iPhone fun in Panama
As 2012 progressed, I did a worse and worse job sharing my iPhone shots here on the blog, which is a shame because I enjoy these types of posts. I tend to keep a theme with each iPhone post (usually centered on a trip to a certain spot), and will likely continue with that idea. It’s fun to share a little summary of a trip or an event, as captured by my iPhone. And though I wasn’t sharing a lot of iPhone shots here, I was continuing to take them - lots of them. I already have several more posts planned around my iPhone, so stay tuned on that front.
And so in keeping with one of my 2013 goals listed in my post yesterday, today’s post is an iPhone tour of some parts of Panama City, Panama that I visited recently. It’s really a great town to shoot in, with an amazing skyline and a historic district that is culturally and architecturally rich. I shot in churches, on the streets, and some randomness here and there. In other words, the same stuff I always shoot with my iPhone. :-)
Enjoy the tour, and thanks for stopping by today.
iPhone fun at The Temple Bar
Dublin is incredible - I just returned from there about a week ago, and although I took many shots with my trusty Nikon, I would never miss an opportunity to shoot a little with my iPhone as well!
Temple Bar - in case you haven't heard of it - is both the name of the most famous bar in Dublin, as well as the name of the historic entertainment district that it sits in the middle of. It's Dublin's "cultural quarter" and has these wonderful cobblestone streets running through it.
It is also fully populated with bars, restaurants, and therefore drunken tourists - but it's a great place to visit and be sure to bring along the camera! But if your hotel is in the area (and mine was) then get earplugs. Lots of noise at 4am makes it hard to sleep! Thank goodness for Irish Breakfast Tea - very strong!
I had a nice adventure there that included:
* standing behind the bar and pouring some Guinness
* having the best fish & chips of my life in a hotel owned by Bono of U2
* being approached by a Finnish gentleman and challenged to a "finger wrestling" match (he won, but I had no idea what I was doing! come on, who knows Finnish?)
* being mistaken for an Aussie (really? I'm from Texas - no way do I sound that awesome)
* having a bird swoop down low and poop on my camera
That last bit with the bird I could have done without. Well, here's the pics - enjoy!
My iPhone is making me a better photographer
If you read my iPhoneography app reviews, follow my iPhone postings on this site, or subscribe to me on Facebook, you will notice that I take and share my iPhone photos pretty often. I enjoy it quite a bit, and even more so now that I have the iPhone 4S. It’s a great camera - considering that it’s a phone - and I use it a lot. I think just about everyone is using their phone as a camera these days, which I consider a good thing. I read a statistic somewhere that the most popular camera on Flickr is the iPhone…no surprise there.
What this means is that more and more people are creating images and having fun, and I think that is one of the main points of doing it. It’s fun. However, I have also noticed that using my iPhone so much has gotten me thinking about other things related to photography, and I feel like it is helping me improve my overall photo skills. So, I thought I would share these thoughts and I would love to hear your feedback.
- Are you shooting with an iPhone?
- Are you learning new things and growing as a photographer by doing so?
So, here are 5 reasons why the iPhone is making me a better photographer:
1.) Improving my compositions...
First and foremost, the iPhone gives you a limited field of view. In other words, unlike your DSLR or even your point & shoot, there is a semi-fixed field of view (although I do know that you can zoom a little, or add the Ollo Clip to get a few more options). There is only so much that you can get in the frame, so it is making me think more and more about my composition. That’s a good thing for anyone that wants to take photographs.
I take the time to find the best-looking comp and get it right, and (yes, I know) I even use the grid lines to help line things up sometimes. I find when I am back using my Nikon D700 (my “real” camera), those lessons transfer. When you get used to “thinking” before “doing”, that’s a good thing.
This also causes me to look at things differently. With a couple of lens options on my Nikon D700, I can cover just about any range needed for a photo, but not so with the iPhone. I end up looking at things differently when shooting with my iPhone and that’s a good lesson for all of my photography. It’s important to adjust your POV, search for the best composition, and then shoot.
2.) Thinking about the light...
Though the iPhone camera is good, it is limited, so unlike with my full-frame Nikon where I can fire off a bunch of HDR brackets in order to compensate for lighting challenges, with the iPhone I need to be extra sensitive to where the light is coming from. That’s something I continue to think about. How is the light hitting my subject? How is it affecting the mood of my shot? This also ties back to #1, in that adjusting your composition to compensate for the light is a key element of composing the photo in the first place.
3.) It’s just so convenient...
