Processing Steps: St. Johns Anglican Church ~ Hipstamatic ~ Snapseed ~ Glaze~ ImageBlender ~ Leonardo

St John's Anglican Church, Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia is a much photographed subject! It's charming red roof and architecture is just fabulous...but there are some composition issues with distracting subject matter, like telephone wires and poles, houses etc..that make it tough for "straight" shots so I decided to shoot it with my iPhone from a slightly different perspective.
I used Hipstamatic to capture the original image below, crouching low to put the fall vegetation in the foreground as a good base to the image and to minimize the roof tops of the background structures.
Join me for my "Getting Started" iPhone Photography workshop sponsored by Capital Photography Center on November 9 at the National Portrait Gallery.
Or catch up with me at during one of my presentations at Nature Visions Photography Expo Nov 15-16.
Here's the process that I used to create the opening image:

Image 1. Original file captured with Hipstamatic Inas 1969 film and Jane lens combo

Image 2. Original file processed with Snapseed using the HDR Scape filter to pop the tones.

Image 3. Iteration 1 created in Glaze using the Workshop Mode and saved

Image 4. Iteration 2 created in Glaze using the Workshop Mode and saved.

Image 5. Iteration 2 blended in ImageBlender with image 2. the HDR version of original image and saved.

Image 6. Image 3 and 4 blended together in ImageBlender and saved.

Image 7. Image 6 blended with image 5 with selective masking applied.

Image 8. Image 7 blended with image 5 to mask in details in the church saved and then run through Leonardo, applying the clarity filter to taste.

The Lone Tree ~ Hipstamatic ~ Snapseed ~ Vintage Scene ~ Glaze ~ Leonardo

I was reminded ever so gently by a fellow iPhoneographer Whit, who has followed my blog for a while that I had stopped posting...Well thanks for the reminder, it has been such a busy travel year, I have not really had time to sit down with any consistency and contemplate the writing of another blog post for a while, but now that fall is here and winter not far away, I am planted once more in one spot and today am moved to write. 

So here it goes: Lone tree images have been pervasive in art and photography forever and I too love a lone tree image and make them when I am moved by the scene. 

Today I really had a question about why we like to make and view lone tree images? What psychological significance does a lone tree image have? What meaning is there behind the creation of a lone tree image?

So I did some searching and found this very unique article written by  Kim D. Coder Professor, Silvics/Ecology, Warnell School of Forest Resources
The University of Georgia in 1996. 

It blew me away the depth to which the subject matter of trees in general has deep roots in our human psychology...so if you have a mind to read check out the article here: Trees and Humankind: Cultural and Psychological Binding While it does not address the lone tree specifically, it did open my eyes to trees and humankind in general, I took away many inferences for myself. 

Now back to creating the image above: It was a rainy day....I had received mention of a lone tree in a text correspondence, so I figured I was supposed to make or find a lone tree image this day. I had lunch with Whit in Vermont and before lunch I looked at my map and charted my path after lunch. I saw a point on the map where I was heading toward Lake Champlain name Lone Tree Peak...yet another Lone Tree sign so I told Whit I was heading there after lunch. As it turned out he was too so we headed that way. After a few stops we parted he went on to see his mom and I rambled to the shores of Lake Champlain, where this little tree stood deeply rooted in the rocky shore and I said "Got it!" I didn't make many images that day because of the heavy rain, but the iPhone allowed me to capture this one.

So this image is a result of those events.

Now to the image processing:

I started with Hipstamatic: Jane Lens and Inas 1969 Film: That combo is my go to when I want as "straight" a shot out of Hipsta I can get. 

Image 1

Then I ran the original file through Snapseed and applied the HDR Scape filter to some degree (I always back it down from the preset strength to my liking)  and applied a little Ambience from the Tune Image filter, as well as a little sharpening and structure and arrived with this image:

Image 2

My next thought was to strip the color from the image file, it was a grey rainy day and I wanted to get that feeling across so I ran image 2 through Vintage Scene by JixiPix and applied a save Preset filter I had developed some time ago. 

