Digital Diva / Digital Dude

Dude Moving to Facebook & Diva On iPhone Diva

2011-03-06T12:43:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,

Digital Dude here. It's been a long time since I've posted. I apologize. Two things have happened. First, I've been made part of a Facebook group called Iphoneography (there are many of these) where folks post their iPhone shots. Hugely creative group and I'm learning like crazy. Unfortunately, it is a closed group so I can't ask you all to come join (wish I could). This group has taken much of my time and pulled me away from Digital Diva, Digital Dude.

Second, I've started posting my iphone photos on MY Facebook page almost daily. I don't go into the technical side there but I am putting up a LOT of images.

So, for all of you who have followed me here, go friend me on Facebook and follow me there. If you have questions on technique, just add a comment or shoot me and email and I'll answer.

Thank you all for your support. I look forward to seeing you on Facebook.

Pix for today -- Two shots with ProHDR. Blended back on itself in Multiply Blend mode in IRIS. Then painted in Artista Oil and blended with original in IRIS. Final tweaks in FilterStorm. Enjoy!

Digital Diva here. I will continue to post on iPhone Diva (iphonediva.com) and still welcomes submission from all her iPhone buddies. I am so excited to share all the wonderful things I've learned the last couple months on iPhoneography. Get ready for Mr. Toad's wild ride. To see new pix and my latest app review, click here.

The Bare Bones of iPhone Photography

2010-12-02T17:18:00.001-08:00

Hey there, Digital Diva here. One of my favorite artists is Georgia O'Keeffe. I've done some iPhone photos of abstracted flowers as homage to her paintings where I use Gooey Faces to "melt" the blossoms into pure shapes.

So when I came across this cow skull nailed to a post at Hui Hoolana during a recent photo seminar, it was all over.

Here's the straight photo; busy background, tilted awkwardly, not too interesting. Yet.
Straightened the skull in Photogene. Blurred out the background in Photoforge. Double exposed with abstract color pattern in DXP.
Sepia in Tiffen Cool FX, Double expose in DXP with background of abstracted lines.
Sketchmee? Tiffen Cool FX black and white.
Painted background to rust color and added border in EdgePix (sadly no longer available.)
Lightened, toned and bordered in VintageScene app.
And my favorite done in Vintage Scene with a little embossing of the skull itself done in TouchUp.

High Dynamic Range from PRO HDR app

2010-11-18T14:01:00.000-08:00

Digital Diva here. I just can't believe what some of these apps can do (along with the iPhone herself). The Dude and I were walking through a Sedona, Arizona canyon a couple months back. We came upon one of those impossible lighting situations that is now possible thanks to the great HDR apps.

By tapping on a given spot on your iPhone, you can tell it where to focus and where to figure exposure. So for the first photo I tapped on the highlight in the far canyon wall that was harshly lit. So you can see that but not much else. For the second shot, I tapped on the dark shadows in the creek area but the highlights then blew out. Two really poor exposures overall, because there's just too many stops of exposure to hold it.

Enter PRo HDR app and the third photo shows the combined HDR photo. I added a little warmth, sharpness, and saturation in Photoforge and Iris apps. (I also like TrueHDr app for some images - just a trial and error approach seems to work for some images.)

Monet In Moloka`i

2010-10-31T16:44:00.000-07:00

Digital Diva here. We just finished a fabulous week long seminar on our home island, See The Light taught by the Digital Dude himself, Dewitt Jones, with Jonathan Kingston, and Rikki Cooke. Of course, my iPhone got as much workout as my other cameras. A tasty new app the Dude told me about called MobileMonet has brought new light to some old favorite locations and subjects. For more about this past week's photo extravaganza, check out Jonathan's blog; The Nomadic Photographer.

2010-10-01T17:14:00.000-07:00

Digital Diva here. Whew, the Dude and I have been traveling and just enjoying the beauty everywhere we go. We went to Tuolumne Meadows in Yosemite and gave our Digital cameras a workout. I almost forgot to use my iPhone! But I did snap a few, and outside of a little Photogene optimizing, I left them alone. So unlike me. Here's a little taste of "what I did on my summer vacation".

HDR On The Prairie at Ballyneal

2010-09-08T16:23:00.000-07:00

Digital Diva here with a travelogue piece on Ballyneal Golf Club. On a recent trip to Colorado, two hours outside of Denver on a magic golf course in the middle of nowhere (which is really SOMEWHERE special) the Dude and I played golf with 4 other dear photographer friends. And of course, documented the experience with our phones. And the Dude went full on HDR.

HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography has a specific look to it - sometimes I like it; sometimes I think it looks over the top. Still, I like when we can make the iPhone and other cameras "see" as much as our eyes do.

Dewitt used mostly True HDR app to put two exposures together. He tapped the phone in the shadows to open up detail and then tapped the phone on a highlight to expose properly for it. The resultant two images worked not at all until combined in True HDR.

(And news flash, I hear the new OS for iPHone is due out soon - which will have HDR capability built into the OS. Woo - hoo. Can't wait to try it.)

And if you want to see some really beautiful images by professional photographers Dick Durrance and Sue Drinker, check out the Ballyneal site.

Vintage Seen

2010-08-30T17:36:00.000-07:00

Digital Diva here. One of my new favorite apps is called Vintage Scene. It allows for all kinds of grungifying to antique your iPhone photo art. This first shot is of Smileys Bar in Bolinas CA. It lends itself perfectly to this aging technique.

This was a relatively crappy shot of a tree with sun starring through it; was all blocked up and I opened the shadows and decreased the contrast in Photoforge, creating a crappy low contrast shot. Ah, but all is not lost. I knew when I took it that it would make a great antique looking image.

My handsome, talented son, Brian Kavanaugh Jones as he photographed Lake Tahoe, and I photographed him. No, this is not 1954, it was a couple of weeks ago.
Here in Lake Tahoe, a group of us have a picnic on the beach every Tuesday night. This forces us to go to the beach, because no matter where you live, it's easy to forget to partake of the great places we live unless of course we have company. After sunset, we spotted the M.S. Dixie paddlewheeler boat cruising across the lake. A perfect subject for grunging - it seems like it is from another century.

Finally, the Ahwahnee Hotel's dining room in Yosemite is as gorgeous and timeless today as it was when it opened in 1927.

