Thursday, April 19, 2012
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Pictures of the Day.
Normal iPhone4S Lens vs. Wide Angle Lens
Normal Lens: A standard shot (untouched) from my beloved iPhone4S, facing towards the sun. The background is underexposed and the trees barely fit in to the frame. |
Monday, April 16, 2012
Happy Monday!
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Picture of the Day
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Olloclip
The cool thing about having a hobby you like is that you come in to contact with others following the same interest as yourself. With others you get to share your passion for the hobby, show them your work, see their work, get valuable feedback and grow your interest in the hobby. Plus, you also come across stuff that you might not otherwise find out about. The olloclip is one such thing that I would have not found out about had it not been for Instagram.
If you are not familiar with Instagram, it is essentially Facebook for photographers of all skill levels. Interestingly enough, Facebook bought Instagram this week, making the owners some very wealthy individual$. Good for them. :-)
On Instagram, you can post your photographs and share with the world your vision, talent and ability. In return, anyone in the world can find your photograph and "like" it or comment on it. Hopefully the comments will always be positive - so far I have not had any negative comments (knock on wood). It is a great way to see work by other people and also come across information that you might not otherwise come across. For example, other photographers might make comments about where they took their picture, what app they used, or contests going on.
When you post on Instagram, you will typically include a hashtag (#) which is essentially a big collection of photographs from other photographers that used the same hashtag. For example, you might post your picture as #instagram_underdogs, which is a group of photographers that are trying to garner fans and followers. One such hashtag I came across a while back was #olloclip. I had no idea what it was until I read the comments on a photograph, and the photographer was discussing how she loved her olloclip. Well, being very curious, I googled the word and came across www.olloclip.com - a company that created the device above. On their site they have a neat video showing the efforts they went to in manufacturing the prototype for the device, plus a store where you can order a black olloclip or a red olloclip. It took about a week before I felt comfortable enough in parting with the approx $75 it took to buy the lens, but I finally ordered it, then sat by my mailbox over the Easter holiday waiting for the Postman to ring twice. I hear he always rings twice, but the truth of the matter, Mr. Postman must have been nipping at the bottle, because it showed up two days late with Priority Mail. What's up with that?
But I digress - we were talking about the wonders of the olloclip.
I was so excited about finally buying an olloclip, as I love photography and take tons of pics with my beloved iPhone4S. I hate to say it, but I seldom use my beloved orange Pentax DSLR anymore. It is a great camera and I really try to like using my Lensbaby (wow, it is really a challenge to use), but who really wants to walk around anonymously amongst the masses lugging a camera that screams "invasion of privacy"?
So the iPhone is perfect for me and perfect for what I enjoy about photography - doing my own thing without having anyone hassling me (it is not usually a pleasant experience). But after a while, you just wish you had those cool lenses for your iPhone.
Welcome to 2012 and the olloclip. The olloclip is essentially a lens for your iPhone, just like what you use on your DSLR, except it is much simpler to use - no F-Stops, focusing, or worrying about dust when you change it. It is such a clever device, I am surprised that they are not more common-place. Or perhaps they are - I just came across them recently.
I have mainly used the Macro lens to date, and really like the results. The Wide Angle lens is better than expected, and great for taking pictures of landscapes and buildings. The Macro lens has opened up a whole new world to me, as witnessed with the pictures below - I took these the first day I used the lens and have been hooked ever since.
Original: A flower bud with the morning sunrise smiling upon it. But not shining enough to make a pretty picture. No worries - I have Snapseed, Photoshop, and 5 minutes to spare. |
Monday, April 9, 2012
Letters to the Editor.
I have received numerous letters lately, coincidentally, all written on crisp $20 bills, asking me the following questions:
$20 Bill #1:
"Jimmy, why do you keep posting a "Picture of the Week" - what gives? Are you on a secret mission or do you have writer's block?"
Thank you, Bill, for your excellent question! The truth of the matter is that I have been terribly busy lately and have been unable to compose a new post that would get those neurons of yours to fire like a Fourth of July fireworks show in the park, but I have been able to post some of my most recent pictures on Instagram (I am jimmy1963). I try to post my favorite pictures for the week, but to be honest, I kind of like them all so I really need an outside judge to make an astute determination as to which pictures are the best, then post some of them. If you see one of my pictures you like, or one you completely hate and despise, write and let me know, and I will post it, along with your diatribe as to why you hate it, or I will post your beautiful poetic musings as to why you love it.
$20 Bill #2:
"Jimmy, I love your work - you have such a fascinating style. How do you create such vivid pictures, and how do you give it such a unique look?"
Thanks, Mom, for the kind letter! By the way, I have some more crossword puzzles and books to give you next time I come over.
As for how I create them, well, if I tell you, then they will not be so special anymore. But it is really pretty simple. First, you need to start with a good picture. By good, I mean interesting. The quality is almost irrelevant, because the quality can be repaired and man-handled. Does the picture have anything interesting about it? Is the subject matter unique, cool, colorful, show motion, or show texture? Is the subject matter something you wish you had shot a picture of? If so, then it is probably interesting enough to proceed further. If not, go back and shoot a more interesting picture.
Second, Mom, I start with a unique or interesting picture, then import it in to one of my favorite apps on my iPad. Mom, an iPad is an electronic gizmo, about the size of a book, about as thin as an Alzheimers medication tablet, and it works magic on a photograph I take. No, Mom, the picture is not a Polaroid. No, Mom, there is no place to put the photograph in to the iPad. Mom, I don't know why they call it an iPad and yes, I know it sounds like something a girl... hey, I really do not want to have this conversation with you Mom, this is getting weird and I am still traumatized from my youth when you dressed me, oh, never mind - that was a long time ago and my mental wounds have healed. Look Mom, the best way to explain it to you is that the iPad is like a miniaturized photo laboratory with all the smelly, wet chemicals that you dip your photographic paper in to, you look at the picture with the red light on, you expose some light to it here and there, and like magic (but not real magic, because that is impossible), it creates a stunning photograph. No Mom, the iPad does not contain any harmful chemicals and it will not leak if I carry it in your Toyota.
Nevermind.
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Picture of the Week
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