With my iPhone, I can shoot anywhere, anytime. What this means to me is that I have no excuses - I can always get a few shots in per day. They aren’t all going to be great (or even good) but that’s not the point. The point is that every day I have an opportunity to hone my photo skills, regardless of where I am. Practice makes perfect, and now you can get in good practice even without lugging your “real” gear around!
Most of the time when I travel, I bring along my Nikon gear and tripod. But sometimes I just don’t have the time, so it stays at home. But – my iPhone is always with me. Even if I have no time for “real” photography, there are always a few moments I can steal for myself here and there, scattered throughout the day. You only improve at something if you continue to practice, and photography is no different.
The convenience factor also extends to processing. You don’t need long periods of uninterrupted time to process RAW files in Lightroom or Photoshop. You can literally process an iPhone photo in a matter of seconds – at any time! Just don’t do it while driving. But while flying? You bet!!
4.) Always keep learning...and experimenting!
There are so many photography apps you can use on your iPhone. There’s really an endless array of creative options out there, many of which I would not normally think of when processing my normal DSLR photos. I think a lot of us have a fairly common routine we use to process our shots, and therefore there are lots of other options that we don’t ever explore, much less even think about. But with the iPhone and associated apps, it is so easy to experiment with just a few taps, that you can always experiment and learn new techniques, which you can then transfer over to your regular DSLR photos.
I have experimented with iPhone shots that ended up inspiring me to try something new in processing my Nikon files. The variety of apps really can fuel your creative process, which extends over to other areas of photography. Getting creative and experimenting is educational and fun!
5.) It’s so much fun!
Taking and processing photos with an iPhone is so easy and there are so many great apps that make it fun. It reminds me that it's really about enjoying the process of photography as much as the end result. Whether you are shooting or processing, I think iPhoneography is great fun.
It fuels my excitement as a photographer and my passion for all forms of photography.
Another part of the fun of iPhoneography is that you get a tantalizing preview of what you captured while traveling. I don’t process photos on the road – all my processing is done at home – so taking iPhone shots of the same scenes I am shooting with my Nikon just gets me excited about what I captured and how it might look when I process my Nikon RAW files later.
Lastly, another part of the fun of iPhoneography is that you can totally just go shoot and not be “serious” about it. Here’s the thing – I think a lot of us pick up our DSLR and automatically go into “serious mode”. You might subconsciously think “I am holding a serious camera, therefore I must take serious pictures”. That’s part of the beauty and the fun of the iPhone – it doesn’t “feel serious” so I often end up shooting stuff I would not normally aim at with my Nikon. I think that helps expand my range and it certainly opens my eyes to new things when I am out there shooting. That’s fun in my book!
Well, that’s it for today folks! Thanks for stopping by, and let me know your thoughts on how iPhoneography is changing you as a photographer! Cheers!
iPhone fun in Oregon
Jim is lazy...
I knew it had been a while since I did a blog post with just iPhone shots, but I just checked and the last one was July 12 - that's 5 weeks ago! Sorry, I really enjoy sharing iPhone shots but get so busy with everything that I haven't taken the time to do them recently.
...but his iPhone isn't!
Since then, I have been to Oklahoma City, Nashville, San Francisco, the Texas coast (Port Aransas) and Portland, OR. Whew! I have a lot to share! I took loads of iPhone shots in these places (and of course, gunned a million brackets with my Nikon!).
iPhone fun in Oregon...
If you follow me on Facebook you may know that I just returned from a guys' photo trip to Portland, OR last weekend. It was incredible. We shot a TON and I am just starting to get to some of my shots from my Nikon. In the meantime, I thought I would go ahead and get back into the iPhone groove by sharing a few shots I took on my Oregon trip. Hope you enjoy them, and thanks for looking!
Golden hour on Cannon Beach, OR
And then a little later as sunset passed and blue hour was getting started...
Horsetail Falls, along the Columbia River Gorge...
And this monster is Multnomah Falls...HUGE!
Sunset at Trillium Lake...
And finally, this is the view from Ecola State Park, looking down the coast at Cannon Beach - love this place!
iPhone fun on a lake run
The Colorado River runs through downtown Austin, and we dam it up in a few places to make some nice lakes. The main one is Lady Bird Lake, but only new people call it that. It's Town Lake to me, and always will be...but I've been here a while. Anyways, we have a really nice trail around it for running and biking, and you can always find folks out on the water kayaking, rowing, and stand-up-paddleboarding. Austin is like that - we enjoy our outdoor activities, even with oppressive heat in the summer.
I was down there a couple of times over the last week or so, and of course had the iPhone handy...so I grabbed a few shots. Hope you enjoy the photos, and thanks for stopping by today!
iPhone fun in Santa Fe
Day 5 of Santa Fe week: iPhone fun in Santa Fe!