Having a Fleuriffic Time With the iPhone

2010-08-20T19:31:00.000-07:00

iPhone Diva here. The greatest thing about the iPhone (aside from the apps) is that I always have it with me. And so I take photos that I might never have even thought to shoot.

This group of flowers was planted along side the main Hwy 50 here in Lake Tahoe. The Dude and I were walking by and just had to stop and pay homage.

This first shot was made with the app Slow Shutter, for a kind of soft dreamy effect.

These tulips were sketched in Toonpaint and the sketch was combined with the original in DXP. Not exactly sure which blend mode, maybe multiply.

This wider shot of the road tulips really looks painted to me. I sure wish I could remember what apps I used for this. Alas, it may end up being one of a kind.

I went to my local Safeway store to buy some food and had to walk through the flower section. They had some lovely orchids and I shoved my iPhone right into their little faces. The flower manager came over and I thought "Uh oh. I'm in trouble." But no, she was excited about what I was doing and wanted to show me some other blooms that might be fun to shoot. Now that's customer service!!

I optimized the orchid in Photogene (color, levels, sharpness, etc) and framed it with the Crop n Frame app.

Sending Roses iPhone Style

2010-08-13T17:30:00.000-07:00

Digital Diva here. There are some subjects that I have to shoot over and over. I can't help myself. Butterflies and fish. Flowers. Most especially roses. Roses have such symbology wrapped in their beautiful petals. Love. Romance. Apology. Vicious thorns combined with glorious scent. And on and on and on.

This photo was optimized in Photogene, then tweaked in an app called Timeless Photo. I love the vintage look of it.
My same rose photo was graphic artified in an app called addLib. I love it although you have to keep working with it to get an effect you actually want.
I shot this triptych with one of my favorite apps called Mosaic Lite. You shoot three images (or more depending on what "tych" you select before shooting. It takes a little work to get a decent image. This one is a little soft - it could use some sharpness. And yet, I like the dreaminess, too. Especially for the right collage or double exposure (see next photo.)

I combined my little Paris bride (see iPhone Diva blog entry Romance de Paris ) using the DXP app with the soft pink roses for this image. Expect to see more roses - as long as I have my iPhone.

Why I love summers in Tahoe.

2010-07-24T16:37:00.000-07:00

Up before dawn with Lynette to shoot the sunrise at Emerald Bay on Lake Tahoe. First out of my pocket was my iPhone, and this the first image of the day. Just point and shoot. No tweaking at all.

After shooting many images from that spot, we wandered over to Eagle Falls and I took this photo. 3 image pano with AutoStitch. Coral ND grad added with Tiffen Photo FX. Then warmed up slightly in Photogene. Amazing. All on the phone.

Now much as I love my iPhone, this was a morning that continued to call out for my "big boy" cameras. This was the shot when the sun finally broke the horizon. Tripod, 2/3 sec shutter speed on each of three exposures (blended in Photomatics). 2 stop neutral density filter on the sky. Loved the result!

Getting an Eyeful of the Eiffel

2010-07-22T07:17:00.000-07:00

Digital Diva here. The Eiffel Tower is the most iconic symbol of Paris. Yet on the day we visited it, we had a relatively uninteresting sky and flat noontime light. What to do? Whip out the iPhone of course and get app-happy. The first image is essentially boring - a sleeper of a record shot.
A little faux HDR with Photoforge helped jazz it up.
With Tiffen Cool FX app, I turned the shot into black and white, sepia toned. Frosted edging was added with ArtCamera app. I like this image.
Camera Bag app has my favorite faux infrared - somehow looks painted too in the sky.
My favorite image was made taking the HDR frame and adding PicGrunger app to make a old postcard effect.

Somewhere Under A Rainbow

2010-06-02T20:34:00.000-07:00

Digital Diva here with a look at one of my favorite photo phenoms. Looking out the window in Hawaii, I saw this rainbow. I shot the iPhone photo right through the window streaked with rain. (Hey, no need get wet!)

Here is the HDR version done with TrueHDR app. You can faintly see some diffusion from the wet window, which actually makes it look more painterly.

Next I tried a faux infrared with Tiffen IR filter in PhotoFX. Believe it or not, we have rainbows like this on Moloka`i - it is called the land of the night rainbows. They happen during the full moon when it shines on the veils of upland rain. Sometimes they are pastel colors; more often I've seen the in varying shades of white. It is always awe inspiring to see the night rainbow.

Fnally, I combined the faux IR with the color shot and blended them in DXP, the double exposure app for this watercolor effect.

Things Are Getting Sketchy with My iPhone

2010-05-09T19:19:00.001-07:00

Digital Diva here! Interesting images when you combine a sketch (done in ArtCAmera app) with the original photograph. I used DXP with various blend modes for final photos.

The highest sea cliffs in the world seen from Mo`omomi Beach are in Moloka`i. Can you tell it was dawn when I took the original? No? Then can someone tell me why I got up at 430 am?

Flowers at midday, thank heaven.

Aspen trees photo was taken last spring - worked just now.

Three New Images

2010-05-02T11:35:00.000-07:00

Digital Dude here. Sorry it's been so long between posts. I've been working on a number of projects. One of my favorites -- my weekly photos of celebration which (if you are on the digitaldivadigitaldude mailing list) you already receive. If not, go to www.celebratewhatsright.com and sign up.

Here are three recent fun iphone shots.....

First, a shot of a bass sitting next to a wall at a hotel in Honolulu

Next a shot of my son's dog on the beach in Malibu

Finally.... a shot of my big toe as I waited for a doctor's appointment

As you can see, the iPhone is ready to entertain you no matter what situation you are in! Enjoy!

Best Straight iPhone Shot Ever!

2010-04-27T14:38:00.000-07:00

Digital Diva here with the best straight iPhone shot ever. No photoshop, no cool iPhone apps. Nothing. Nada. Zip. Except maybe supernatural or divine creation having nothing to do with the photographer. The Dude gave a coffee cup to his Diva for Christmas this year that says "Dog Mom" on it and has a ring of paw prints on its inner circumference. I zapped a cup of coffee in the microwave and pulled it out to find this perfect paw print in bubbles on top. When I hollered to the Digital Dude to come look, he gasped and said "Did you get a picture of it?" I did. Proving that the Best Camera truly is the one you have with you. Ahhhhhh, the paws that refreshes.

