the clarity up, a little bit of a grain and some contrast, but not enough that you lose the highlights. I found that a lot of time, you lose the highlights with an iPhone. And that’s it except maybe a slight vignette.”

It’s a great read and Lowy’s photography is powerful, sometimes funny, sometimes a little unsettling. Click to read the entire story, “Capturing Libya: Through a Hipstamatic Lens” by Jessica Bennett on Storyboard.

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Big thanks to Mikkers for the heads up on this one. =M=

UPDATE 01: Clarified the Hipstamatic lens used to shot the images. =M=

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"Cool Link: Ben Lowy – Capturing Libya: Through a Hipstamatic Lens." originally appeared on Life in LoFi: iPhoneography. © 2013 LifeInLoFi.com. All rights reserved.

The first episode of the new web-only talk show iPhoneographers Talk is online now. Hosted by Guy Yang from The Beginners Lens and Commercial Photographer/iPhoneographer Jack Hollingsworth, the show covers a wide range of iPhone Photography topics, including apps, workflow, interviews, portfolio reviews, tips, resources, etc. The show will also feature guests from time to time.

Jack Hollingsworth talks about the idea behind the show:

“Guy and I had this simple idea of creating an iPhoneography talk show roughly 15 minutes per episode; 2-3 episodes per month. The plan is to keep the content and conversation light, lively and inspirational. This episode is a good start.”

In this episode, both photographers introduce themselves and discuss how their more traditional photographic backgrounds have effected their iPhoneography. Stick around for the end of the episode; Jack shares a great iPhone photography tip.

If the video embed above doesn’t work, click here to watch the episode on YouTube.

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Life In LoFi is a media partner of iPhoneographers Talk.

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"The First Episode of iPhoneographers Talk is Online." originally appeared on Life in LoFi: iPhoneography. © 2013 LifeInLoFi.com. All rights reserved.

Frolic by =M=

In case you missed this, Digital Photography Review recently posted a good basic introduction to square format photography. It gives a brief history of the format as it relates to photography, as well as some good image composition theory. It’s a very camera-neutral read and applies to pretty much any device capturing square-format photography.

With more iPhone users discovering artistic photography through square format apps like Instagram and Hipstamatic, this is a good read to get a quick background and some good tips on shooting better square format. The rules of composition for rectangular formats don’t always apply to square format photography.

“Having a single subject is even more important in a square format than in a rectangular one. Don’t try to split the viewer’s attention. Including some background for context is okay, and may even be important, but make sure that the background stays in the background.”

Click here to read “Square Format: not so weird” by Doug Pardee on dpreview.com.

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"Cool Link: Square Format – not so weird." originally appeared on Life in LoFi: iPhoneography. © 2013 LifeInLoFi.com. All rights reserved.

UPDATE: This wallpaper has now been updated for the larger screen of the new iPhone 5!

Since posting screenshots of my iPhone 4S on my most recent “My Camera Bag“ page, I’ve had several requests about the Blueprint background wallpaper I use on my iPhone. While not iPhoneography-related, I’m sharing it here.

On your iPhone, simply tap and hold on the image above to save it straight to your camera roll at full size. Or, on your desktop or laptop, right-click to save it to your computer. Email it to yourself and save it to your iPhone. The file is full size at 640×960 pixels and should look great as the background on any iPhone or iPod Touch.

According to Beautiful Pixels, the Blueprint wallpaper was created by Brad Hellyar. They’ve also got several other really cool wallpapers to download here.

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"Cool Link: iPhone 4 Blueprint Wallpaper." originally appeared on Life in LoFi: iPhoneography. © 2013 LifeInLoFi.com. All rights reserved.

The blog just launched a day or so ago but has easy to digest news bytes and mini reviews of some cool phone gear as well as mini-features on several Android photo apps.

Photojojo is always a fun read (you have explored other areas of their site besides the gear pages, right?). Photojojo (hearts) Phoneography! looks to be a good new resource on all things mobile photography and already looks to fill a huge void in the Droidography blogosphere especially.

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"Cool Link: Photojojo (hearts) Phoneography!." originally appeared on Life in LoFi: iPhoneography. © 2013 LifeInLoFi.com. All rights reserved.

