Silk Mill Rerun App 6x6

Bathroom Sink        Capture: 6x6 Processed: Snapseed: PerfectPhoto

This past weekend I joined a group of photographers on Sunday to do some shooting in the old Lonaconing Silk Mill in Western, Maryland. I made several images with the Nikon and then started making iPhone shots. I was having a great time working in the mill with the shooting app 6x6 making exposure decisions with the retical. 6x6 has as a part of the application the ability to select areas in the image for exposure and focus. I love this app for its square format and exposure control. The mill has very dark and bright areas, normally an HDR shooting venue, but I challenged myself to find images using only one shot on the iPhone, adjusting the placement of the exposure retical for the exposure I liked. If you live in Maryland I hope you can join me at Horizons Photography Workshops in Chesapeake City for my iPhone photography workshops on March 10 or June 9.

Tool and Hardware         Capture 6x6: Processed: Snapseed: ScratchCam: PerfectPhoto

Machine Brush     Capture 6x6: Processed: Noir

Warehouse Shadows     Capture 6x6 Processed: Noir

The Open Door      Capture: 6x6 Processed: Noir

Sometimes Simple is best~Apps: BracketMode~Sanpseed~ProHDR~TouchRetouch~Photo fx

I posted this iPhone, shot and processed, image to a few social sites including InstaGram, GooglePlus and FaceBook. I received many positive comments from viewers. So much that it made me think about why; What is it about a simple shot of the sun rising through the mist over a body of water? Was it something universal in our human experience that we so loved and related to?
The mystery of fog, the renewal of a new day, the calming effect of water, the suggestion of land, the soft colors of blue and yellow....a combination of elements that must be universally appealing and appreciated.
It also made me want to share the process for this simple yet emotion invoking image. Honestly, it was a hand held grab shot...pointed the iPhone lens toward the sun, made a composition and then made two exposures using the shooting app BracketMode: it is amazing how well this app works for capturing the dynamic range of light in a scene.

BracketMode Exposure 1 for the darks

BracketMode Exposure 2 for the highlights

I then blended these two shots in ProHDR: (making adjustments in the app to achieve this image)

ProHDR processed image

I wanted to make some further image adjustments so I brought the image into SnapSeed and made adjusts to saturation white balance, sharpness and added an off center blur effect.

Snapseed Adjusted image

I didn't like the contrail reflections that appeared in the water and the dark speck of land in the upper left so I used an app called TouchRetouch to make a selection and get rid of the undesirable elements. Touch Retouch is another amazing app, and functions much like content aware in PhotoShop when using the Lasso tool.

TouchRetouch adjusted image removed contrail reflections

I was happy with the tone of the image at this point and removing the contrail reflections helped but I wanted more fog, the image to me was still too harsh. I opened the app Photo fx on the iPhone and applied a fog filter adjusting the opacity to my taste. I also made further adjustments to the color tone in the image to achieve the final image. As a photographer I am still amazed with the shooting and processing possibilities of the iPhone and Apps!

Final image adjusted in Photo fx for tone and fog.

I will be conducting a day long advanced iPhone workshop on March 16 in Gaithersburg, Maryland and will be demonstrating apps and techniques I use to shoot and process images. If you would like to attend click here for registration and more info.

Second Chance~ Apps~6x6: SnapSeed: Crop'n'Frame

Captured: 6x6 Processed: Snapseed, Crop'n'Frame

This past Sunday I conducted an HDR workshop for  DSLR photographers at Second Chance in Baltimore. I made a visit the day before because they have just recently moved into an old warehouse to make way for the new Gambling Casinos to be built in Baltimore on the old location. I walked every square inch of the warehouse looking for shots and interesting reclaimed items. The old warehouse itself offered up some interesting shots and because I was making a run through I only had the iPhone with me...soon after snapping some shots I was developing a theme for my day in the warehouse. I focused my eyes on the old walls and columns, finding interesting textures, shadows and old fixtures. In processing, I wanted an old retro feeling to go along with the age of the fixtures and chose a vintage and grunge filter in SnapSeed. It was a fun day on Sunday helping students make images. We were finding some great material to work with. Second Chance provides a wonderful service to the community with their "Retain, Reclaim and Renew" motto in full force and they welcome photographers and artists.

