From the darkroom to Lightroom

I finally got around to trying out Adobe's Lightroom app on the iPhone (which I generally use on my computer when dealing with DSLR images).
Seems quite useful, particularly if you wanted to edit DSLR shots on an iPad. There are a lot of the same controls and adjustments that you find in the full-blown app... but kinda tricky to use on a phone screen.

Techno lust

I had some hands-on time with the new iPad Pro today and suddenly my iPad Air 2 seems rather pathetic.
Apart from the issue of carrying it along with my camera gear, this thing would be so very cool to check images on.

Flying

Early morning Wellington to Auckland flight.

Quick shoot

Here's a time-compressed photo session I recently undertook for Parkinson's NZ (with a quick round of Head, Shoulders, Knees & Toes to warm up). I set up my iPhone running the OSnap! time lapse app shooting one frame every 2 seconds before then setting up to photograph the group. From OSnap! I exported a video file playing at 30 fps to the camera roll. This was transferred to my iPad for easier editing - adding soundtrack and colour change - and emailed to the blog.
For the photo shoot I used a Canon 6D with a 600EX-RT mounted on it, plus a second 600EX-RT on a stand, being fired as a slave to the flash on camera.

Evening Walk

The evenings are getting a little longer, so I should take my DSLR with me when walking... but I often don't. I do always have the iPhone with me though.
A few shots from last night that I put together in an app called Frametastic - a free app that has some annoying ads, but works well enough.

Too late

I tried to get to a decent vantage point before the sun dipped below the horizon... but missed it by a few minutes.
By using an app called Lensflare on the iPhone I was able to 'fix' that by adding a sun and a warm glow.

Downtown

I've been capturing video with my DSLR more frequently and really enjoying the convenience of an external monitor. The camera I'm using doesn't have a fold out screen so there are times when I've been jammed up against a wall or needing to shoot from a low angle, so using a monitor allows the action details and focus to be viewed comfortably. In this case I'm using an Android phone with the DSLR Controller app to view & control camera operations.

...and 2nd prize goes to...

Yep, Wgtn City Gallery were recently running a competition on Instagram in conjunction with NZ Photo Forum and I managed to take out the second spot with this image of two boys on Courtenay Place (a re-edit of an older iPhone photo).
That's the stylish tote bag that I won - I would have rather liked to win the Photo Forum book that went to the winner.

Urban Poppy Fields

A belated ANZAC blog post - the aftermath of Wellington celebrations.
The photo was edited within the native Photos app - auto-enhanced and then the Transfer filter was applied.

From little acorns

This shot was made in the ProShot app as the native camera was giving the scene a blueish cast. I set a manual white balance and later imported the image into Snapseed to crop and slightly edit the overall look of the shot. (iPhone 6)

Hunting

We seem to have a garden that is very popular for Monarch butterflies in late summer so I often chase them with a camera.
I've discovered that they seem less likely to take flight if I'm not directly behind the camera - so I've been putting the iPhone into a bracket on the end of an aluminium painters pole (a giant selfie stick) and using a Bluetooth shutter release.
This has been allowing me to get up close to the creature for stills or video (check out a slo-mo clip on my Instagram feed).
This shot was edited slightly in Camera+ (clarity and vignette) - crop shown to check detail.

Keyboard Extras

Chatting to a friend today about some recent changes to keyboard behaviour on a Mac led me to discover an iOS-like feature that operates under Yosemite - hold down on various keys to give access to accents, etc.(maybe it's been there for a while?).
This led me to check whether my iPhone carrying friend (owner since 3GS) was aware of the press & hold iOS keyboard options... he wasn't - how about you?
To access various URL suffixes in Mail or Safari: hold on the full stop key and slide your finger to the one you want, then release.
To use letter/character accents and special characters: hold on the desired base character (vowels, etc), slide and release.
A different currency symbol: hold on that $ key.

New Year, new phone

I've been happily using an iPhone 5 for over 2 years and have nothing but praise for the functionality of the overall device and quality of the camera.
For various, unrelated, reasons I bought an iPhone 6 and am so far very impressed with the handset and the improvements worked into the camera. Yes, still 8 Mpx, but along with sensor tweaks, new software and a faster processor - the camera is excellent.
I'm surprised at the level of detail and nice bokeh in this fairly ordinary snap.