Through The Looking Glass

2010-04-18T14:18:00.000-07:00

Digital Diva here with some questions to ponder. What is our personal creative vision? What themes continually drive our photographic expression? Who are we as artists?

Having just finished a fabulous photo seminar here on Molokai called "Rekindling The Creative Spirit" co-taught by Dewitt Jones, Rikki Cooke, Theresa Airey, and Jonathan Kingston, the Diva may be getting closer to an answer for herself. This annual event fills participants and instructors with inspiration and new techniques/ideas for going further in our photos. We come away rejuvenated; our photography gains new life.

Still, when we examine the themes that continually show up in our image-making, even as we explore new creative options, we may discover clues to an artistic identity; our photo vision if you will.

I gave a slide show for the class combining images from 15 years ago (film, what a concept), digital images from the last year and a half, and more recent iPhone images. All these photo media had distinct commonalities. My unifying themes were and are abstraction, simplicity, and other realities. With "other realities" taking top billing. I've always been captivated by the underlying realities that a camera can see even when we can't. Slow shutter speeds, camera movement, multiple exposure continue to dominate how I "see".

Can you look back and find some of your themes? What attracts you again and again photographically? As Rikki Cooke says, "What's turning your head?"

Here are a couple of iPhone photo art images that turned my head. Or were in my head. Or both.

A Rose is a rose is a rose until you iPhone app it!

2010-04-06T17:14:00.000-07:00

Digital Diva here. The Dude and I were walking through Santa Fe last summer and I snapped a photo of climbing roses against an adobe wall, knowing that someday...........

Sure enough, I downloaded it into my iPhone and apped away. Can you guess which apps go with which photos? Some used more than one. Apps I used were Vihgo, Shockmypic, ArtCamera, and Photo Finish. (And one has Edgepix which sadly is no longer available.) Give it your best shot!

Rose 1
Rose 2
Rose 3
Rose 4
Rose 5
Rose 6
Rose 7

Enter The Matrix

2010-03-26T15:04:00.000-07:00

Digital Diva here. As many of you know, I am a huge fan of the Ezimba iPhone app. It has more manipulations and filtrations than I've been able to explore. But I'm workin' on it.

My latest foray into the wilds of Ezimba took me to a section called Enter The Matrix. I entered and got happily lost layering matrix effects on various images. Piet Mondrian, a Dutch 20th century painter, is one of my favorite artists and these pieces echo his abstractions to me. This first image was a tree with falling snow.

Next, I matrixed a tropical sunset photo from the coconut grove beach here on Moloka`i.

This is the most abstract (and my favorite, since it feels the most like Mondrian.) The original photo was a blur or drive-by of fall foliage in American River Canyon between Placerville and Lake Tahoe, CA.

This is a matrixed fall aspen tree driveby or blur. I also layered it with an aspen leaf - double exposed in DXP app.

This laua`e fern image is from our garden here in Hawai`i. I photographed it on the sepia setting of my camera, then increased the contrast (a la Brett Weston) and sharpened it. Lastly, I brought it into the iPhone and it went through the matrix.
Sunrise at Moomomi Beach.

And the last image is a double exposure of a matrixed photo of Sierra wildflowers and a photo of butterflies - created with DXP app.

Art at 35,000 feet!

2010-03-19T20:22:00.000-07:00

Hi, Digital Dude here at 35,000 feet, somewhere between Philadelphia and Las Vegas. Ah, time to tweak some images!

Started with a shot I’d taken out the window as we landed in Philly two days ago.

Then I searched out a shot of sunflowers that I had taken a long time ago in France (with a big boy camera)

Put the two together using DXP (Double Exposure) with the Inverse blend mode. Notice how the original color come through only in the lower left where the water of the first photo is almost black. Also in the upper quarter of the frame both left and right, where there are dark trees in the first photo.

Next, I brought the image into Photogene, where I change the levels and bumped up the saturation and sharpness.

Finally, I brought the image into Fotomuse and added both a layer (which, in this case, gave it a golden hue) and a mottled black boarder.

There, that didn't take long. Ooops, got to go, we're landing now!

Somethin' Fishy Going On With My iPhone

2010-03-07T14:44:00.000-08:00

Digital Diva here. Living on a tropical island means being surrounded by water filled with all manner of colorful fish inspires me to accentuate their color and form with my iPhone (and no, I did not take my phone underwater.) I did app the heck out of my fish photos with Vihgo, DXP, Photogene, Edgepix, Shockmypic, and probably more iPhone apps that I can't recall just now. My iPhone has become a virtual aquarium!

Slow Shutter and .... Darth Kitty!

2010-02-23T13:10:00.000-08:00

Digital Dude here. What do to with the iPhone when you are shooting water? As you can't control the shutter speed or the ISO, the answer is.... not much. Most shots turn out like the one below with a speed not quite fast enough to freeze the action and not quite slow enough to make a nice blur out of it.

There are no neutral density filters for the iPhone to help slow the shutter speed, but the is an app called SlowShutter. It doesn't reduce the ISO but takes many multiple exposure over a given period of time. If the subject moves or if you move the camera, the result is a delightful blurring effect. So, in the middle of the day, without any filters, you can turn the above shot into the one below. Frankly, unbelievable!

One more thing. As my dear wife keeps putting up her ToonPaint pixs --- and as I found the app first (no competition here) -- I had to post one too. Meet "Darth Kitty"! Straight shot of our cat; mirrored the image in Symmetry; cartooned it and painted the eyes in ToonPaint; brought back his color in DXP.

You'll be seeing him in the next Star Wars movie.

Livin' in Those Little Latitudes

2010-02-22T13:41:00.000-08:00

Digital Diva here and life is heating up in the tropics as I keep playing on my iPhone with Toonpaint, and combining images with the originals in DXP. Here's three more images.

Something fishy is going on here. Oh yeah, the blend mode is difference!

Hula dancing at the seashore on Moloka`i.

Anthurium and ferns.

Tooning Up With Color in Toonpaint

2010-02-16T13:38:00.000-08:00

Hi all. Digital Diva back as promised with color added to iPhone Toonpaint images. My favorite method is to use DXP, a double exposure app, and combine the original color image with the Toonpaint black and white. I like using DXP because it has multiple blend modes, which can change the color added from vibrant like the sunflower below...

to just a hint of color as in this pale pink freesia...

to a more half and half blend as in this torch ginger...

to a totally "unreal" but wonderful color image like this inverted vase and flowers using the Difference blend mode in DXP. Just experiment and find out what blend modes work best with with images for you.