Chadds Ford, Pa ~ Apps ~ Painteresque: Snapseed: ImageBlender

Captured 6x7 Processed: Snapseed: Photowizard:ImageBlender: Picturesque

Yesterday my friend Annette and I took a day trip to Pa. My mission was to see Longwood Gardens Orchid extravaganza and make some shots with the big camera. I must say I was a bit disappointed. I did not even take one orchid shot...but that's another blog...after our visit to Longwood we headed out to some nearby antique shops in Chadds Ford. That's when the iPhone went to work. I love antiques and there were some really cool ones in Chadds Ford. So we spent some time just cruising the three level antique barn of The Brandywine River Antiques Market, making some shots. Afterward we rambled back country roads looking for shots. We found a cool old structure so we stopped and made a few shots there. The app Picturesque is new in my painting app folder. It saves the image at the size of the original captured resolution. It has a cool one filter only look with no options to deliver any customized looks; but no fear, layers can be combined to achieve the look you want.
I hope you sign up for my iPhone workshop on March 10 at Horizon Photography Workshops, in Chesapeake City, Maryland to get you jump started capturing and processing images with your iPhone.
I am also working on an advanced iPhone Class which will build on my initial iPhone class. It will include, layers in many methods, app blending, image blending, masking, using words in your images, levels, curves, shooting for HDR, Slow Shutter exposures and much more so stay tuned for future class dates on my next level of iPhone image capture and processing.

Captured: CameraPlusPro Processed: Snapseed: Picturesque: ImageBlender

Captured: 6x6 Processed: SnapSeed: Picturesque: ImageBlender

Captured: BracketMode Processed: ProHDR: Picturesque: SnapSeed: ImageBlender

 It was a great day in the land of Andrew Wyeth..........one of my favorite American Artists!

Old Kennett Friends 1710 Meeting House: Capture: BracketMode  Processed: ProHDR: Snapseed: Picturesque: ImageBlender

Pictures are Everywhere....ArtistaOil:Photocopier:PhotoWizard

ArtistaOil:VintageScene: PhotoCopier: Crop'n'Frame

Saturday was my second day long iPhone workshop at Mac Business Solutions in Gaithersburg. I had a very enthusiastic group of participants and enjoyed the day. I hope to return to MBS for future workshops. I will be working on a more advanced session of iPhone photography workshops over the next week or so and hope to get that scheduled in late February. During the workshops I plan an hour of shooting outside to help students work with the shooting apps we selected for the day. I also get a chance to make a few images. While a suburban strip shopping center is not where one thinks to go for creating images....there are many images to be made everywhere. Montgomery County is rich in ethnic diversity and cultures. One of the small shops in the center with MBS is a flower/tailor shop. Inside the sun filled window of this shop I noticed a petite Asian woman hand sewing; her hands were rich in texture and form. So I went inside and asked her if I could make a few pictures of her hands as she sewed the garment that lay on her lap. She asked why and I simply replied art. She agreed, so as she continued her work I made three shots. This is the one I liked the best, as she moved the needle into the fabric.

Hipsta with OlloClip:Phonto:PhotoWizard:Percolator:Snapseed Frame

 I also made a few other images on Saturday....the week before I had given one of the students my OlloClip to show him how it worked with the fisheye on the iPhone and he found a checker board patterned concrete topped table to make some images. I loved the shots he had so much that this week I made a few images there as well. When I got back home and was feeling really rough from this cold I now have, I goofed around with the fisheye image. I decided to add a little more madness to the shot and applied the Pinch~Pull filter from PhotoWizard. I added the red x and o letters into the squares before applying the pinch and pull distortion. Then I finished off the idea with Percolator...

