A Series of Unrelated Photos

Just some recent favorites. Mostly tiltshiftgen and TrueHDR.

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Botanical Gardens

Ashlea and I went to see if the azaleas were blooming at the local botanical garden.

Edited with Photoshop Mobile.

Just some photos from the Norfolk Botanical Gardens. I forked over the money to become a member so I could get in free for a year. Most of the plants weren’t blooming yet, but the azaleas and the chinese cherry trees certainly were. Good place to take iPhone photos.

Blossoming chinese cherry tree.

I would love to take my A-1 and shoot some film, so if I do check it out on my other blog: behind a camera.

Used TrueHDR to create a constant exposure, then I used PS Mobile to make it black and white.

I used TrueHDR to make a pretty even exposure, which makes for a better black and white photo. I recommend using a HDR app before making any photo black and white. HDR may actually increase the graininess of an image, but by making a photo black and white and increasing contrast you can almost get rid of it.

Road leading through the garden. Used Tilt Shift Generator.

By putting a horizontal blur in the bottom half, it looks like the leaves are in focus while everything else is not.

Overall a good trip. But I did feel like an amateur next to everyone running around with DSLRs. Meh. Still got some good photos.

All the photos below…

Edited with Photoshop Mobile.

Blossoming chinese cherry tree.

Used TrueHDR to create a constant exposure, then I used PS Mobile to make it black and white.

Road leading through the garden.

Belle Isle

Driving over the small wooden bridge onto Belle Isle.

Ventured onto Belle Isle in Richmond, VA last Friday.

I went to shoot reenacments for a survival feature story. But, that’s not what this blog or post is about. Its about iPhone photos. If you want to read about the stories I cover you can check out my other blog: www.behindacamera.com

So as we were leaving after our shoot I snapped some photos driving out. Here they are. Nice and simple. Themeless.

I used tilt shift generator for all the color correction. If I could recommend one photo editing app it would be it. Awesome results. Here are the photos.

Driving over the small wooden bridge onto Belle Isle.

Life in Black and White

A plane turns into home after awhile. Shot with my iPhone. Used tiltshiftgenerator and photoshop mobile.

I wonder what Ansel Adams would have thought of black and white photography…with an iPhone.

The phone’s camera is 2 megapixels. Ansel shot on black and white film. The iPhone uses a photo sensor chip to create a digital recreation. Ansel had to understand aperture, shutter speeds, film sensitivity. An iPhone user has to open up his/her photo app and click a button. So how do we get our iPhone photos to hold the same magic as his photos? How do we insert the same simple beauty?

We don’t. We don’t because we aren’t shooting on film, and we aren’t Ansel Adams. But we can get pretty close.

By using a few key apps, and training your eyes to see black and white, we can shoot the same kind of magical photos as professional black and white photographers.

Seeing black and white. I could write a couple thousand words on how to shoot black and white photography: what makes it beautiful, how to shoot it with film, how to fake it in Photoshop. But I won’t drag on about theory or technical things. To sum up those thousands of possible words–see in black and white.

Black and white photos are simple. Instead of color, light is used to determine the gradient of black or white. In even simpler terms, colors (and how light affects those colors) turn into either black, white, or some combination of both. So when you look at the world around you, see in black and white. Notice the different amount of light, different shades of and colors, the shadows. All these things create, in my opinion (I’m not saying I know all), a beautiful black and white photo.

For example, I’ve posted below a picture I snapped on a plane. This isn’t touched up at all. Straight from the camera.

Original photo from my iPhone.

You can see how there are several different areas, all with different amounts of light hitting them. We have the ground in the back (medium amount of light), the area around the window inside the plane (dark from less light), the jet engine (medium amount of light), and the sign on the window (medium amount of light).

Try seeing it in black and white.

I’ve posted my final black and white picture below. Look at how the black and white reacted to the different amounts of light.

Taking off.

So now that we’re “seeing black and white,” we need two apps that really seal the photo: Tilt Shift Generator and Mobile Photoshop. Tilt Shift will add the blur effect that creates a sense of depth. Use MPS to  do the black and white conversion. TSG does black and white conversion too (by simply reducing contrast), but I think MPS does a better job. So all you really need is the TSG app.

The final product should be something that Ansel himself would applaud you for.

I’ve posted some of my personal favorites below. Directly below however, is a photo from my friend Danny.

Courtesy of Danny McCusker. Fun image of the texture from a broken bottle. Danny used Tilt Shift Generator.

Shot on a plane with my iPhone. Used tilt shift generator and photoshop mobile.

A plane turns into home after awhile. Shot with my iPhone. Used tiltshiftgenerator and photoshop mobile.

Photo untouched. Taken from plane window during takeoff.

Taking off.

Original photo from my iPhone.

Courtesy of Danny McCusker. Fun image of the texture from a broken bottle. Danny used Tilt Shift Generator.