We’ve covered this before, but it’s always a good subject to revisit, both as a refresher and for those who’ve just discovered iPhoneography and mobile photography.

In general, it’s legal to photograph most publicly visible areas. It may not always be a good idea to, but for the most part it is legal. Use your best judgement. Just because someone can’t be an a–hole doesn’t mean they won’t be one. And without a court order, no one can confiscate your camera or force you to erase your photographs.

I’ve run into this problem in the past while photographing downtown Los Angeles. Apparently, Downtown LA is scenic enough for TV and film but not so much for a couple of tourists. We were nice, answered the questions, and after a few minutes were sent on our way with a promise that we wouldn’t photograph the exterior of the PG & E office building downtown. It was uncomfortable.

The Dallas News story is a good primer on your rights as a photographer, what you can do, and more importantly what can be done to you for taking photos in public. Enforcement is sometimes illegal and frustrating, but it’s good information to know what you can photograph and your protections are under the law.

Law enforcers can and should be vigilant for real threats. But people engaging in photography of places that are visible to the naked eye from public property are rarely cause for police intervention. It is time for law enforcers and their chiefs to better understand national security law before attempting to enforce it.

Click here for the full story on DallasNews.com. This story may only be live for a limited time. The News tends to put their stuff behind a paywall.

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"Cool Link: Know photography laws when security is an issue." originally appeared on Life in LoFi: iPhoneography. © 2013 LifeInLoFi.com. All rights reserved.

“Best Served Cold” – FiLMiC Pro Action Promo from FiLMiC Pro on Vimeo.

Click the embed above to watch a short film — a fake action film trailer that was shot entirely with an iPhone 4 and iPhone videography app FiLMiC Pro. It’s a cool short film that does a great job of showcasing many of FiLMiC Pro’s capabilities. Honestly, it’s also better than a lot of the theatrical releases I’ve seen recently.

I’ve previously reviewed FiLMiC Pro. I think it’s the standard for iPhone videography.

Not only did they use an iPhone, but they used a wide range of support hardware while shooting, including a Steadicam Smoothee, Gymbl Pro, GorillaPod, Manfrotto monopod with a Glif, and an elevated skateboard dolly with 16 feet of track. Sound was captured to the iPhone primarily through laveliers connected to a KV connector. The Glif, Joby GorillaPod, and the Gymbl Pro by YOUBIQ are all fairly affordable camera mounting solutions for these types of productions.

While I doubt we’ll see any Hollywood blockbusters shot exclusively on an iPhone, with minimal investment in hardware, FiLMiC Pro seems like a good choice for shooting anything from hobby films, music video, or independent productions.

FiLMiC Pro is $2.99 in the App Store. Requirements: Compatible with iPhone 3GS, iPhone 4, iPod touch (4th generation), iPad 2 Wi-Fi, and iPad 2 Wi-Fi + 3G. Requires iOS 4.1 or later.

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Disclosure: We are an Amazon Associate and get a small spiff from any sales generated from the click-throughs on this page. That’s not why I singled these three products out. I actually use them. =M=

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"“Best Served Cold” — Shot With an iPhone 4 and FiLMiC Pro." originally appeared on Life in LoFi: iPhoneography. © 2013 LifeInLoFi.com. All rights reserved.

Photo by Instagram/@twayne_photos

Texas has been hit this summer with its most serious drought in over 30 years. We nearly broke the record for consecutive days over 100° and we still may break Texas’ record for the hottest summer overall. Most of our lakes are low to seriously low, with many lakes here at less than 50% capacity. At my house, we’ve probably gotten less than an inch of rain here since May (we live in a weird, rain-resistant area of the DFW Metroplex). We’ve been under an Extreme Wildfire Alert here in North Texas all summer long.

Recent wildfires across Texas have destroyed thousands of acres, hundreds of homes and claimed several lives.

Users of Instagram have been posting some very striking images of the Texas fires under the tags #centraltxfires, #txfires and #bastrop. For some striking photos of the fires, search out those hashtags in the Instagram app of your choice.

There are more images and info on Instagram’s blog here.

These fires are tragic in the loss of life and property. Those who are effected by this tragedy are in my thoughts.

The Washington Post has an excellent article on ways you can help the wildfire victims.

