Soft Concrete

by Linda

Part of my daily ritual involves trying to get some kind of exercise. Because of my schedule, I take daily walks, usually early in the morning. I don't usually carry my DSLR, I always have my phone.  I like taking pictures of sunrises with it. There are several places along my route that have beautiful views of the sun as it rises.

This year, El Nino broke our drought. Yay for rain, boo for cloudy and rainy mornings where I either had to forgo a sunrise shot or delay my walk. My need to take pictures forced me to look at other things to shoot. I live in an area where there are lots of trees. Lots and lots of trees. Oaks, cedar, pecan, and ash to name a few. How boring would constant pictures of trees become.

It's no secret I love to play with apps. I cannot draw, I cannot paint, I can barely stay in the lines when I color with my grands. Apps give me the artistic talent I lack. Or at least they make me think I am artistically inclined. Well, at least I'm having fun!

I re-discovered the Slow-Shutter app on my phone. It's intended to be used for light trails, star trails, etc, etc. All the reviewers and tutorials tell you to use a tripod or hold your phone still. Since I don't know how to follow directions and never carry a tripod or Gorilla pod on my walks, I created these images by moving my phone. It took a little practise to get what I liked but it was fun. After I got the blurry shot I wanted, I processed the pictures in a few other apps I love. Snapseed, my go-to first step for almost all my pictures, then either DistressedFX or iColorama. Sometimes all 3 apps. I just play and play until I get something I like.

And then there was a vase with some fake flowers on a table at a diner we went to. I took the picture with Slow Shutter and processed it with Snapseed and iColorama.

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Do you have favorite apps? I'd love to hear about them! Share them here in the comments or on our facebook page!

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App Review-Hipstamatic DSPO

by Linda

 

Recently Hipstamatic released a new app called Hipstamatic DSPO. (pronounced dis-po, for disposable)

This app is completely separate from their well known Hipstamatic app. Hipstamatic DSPO is a fun little app that allows you to share a camera with friends. A "disposable" camera, since it is set up for one time use. Think about all the events (weddings) where there have been disposable cameras on the tables, put there so you can take some photos. DSPO is much like that, but Hipstamatic amped it up a little.

With DSPO, you set up a camera, add a timer, invite your friends and shoot away.

You name the camera and give it a photo of it's own-either take a new one or import one from your camera roll, set the timer (which is really camera duration)-you have choices of 1, 3, 6, 12, 24 hours, 3, 7, 30, 365 days, invite your friends via your contact list, facebook, twitter and start taking pictures.

Once you begin taking pictures, that's where the fun begins. There are several filters you can add to your photo for different looks, you can caption your photo, you can write on/highlight/underline your photo and you can assign a mood to your photo (sad, merry, happy, sexy, yummy) 

The write/highlight/underline option is a fun one but when you're at an event, you may not have time to use it.

None of the photos you or your friends are taking will be visible until the timer is off. They aren't even in your photo album on your phone. But, everytime someone takes a photo, there will be a message in the message center inside the app. It will tell you who took a photo, where it was taken and what kind of mood it was. In this message center you can also chat with all your friends.

I thought all this sounded like fun and wanted to try it but there were no weddings, birthdays, anniversaries in my near future so I asked my Life Sisters if they wanted to play. I got overwhelming support from them because they are the best! We decided to play on a Saturday. I set up a camera, set the timer for 12 hours and invited them. Once everyone was on it was so much fun being able to chat with them and seeing they were taking pictures. Not being able to see the pictures at the exact moment they were taken added to the excitement!

At the end of the timer, we were able to scroll through the pictures that everyone had taken. You can comment on pictures and you can save any or all of the pictures to your camera roll. You can also share the pictures on social media.

It was a nice way to spend some time virtual photo walking with my Life Sisters who are spread out across the country!

Overall, I think Hipstamatic DSPO is a fun app that would work very well at any event. The drawback is it is for an IOS device only. (I have a dream that someday soon, all apps will work on all phones, regardless of their operating system!)

Besides the IOS only thing,
-it would be nice to be able to set up a camera and not have the timer start until the event begins (right now, the timer starts counting down as soon as you set it up)
-I would like to be able to change the timer once the camera is set up (no do-overs now)
-this app uses a lot of battery, it makes sense because of how much is going on but it would be nice if it wasn't such a battery hog

Give Hipstamatic DSPO a try. It's free in the app store. There is an in-app purchase (the pens to write on the photo and a few more filters) it is 99 cents.

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Thank you Terri, Dotti (Dorothy), Deanna, Carol and Leigh for playing along with me! It was such fun! Does anyone recognize the camera cover photo?

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The Mextures App

by Leigh

straight out of camera-original

I have to tell you about a new app that is quickly becoming one of my favorites.  It's called Mextures.  (go ahead…click on the link and download it)  I know what you're thinking…really Leigh….another app?...What's so different about this one?  

Well…this is not your typical filters and effect app.  The possibilities are endless with Mextures allowing you true creative freedom.  No two edits are exactly alike!

When you first open your photo you are given the option to crop to square or leave as is and then you can add a pre made formula or layer grit, grain, light leaks and texture until you get the look you are wanting.  You can add as much (or as little) as you want, which is what makes this app so great.

Inside each of these options are even more options for you to select.  Formulas consist of textures and light leaks that have been put together into a group.  You can adjust the overall opacity of the formula by adjusting the slider to the right of the photo or you can adjust each individual layer of the formula's.  And anyone who is familiar with layers will love to hear that there are 17 blending modes when you apply the layers.  You have complete creative control over just how much of the formula is applied to your photo.  You can even save your own formulas.

Of course there are the basic adjustments available in most photo editing apps such as exposure, contrast, saturation, temperature, tint, and fade.  You can also apply film presets to resemble Holga, Diana, Lomography, PX-680, etc..    

You can see the original photo at the top of the screen.  Below are just a few of the edits I played around with.  The change can be as subtle or as dramatic as you want.  

It's easy to go overboard with Mextures like I did in the above photo, but luckily you can quickly correct over editing by deleting layers or changing the opacity.  

So have you downloaded it yet?  What are you waiting for?  It's only $1.99 and so worth the money!  I would love to see your photos using the Mextures app.  Share them with us on Instagram #focusingonlife and if you would like to play around with my photo you can download it here

Have fun!