At-Tooned to Animals

2010-02-07T13:23:00.000-08:00

Digital Diva here. My sister diva, Robin Robertis, introduced me to this cool iPhone app called Toonpaint. And I cannot believe the images it turns out. I shot this insect (large tropical, praying mantis lookalike) at our post office here in Hoolehua, Moloka`i, Hawai`i. It was hanging out in the middle of all the little metal PO Boxes - note numbers next to him/her.

I went on to photograph my pets and get them in Toon. This is our young, handsome chat noir, Frankie, posed on the window sill.

And here is our newest family member, Mele, taking a snooze on the porch. She's what we call a poi dog here in the islands, meaning mixed breed of unknown variety.

Finally, I photographed our "Queen" Po. Po is short for Pomaika`i, which means lucky or blessed in Hawai`ian. Dewitt aka Digital Dude, found her starving and near death on our driveway. As you can see, she's not gone hungry since.

In my next entry, I'll actually show some of the Paint portion of ToonPaint. Wait for it..............
(If you're like me and can't wait, be sure to check out Robin's newest images on my Digital Diva blogsite at iphonediva.com.)

Three from the Dude

2010-01-30T20:45:00.000-08:00

Three fun ones from the Dude. First is an image I took in the Saint Louis airport -- a girls waits for a late plane. Brought it into ArtistsTouch and ran Picasso on it. Then brought both the original image and the ArtistsTouch image into PicMix and painted back to girl's face from the original image. Brought the resulting image into HDRcam and worked some faux HDR magic on it. Then into Fotomuse to add the woman's face on the left. Finally into Crop'n'Frame to add a complimenting frame.

Earlier I'd given a lecture to the Disney Corporation. Hanging in front of an office was a photo of Walt himself printed on a sheer piece of fabric. I grabbed a quick photo through the fabric with the office in the background. Took it into ToonPaint and converted it to a marvelous graphic. Added colors in ToonPaint and then framed it in Crop'n'Frame.

Finally, an image I took this morning from my daughter's house in the low Sierra. This is actually a 3 panel HDR panorama. Took two images of each of the three panels (over and under exposed) and blended them together on Pro HDR. Then stitched the three results into a Panorama on AutoStitch. Finally brought the whole image into Photoshop (I know, cheating) and painted it with a filter called Simplify by Topaz Labs. (click the image to see it larger)

How many times have I said it -- Too Much Fun!

Floral Fixation II

2010-01-30T20:17:00.000-08:00

Digital Diva here again. It has now gotten to the point that I can't remember all the apps I've used to create these tropical plant images. I know that Photogene, Photoforge, DXP, and Vihgo were involved to varying degrees. Also EdgePix and Crop N Frame. I just kept piling on and was working so fast I neglected to keep track of the process. I lost myself in the art play. Ultimately, that's a good thing, I think.

Floral Fixation in iPhone Photos

2010-01-21T18:27:00.000-08:00

Digital Diva here. I love flowers, especially when you can art them up with iPhone apps. For this shot, I used ArtCamer a to invert a shot of pink rose blossoms. then I ran ArtCamera's Picasso filter. Edging/framing and lettering over the photo are from FotoMuse app.

I took a photo of a sunflower head lying on my patio table. (Okay, it was lying there because I put it there, whatever.) Anyway, I optimized it in Photogene with a little extra saturation, ran the Picasso filter in ArtCamera, did edging in either EdgePix (no longer available) or Crop N Frame, then ran the Rusty filter in Vihgo app. Whew!

And finally, took a shot of an amaryllis and arced it in iDroste app. I double exposed that image with the original image of the amaryllis. Then the framing as above - and finally ran the Canvas filter in Vihgo app.

Stay tuned for more of my floral fixation in the future, because I'm surely not done yet! You can find more cool digital art pix from me and my photo buddies on my other site The Digital Diva.

Honolulu Morning

2010-01-14T16:05:00.000-08:00

Digital Dude here. Morning coffee on a trip to Honolulu last week. Looked across the patio to see a young girl reading the paper. Lovely graphic and harmony of colors. Grabbed a quick shot before she looked up.

Brought the shot into ArtCamera and ran the filter "brush strokes" on it. Then brought it up in Photogene to straighten and brighten it.

Then brought it up in Edgepix and ran the filter "rough painted edges"

Finally, one more time in Edgepix and ran "square faded edges"

Probably should have just walked over and asked for her email address so I could send it to her. Yeah, right...

Seeing A Flower Really

2010-01-14T15:20:00.000-08:00

"Nobody sees a flower really; it is so small. We haven't time, and to see takes time - like to have a friend takes time. " quote by Georgia O' Keefe

Digital Diva here - going back to my obsession with this famous artist's flower abstractions. One of the reasons I like to "paint" blooms on the iPhone is to take more time with it, to really "see" them.

Here I've used the GooeyFaces iPhone app on a plumeria blossom and then double exposed the "painted blossom" with the original using the DXP app.

I loved the vibrant colors of this Amaryllis bloom. After painting with GooeyFaces, I finished off the final image with framing using the Photogene app.

I am enamored of ti leaves, especially the pink and green varieties. This shot of ti in my garden was 'mushed' with GooeyFaces, of course, and then framed in Photogene.

Appy New Year!

2009-12-30T16:23:00.000-08:00

Digital Diva here. Wishing us all music, memories, and iPhoneography of every kind - have a great New Year's eve and an artistic 2010.

(Apps used were Photogene to tweak photos for color and exposure, DXP to create multiple exposures, and Pic Grunger to put the cracks in the cherub photo.)

Go Antiquing With Your iPhone

2009-12-21T19:02:00.001-08:00

Digital Diva here. I love going antiquing with my iPhone. No, I'm not talking about buying furniture here. I love creating an "aged" look to my photos. Fotomuse is a terrific app for this process with it's rough borders and layers.

This first photo I took last week of giant ferns up in the Kamakou rain forest here on Moloka`i. I brought the straight shot into FotoMuse and selected this border and layer with tint to age it.

I shot this tree out at Papohaku Beach on the West end of Moloka`i where the Dude and I had gone to shoot the big waves. The waves were HUGE but they were closing out into total whitewater, so we didn't get many great wave shots after all. Still as long as we have our iPhones we are never at a photographic loss. I turned the tree into a faux infrared with the Camera Bag app. I then used the same border/layer combo in FotoMuse as I used for the ferns. I love the shot and also plan to use it in a future double exposure - its such a great "set waiting to happen" shot.

