Simply Honolulu With an iPhone and Simply HDR App

One of my favorite apps is Simply HDR by the talented and prolific Jixipix gang. For you photoshop aficionados, its effects remind me of the plugin Lucis Pro. I love the crunchy, hyped look for certain subjects, particularly for architecture and street photography. Recently, I visited Honolulu with gal pal Theresa. We were there on business, but we still found time to pull out our iPhones as we walked Waikiki Beach. I knew even as I took these shots that I'd want to use Simply HDR.

 High rise tower with palms with sun reflecting off the many glass panes.

I loved this man's body language and elegant aloha shirt.

A Waikiki beach boy cleaned up chaise longs as the tourists headed off to dinner.

iPhone Diva Lynette Sheppard’s 10 Must Have Apps

I've been asked by beginning iPhoneographers and professionals alike for a list of my fave apps. The problem, as I always tell them, is that I switch preferences day to day. My favorites are usually the one(s) I've just used. I'm not fickle - I just fall in love with new apps and/or old standbys on a moment to moment basis. However, if you could only have 10 apps (how crazy is that?), these are the ones I think you should start with:

Perfectly Clear        Best 1 stop shop to fix pix, superior noise removal

Snapseed                The baby photoshop - best optimizer by far

FXPhoto Studio        Special FX including frames

Pic Grunger              Vintage and grunge effects

Autostitch                Panoramic - best

Pro HDR                    Can shoot and do HDR or process from library

TouchRetouch           Content aware healing, removal unwanted objects

Simply BW                Absolute best B and W app - like a teeny Ansel Adams living in your phone

Autopainter              Cool painting app

Blender                    Great app for combining images

This will keep a photographer busy for years. And likely whet your app-etite for more.

The photo today showcases ProHDR and TouchRetouch in particular. When I drove past this Moloka`i Hawai`i church with the great Jesus Coming Soon sign, I stopped and took the photo in Pro HDR. This app combines a darker image exposed for the sky with a lighter image that opens up the church.

I then exaggerated the HDR with Simply HDR. (You could do a similar effect in Snapseed, using the Drama filters.)

I love how the image pops now, but those pesky telephone wires were bothering me. I took the image into TouchRetouch and erased them. Often TouchRetouch will easily remove an object or shadow within moments. This was quite a bit trickier, especially on the face of the building and took me a painstaking 20 minutes. But it worked, I'm happy with the final frame. I did all the processing on my phone (my iPad was home.)

FYI, the free version of TouchRetouch has a watermark on each image, so you'll want the one where you have to pay a whopping 99 cents. So so worth it!

Note: if you look closely, you might see the auntie sitting on a bench to the left of the church.

iPhoneography Collaboration In Lake Tahoe

Photography can often be a solitary pursuit. Yet the creative vehicle can get a kickstart from just hanging out with other photographers. A few weeks ago, John Derby, iphoneographer and contributor to this blog, visited me in Lake Tahoe. We thought it would be fun to share a couple shots from each of us and a collaboration photo from both of us.

We each shot modes of transportation.

John's "Pink Chevy"
Location: Lake Tahoe, California, USA Equipment: iPhone 4s, iPad 2 Apps Used: Snapseed, Pro 645, Photoforge 2, Big Lens, Moku HD

Lynette shot this classic wooden boat at the Tahoe Keys marina.
Apps: Pro HDR, Camera+, Romantic HD

Of course, the landscape caught our eyes - as always.
Lake Tahoe Sunset shot by Lynette, walking home from dinner at Zephyr Cove Lodge.
apps: Pro HDR, Pixlromatic.

John went all Ansel on me when he shot this black and white stunner.
Title: Emerald Bay
Location: Lake Tahoe, California, USA
Equipment: iPhone 4s, iPad 2
Apps Used: Snapseed, Pro 645

Finally, John shot this old car and challenged me to app it.

Which turned out to be way too much fun. I used Big Lens to blur the background, Retouch to remove a couple annoying distractions, Simply HDR to pop the car and add a vintage look to the scene. Finally, texture and framing in Camera Awesome (by SmugMug).

A Glissando of Gondolas

If a group of larks is called an exultation, what do you call a bunch of gondolas? A glory of gondolas? A glide? A glissando? OK, maybe I'm going overboard but it is hard not to wax poetic about these slender craft in Venice. I took way too many iPhone shots of them and love them all. I used Slow Shutter Cam to actually paint these moored craft in the dawn light on the Riva degli Schiavoni. I used to think that the light in Titian's paintings was enhanced by a significant amount of imagination but now I see he was just painting what was right in front of him.

I moved the camera during 16 exposures with Average Cam Pro app to create this etched drawing effect.

Simply HDR app help pop this shot of a gondola whispering down the canal.

An iPhoneographer in Paris

Paris is truly an iPhoneographer's dream. It is not, however, a wifi dream. Hence the paucity of images posted here lately. Be forewarned: that is about to change! As I sift through the ginormous pile of images on my hard drive, I'll be putting them up on iPhone Diva: here and on the Facebook page. And showing some guest photo galleries in between, so I don't hog all the space.

Boat down the Seine with Notre Dame was apped with Dynamic Light, Simply HDR, and Snapseed.

There is a wonderful flower mart right in the heart of Paris. We stumbled upon it walking from our apartment in the Latin Quarter to the Louvre. I loved these little planters. Apped with Snapseed, Camera +.

What? There were iPhoneographers in the 13th century?!? Who knew?!? Looks like he was trying to make a call with his camera and couldn't get service. Silly boy.
Statue at the Louvre Museum. Snapseed and native camera.