Image 3

I liked this moody image and now I wanted to run it through Glaze for the painterly and textured effect I know I can get out of Glaze. After running several custom presets and iterations in Workshop mode I arrived at the  image below.

Image 4

Now I thought it needed a little more pop and I ran Image 4 through Leonardo applying the Clarity filter to some degree. Image 5 is the final result. On occasion I use ImageBlender and blend the Glazed image with the original file but in this case I did not.

Image 5

So if you got this far.....I invite you to join me at Nature Visions in Virginia November 15 and 16. I will be presenting a program on advanced iPhone Photography and will share my processes with you!

Hope to see you there!

This image was also processed the same way and was also taken the same day with Whit where we stopped at a long lane of trees.

iPhone in the Palouse

Capture Camera+ Processing Snapseed

I enjoyed my two weeks in the Palouse, one scouting, the other leading a tour group through the amazing land of Eastern Washington State. I must admit I had to really concentrate on getting my iPhone out to shoot as I was moving fast on my scout and often just wanted to get a shot with the big camera, but every so often the iPhone came out too! Sometimes the shot needed minimal processing and other times my vision was for heavier processing.

Hipstamatic Capture and  OGGL processing

In the end, I enjoyed using Hipstamatic as a quick default shooting app using the Jane Lens and Inas 1969 film. Sometimes I ran that captured image back into OGGL for further filtering with Hipstamatic options.

Walking through the town of Colfax one day I noticed this architectural detail and Hipstamatic was again my app of choice.
I will be reviewing how to set up and shoot with your Camera + and Hipstamatic Apps and more in my "Getting Started in iPhone Photography" workshop this Sunday August 24 at the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC.
For more information and registration Click Here

Color or Black and White? ~ Camera+ ~ Snapseed ~ AltPhoto

For the last two weeks I have been grounded pretty much at the house as I have a complete bathroom remodel underway (ugg) with construction starting at 8 until 4. So,  I have been out in the garden earlier than I normally would have been or been at all, as in the past years, at this time, I am usually enjoying the beach landscape in Delaware, before the rental season begins.
In the morning I have been capturing a few iPhone images as the garden unfolds in spring. I love color but for some reason I have been leaning to processing these images in black and white. While pondering why I liked the images in black and white, I looked at these two images I made this morning, and decided that the black and white images distilled the morning light. While the color of the bloom is beautiful I liked the black and white file. The black and white image tended to draw me into the flower, I did not get the same visual intrigue with the color file. Do you have a preference?
If you always work in color give black and white a try. AltPhoto and Snapseed are all you need to make some great conversions.
My upcoming iPhone classes are posted on the Capital Photography Center website as well as The Horizon Photography website. Hope you can join me!

Cafe Paris~ Inspiration! Camera+ ~ Artista Oil~ Artista Sketch ~ Glaze ~ ImageBlender ~ Snapseed

Last week I had the great pleasure of working with a client who wanted to master GLAZE and do some iPhone work. Their home is like a large studio with white walls, soft white sheer curtains and beautiful windows with lots of natural light. As I worked with my client my eyes were just seeing small still life vignettes everywhere! So we used the natural light and set up a few stills to process on the iPhone. This was one of them. The beautiful china cream pitcher with Cafe Paris on it by Bernardaud and the blue checkered breakfast napkin, just begged to be photographed, so I arranged a little comp by the window with the soft drape of curtain behind it.We placed a white foam core board behind the curtain to balance the interior light.
Staring with Camera+ and choosing an appropriate exposure using the lock exposure feature we made a few comps. I liked this one.

1. Original capture using Camera+

                               

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. To begin the processing, I brightened it a bit and used a warmer  White Balance in Snapseed. Then I wanted to add a bit of color to the edges. I used Artista Oil to accomplish this by reducing all the slider effects except the border and then toned  the border to work with the blue in the napkin.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Next I wanted to add a bit of color to the comp.

I used Artista Sketch to accomplish this, by choosing a sketch look I liked and changed the sketch color to yellow which I thought would work nicely with the blue of the napkin and china.