This photo of a large anthurium blossom with curving ferns I turned into a pencil sketch in Ezimba. I double exposed it with the DXP app with a washed outt photo of ferns in this post. The ferns were actually red and green in color, so the overexposed photo gives some pink and pale green tones. I then brought it into FotoMuse and selected the border. How old can you go???????

Holy HDR, Batman! Redux

2009-12-18T23:02:00.000-08:00

When I wrote the first "Holy HDR" article below, I, the Dude, said I hadn't tried the TrueHDR app anywhere except my front yard. We'll this afternoon I rectified that at the overlook to Kalaupapa. This result is a 2 shot pano. Each of the images in the pano was made with 2 images (over and under exposed) that I processed using TrueHDR. Enjoy!

(click on the image to see it larger)

Holy HDR, Batman!

2009-12-16T23:23:00.000-08:00

Digital Dude here. Just found one of the coolest apps ever. TrueHDR. It's Photomatix for the iPhone and it is destined to help us all make some exceptional photos. I only downloaded it last night so I haven't been able to use it anywhere except my front yard but I had to share the results. Here's what you do ---

Take one photo where you touch and focus on a darker area in the composition. The camera in the iPhone will expose for that area and the result will be a shot where the shadow are properly exposed and the highlights burned out. Here's such a shot -

Take a second photo and touch on a lighter area of the composition. Here the highlights will be properly exposed and shadow will be blocked up. Yes, here is that shot -

Now open TrueHDR and choose both these photos from your Camera Roll. TrueHDR will now align the two photos, blend them into an HDR image, and then Tone Map them to give you a resulting image with expanded dynamic range where both the shadows and highlights are properly exposed! Here it is -

If you want to take it one step further. Open this image in IFlashReady and reflash it with "HighFlash" which is actually another faux HDR process. Give it some noise reduction and sharpening in PhotForge and, Oh My, look what we have!

Give it a try. I'm off to shoot more images....

{Note: Just click on any photo to see it larger.}

Border Line with Ezimba iPhone App

2009-12-14T18:00:00.000-08:00

Digital Diva still loving the app Ezimba. Along with myriad special effects, Ezimba features a whole slew of borders - really cool frames for your pix. Using the image from last post, here are three permutations.

This one is called "Border - Raised". I like it.

This wild one is called "Random Groovy Mirror Border" and it's too much fun.

My favorite so far is the first choice in the Borders - it's called simply "Mirror Border"

Ezimba is My New Fave iPhone App

2009-12-10T12:21:00.000-08:00

Digital Diva here. My new favorite iPhone app is Ezimba. It contains so many permutations to create photo art that I can't remember which ones I used where in this group of photos except they were under the category "Artistic Effects". No matter, just open up a photo and app away. One clue - when you apply an effect, save it, and then undo before applying a new effect or it will just continually layer effects. Unless that is what you want to do - there are no rules. Ever.

The first photo is straight from the iPhone with no tweaking - it's pretty good just as is.

These next three photos have Ezimba effects applied.

Lana`i Hawai`i - A Little Slice of Heaven

2009-12-01T15:02:00.000-08:00

Digital Diva here. The Dude and I visited the beautiful island of Lana`i just over a week ago. (See Nov. 25 blog post for great iPhone pix video from the Dude of the fabulous Hotel Lana`i.) And as always, we were both making art in our spare moments. Right outside the hotel, looking toward Lana`i City, I shot this iPhone photo. The pathway lined with pineapple plants points to town with the Cooke Island pine trees towering above.

This photo is a record shot - the foreground is dark, shadows blocked up, just not terribly interesting. I can attest that it looked much prettier to my eye.

Luckily, iPhone apps came to the rescue. I used iFlashready three times to open the shadows.

I then ran the HDR filter in Photoforge to recover highlight detail and further open the shadows. I added Vibrance to saturate the image.

I then tried the infrared filter in the Tiffen app Photo FX. (I used Tiffen filters with my film cameras back in the old days - like an old friend showing new tricks.

Next I used PicMix to layer the infrared version on top of the super saturated color version and painted in a little color at about 25% opacity. I like this look - used to do it in Photoshop with my big girl digital camera images.

I was having such a good time, I went back to my saturate, HDR image and oversharpened it for a photorealist painting effect

I then turned it black and white in Photoforge - looks like an engraving with the oversharpening.

I kept fooling around and used Shockmypic on the saturated HDR image for a whole different look.

In Cinema Fx, I used the Egyptian Gold filter on the saturated image.

Last, I used the Color Comic filter found in CinemaFX app for a completely different take on the scene.

And then it was time for breakfast at the Canoes restaurant, where the owner, Fergie, is an iPhone aficionado of the highest order. He posts his daily specials to Twitter and Facebook right from his iPhone every am. We had a blast sharing apps, photos, and iPhone stories. This helped fuel our app - etite. So we ordered and ate the heavenly banana macadamia nut pancakes while we shared.

Time out of Time

2009-11-25T13:46:00.001-08:00

Digital Dude here. Lynette and I spent the weekend at the Hotel Lanai on the island of the same name. It's a classically beautiful Hawaiian inn; low key, rustic elegance, great food, true aloha spirit. When I wasn't playing golf, I spent my time making iPhone photos in the hotel's gardens. I then uploaded my favorite images to Animoto, added some local music and created an instant homage to a wonderful weekend. Hope you enjoy it!

More Hawaiian iPhone Art Collage Photos

2009-11-24T22:16:00.001-08:00

Digital Diva here. Still working on Hawaiiana in iPhone art using DXP and Brushes to make collages; still having too much fun! (See Digital Dude's video post of November 16 about too much fun!)

Animoto!

2009-11-16T23:25:00.000-08:00

Hi, Digital Dude here with a fabulous new site for you to check out. It's called Animoto and it makes incredible slide shows out of your images, be they from the iPhone or your big boy cameras. Pay a small fee ($30 per year), upload your images, choose their music or upload your own. Click! And they put together a spectacular graphic slide show in sync with the audio. You can play it on the net at their site, upload it to Youtube, or download a high resolution file for making into a DVD. Click above and check it out for yourself. This is a show I made using some of my favorite iPhone images. Let me know what you think! (If you should choose to sign up for Animoto use my referral code: uextanqo and you will get $5 off)

iPhone Art Hawaiian Style

2009-11-16T16:35:00.000-08:00

What do you get when you cross a gecko with a plumeria blossom? No, not auto insurance! You get wonderful iPhone photo art, especially if you use the double exposure app DXP. The different blend modes allow for these different effects - first halfmix, then hardlight, then difference.