Cartoons On the Go

Used iPhone app ToonPAINT to make the image look cartoonish, then painted it by hand, all in the phone.

I’m not sure if this counts as photography…

But I discovered a really cool iPhone app called ToonPaint. The idea is simple. You take a picture with your iPhone, load it into the program, and it turns your photo into a black and white, thick lined, cartoon-looking photo. Below is an example of a shot I loaded into the program before coloring it in.

After the photo gets converted, you’re offered a whole spectrum of colors to paint over the B&W cartoon render. The controls are a little difficult, but with a little effort you can master the process.

Photo before coloring, after "cartoon render" by ToonPAINT.

I did a quick pirate version of my friend Edwin. Its a little childish, but fun to play with regardless. So next time you’re on a long flight, or stuck in a traffic jam, do a little cartoon rendition of someone in your photo library. It might just pass the time…

Mr. Edwin as a pirate. Used ToonPAINT.

And send me a good one if it turns out!

-Ryan

Eric’s Oceanview Goodbye Panorama

Panorama of Oceanview in Norfolk, VA. iPhone pic edited with Autostitch and Mobile Photoshop.

I had a friend come visit this weekend from Texas.

In a few weeks he’ll be moving to Columbia for an “undefined period of time,” as he puts it.

He writes an amazing travel blog (with cool photos too):

Travel To Move (click on the link)

At the end of the weekend, before I drove him back to the airport, we visited the bay across the street from my apartment. I had him stand still while I snapped about fifteen different pictures. I used the Autostitch app to create a panorama, cropped it, then used Mobile Photoshop to color correct it. I added about 80 for the contrast, and then brought up the exposure by 30. Overall, the end panorama was pretty good. Very easy to do too. Hardest part of the whole thing was having Eric stand still. I stood still, feet planted, and just swiveled my body. I took photos in an arc of 180 degrees, trying to keep them all at the same level. At the end I had taken about fifteen pictures. The program did the rest from there.

Anyways, use Autostitch and Mobile Photoshop to get the effect above! Pretty easy. And its not a bad memento to give to a friend who visits you.  : )

And, in honor of Mr. Eric Tabone, a few extra photos from this weekend. Keep us updated on your travels sir.

Eric standing on a deck by my apartment in Oceanview. Photo edited with Autostitch and Photoshop Mobile.

Oceanview, Norfolk, VA. Photo edited with Autostitch and Photoshop Mobile.

B&W Panorama done with Autostitch and Mobile Photoshop.

Standing on the dune bridge. Brought contrast down with MP.

Just goofing around.

Shore towards North Carolina.

Dancing on the beach.

Ash and I.

Eric dancing with a beer. Give the kid a beach and a beer. That’s all he needs.

The End of a Thursday

End of a Thursday. Gave it some glitter with TrueHDR and PhotoshopMobile. Sunset behind me on the I-64 in VA.

Shot this yesterday on a drive home from a news shoot.

Sun was setting behind our van and it caught me eye. I used two apps to shine up the photo: TrueHDR and Photoshop Mobile.

I doubled the picture in TrueHDR which brithened the tree line in the background.

Then I used PhotoshopMobile to bring up the contrast (88), brought up saturation (75), and brightened it a tad (15). The end effect looked nice. I’ll be goofing with TrueHDR a little more today, but overall I think there are some better apps for HDR though (high dynamic range, you can google it).

Here’s the original:

This is the original photo untouched.

The Start of Something Great

Snow flurries in New York. Taken with the iPhone 3G. B&W done in camera with Photoshop Mobile app.

I have an obsession.

Everywhere I go I take pictures with my iPhone. I collect photo apps. I’ve snapped about 1,000 images in the past few months alone. I’m a remote news photographer for a national news network. Images are my business. But there’s something luring about the iPhone camera. It’s with you everywhere: sits next to you at night, in your pocket or purse during the day. The ultimate life documentation device.

The iPhone uploads photos straight to Facebook or Flickr. Not only can you let people know exactly what you’re doing, but you can give them a picture too.

But my goal with this blog isn’t to talk about the iPhone or promote Apple products. My goal is to promote mobile photo talent. I want to showcase awesome photos taken and edited with the iPhone. Simple enough. I’ll throw my photos in there occassionally. And maybe, rarely, I’ll write an article about a new app or how to take a better picture.

So, when you wake up, make sure you have your phone with you. You never know what might beg to be photographed. And email me your photos! I’d be happy to throw them up on here!!

eyeoftheiphone@gmail.com

Happy shooting.

Ryan

(Oh, and for a little inspiration I’ll throw up a few of my favorites below…)

San Francisco Bay sunrise.

Turtle crossing.

Boat docks in RI.

Dusk in LA.

32,000 feet above Grand Junction.

A lost great uncle.

Last chance for a photo. Tourist dock in Pensacola, FL.

Snow flurries in New York. Taken with the iPhone 3G. B&W done in camera with Photoshop Mobile app.