4. To the original image #1, I blended in ImageBlender image #2 to soften the effect of the blue border toning.

5. Next I blended image #3 with #4 in ImageBlender choosing an appropriate blend mode to achieve the look I had in mind. Then I ran that blended image through Glaze and achieved the look in this image.

6. To finish off the image I used Snapseed and boosted saturation and sharpness as well as applied the border. I used Impression to add my copyright and toned it blue to match the image.

 Check out my full list of classes on the Capital Photography Center site click here for more information and registration.

Whats your Muse? Apps~Hipstamatic ~ Glaze ~ BracketMode ~HDR Pro~ Leonardo ~ Snapseed

Often, I ponder what it is that moves me to see and then create an image......waxing introspectively....
On my recent workshop at The National Gallery of Art, men inspired me, doing what they do in this beautiful environment...as I was working with the group explaining BracketMode and HDR Pro I spotted this gentleman with his camera. I was curious about this older man walking around the gallery putting his camera to his eye and shooting images...at any age photography is a gift and a camera a good companion! I quickly grabbed a BracketMode shot while he stood still looking at the tree with his camera to his face. BracketMode allowed  me to capture the light inside with detail on the wall, as well as the beautiful light falling on the outside building wall. I wondered what image he made....

Captured: BracketMode Processed:HDRPro, Snapseed

After the workshop was over I found him in another section of the gallery and made this image. Waiting until I found just the right composition which allowed me to fit him in between the two paintings hanging on the wall. He was alone with his camera, his thoughts and marvelous art!

Captured: Hipstamatic, Jane lens Inas 1969 film Processed: Glaze, ImageBlender, Leonardo, Impression

The same day one of my young students, who I was terribly impressed with....captured my "Yes" when I saw him holding his iPhone up to capture the condensation of the perpetual condensation display....and once again...the joy of photography came to mind...from the very young with his iPhone to the older gentleman with his DSLR. Amazing....how we see so differently through the lens!!! any lens! and the joy it brings.

Captured: Hipstamatic, Jane Lens Inas 1969 film Processing: None

While showing a workshop student a composition using Hipstamatic, of a man seated, seemingly as part of the stone building structure, an art object himself, we got down low and and made this composition. He never knew we were there.

Captured: Hipstamatic Processed: Glaze, ArtistaSketch, ImageBlender, Snapseed, Leonardo

And after the workshop I strayed into the West wing and captured the Gallery Guard as he was directing traffic and warning people to put their beverage bottles away, again, waiting to catch him in a position separated from the escalator so that he was in a good position to offset his person against the wall in front of him, and waiting for that crossed hand behind the back stance that caught my eye initially.
It is always fun to shoot with the iPhone, then app it up! I have only two spots left for my all day workshop sponsored by Capital Photography Center on May 4th. Hope someone can join me there. For more info Click Here. My next "Getting Started" class is June 1 at the National Portrait Gallery for more info click here.

Captured: Hipsatmatic Jane Lens Inas 1969 film Processed: Glaze, ImageBlender, Snapseed, Leonardo, Impression

Amour - Camera+, Phonto , Snapseed ~ Processing tutorial

Spring has finally arrived in the Mid-Atlantic. The Hellebores in my garden are lifting their blooms out of the soil. I love these early spring beauties. I cut on the other day and decided to make an iPhone image or two. I put just one stem in a small vase and used some Lowel Lights to light the flower and vase and made and exposure that would be great for the flower, then I decided to back light and blow it out a bit choosing another exposure in Camera+

Processing began in Snapseed for a little vignette and toning.

Next in Snapseed I applied, selective brightening to the center of the flower,  texture, selective focus with the tilt shift filter, border and further toned.

Then I ran the image through VSCO Cam and added a slightly different toning.

Lastly I ran the image through Phonto for text and graphics.

Polamatic~Camera+~Glaze~PhotoArtistaSketch~ImageBlender~Leonardo~Phonto~ Working up a new process

Finished Image My Process Below.....