Lockton Loaded: iPhone Art That’s All In The Family

2009-11-03T18:35:00.000-08:00

Yep that’s right! A whole family of iPhone artists has just shared some images with us! Check these out:

Lindsay Lockton took this wild photo by shooting subsequent photos displayed on iPhones - kind of a mirror reflected in a mirror reflected in a mirror......... How creative is that?

Her Mom, Kelly, shot this fabulous photo of cowboys and proceeded to tweak it in the following apps:
1st- Perfectly Clear to brighten up the picture, added more color vibrancy and over sharpened a bit.
2nd - PhotoForge to crop, adjusted the Vibrance again and "Posterized" it.
3rd - Photogene to frame it.
4th - ArtCamera, used the crumpled paper filter.

And dad Ron, the most recent iPhone convert in the family, “shot and shocked” this photo of Kansas City's autumnal splendor. He calls it simply “Midwest in Fall.”

The Lockton family by their own description have become official iPhone art addicts. And we’re so happy they are.

Trees at my window, window trees.

2009-10-23T11:50:00.001-07:00

Digital Dude here. I was in Kansas City this week. Lovely fall view from my hotel. Great experience, but not much of a photo (see below). Ah, but we live in the age of the iPhone!

Brought the photo first into PhotoForge and did a little HDR on it. Then into Effects Touch and inversed part of the back ground to add color. Then into ArtistsTouch and painted it with chalk and an exacto knife. Into EdgePix for the framing, and finally into Photogene for the caption. There you have it! As I seem to say far too often on this blog -- 2 much fun!

From this...

To this...

Vivid Southwest iPhone Photo Art Pix

2009-10-22T13:17:00.000-07:00

Digital Diva here. More Southwest images - from pastel to vivid color! Used DXP Double Exposure app, Brushes app + Vihgo.

Pastel Photo Painting On The iPhone

2009-10-18T13:43:00.000-07:00

Hi photo pals - Diva here. As the Dude said, we rode our lil phones hard and put them up wet while in Phoenix, so get ready to see more Southwest images. I've always loved the pastel tones in that region from pale sage to aqua to sandstone pink. In celebration, I created these three collages (along with literally HUNDREDS more). I used DXP, Brushes, and Collage as the apps. All the photos were taken and processed on the iPhone.

The Days are Just Packed!

2009-10-13T21:47:00.000-07:00

Dude here, speaking for both of us. The Diva and the Dude had some down time here in Phoenix after a talk I had to give. Down time, you say? Not when we have our iPhones with us! Who knows what we did to make these images?!

Mine, the one with the birds and the one with the night time trees in the background, were made on two apps new to us -- Effect Touch and PicMix. Both are excellent, allowing one to blur the transitions between layers and to paint in effects where you choose.

Diva's images (the other two) were made mostly with DXP (double exposure) and many, many layers.

Hope you enjoy looking them even half as much as we enjoyed making them!!!!!

Double Trouble

2009-10-11T15:30:00.000-07:00

Digital Diva here. Oh yes, I am in trouble now - Double Exposure trouble that is. I'm using DXP, the double exposure app with blend modes along with FotoMuse to create some of my favorite iPhone images yet. And I'm not stopping at double exposures - some are triple and even quadruple. I'll post some here and some over at the Digital Diva site. Enjoy!

Eye on Art

2009-10-04T08:43:00.000-07:00

Digital Dude here. Long boring flight from Reno to Chicago. But not to worry, I had my trusty iPhone! Opened a shot of ferns (taken on a "big" camera) in Gooey Faces and mushed it around. Then manipulated it further with ShockMyPic. Then...brought the image up in ArtistsTouch and used the Exacto Knife and the oil paint brush to scratch the background and paint the foreground fern. Then...brought it up in FotoMuse and added a layer which gave me the woman's face and eye. Then...brought it up in Light and added light from the eye. Then....brought it up in Photogene and did a little digital darkroom work (levels, saturation, sharpening, etc). Finally....brought it up in EdgePix and gave it a watercolor edge. THEN....

...it was time to land in Chicago!

Before:

After:

Georgia Is Still On My Mind

2009-10-01T21:27:00.000-07:00

Digital Diva here - I just can't seem to stop using the Gooey Faces app, especially on flowers. I no longer mind waiting in long Costco lines or for my doctor when she's running late. I live for those moments when I can melt images. I think Georgia (O Keefe) would understand. I do bring the images into Photoshop for a little Topaz Clean and Imagenomic Noiseware Professional to clean them up. Plus a little Shockmypic on the yellow calla lily. Here are some of the latest.

...And The Painted Ponies Go Up and Down...

2009-09-25T20:24:00.000-07:00

"And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We're captive on the carousel of time.

We can't return, we can only look behind
From where we came
And go round and round and round
In the circle game."

from the song, The Circle Game by Joni Mitchell

Hi photo playmates! Digital Diva here. At the Santa Monica Pier recently, the Diva and the Dude were wandering and iPhoning and apping as we usually do. We always visit the Carousel there - it's a return to childhood and days gone by. And maybe Joni's right, we can't return. But we can remember........

I shot this painted pony just straight on my iPhone.

Then of course, I couldn't leave it alone. I used the app 101 filters and used the filter called Dark Contours on Light for this image.

Then I went into a filter called Night Vision, for reasons that are beyond my understanding. I do think it is very interesting here and will likely use it more.

I used the Tritone 2 filter for this patriotic pony image. (Which is actually # 105 of the filter pack, since the updates.)

In the same app, 101 filters, I used the Big Sparkles filter for this whimsical view of the carousel. This is how the merry-go-round always felt to me when I was little - a magical fairyland of golden posts and brightly painted horses.

I moved on to the Art Camera app and used the Picasso filter - I like this effect here.

Finally, back to 101 filters app for the Old Photo filter for a shot that looks like it was in one of my Mom's photo boxes all these years.