ClassicPan:PicGrunger: Photocopier: SnapSeed

I always enjoy making images of cafe tables and chairs and spotted this set in front of another shop. Demonstrating when I choose to use different shooting apps, this scene was perfect for ClassicPan, I made a couple shots. I finished the image by punching up the colors and contrast and then running it through the "Klee" filter in Photocopier for the texture.
I love teaching and I hope you can join me for my next all day workshop at Horizon Photography Workshops in Chesapeake City, Maryland on March 10 or June 9.
So next time you want to make some images head to the closest strip shopping mall and see what you can do!

Baltimore Clayworks: ArtistaHaiku: CameraPlusPro:BadCamera

Capture: CameraPlusPro Processed: ArtistaHaiku, ImageBlender, Snapseed, BadCamera,Crop'n'Frame

On my Thursday iPhone photo walk I visited the Baltimore Clayworks. Their mission as stated on their website~ "Baltimore Clayworks is a non-profit ceramic art center that exists to develop, sustain, and promote an artist-centered community that provides outstanding artistic, educational, and collaborative programs in ceramic arts." I went into the classroom space which is housed in an old city library building. Then I went across the street into the gallery and met Yoshi Fujii the gallery manager and artist. Yoshi is from Japan and studied art in the US. He has a studio in the Clayworks building and has some of his work on display in the gallery.

I enjoyed talking to him and I was reminded of when I made pottery. Yes I made pottery too. I even had a kiln in my basement. I did not "throw" pottery but enjoyed using molds and painting glazes. The  shelves in the classroom area were filled with greenware drying. I loved the way the window light played on the shapes of the handmade bowls.

Text added in Phonto: Light effects: LensLight: BadCamera:Snapseed

 In the gallery there was a display of earthenware books which were fascinating. I enjoyed the way the light was illuminating this display. I used a texture overlay I made out of another image I shot there of some window blinds.

ArtistaHaiku:ImageBlender:BadCamera:Snapseed:DynamicLight

Outside there is a fabulous large pottery piece. I hope you can join me on my Thursday iPhone walks in Mt. Washington. A link to the walk info is on the sidebar of the blog.

Come walk with me and the iPhone: Snapseed

Capture: CameraPlusPro Processed: Snapseed, TouchRetouch, Crop'n'Frame

Thursday I headed to Mt. Washington to make some iPhone images. I contend that images are everywhere even in the most ordinary everyday places. Mt. Washington Mills is an area in Baltimore  along the banks of the Jones Falls that has existed as a community center since the 1800's.  In 1810, the first cotton mill in Baltimore was opened on the Jones Falls by Washington Manufacturing Company in what is now Mount Washington. Mt. Washington the community was founded in the middle of the nineteenth century as a place to escape the oppressive conditions of the city. One of the first "street-car suburbs" of Baltimore, Mt. Washington housed some of the finer families, including H.L. Mencken, during their summer escapes. The neighborhood quickly grew into a year round community. The Mt. Washington Improvement Association was founded in 1885, and continues to this day as one of the oldest neighborhood associations in the country.
Today the core of the community business district contains small eclectic shops, offices and restaurants. Baltimore Clayworks has its gallery and studios in the center of the business area.  Smith and Hawkins used to have a retail shop there but failed to make it and the warehouse location sits empty now. These are just a few of the images I made. If you live in the area I am offering an iPhone Photo walk workshop every Thursday in Mt. Washington for $60.00 from 10-1. Check out the side bar of my blog for details.

Capture: CameraPlusPro Processed: Snapseed, Crop'n'Frame

Capture: BracketMode Processed: TrueHDR, Snapseed, Crop'n'Frame

Capture: Camera+ Processed: Snapseed., Crop'n'Frame

Capture: Camera+ Processed: Snapseed:Photo fx, Crop'n'Frame