Delaware Road trip and the Iphone

BracketMode:iCameraHDR:ArtistaOil:VintaheScene:Crop'n'Frame

Left Baltimore around 1:30 and  took my time getting to the beach, stopping in a few spots to make a couple iPhone images. On the way down I was noticing what a difference a week makes. The Bradford Pear trees along the highway near Annapolis were aglow as the late afternoon sun filtered through them.
Cherry trees were blooming and the magnolias were in full bloom. As I drove into Bridgeville, I noticed a magnificent Magnolia in bloom, so I stopped, made a u turn and rode around the block then down a side street and came back to the place where I saw the tree. I also enjoyed the old farmhouse beside the tree, so I made a shot or two there.

BracketMode:iCameraHDR:VintageScene:Juxtaposer:Crop'n"frame

 Prior to stopping in Bridgeville, I stopped at the Antique Store in AndersonTown; Carolina County, Md. and Rt. 404. They had a hand held stereopticon and lots of images to look at. I was intrigued by the old photos and spent some time there. I also made a shot of the store...well several and then stitched them together.

Hipstamatic:Chuncky~Kodot XGrizzled: AutoStitch: Phoroforge

My last images before arriving at the beach and unpacking the car were made near Clayton, De. I loved the way the sun sinking in the western sky shone bright through the thickening clouds, illuminating the irrigating systems sitting in the barren fields. The red frame windows on an abandoned Ice cream store caught my eye and I had to turn around and make a shot or two there as well. I blended these shots together to get the final image below.

BracketMode:Iris:Juxtaposer

The iPhone A little Grunge Work

Apps: BracketMode: Iris Textures:PicGrunger:DynamicLight

These images were captured last week on my way to and from the beach in Delaware...I have really been enjoying blending images in the app Juxtaposer...I am not sure why these images all represent something in decay or time passing, but it has been said the photographers images express their inner vision or maybe some subconscious thoughts. Britannica Online defines art as "the use of skill and imagination in the creation of aesthetic objects, environments, or experiences that can be shared with others." So I am sharing with you some of the objects or scenes that captured my interest. I'll be heading back to the beach tomorrow for my Beach Workshop this weekend!

Apps: Idroste to create a layer image: CameraPlusPro original clock capture: Iris for Textures and grunge: PicGrunger:Juxtaposer

Apps: Hipstamatic:Tejas~Kodot XGrizzled: PicGrunger: Juxtaposer Layers arranged

Apps: Hipsta~Tejas~Kodot XGrizzled: PicGunger: Iris:Texture

Iphone: Sometimes, Less is more! App~MonoPhix

CameraPlusPro: MonoPhix app~PhotoStudio~Vignette~Frame

Left the beach today around 12:30 and headed north on Rt 1 toward the marshes, Prime Hook, Port Mahaon Road and Bombay Hook.. then home. I could not believe that the temperature today rose to 80 degrees as the day wore on. I made a few shots from the Jeep with the iPhone. The wind was so strong all day that I could barely hold the phone still enough for the shutter to pop with the anti-shake turned on. I would never have gotten any clear bird shots with a big lens today because the wind was whipping. I did spot a flock of Big Blue Herons in a cove in Bombay Hook, but they were too far away..even still it was very cool to see them. So I rode through the marsh and made some landscape shots. The big sky, the barren grasslands, the glistening water and the rotting piers of Port Mahon, made for some easy shots sitting higher in the Jeep.

 CaleraPlusPro: MonoPhix app~PhotoStudio~Vignette~Frame

SlowShutter: MonoPhix app~PhotoStudio~Vignette~Frame

CameraPlusPro~MonoPhix app~PhotoStudio~Vignette~Frame

Slow Shutter MonoPhix app~PhotoStudio~Vignette~Frame

IPhone: Beach Whimsy

Bracket Mode: True HDR: ArtistaSketch:ArtistaOil:Iris blended Layers: PhotoshopExpress

Walked up to the beach in Ocean City to say hello to the sea this afternoon and saw some wonderful handmade weathered bird houses fixed on the beach dune fencing, so I had to try and capture them with the iPhone. Seeing them made me smile! I tried to keep the processing somewhat the same and used all the apps in the same sequence.

iPhone at the Beach: About making pictures......

