St Francis Plaza Ranchos de Taos

Processed with PicFX: Grungetastic: TrueHDR: Crop'n'FRame and Impression

Heading out of Santa Fe we made a stop at the St. Francis Plaza at Ranchos de Taos. I made some shots there with the iPhone. While most of the group was working the church I made a quick run around the plaza with the iPhone shooting in BracketMode, so I could work fast and have some images to process later.

PicFx:Iris: TrueHDR:BracketMode:Touch Retouch

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AutoPainter: Iris Blends with Original: PicFX:BracketMode:TrueHDR

iPhone Captures the Royals: on TV: Hipstamatic:AutoPainter and more

Being of direct English decent, my mother was a WWII bride, I could not miss watching the Royal Wedding today! I remember seeing the news clips of Diana's wedding but because I was a FT working person, I did not see it as it broadcast. This one I did not want to miss. I mean, where else in the world...but Merry Old England! After a few minutes watching the preparations I remembered what my dad used to do as a photographer, when a major historical event unfolded on the TV, like the Moon walk: he got his camera out and took pictures off the TV screen. Well they were not the best and of course the TV resolution would show, but he had some images to hold on to. So I got my iPhone, made a couple test shots and decided that I wanted to use the Hipstamatic  app, a square format to eliminate the TV branding, and I like square. I knew the actual pictures would not be great but I also knew that with a few creative apps, I could make some interesting artistic images of the day. So I pulled up my chair to within a foot of the TV and played. Then I played more when it was over and processed these images! When the Hipstamatic filled with shots, I switched to CameraPlus Pro, so I didn't miss a moment. Watching and anticipating the TV's camera shots was just like being there and trying to anticipate the next shot, while concentrating on how to frame it if it came up on the TV so I could make a nice composition.
Call me crazy, it was fun, but I should have been working on finishing up my iPhone presentation for Penn Camera on Monday in Tysons Corner...I hope you can join me for some fun images and insights into iPhone photography. Now I have to get busy on that!

The Cookout: AutoPainter:ArtistaSketch:Iris

Roadside stands used to proliferate on the "National Highway" old RT. 40. Before the "Beltway", before I-95, and I-70 there was Rt. 40. Originating in Atlantic City, New Jersey, passing through Delaware, and spanning the width of the state of MD, Rt. 40 was the way we got around. It took us to the beach and to the mountains of the Alleghenies. Most of the businesses that sprung up on the highway, were motels and restaurants, to accommodate highway travelers. Rt. 40 on the east side of Baltimore was always a bit more industrial due to the factories, but they still had the travelers needs in mind. Now many of the old motels have fallen away or become somewhat "seedy". I had an occasion to travel old Rt. 40 the other day and when I passed this funky little roadside lunch spot called the Cookout I knew I had to turn around and make a few pictures. It was a spot right out of the time machine! The sign says it all as does the picnic bench and road..These images are blended in Iris, using several styles of AutoPaint, the original file and ArtistaSketch to arrive at the renditions here.

BonJour: Grungetastic: LoMob: Vintage Scene

Capture: True HDR App: Processed: Vintage Scene: LoMob: Crop'n'Frame: Impression

Its been a busy couple of weeks....my classes started at Hopkins again, I met with the accountant to get taxes done, hosted a dinner party, been working on some lecture preparation..sold a car..had a spot of early skin cancer taken off my leg...held some private tutoring sessions, made some prints...and have been sick with a nagging cough since I came back from Longwood two weeks ago....whew, but last night I had the pleasure of meeting a neighbor and her daughter for a lovely seafood crepe dinner and dessert at a little cafe called BonJour. Now I am sorry to say I had not been there before, but every Thursday night I pass the little place at Falls Road and Lake Avenue on the way to Camera Club, and I think how cute it is painted purple on the outside, but never stopped to check it out. I arrived a little early and enjoyed a yummy latte while the owners prepped for their crepe evening. I also took the opportunity to make some iPhone images while enjoying the latte. The place feels just like a little French Cafe. The Chef Owner Gerard is French and bakes all the pastries. While I was waiting the little distressed mirror topped cafe tables were catching my eye as well as the small wrought iron cafe chairs, so I made a few iPhone images. I also used the Photo Transfer app to move these images from the iPhone to my laptop wirelessly... pretty cool stuff! Now I have some more images for my iPhone presentation on May 2 in Tyson's Corner, I'll be showing images, talking about the apps I use and how to use the iPhone for creative imaging.

Grungetastic was used here to create the effect.

True HDR Capture App: Vintage Scene App: LoMob App