Saturday gridlock

A beautiful weekend morning and Wellington sportspeople are once again
jumping in cars to rush across town so they can kick, pass, throw, or
hit balls. We're right at the end of the winter sports season now so
there'll be some extra urgency for those competing in their grade
finals.
Yep, we made it in time for kickoff, thanks.

Street philosophy

Clever bit of graffiti on Taranaki Street - I guess it's a reference
to whoever has been covering over the past graffiti with grey paint.

Olde worlde

A partially-completed room set in the studio for a shoot I worked on
yesterday. It's always a lot of fun hunting down elements to help
evoke a certain mood & this one was a bit of a family affair - some
hunting & style decisions from No. 1 daughter & the lamp was courtesy
of my mother's lounge.

Point of focus

There are a few retailers around town who have an old Vespa parked out
front to help them get noticed. To get the scooter noticed in this
shot I used the Tilt Shift and Camera Bag apps on the iPhone.

Keep Out

I think that's the message conveyed by the gate stopping access to
this alley. I shot another image with more detail in the walls of the
alley, but the more moody version seemed appropriate.

Captain Underpants

I found this piece of graffiti near upper Willis St & liked this
detail from the larger mural. I've got quite a collection of 'street
art' from over the years and have had a couple of cafe
exhibitions....maybe an iPhone-inspired exhibition is a possibility...

Has Spring Really Sprung?

This is the second one of these babies to pop into the sunshine on our
patch of Miramar. Yet another chance to test the macro ability of the
3GS and talk about the weather to a global audience...are you
listening in Poland?

Harbour Capital

Went for a cruise on the scooter 'round the bays, and found this view
of the Capital that is not often seen. The cabbage trees, flax, water
& boat could be from somewhere around the Corromandal....but the
houses on the hills are all Wellington!
No effects used on this shot.

Coffee and cameras

When a fine looking coffee arrives in front of me it's hard to resist
tapping the camera icon. Another visit to Mojo & another test of the
close-focus of the 3GS (plus some retouching with PhotoFX).

Tunnel Vision

First time in years that I've walked through this tunnel - I was
taking photos inside it for a client, so I thought it a good
opportunity to grab a shot on the iPhone for the files. With this
image I used an app called Pixel Perfect to alter the colour hue for a
bit of a different look.

Twilight pt.2

Well, there could have been vampires around, but as that's a crescent
moon in the sky and not a full moon, I suspect not.....or is that just
for warewolves?

Waiting in the rain

I was sitting in a car & trying to find an interesting angle on the old
Public Trust Building when it started to rain. Done.

The Swing

Generally the iPhone doesn't handle high contrast scenes too well at
all, but it can work in some shots. I've altered this one a little in
PhotoFX - brightened the shadows & added a warm toned filter.
Maybe spring is actually on the way...

Ready for your close-up...

Really just testing & getting to grips with the camera on the new
iPhone. This one was shot from about 8 cm I guess, & then given the
Polarize treatment.

Wet & Green

A macro-esque shot of some water droplets. The new iPhone certainly
focusses a lot closer than the previous version, but I've helped the
look of this shot by applying a 'filmic' look with the TiltShift app -
this applies a narrow-plane of focus effect.

Winter Sky

First posting from the iPhone 3GS. Not an indicative image, but a very
efficient adjustable focus which matches the exposure to the focus
point. Due to a muck up with the courier I didn't have a lot of time
to take photos or videos - but so far I'm lovin' it!

What decade are we in?

Cool self portrait taken by youngest daughter while sitting in a car.
Damn these kids today can take great arms-length piccies....

Still life

A winter scene at the back door. If this was a photo assignment I
would have spent a whole day arranging and balancing the lighting to
give a look light this... the only editing on this was to give it the
'magazine' look from the Camerabag application.

Update on header photo

No, the new pic wasn't actually shot with the iPhone....but it certainly features the iPhone (double exposure). Here's the old one, just for the record, ....which was shot on the iPhone.

Back-up, back-up & don't forget to back-up

A pleading note from someone who had left a hard-drive in their car.
How many irreplaceable images are lost by people without duplicates?
Sad fact of the digital age.... Let's be careful out there, people!

Missing in Action

Some poor kid is walking around town with one cold hand! Kind of sad
really.

Unseasonal necessity

So we've had some sunny days lately...if it wasn't for the temperature
you'd think it was summertime...but then I guess temperature is a
major factor in guaging the seasons...
After putting my sunglasses down on a bench with some canvas on it I
noticed that the strong windowlight was casting a pretty nice shadow.

Autumn leaves

Now this is a fairly indicative image of the current season - Victoria
on the front lawn, earning her trip to the movies.

Sittin' on the dock of the bay

Well, OK, standing on Seatoun Wharf (but Otis Redding's song did come
to mind). Oldest daughter waiting for the ferry to whisk her over to
Eastbourne...probably for hot chocolate or cold ice creams...