This image started with a simple grab shot of a little flower arrangement on a table at Chick-fil-a when I was killing some time before a Camera Club meeting I was judging. The process evolved as I was working through a few of my favorite apps and one I recently bought Polamatic. The process steps I took are in order below.

1. Camera+ original capture

2. Saturated in Leonardo

3. Image 2 opened in Polamatic and Filtered in Polamatic

4. Image 3 opened in Glaze and masked using the in app purchase mask feature.

5. Image 3 Glazed. Notice the cool effect of paint drips over the masked out border
using the workshop mode in Glaze to achieve a custom Glaze effect..

6. Image 5 opened in PhotoArtista Sketch with sketch effect reduced to
zero so that the paper texture is totally visible, almost completely obscuring the image file.

7. Image 5 and image 6 Blended and selectively masked in
ImageBlender for an aged paper look.

8. Image 7 adjusted for sharpness, saturation and brightness in Leonardo, then opened in Phonto to add the text.

Join me May 4th in Washington, DC for  my full day of Working with Apps in Depth class sponsored by Capital Photography Center where we will process images with cool apps like the ones used here! For more information and registration click here.

Glaze ~ Transparency Masking ~ ImageBlender ~ BrushStrokes ~ Camera+

1. This is the iPhone image I started to work with in Glaze for the purpose of exploring the mask feature in Glaze. The image was captured with Camera+ with Square crop mode activated and  I had already processed the image with BrushStrokes a newly released App.

About 5 months ago the developers of Glaze added a new masking feature to their app Glaze. In order to access the feature it required an in App purchase so, I purchased it. I really did not have the curiosity to explore the options at that time as I was using ImageBlender, but this Glaze masking feature allows you to accomplish a different process when using the App Glaze with mask mode...so here it goes my attempt to explain its features and benefits as well as some ideas for improvement.

2. Image being masked in mask mode in Glaze.
To select the areas to be masked one paints over the image area with the Brush Icon activated, it is easily seen by the bright green mask.

After purchasing the mask feature a star icon will appear at the bottom of the paint style palettes upon opening the application. When you tab on the star the menu choices appear as in the image 2 above.

3. Transparent mask applied to background of the image.

The cool thing about this mask is that you can save it with a transparent background. To do that you activate the transparent background by tabbing on the checkerboard icon. In order to work in great detail you simply expand the image and the brush becomes smaller relative to the enlarged image There is no brush size or opacity adjustment. The eraser feature works the same way. I woud like an undo button but it is easy enough if you over paint to erase. The one button you do not want to actidentally activate especially after you have spent time painting your mask is the diagonally striped rectangle on the bottom right, it will clear your mask! I wish there was a prompt connected with that saying are you sure you want to clear the mask?Now that you have the mask on a transparent background, you can hit the checkmark in the lower right. This will activate the mask and you can now run it through your favorite glaze filters.

4. Masked image area processed with a Glaze filter with a transparent background.
Notice the star icon changed to reflect a transparent background.

So here is what happens when you process the  mask with you favorite Glaze filter, it applies it to the masked area only...pretty cool!

5. Saved image to camera roll, masked and Glaze processed with transparent background all ready for blending with another file.

The image above is what the saved, transparent masked image looks like in your camera roll.

6. Blended images, the original BrushStrokes image 1 and the Transparent Glaze image 5

This is an image blended in ImageBlender using the original processed image from BrushStrokes  Image 1 and a variation of the Masked Transparent Image 5. When you use the transparent image in ImageBlender there is no further masking required.

7. You can also choose not to use a transparent background using the mask feature and run your image through a Gazed filter right out of the mask feature and Glaze will only apply the Filter to the mask leaving your background in the image.

So five months later, I will say this is a pretty trick feature in Glaze!!! If you would like to work with me on this process, join me on my next day long iPhone workshop, "Working with Apps in Depth" May 4, Sponsored by Capital Photography Center. Click here for more information and registration. Happy Masking!

Depending on the Glaze filter you use the background will change, this is a variant to the image process without the transparent mask activated.