Fire Museum of Maryland and Hipstamatic

Capture: Hipstamatic ~ Helga Viking~ Kodot XGrizzled: Processing: Snapseed:Crop'n'Frame

The Fire Museum of Maryland is a great museum and the third largest collection of antique fire fighting equipment in the USA. I had a super morning there visiting with Rob Williams the Assistant Director and Lee Smith the President of the Board of Directors. Rob met me when I arrived and walked me through a portion of the museum, providing a historical narrative on the equipment and its use. I was shooting exclusively with the iPhone as I was trying out the Gymbl accessory which I liked very much (see my previous post)  and have now added that to my accessory list and gadget bag for the iPhone! (Thanks Gordon!). I also enjoyed making a few quick images with the Hipstamatic App, probably the most popular shooting app for the iPhone. One of the docents saw me working with my iPhone and the Gymbl and began a conversation as they had just recently acquired an iPhone. So I spent some time chatting and sharing some photo tips. One photo composition tip I always think about when making images is; when you see red shoot it, well its hard not to there!

Capture: Hipstamatic~Helga Viking and DreamCanvas Processing: SnapSeed: Crop'n'Frame

I really spent more time talking and looking at the interesting museum offerings than I did making images, but I enjoyed the information and conversation.There are many photos of the Great Baltimore Fire of 1904. Amazing how well documented it was. Must have been all the members of the Baltimore Camera Club and the Sunpapers staff! Lee said it was so well documented by amateurs and professionals that the images had been studied after the fire to develop new ideas for rebuilding in a more fire proof way, making streets more accessible and adopting building codes. You just have to go enjoy it..check out their site! The visit there made me even more grateful for all of our first responders! What an amazing service they provide.

I asked Lee to strike a pose while tilting his cap up a bit to keep the shadows off his eyes, just before I left..........keeping my new photo resolution to make more people images when I get a chance. He was a great guy to chat with and very knowledgeable.

Capture: Hipstamatic~ Helga Viking ~Dream Canvas: Processing: Simply HDR: Snapseed: Crop'n'Frame

I will have to make a trip back in April with the "big girl" camera when they reopen. Check out their site for museum hours.

The Gymbl iPhone Accessory

Capture: BracketMode Process: Autostitch; Snapseed

 The Gymbl is a fun little attachment  I used today to create these images made at The Fire Museum of Maryland in Towson. I have had the Gymbl for a while but just have not had the right time to get out and use it. I attached it to a spare camera plate and was able to use it on my regular tripod. It was easy enough to maneuver with the custom designed case that attaches to the head. I was amazed at how seamlessly the images were stitched because of the deign of the Gymbl accessory.  The Gymbl has a gimbal panoramic head that lets you rotate the iPhone around its optical center.

 Each one of these images began with vertical images and then they were stitched together with the app Autostitch which not only will blend the images but the bracketed exposures at the same time.
I made a few other shots with the iPhone but will get those processed later for another post.