I haven't done an iPhone post in 3 weeks, so I figured it was about time for one again. Plus, I have ~300 iPhone photos just from Santa Fe, so I figured that I better get busy!
I've enjoyed doing just Santa Fe shots this week - it's been a fun little experiment, so maybe I will do that again sometime. Thanks everyone for the visits, comments, Likes, Shares and all that good stuff. I appreciate it very much, indeed!
So, in no particular order, here it goes...some iPhone fun from Santa Fe!
The Chama River...this is out near Abiquiu, NM sort of near Ghost Ranch. The landscapes are just fascinating.
A shot from the Ghost Ranch...just love the landscapes out there! You. Must. Go.
Me, atop the mesa at Tent Rocks...that place was incredible! (hey Jim, don't forget to remove the lens cap before you start shooting, haha)
This was a scene out near the Christ in the Desert Cathedral, which I still need to share some photos from...
A scene from atop Museum Hill, where you can find - you guessed it! - a bunch of museums. Worth a visit, though.
This is San Miguel Mission, which is the oldest church in the USA...really. I'm not making that up.
Just some cool tiles on a building in The Plaza (town square)...
I caught this one at Tent Rocks, as I was approaching the slot canyons there...amazing place!
I saw this beautiful gate on a side street, just off Canyon Road. I had to detour momentarily, just to look at it (well, ok - and to shoot it!).
St. Francis Cathedral, which is just one block from the Plaza...definitely a must see!
A little waterfall I found while hiking up the mountain at the Santa Fe Ski Basin...
And finally - me standing on the edge of the mountain, after making my way up it about as far as I could. Such an amazing view from up there!!
Ok everyone - thanks for stopping by, and hope you enjoyed this iPhone tour of my Santa Fe visit, and all the Santa Fe shots this week. Have a great day!
iPhone fun in Malmo Sweden
When I was in Copenhagen, I found out that Malmo, Sweden was a short 30 minute train ride away. Being the adventurous type, I had to go check out Sweden for the first time! And no, since I didn't get to Stockholm, I don't really count it as a "visit to Sweden" but hey I did set foot in the country for half a day!
I will say that it is a nice little town, worthy of a visit, easy to get to, and easy to navigate (smaller towns usually are). There are some nice sights there, and I am glad I went!
I took lots of shots with my Nikon, none of which I have had the time to process yet. So, how about a little iPhone fun from Malmo?
Here's the train station...I love train stations...I love trains too. Sweet, sweet train stations.
And this kayaker really caught my eye, just a minute after I took that first shot...and I love kayaking as well. This guy was moving fast!
I love foreign languages, even though I can't speak/spell/pronounce most of them! This sign though is pretty easy to figure out - well, at least I think it is!
I went to a park...
I went to a town square...
And another town square...and I lunched under those umbrellas!
And I found this interesting little scene...I love bikes when they are casually leaned up on an interesting wall.
This was a pretty quick tour but I do appreciate you looking!
My iPhone likes my Nikon, but someday it might want to kill it
The iPhone keeps advancing...
Do you ever get the sense that your iPhone wants to be a DSLR when it grows up? (What, you aren't shooting with your iPhone...why not?) I love shooting with my iPhone - for a lot of reasons - but of course my first love is my Nikon D700. But the iPhone sure does a good job, and I often shoot the same scene with it as I am shooting with my Nikon. It's quick, you get instant feedback, it's easy to share, and with all the great apps it gives you a veritable preview of what your future DSLR output could be. It's not even close to being a replacement for my Nikon at this time, but it's great in a pinch and has totally replaced the old P&S for me.
Do you think the iPhone will ever be "good enough" for serious photography?
The way technology is advancing it would not surprise me to see more granular control over the camera in future iPhone models, as well as a better camera (though I must admit the iPhone 4S has a pretty sweet camera). I have even seen lens attachments you can buy for the iPhone, though I haven't tried any yet (have you?). The iPhone could use a much cleaner digital zoom (or how about someone figure out how to build a real zoom into it), and the noise in low light is pretty bad. I sometimes have to remind myself though that this is a phone, and the whole photography piece of it is basically a free P&S bolted onto my phone, without any added bulk. I call that a win. Frankly, it's better than a lot of P&S cameras anyways, and it's always with me!
If you consider the mirrorless cameras today, they are really starting to encroach on the DSLR territory, and they seem to have come out of nowhere, and fast. The iPhone is surely not too far behind. The trick may be getting all the stuff crammed into the phone's form factor. Chips get smaller and more advanced, right? So do the other electronic parts, I assume. Doesn't it just feel like it will only continue to improve?