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"Coverage of the Texas Fires on… Instagram?." originally appeared on Life in LoFi: iPhoneography. © 2013 LifeInLoFi.com. All rights reserved.

In case you missed it a couple weeks ago, MacWorld’s Lauren Crabbe published a story online about using an iPhone for higher-quality image capture and editing – something that many of us already know about our cameras of choice, but might be of interest if you haven’t yet discovered some of the higher-end photo editors.

I agree with many of her choices, including using both PhotoForge2 and Filterstorm. Both apps have different uses in my toolbox. Her choice of ComicBook in an otherwise hi-fi-oriented article left me puzzled. Also, noting one of her oversights, Cogitap’s excellent Slow Shutter Cam () does support full resolution on an iPhone 4.

“Yes, it is possible to take good photos on your iPhone without shoving it through a lo-fi app. And as cool as it may seem to make your party photos look like they were taken in 1976, one can’t help wonder what we will think of them in retrospect.”

Click to read the entire post, “iPhone photo apps that go beyond the lo-fi” on MacWorld.com.

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"Cool Link: iPhone photo apps that go beyond the lo-fi." originally appeared on Life in LoFi: iPhoneography. © 2013 LifeInLoFi.com. All rights reserved.

“Whether you’re using Instagr.am, Photoshop Mobile, Hipstamatic, TiltShift or PhotoPaint, or any of a hundred of apps for taking and editing photos, check out these blogs for inspiration.”

Click here to read the entire post, Blogs.com’s “Top 10 iPhone Photo (iPhoneography) Blogs.”

My very big thanks to the editors of Blogs.com. And my bigger thanks to you for stopping by. It’s a big Internet and I’m grateful that you share part of your time here.

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And many thanks to iPhoneographer Jack Hollingsworth (Twitter/@photojack) for the heads up on this one.

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"Life In LoFi Makes Blogs.com’s Top Ten iPhone Photo Blogs.." originally appeared on Life in LoFi: iPhoneography. © 2013 LifeInLoFi.com. All rights reserved.

This year, a new dissertation by Zachary McCune, a Master’s student in Sociology at the University of Cambridge, analyzes three months of research just completed on Instagram Users and their motivations to take and share photos on the iPhone platform.

Given the large number of Instagram users, Zach’s sample is very small. Some of his research draws conclusions obvious to those in the iPhoneography community. Some of the conclusions he draws about Instagram, though, are pretty interesting. I find it very cool that iPhoneography is getting more attention on an academic level.

“In a three-month study centered on a four-week ethnography, attendance of a London meetup, and analysis of 23 open-response user surveys, this project assessed the iPhone app “Instagram” as a social media network. The research was grounded in the question why do users share personal media content with global networks? Rather than offering a theoretical response to this question, or attempting a macro-assessment of Instagram use, this study engages “iPhoneography” (neologism: iPhone+ photography) from an experimential lens of using the Instagram app, and communicating directly with other Instagram users. The results, while perhaps too in-depth to other generalized conclusions, provide an intimate account of Instagram use and show social media users as concerned with both personal production and social reception. It also shows that Instagram users develop high fluency with various iPhone photo apps, and consciously craft rather than simply capture the images they share.”

A 5 page summary can be found here,  alongside Zack’s full 80 page dissertation.

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"Instagram User Research from the University of Cambridge." originally appeared on Life in LoFi: iPhoneography. © 2013 LifeInLoFi.com. All rights reserved.

Here’s a link to a recent New York Times story about Instagram. It provides some insight into Instagram the company and a lot of insights into social photo sharing from the social, not photo, viewpoint. If you’ve got a minute or three, it’s a good read on the present and near future of social photo sharing.

The service has benefited from being easier to use than some of its rivals, said Brian Blau, a research director at Gartner. “You take a photo, add a filter, post it online,” he said. “It’s the equivalent of firing off a tweet; it doesn’t require much thought or effort.”

Read the entire story by Jenna Wortham, “Instagram Rises as Social Web Embraces Photo Sharing” on nytimes.com.

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"Cool Link: New York Times Story on Instagram." originally appeared on Life in LoFi: iPhoneography. © 2013 LifeInLoFi.com. All rights reserved.