Georgia On My Mind

2009-09-18T17:01:00.000-07:00

Hi Photo Friends! Digital Diva here. My latest iPhone craze has me painting with my finger in an app called GooeyFaces. Yes, that's right, GooeyFaces. I love the "brush strokes". These shots are my homage to Georgia O' Keefe, one of my favorite artists. She was famous for her close up views of flowers, but also did some wonderful minimalist landscapes. All these images were optimized in Photogene before being painted in GooeyFaces.

I then brought them into Photoshop to clean up the images a little with Topaz Labs Simplify, Nik Sharpener, Imagenomic's Noiseware Professional, and a tad of the smudge tool. The orange flower also has ShockMyPic applied at its lowest setting.

What a night!!!

2009-09-15T21:33:00.001-07:00

Photographer and long time friend, Dick Durrance, asked the Digital Dude to join him at an extraordinary golf course in eastern Colorado called Ballyneal. The golf experience overwhelmed photography and my cameras were left in my room....well, almost. Late the first day, somewhere around our 25th hole of golf, storm clouds billowed up over the prairie. I was torn between hitting my drive and staring at the sky.

The vision would have been saved only to my memory if it hadn't been for my trusty iPhone. I shot 12 shots (4 high, 3 wide) and continued on my way. Later I used the app AutoSitch to make them into a panorama. I tweaked the shot in Photoshop when I returned home using Topaz Labs "Clean2" and Niks sharpening to turn it into a lovely 13 x 19 print. Truly amazing. I love this phone!

Confessions of an Appaholic

2009-09-10T19:48:00.000-07:00

Hello, my name is Lynette.......and I'm an appaholic. I am likely addicted to iPhone apps in the service of Digital Diva photo art. And at 99 cents to 2.99 a pop, I'm not likely to want rehab anytime soon. I photographed a rose and proceeded to app it every which way but loose.

I started with a straight iPhone photo of a rose.

I then fired up one of my favorite apps: 101 PhotoEffects. I tried making it black and white and adding the rain effect.

I solarized it in the same app.

I embossed it using Bumpmapping 2

I used Water filter in the same app. It's so versatile!

I then used burnt paper to create this old photo look.

Then I went on to use the app DXP - a double exposure app that allows a multiplicity of blend modes! Now I combined the rose with another shot of a white rose.

This is a little more complicated. I shot a photo thru a kaleidoscope -then used Face Melter to make a multi colored pattern background shot. I combined it with the rose in DXP.

Where Have All The Flowers Gone?

2009-09-07T21:22:00.000-07:00

The Digital Dude and Digital Diva were in Southern CA for Labor Day weekend. Standing on Santa Monica pier, the Dude (Dewitt) shot crosses on the sand representing those lost in the war. He combined them in the Double Exposure app with a shot of daisies for this haunting image that he titled "Where Have All The Flowers Gone?"

Willie and Lucinda

2009-08-30T16:04:00.000-07:00

The Dude here with some concert photos (yes, I know the Diva said I would be showing shots from above tree line, but that will just have to wait till later).

One of the things I love about Tahoe is the Casinos. Never thought I'd say that. I don't gamble and hate the thought much less the reality of it. But...I LOVE the music. Every summer the Casinos bring in some truly great acts. Small venue, free parking -- what could be better. I've seen more concerts in the last five years than in the previous twenty-five!

About a month ago was Willie Nelson. Took the first shot with the zoom on Camera Genius. Not bad for relatively low light, but not that sharp and rather boring. Sitting there between songs I decided to play with it, so I brought it into IDroste and made a faux-Escher out of it. Back in Photogene, I fixed the exposure and sharpness. Then added a custom frame with the red line and the shadow. Think Willie might have enjoyed it.

Earlier I'd used Pano to shoot the whole stage merging 5 or 6 shots. Brought it into Cinema FX to add a bit of Comic effect. Then into Tiffen PhotoFX and added a Plum ND grad to the sky. Finally into EdgePix to add the boarder and get rid of the blemish in the sky where Pano had a little problem matching exposure. Only wish these images were larger files, this would have made a great poster.

Last night is was Lucinda Williams at Harrah's (Truly great show). Tried to shoot the stage from the audience but it was impossible without exposure control. The massive black background dominated the exposure and totally burned out Lucinda in the spotlight. She looked liked she was simple a white brush stroke. As I couldn't change the exposure, I had to make the best of what I had. Brought the image into ShockMyPic and accentuated what, as I said, already looked like a brush stroke. The result had a nice feel to it.

Hey,I also recorded part of the concert of Voice Memos. We got back home, played it through big speakers and the results were amazingly good! Good images AND good sound -- Too much fun!

High Sierra iPhone Art

2009-08-29T12:48:00.000-07:00

The Digital Diva and the Digital Dude had a fabulous time camping in the High Sierra and the White Mountains. Here's a few iPhone pix from the Diva; stay tuned for pix from the Dude, coming soon.

I painted the Digital Dude working on his iPhone in Photoforge after tweaking for faux HDR and vibrance. Finished it off with Color Comic filter in Cinema FX.

Here's a straight shot of Tuolumne Creek after sunset. Note the coldness of the light and blocked up shadows. But no worries - it's Apps to the rescue!

In Photogene, I warmed the color temperature up. Then off to Photoforge to sharpen, HDR, and vibrant the bejeebers out of it.

Photoforge was also used to paint the image below. While I have to admit that I am really enamored with the paintings right now, it doesn't work with every image. It certainly didn't help this one. I remember when my girlfriend Theresa took a watercolor class and when she tried to paint rocks, they came out looking like potatoes. As do these.

I ran Shockmypic on this unpainted version of the image - I like this better.

Stay tuned for more high altitude iPhone art in the days to come, as soon as we dig out from work stuff.

Ah, to paint!....on my iPhone????

2009-08-17T09:06:00.000-07:00

Digital Dude here. One of my favorite iPhone apps right now is PhotoForge. It has an impressive little painting program that allows your to turn your photos into "masterpieces". Well, come on, it's all relative, right?

You use your finger as a brush or you can get a stylus. I use both. Here are three before and after examples from a recent trip to the Sierra. The first two I painted and then took into the app CinemaFX and added an effect called Color Comic which made it even more painterly. The last one I actually took into Photoshop and used Topaz Labs' Clean to finish off the edges.

Give it a try, but be careful, it's truly addictive!

