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Black and White inspiration
Summer is here so you might notice the frequency of posts might slow down a bit, but of course when you say things like that, the opposite usually happens. Who knows, but I’m going to try to spend more time outside shooting and having fun with the family.
And to get some inspiration how about some amazing black and white images of majestic animals in Africa. Nick Brandt from the U.K. has a portfolio of images that have incredible detail and a surreal feeling. This image of a lion just blew me away. I wish I could afford his prints, his work is amazing.
Check out all the images by clicking on the image below
Inspiration for a gray day
It’s a gray day here in Vancouver so here’s Spencer Murphy, a photographer that Scott Kelby mentioned in his blog and whos work fits perfectly with the mood of the day especially the landscapes.
The iPad just became a must have for me
I just saw the video review of the iPad Camera Connection Kit adaptor by Terry White and basically the iPad is now #1 in my gadget wish list. Terry confirmed all the things I wished the iPad would do when you connect the Camera Connector.
- Reads RAW files out of the camera
- Previews the RAW images without a problem
- Apps can read the RAW files inside the iPad
One of the great things Terry shows is that you can connect a card reader to the iPad and download from your Compact Flash cards (the card format most professional cameras still use). This is huge since the Camera Connector only has 2 options, SD connector or USB connector.
I’ve always lusted after an Epson P6000 for it’s ability to preview files and work as a photo backup on location or a trip, but it’s ridiculously overpriced so I never considered purchasing one.
Now for the same money I can buy an iPad and trust me, it’s WAY more advanced and useful. I wouldn’t be surprised if Epson started to discount the P6000 any day now.
Check out the video at Terry’s site while I go put a few more dollars in my piggy bank.
A few shots added to the website
I’ve done a bit of house cleaning on the portfolio images and have added a couple from recent shoots. There’s a couple of shots I’ll be adding in the next couple of days so more to come soon.
“Best Camera” by Chase Jarvis & Ubermind
Fans of Chase Jarvis found a nice surprise this morning when they checked his blog for the latest news. It seems Chase has been working on an iPhone App for a while and it has finally seen the light of day this morning.
The App is called Best Camera and the name comes from the popular phrase “The Best Camera Is The One That’s With You”. This App gives you a bunch of filters and tweaks you can apply to the photos taken with your iPhone and is similar to other Apps on the iPhone (Camera Bag comes to mind) where you can get creative with your shots. The big advantege Best Camera has is that it has included a social aspect to the process. Any images you create you can then share with all the popular social networks from within the App.
You give the App permission to access your Facebook, Twitter, etc. and then using the Share button your photos get sent to all those sites at once. This really is a reflection of the whole philosophy that Chase has promoted for a long time. He is one of the most, if not the most open and generous photographers out there when it comes to sharing his knowledge and experiences.
Here’s a couple of images from the App in action:
The icon for Best Camera
This is the startup screen. A nice simple interface. I really appreciate good design and this just works.
Here are the main sections explained
I first went into the Settings and approved all the logins for my social media sites (Facebook, Tweeter etc.)
Then it was time to try things out. I loaded an image into the App by tapping on the second icon at the bottom. This takes you to the Camera Roll on your phone. You can also take a shot with the camera. I selected an image and I was ready to start checking some effects.
The first effect I tried was Candy. It gave the shot a nice saturated and contrasty look. I really like the intense orange colour of the beer.
I applied the changes and was brought back to the main screen.
I tried the Vignette icon and this is what I got. Cool.
If at any point in the creative process you want to remove a filter or go back to where you were a few steps back, you just press the icon with the two circles in the upper right hand side of the main screen (looks like 2 filters one on top of each other) and you are taken to this screen where you can tap on the “x” above each filter. It’s like having an “undo” command.
Finally when you are happy with your image you click on the big arrow at the bottom of the main screen and you select which social media sites you want your shot to appear in. It’s that simple.
Overall I really like this App. It is super simple to use, the interface is perfectly designed and it runs great. I think the social aspect is what’s going to make it a bit more popular with users than the other Apps that do similar things.
There are a couple of filters that I wish Best Camera would offer that you can find in it’s direct competitor Camera Bag but that’s a minor thing and I’m guessing that future versions of this one may offer more filters and effects. My ideal App would be Best Camera and PhotoGene (the other App I use on every shot I take) rolled into one. That would be iPhone camera heaven.
This is a great App and at 3 dollars it’s a must buy in my book.
iPhone Apps I use for photography
Since I got an iPhone the App store has become a very cool place to find interesting little programs. After downloading the obligatory utilities and a couple of fun games I started looking at the photography section of the store. Could this little phone do anything with the images it can take? The answer to this is yes, it can do quite a few things actually.
With the new iPhone 3GS you actually have a decent camera that also takes video. I’m really jealous of this new camera on the phone but my upgrade will not be happening any time soon since the new hardware would cost too much. I mean it is only a camera on a phone right? Well, even with my “old” iPhone 3GS there are 2 Apps that I’ve found indispensable for my iPhone camera enjoyment.
First off what I consider the Photoshop of the iPhone, Photogene by Omer Shoor. This application has gotten more amazement from friends and family than any other. They just can’t believe you can do all this on the phone. Crop, rotate, adjust levels, correct white balance and more….on the phone!
Almost every shot I take on my iPhone goes through Photogene. I’m a crop fanatic (not sure if that’s good or bad) and this App lets me do so much I don’t think I could live without it. $3.00 for photo bliss is not bad.
The next app I use almost always is CameraBag from Nevercenter Ltd. Co. This App is sort of a filter application it applies effects to your photos (usually after I run them through Photogene) and saves the copy to your camera roll.
I has a variety of effects that look like a Holga shot or a faded Polaroid for example. With one swipe of the finger you can see each effect rendered on your selected photo and once you are happy with the results you save it as a copy. I’ve actually applied effects multiple times on some abstract images to create a double intensity result. It works great.
I highly recommend both these Apps if you are into photography and use an iPhone. They take your images to a new creative place. Your friends and family will not believe they came out of your phone.
Tesla S. One more definition of sexy
I know this is not news but I just found these shots of the Tesla S and wanted to share them here. Love the lines on this car and the story of Tesla Motors. Hopefully in a couple of years I’ll be driving one myself since the U.S. Government just gave Tesla a nice chunk of change to keep developing their battery technologies.
Michael Clark Web Seminar
Bogen is having a seminar with adventure photographer Michael Clark on July 17th so any of you out there into this kind of cool photography should sign up asap. I’ve been a fan of Michael for a while now and I highly recommend you check out his website and sign up for his newsletter. Cool photography from a cool guy.
lego coolness
While browsing photo sites and other cool places to find inspiration I recently found this series of shots on flikr recreating famous photos with legos. Since yesterday was the 20th anniversary of the Tiananmen square military crackdown, which the chinese government conveniently calls “The June 4th Incident”, I thought a link to the flickr set by Mike Balakov would be appropriate. Of course the Star Wars legos in some of his other sets makes the visit to the site extra cool.
Click on the photo to go check it out
Tanks at Tiananmen
The Big Picture – Hubble
If you haven’t visited the Boston Globe’s “The Big Picture” site you are missing out on some great photography. The whole idea behind the site is to show amazing journalistic photographs in a big size! The topics they select are usually very interesting and amazing to see in a large format.
The latest series is on the space shuttle mission to fix the Hubble telescope and the shots are awesome. One of the great images shown is of 2 shuttles ready for take off which I believe is the first time in history that this has happened. It almost feels like the future we were promised a long time ago!
My new venture. Learn photography with me.