It's such a great time to be a photographer - so many tools (hardware and software) and endless options for achieving your final desired result with a photograph - I love it!
But I digress...
Hey Jim, you went off on a tangent, and I came here to look at some photos!
This post wasn't really supposed to be about all that, though I do think that is an interesting topic of discussion. Nope, today's post is another round of iPhone shots from the road. I have been in the habit of sharing my end of the week "iPhone fun in...(name a city)" posts and came this close to posting another one today. But, I think I will post that next week. I think. It's hard to plan that far in advance, and the winds of change blow through my brain quite often.
It was going to be Malmo, Sweden this time - I almost forgot that I went there, if you can believe that (and yes that sounds as strange to me as it may to you!) - but instead I opted for some iPhone shots taken of my Nikon, which in turn is taking shots of something else...somewhere. So here it goes....and hope you enjoy these "behind the scenes" shots, or rather "behind the Nikon".
Nyhavn: Copenhagen, Denmark (sunset)... this place just stole my heart and won't give it back!
Nyhavn: Copenhagen, Denmark (sunrise)... it's great there any time of day!
A church in Fredericksburg, TX... (and it looks slightly crooked to me, sorry about that - and it's grainy because of the low light, which is something the iPhone cannot yet handle too well)
Museum of Modern Art: Ft. Worth, TX (and yes, this one is really crooked, isn't it? - geez, I'm sloppy)...but for the record, I was distracted by the shallow pool of water which gave my HDR shots some sweet reflections!
Town Square: Bratislava, Slovakia... (more crookedness it seems - I'm beginning to think my head isn't on straight! can't they put a level in my iPhone?! that would actually be a really cool feature)
Aiming at NYNY in Las Vegas, NV... and considering this was Las Vegas, can you believe I had this spot all to myself? then again, it was morning and the town was asleep - they're smarter than me, but I got the shot!
Milarrochy Bay, Loch Lomond, Scotland... (and yes, I loved that tree!!) - still have a million shots to process from Loch Lomond, which is an incredible place!
Bratislava Castle: Bratislava, Slovakia... my most recent adventure, and another great place to shoot!
Across the Danube River: Bratislava, Slovakia... yes that's the Danube - not sure why it's called the blue Danube, looks like tea to me! :)
Alrighty then folks, thanks for swinging by on your surfing expedition, and glad you stopped in for a few! Feel free to leave a comment and let me know if you like this behind the scenes kinda stuff! Thanks!
iPhone fun in Copenhagen
I have posted quite a few shots from my Copenhagen trip already, but I just realized I had not shared anything from there that was done on my iPhone. So, today's post is just a few of the many iPhone shots I took recently in Copenhagen. I hope you like them, because there's a lot more still to share!
Leaving the office one afternoon...
I loved these clouds. This was at the park pretty close to St. Alban's Church and the Little Mermaid statue...
The historic city center is beautiful, but does not offer much of a skyline. I walked to this bridge one day to get the broad view of the town, and of course I took a few shots...
I have always loved signs. This one hung over a restaurant at Nyhavn, my favorite spot in Copenhagen. I had to zoom a bit, and there wasn't great light (two things that create some challenges when shooting with an iPhone) but I thought it came out pretty good!
And of course, I have to toss in a shot of Nyhavn. It's just incredible. I have a million shots from here, so I hope you don't mind seeing this place again (and again, and again...)!
Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a great weekend!!
iPhone fun in Bratislava
Well, as you can plainly see, I am on a bit of a Bratislava kick right now, having recently returned from that wonderful town. I have plenty more shots to share, but have to find some time to process them all! I thought today I would share a few iPhone shots I took while wandering in various parts of Bratislava's Old Town...enjoy!
From inside the walls of Bratislava Castle...
St. Martin's Cathedral in Old Town...
One of the massive passenger ships on the Danube...
Crazy graffiti...
Some cafe that I just liked the look of...
St. Michael's Gate in Old Town...
Town Square...
Just an interesting street scene...
A church that threw me out...geez, I just wanted to take a picture!!
Some urban ruins...
Well that's it - a quick tour but I covered a lot of ground! Thanks for stopping by!
iPhone fun in Brussels
Grab a cup of coffee or tea, because I have 10 photos here...take a moment and enjoy them!
I love Brussels, it's an incredible town. There is just so much to enjoy there: architecture, history, culture, Belgian waffles, chocolate, beer...now I'm getting hungry. My recent stay there was only a couple of days, but I was able to squeeze in some serious photo time, and also grabbed a TON of iPhone shots. So, here's a quick tour of some cool Brussels spots, taken with my iPhone and processed on my iPhone as well.
