Life in LoFi: iPhoneography | iPhone Photo News, Showcases, App Reviews

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

October 2-5, 2009

In Seattle, some of the things I saw, while gorgeous in their color and saturation, took on an entirely different feeling once that element was stripped out and the images were reduced to their essentials in black and white. “Barstools…” evokes a much grittier feeling when the color is stripped away. It has a feeling of the smoky, dusty early 60′s dive bars. The Photobooth against the cinderblock stands as a timeless monument in an empty amusement park. The natural contrast between the brightly lit Space Needle and the darkness of the night sky plays off each other well in color or black and white.

"Barstools in Monochrome"

Shot with Camera HD, modified with Photogene and CameraBag

"Photobooth"

Shot with ProCamera, modified with Photogene and CameraBag

"Space Needle"

Shot with ProCamera, modified with CameraBag

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October 2-5, 2009

"Lower Floor"

Pike Place Market, Seattle, Washington
Shot with ProCamera, unenhanced

A found shot inside the Pike Place Market. The lines and the perspective create their own depth of field. The color and the neon were perfect. The crowd flows, but the image captures a spot of quiet in the midst of the noisy, bustling market.

"Loback"

Pike Place Market, Seattle
Shot with ProCamera, enhanced with Photogene and Mill Colour

"The Troll"

Seattle, Washington
Shot with Camera XL, unmodified

"Seattle Hardware"

Seattle, Washington
Shot with ProCamera, modified with PhotoForge and CameraBag

I don’t know how old this sign is, although it’s very well maintained. I don’t recall if the store behind it was the hardware company. I suspect it wasn’t and the original tenant of this classic building near Pioneer Square is long gone. I liked the play between the bronze and the shadows. With the sun providing perfect contract for this shot, it was a nice visit to an older time.

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September 26-29, 2009

While I didn’t take a ton of photos — I think I took about 175 which included safety shots — I was very pleased with the shots I got and my ability to work with them on my iPhone. I’ve narrowed my story to the shots you see here and in the first part of this gallery.

For such a tall city, I found myself wanting to shoot with a wide aspect ratio much of the time, something which Camera HD helps me do easily in camera. For me, it either helped enhance the horizon or the added width helped to narrow the focus of your view of the scene.

Here is Part II of the story.

"The S Line"

The S Line, Times Square Station
Shot with Camera Genius, modifed in CameraBag

"Subway"

Times Square, New York
Shot with Camera Genius, unenhanced

"Roxy Deli"

Times Square, New York
Shot with Camera Genius, modified in Photogene

"Stardust Diner"

7th Avenue, New York
Shot with Camera Genius, modified in Photogene

The beauty in the every day. Things we may walk past all the time and miss something wonderful.

I’ve become fascinated with neon light and how the iPhone camera interprets it, as well as how far you can push the image in post processing. I loved how the reds in the Roxy sign held their own in the never-ending day that is nighttime in Times Square. I loved how the buildings around the Stardust Diner sign picked up the ambient light, giving them a warmth which complimented the sign. Two neon signs — two very different settings. One always competing in the noise, the other a calm icon on a quiet late-night street.

"Imagine"

Central Park, New York
Shot with Camera XL, modified in Photogene

The postcard. The leaves and the subtle hint of shadows take the image from pristine to real for me.

"Carriage Ride in Central Park"

Shot with Camera HD, modified with Photogene

"Manhattan Monochrome"

New York La Guardia Airport
Shot with Zoom Lens, modifed with PhotoForge, monochromed in CameraBag

From New York La Guardia Airport, the skyline of Manhattan looks much much smaller than you see in the image — it’s a rough spot on the horizon. Even far away it was awe-inspiring with the sunset. While the colors were breathtaking, to me the image works better in black & white as it adds more contrast to the skyline than was there, even far away.

"The Jet Age"

New York La Guardia Airport
Shot with Camera HD, modifed with Photogene

Old aircraft hangars modernized. A Boeing 757 sits in the foreground at the gate. Classic lines in a modern aircraft. The juxtaposition of old meeting new.

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