Good Frame/Great Frame

2009-08-09T12:07:00.000-07:00

Digital DUDE here with a fun example of "going after the shot". Recently I bought some balloons at a garden shop. As I was leaving, I noticed a large reflective silver ball on a stand (the kind I occasional see in gardens and always wonder, "Why?"). Grabbed my iPhone...

...and took a rather silly shot of my reflection with balloons. Started walking back to the car and, as the iPhone was still in my hand and at the ready, I kept right on playing. First with my shadow...

...then... Wow, look at that!

One of the balloon strings wandered into the frame on the morning breeze......OK, follow that...can I make it part of the composition?

That's better... OK, try it again...

..now we're getting somewhere!

Bring the shot into Photogene for a little tweeking with levels and saturation. Add a fun frame and Voila! All done before I even got back to the car. Cool.

Artrageous iPhone Pix

2009-08-09T10:08:00.000-07:00

Hi photo buddies! Digital Diva for this posting. The hardest part of making iPhone art is remembering the apps I use. I get tweaking the photo so fast that I lose track of what I'm doing. And with no uber-app like Photoshop to keep a history of my manipulations, I'm forced to trace back my steps to tell how I did each image. Which, truthfully is a good thing, since it helps me remember what works for the next time. Here are my latest artrageous iPhone pix and how they came to be to the best of my recollection.

For this photo, I used Photogene to overexpose the image of a Haida sculpture face and the sunset photo, since I knew I would be combining them in BlendPhoto. I used a medium amount of detailing in ShockMyPic and finished it off in EdgePix.

This detail of a Haida glass sculpture was tweaked in Photogene for exposure, etc. then I added ShockmyPic and finished it with EdgePix.

I used Photo Sketch for this drawing of the Haida detail.

This photo of the Haida face was combined with an overexposed (in Photogene) photo of clear Lake Tahoe water and rocks. (Combined using BlendPhoto again.

Pool Time in Las Vegas - Digital Photos

2009-08-05T14:50:00.000-07:00

Hi all. Digital Diva here. While the Digital Dude was in the Midwest, I was soaking up the rays (read FRYING alive) in Las Vegas. While cooling myself between conference sessions at the resort pool, I couldn't help but notice a few surreal moments. I photographed them on my Lumix LX-2 digital camera. I enhanced the already weird feel of them with some of my favorite Photoshop plugins.

For this one, Cabana Channel Change, I enhanced it with Topaz Clean by Topaz Labs.

I used Lucis Pro for this shot of two chairs "watching" TV.

Topaz Simplify gave me the look I wanted for the "Pool People on Safari". This one is my favorite because of its Rousseau goes to Las Vegas look.

Summer Weekend in the Midwest

2009-08-03T21:08:00.001-07:00

Dewitt here...

This weekend I was in Glen Arbor, Michigan visiting an old family home. Vintage Midwest town. I kept seeing things that looked like they were right out of Norman Rockwell paintings. I took each of these photos with my iPhone and then tweeked them in the PhotoForge application. I used Simulated HDR to open the shadows while keeping the highlights from burning out. This gave the images a much more graphic feel. Then I enhanced the photo realism by over-sharpening image. Great fun! Give it a try with your own images.

The American Airport - A Short iPhone Odyssey

2009-07-26T11:13:00.000-07:00

What a great day I had yesterday flying home from Minneapolis. Hard to believe as I am a ardent hater of airports. But my iPhone has changed all that. I started taking pixs of traveler's quiet desperation and then began to tweek. Ended up using the Picasso filter on the ArtCamera application to come up with a look that seemed a little more Francis Bacon than Picasso, but nevertheless gave the photos a flattened posterization that dehumanized them, much the way an airports dehumanizes us all. Enjoy! -- dewitt

In The Flow

2009-07-24T21:57:00.000-07:00

"If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water," said Loren Eisley. And while we were in the High Sierra, we were captivated by water. I shot these images with one of my "toy" cameras - a point and shoot Lumix by Panasonic (yep, the VCR and what have you people) model DMC-FZ18. I used ND filter to slow the shutter speed down giving a flowing, abstract look to the water. And wait til you see what the Digital Dude shot. I'm sure he'll post some soon. Anyway, here are a couple to start with:

"If there is magic on this planet, it is contained in water," said Loren Eisley. And while we were in the High Sierra, we were captivated by water. I shot these images with one of my "toy" cameras - a point and shoot Lumix by Panasonic (yep, the VCR and what have you people) model DMC-FZ18. I used ND filter to slow the shutter speed down giving a flowing, abstract look to the water. And wait til you see what the Digital Dude shot. I'm sure he'll post some soon. Anyway, here are a couple to start with:

More iPHone Magic Photos

2009-07-22T18:57:00.001-07:00

Here are some recent pix from the Digital Diva in no apparent order.

Baldwin Beach sunset was taken long after dusk - HDR applied in PhotoForge along with vibrance and sharpening. Frame from Frame Muse app. Yep that's the moon up in the sky there.

Finger painting of this flower taken on the Scott Kelby Photowalk in Lake Tahoe done in Photo Forge. Let me just say that this technique is very time intensive but so worth it. And it was taught to me by the Digital Dude, my handsome photographer mate, Dewitt Jones.

This high Sierra Meadow shot was manipulated in Photogene, then used ShockMyPic app.

Finally, this shot has not been worked at all -just a straight iPhone shot of me and my good cowgirl friend, Theresa, just before we climbed on our horses to ride high into the Sierra Nevada mountains. As my good friend and National Geographic photographer Rikki Cooke says "It's the core gesture." Look for his seminar in April in Hawaii (co-taught by Dewitt Jones and fine art photographer Theresa Airey) at beautiful Hui Hoolana.

Flights of Fancy from the Digital Dude

2009-07-20T20:51:00.001-07:00

Dewitt is traveling today - here's some of what he's come up with whilst eastbound:

I'm sure he'll give the details of how he did these from the road - wait for it..........

Scott Kelby Photowalk 2009 Lake Tahoe

2009-07-20T13:52:00.001-07:00

This is the second year Theresa Souers and I (the Digital Diva) have done the Scott Kelby International Photowalk here in Lake Tahoe. Like last year's walk, it was hosted by wildly talented professional photographer Jim Stamates (one of my goals is to go on one of his annual Costa Rica excursions.) Anyway, it was so much fun -again. Here' s a few of my favorite digital pix from the day.