Apps: Bracket Mode: iCameraHDR: Crop'n'Frame

Yesterday, I had some errands to run which took me a little inland, and while there I rode around the back roads of Sussex County, some not even on the Garmen, through the flat lands of Southern Delaware. This area is about the beach or the farms..not much in between.  Some of the farms are grand but most tend to be old and in need of maintenance. The history of the area lies in farming and raising chickens....with some dairy. The lower shore area is home to The Broiler Chicken Industry.  Many small chicken farmers have gone out of the business and abandoned chicken houses populate the areas farms. Sussex County Delaware, was the birthplace of the broiler chicken industry, and produces more chickens than any other county in the United States. It is home to the headquarters of 3 of the Top 20 broiler producing companies in the country. DuPont is also a big employer in the town of Seaford. Once you are out of the beach communities the area is somewhat depressed; a great place for some grunge work if you can get to it. The farms sit back off the roads for the most part and there is little room to pull off because of the many and deep drainage ditches. I was however able to get a few shots with the iPhone. I grabbed lunch on the go and as I sat in the Jeep I noticed that quite possibly the picture on the Garmen was the best one of the day...Pointing due east toward the Atlantic Ocean....being there! Sometimes its not about the pictures....its about just being there. The weather was variable, sometimes rain, sometimes overcast, sometimes sunny. I made a swipe as a storm was passing out to sea, with the SlowShutter app as I was heading North to do some more errands. I finished the day in Prime Hook Marsh and loved how the marsh reeds had been blown into a marvelous accumulation of winter debris creating texture against the shoreline. It was a great day!

Apps: Braclet Mode: iCameraHDR; PicGrunger: Crop'n'Frame

Apps: SlowShutter:PhotoFX

Apps: CameraPlusPro:MonoPhix: PhotoStudio

iPhone on the Road

Today, I got out of Baltimore around 11:30 and headed for the beach. I had to make a stop to see a friend who is in a rehab center in Edgewater, for a few hours before driving to the beach in the late afternoon. Life is so tough sometimes...my friend went in to have back surgery in November and has yet to return home, after numerous surgeries and complications he is down to 120 pounds, and can't walk and still has many issues to contend with. What can you do but say a few prayers and visit. Visiting really weighed on my emotions as I got back in the Jeep to drive to the beach, but it also made me very grateful for my ability to get around freely. Soooo grateful! Say some prayers for my friend Jay!

After an hour on the road, I began seeing familiar farms and barns which became a mental diversion from my previous thoughts and I decided to stop and make a couple iPhone images along the way.
After arriving at the beach and struggling to get the Internet booted up and my laptop communicating I am finally back on line.The house is now warm and the porch furniture has been moved out. Had to flip the breaker on for the hot water and brought my things in...now its time to get some rest.

Valley Frame and Fine Art: Many different apps and layers

Three layered images with all images shot in "Hipstamatic" layers blended in "Juxtaposer" and texture applied in "Iris" and "PhotoForge" with a touch of "Rays" to add some more light in the lamp.

Last night I gave a 2 hour presentation on composition, light and creativity in photography...at Penn Camera in Tyson's Corner. I had a full class of photographers anxious to learn; How fun is that! I added a few iPhone images just before the presentation and the group was amazed, as I am, every time I make pictures with this technology.

The group of iPhone created and processed images you see here, were made at Valley Framing and Fine Art in Maryland. "Valley" has been in business for three decades. I first came to "Valley" when I was traveling to and from New York for business. I was purchasing some old Vanity Fair prints and some French Fashion prints from the Old Print Shop. Each time I traveled I always stopped into the Old Print Shop to look at what they had in stock. I wanted a quality framing for them and Valley Framing was the place I took my prints to for fabulous framing, that worked with the prints and my home decor.

My friend Annette, I met at Valley and over the years we have developed a wonderful friendship. I even got her to join the Baltimore Camera Club! She shares a love for the Delaware beaches, the Maryland countryside, art, photography, and cars. I was there the other day just dropping in to say hi as I was in the area. She has home decor items there as well and I enjoy their style. So before I left I wandered around the shop making some images on the fly. This weekend I am heading to the beach to open up the beach house and get ready for my beach workshop next weekend....its not too late to sign up if you want a weekend get away.......check it out here for details and registration:
http://blog.karenlmessickphotography.com/p/delaware-photo-ramble-and-workshop_19.html

Captured with iCameraHDR "PicGrunger" and "Iris" added texture

Hipstamatic Salvador Lens Dream Canvas Film

The "Real Gold Frames"

Repeat post from my "Rays" post but also made in the Valley Frame and Fine Art shop.