Minimalist ride

This piece of sixties aluminium sleekness was parked between a couple
of favourite shops on Vivian St - WPS & MagnumMac.

Coolest app yet

Here's a screen shot I took while testing a new iPhone app. It allows
you to shoot a Canon digital camera & change settings remotely, with a
zoomable preview screen. This is like crazy science fiction. Gotta get
a job now so I can show it off!!

Cold Outside

The cats had the best spot, right by the heater... Rather a chilly
weekend, to say the least - rain, hail and even some snow in parts of
Wellington! That doesn't happen often.

Looks good....

....and good for you. A great mix of colours and textures in the wok.

Twilight @ speed

So, another lovely evening in the Capital and this time I'm in the
passenger seat (safer that way). This gives a good example of the
effect of the iPhone's 'rolling shutter' - the image at the top of the
frame is recorded before the image at the bottom. As the car was
moving the pole appears to be leaning - more than the 'light tower'
'cos it's closer to us.

Last Stop

With a bit of care & a steady hand the iPhone even manages a night
shot at a bus shelter. It seems that most of these wayward shopping
trollies make their way back home eventually.

The Needle Knows

While driving in to the studio this morning the Zephyrometer (the
pointy orange thing) was swinging wildly in some major gusts of wind.
I didn't manage to catch it at full tilt, but we had quite an exciting
wee storm blow through town. (Yes, multitasking at the wheel again!)

iPhones a go-go

At one stage today in a boardroom we were shooting in, there were 4
iPhone users. During our breaks it was all fingers to the virtual
keyboards to keep up with texts, email, Twitter & Facebook.

Wellytown Icons

These totems have become quite symbolic of artsy-crafty Wellington,
altho' the artist who has created these designs also has them in other
cities. Despite the recession, it's good to see some building going on. 

This shot was softened and vignetted with Photo fx.

A couple of tarts...

...and a couple of coffees (mochachino & a latte) . Given an "8mm film look" via the Photo fx
application. All yummy stuff.

Random act of kindness

Someone who had as much use as they could from their bus day pass, has
kindly left it under this rock on a bus-stop seat. A friend of mine
was glad to uplift the pass for another few hours of bus travel. Nice.

Wrong, wrong, wrong

As I suspected, the previous weather 'prediction' was (fortunately)
well off track. The "killer flu" predictions also seem (fortunately)
to be overly pesimistic. Gotta love a good media beat up.

Rain, rain, rain

....oh, and a bit of lightning. The weather forecast app on the iPhone
isn't renowned for it's accuracy, but it seems to confirm what other
forecasts are saying. Hello damp autumn!

All aboard!

A trip to see a friend off from the railway station is of course a
great photo op. Followed up by a dose of 'cross process' from Photo
fx. Love the typeface used on the clock.

Night Fever

At a 'significant' birthday recently - great location, great people,
great music...but it wouldn't have been the same without the disco
ball! Added a little 'cross star' magic with the Photo fx application.

It's gotta be official

So I guess this photo from our front lawn is all the proof we need
that summer is gone and autumn is here. No more awkward situations
where I thought shorts and jandals where suitable attire.

Don't Jump!

This cast iron sculpture along Wellington's waterfront is hard to walk
past without thinking how much it really looks a naked man leaning
into the wind. As with the shot of the couple sitting on the bench -
the iPhone's wee lens is prone to flare when pointed toward the sun
(not always a bad thing).

By the sea

The best camera to record a scene, as always, is the one you have with
you!

Ain't none fresher

From the hen house to the frypan. Just a hint of selective focus
applied via the TiltShift app.

Easter Egg Hunt

So, I was hoping for chocolate... but I guess these girls aren't
actually the Easter Bunny. A touch of dappled morning light works a
treat - which is why there's an app to add it to an image (this is the
real deal tho'!).

Home town chic

Back in Gisborne for a school centennary reunion & catch up with old
friends (yes, a lot older). If I didn't know the roads so well, I
could have had more use out of the downloaded GPS travel app that I
have on the iPhone.

A new me

One of the geeky forums I inhabit had 2 people who's avatars were
photos of themselves behind cameras....so I changed my one to this.
Another fine iPhone app came to the rescue for this - OldBooth

Still green

I guess it won't be long before leaves will be changing colour and
falling. The clocks are turned back, I've packed away the BBQ, and the
sun has lost it's heat. The talk of Apple's next generation iPhone is
hotting up, tho', so that's something to look forward to.

Weekend pleasure

A bit naughty, but a great way to waste away a hour or three, is to
settle in to the cafe in Borders to browse the latest magazines.
People have usually taken up a good selection of reading material to
read so I don't bother to grab anything off the shelves myself...maybe
next time.

3 wheels, or 2?

This futuristic trike was on display at a 'Ride to Work' event I
visited on the scooter early this week. The two wheels up front give
it a mean look & it sounded like it had a lot of grunt.

Overhead Cables

A couple of new trolly busses taking workers home to the eastern
suburbs in the late (almost autumn) twilight. All very poetic.