Life in LoFi: iPhoneography

From The Random Photographer blog, here’s an interesting variation of the image-a-day concept — 7 Photos, 7 Songs, 7 Days. In addition to seven (really nice) iPhonoegraphy, “Random Sam” also tagged this set with seven songs — one corresponding to each image. I like his photography, especially his photo “Friday”. The music is a nice touch and adds one more element to each piece.

Here’s the link to “7 Photos, 7 Songs, 7 Days” on Random Photographer. >>>

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February 24, 2010
LAX

Louise

Toolbox: CameraBag, FocalLab

Louise stands in the middle of the terminal, facing the travelers and the Chili’s-To-Go. She stands near her accessories, displayed in a glittered case. Her clothes say tropical, or thrift store. Her glasses implore “hide me in in First Class.”

Castro Theatre
January 31, 2010
San Francisco, California

Ticket Booth

Toolbox: CameraBag, FocalLab

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I was recently interviewed by John Meadows for the On the Log podcast. In “Episode 89: Less is More”, we discuss iPhoneography and using the iPhone with some recent apps to capture the look of old analog photography. It was a fun discussion and I think it’s an interesting interview. Plus, you get to find out whether or not this Texan talks with a twang.

Click here for the podcast On the Log, Episode 89: Less is More >>>

iPhoneography by John Meadows

John took the above photo with CameraBag.

Here’s the link to John’s site, On the Log >>>

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This updated Camera Bag post will also go in the navbar above. I wanted to share the evolution of my iPhone. You can read my original Camera Bag post here.

Some of my other camera apps. Page 4 on my iPhone

The best camera is the one that’s with you and the one that’s with me nearly all the time is my first generation 8 GB iPhone 2G.

I don’t use one app exclusively to shoot with. I have several and try to match up the image with the app. One of the features that makes the iPhone camera unique is the availability of thousands of photography-related apps. For less than the cost of a DVD, you can basically get a whole new camera experience.

iPhone apps are constantly being created, updated and improved. Since I first wrote my original Camera Bag post, several new apps have been released and several apps have been improved to the point where they have leapfrogged ahead as far as functionality and performance.

I find myself shooting with many different apps than the first time I wrote about my iPhone’s camera bag. Here’s my updated toolbox — the go-to apps I’m currently using.

Read the rest of this entry →

November 7, 2009

iPhoneography: Tiles and Divider

Toolbox: Spica, CameraBag

LOFI

LOFI
Version 1.0

Bottom line: Recommend!

With the name LOFI, I couldn’t pass this app by.

LOFI by Christopher Comair is “a celebration of imperfection.” It’s a digital lomo app. Cross processing results in unnatural color shifts. Lomography tends to be oversaturated and blurry. LOFI wraps your image in both and then turns it up to 11, kicks it around, amps it up and leaves it exhausted and sweaty on a blanket on the sofa. This is probably one of the best free photo apps in the App Store.

Read the rest of this entry →

Two theaters, The old Arlington downtown and The Grand in Fort Worth.

Arlington Theater

The Grand

When I Am Weak

Camera Bag: Camera Genius, CameraBag, Photogene, Photoshop.com Mobile

I never got to see a movie at The Grand. It was closed long before I ever found it. I had lived in Fort Worth for years and had always heard that part of town was pretty sketchy — dangerous for kids without any street sense.

My best friend and I got brave one day. “Come on, Tom, show me the hookers and the drug dealers. Take me down Rosedale.” Starting from the Interstate, we made our way east. We passed by old wooden houses with peeling paint and bars on the windows. There were red brick churches with leaning signs and hand-me-down playground equipment. As we drove, I saw nothing sketchy. It was just an old neighborhood that had seen better days.

There was a little jog in the road and that’s when I saw the theater for the first time. In this old neighborhood, I didn’t expect to see a movie theater, let alone an old movie palace. We’d stopped at the light. I had a few seconds to look. It was huge and old and was silhouetted against the horizon. The tall balcony side faced the road we were on. The paint on the red brick had worn off over the years — you could barely make out the name. The doors were boarded up. The marquee was blank.

The light changed. We moved on to our Friday night. Over the years, I’ll drive down Rosedale just to see if it’s still there. I pull up to the light and The Grand still greets me.

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October 24, 2009

You can’t make a Texas bar. They don’t just happen. Good ones take time. They need their scratches and stains. Really good ones will have its own permasmoke smell — even long after smoking was banned. A good Texas bar feels lived in, the same feeling you get when you step into a friend’s living room.

Cadillac Ranch is the exception. Maybe it was the company and the fact that none other than Kinky Freidman was playing an acoustic show that night. The new-ish wooden floors had the stains in all the right places. The bar stools all seemed to show the wear from years of barflys. With the windows wide open, you could still smoke here. My friends and I all lit up cigars in celebration.

It felt like an Austin bar, only wider — a double-wide one of my friends called it. The walls were adorned with old Texas paraphernalia. Restored neon signs from old honky tonks long gone were hung from the ceiling. Last night felt like Texas.

“May the best of the past be the worst of the future.”

Thank you, Kinky.

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"Star Studded"

"Falling Star"

"The National Beer of Texas"

All shot with Camera Genius, processed with CameraBag

Griffith Observatory
Los Angeles, California

Like variations on a theme in a piece of music, some variations on an image.

The original image, Shot with Camera, processed with PerfectPhoto

I think the original image stands well on its own — no filters needed. I adjusted the color and contrast just a little bit.

I liked the lines throughout the image and how they frame little windows within it. I like how the image captures just a hint of the Art Deco of the classic building. I love the playfulness of the two signs — a smaller version of competing “Do Not Enter” signs.

Just to see how it would look, I applied several filters. I experimented. Results I like I’m sharing here. Afraid that I’d be applying filters for filters’ sake, I am surprised at how much I like how each filter changes the mood of the original image.

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Entrance No Entrance (Holga Mix)

processed with CameraBag/Helga filter

Entrance No Entrance (Monochrome Mix)

processed with CameraKit

Entrance No Entrance (Push/Pull Mix)

processed with Camera Kit