Grand Place is the historic and beautiful town square...I just love the architectural details!
This is the top of their Town Hall, which is the centerpiece of Grand Place - just incredible.
Here's a wide view of Grand Place - a pretty wide view for an iPhone!
Selling flowers in Grand Place...a leisurely Saturday!
I found some awesome graffiti in this town!! I had to shoot this one, just couldn't "Let it be" HAHA.
How awesome is this shot of the pigs?? I loved it! Pig graffiti - fun!
Of course, no European city is complete without a little sidewalk cafe action...so awesome.
This may be my favorite of all - just loved the graffiti all over the wall, with the cherry blossom tree and the flower petals scattered across the ground - awesomeness!
I hope you enjoyed my little tour of Brussels (at least a few spots in Brussels). Thanks for stopping by!
iPhone fun in Amsterdam
Amsterdam is a great city, and if you have read any of my recent posts you may remember that I was in Europe last week, with a quick 2 days in Amsterdam. Although I did get out with my Nikon there, I haven't had time to work on the photos. So, I thought I would share a few iPhone shots I grabbed while there...
If you didn't know it, Amsterdam has more canals than Venice. They're everywhere, and they're awesome.
This lagoon is behind the Rijksmuseum, and has that awesome Iamsterdam sign down there at the end...
Though there are big canals in Amsterdam, each neighborhood has these little tree-lined canals everywhere...they really give the city a calm feel.
Here's another canal shot (lots of those!) but with some bikes in the photo. So many bikes in Amsterdam...
Ok, so this is another canal shot but hey like I said canals are everywhere! You would have to really try hard to NOT get a canal in a shot there! This is one of the bigger ones, near their Centraal Station (that's the Dutch spelling with the double "a") and here you get a good view of those wonderful townhouses that line the canal. A lot of the canal tours dock here as you can see - it's a great way to see the town!
Ok thanks for stopping by today and hope you enjoyed these! I will post more shots from my trip starting next week!
An iPhone walk in downtown Austin, part 2
I have so many shots from my recent iPhone photo walk that I did downtown, so I am breaking them up into multiple posts so as not to throw too many out at one time. 5 photos on each iPhone post feels like the right number, so I'm sticking with that for now.
Everybody likes Johnny Cash, right?
Now THAT's a lot of stickers!!
Despite Austin's massive growth, we still hang onto our connection with Nature...
I love windows and doors, so spots like this always catch my eye...
Ok that is the roundup for this week. Be back with more soon.
I want to thank everyone that visits, comments, Likes, +1s etc - I really appreciate it so much! I am going to be offline more than normal for a while, though I hope to manage to post my daily shots. Travel will be consuming my time, but I hope to return with LOTS of pics from some cool, interesting and NEW places!
An iPhone walk in downtown Austin
I feel like I am getting into a little routine here as it relates to my iPhone shots. My last post of the week feels like a good place to put these, so I guess I will keep that up and see how it goes. But - no guarantees. I still want a little flexibility and spontaneity here if I can manage it!
Anyways, these shots were part of an impromptu solo iPhone-only photowalk I did in downtown Austin recently. I found myself downtown with about 45 minutes to spare. In the old days I would read email or something like that, but these days I take these little windows of time and fill it with iPhoneography - and it's great fun. So in no particular order...
Sorry about the mess...I just loved this scene!
This is the sign outside of Austin City Limits...
Juan Pelota is a coffeehouse, which is attached to Mellow Johnny's Bike Shop (owned by Lance Armstrong).
Mmm.....bacon....
And last but not least - I saw this puddle reflecting those two buildings...some things just have to be photographed!
Thanks for stopping by and hope everyone has a wonderful Easter weekend!
iPhone fun on a trail run
I used to run on trails all the time, but somehow got away from it. I am trying to get back into it, for a lot of reasons. One reason is the obvious health benefits of exercise, but another is that being out in the woods is restorative for me in a number of ways. Plus, I get to bring along the iPhone so I get in a little photo work too!
Yay, I'm being productive! :)
Bull Creek here in Austin is a great little trail and has the added benefit of being close to the house. This Spring has been productive for us in terms of rain, so I am doubly happy to have waterfalls and a full creek running through the area now. It's usually gone by summer, so this is the time to enjoy it!
Here's a collection of iPhone shots from my recent visits to the Bull Creek Greenbelt here in Austin...and in posting these I discovered that I shoot with my iPhone in portrait mode more than landscape mode - interesting! That's the complete opposite of my Nikon.
Thanks for stopping by and hope you like my iPhone shots this week!