Here are my main camera alternatives to the native iPhone Camera app.

Side note: I’d like to be clear, I am not a “Super User” with any of these alternate camera apps. Some I barely use. Others I’ve only played with a few times, liked them, and so they get to stay in my main alt camera folder. So I’m not going to go into depth with any of the apps. These posts are not meant to be reviews or “how to” on using the apps. As I mentioned in Part 1, I get so many requests for what apps I use, I thought it would be more efficient to list them out on my blog so I can easily direct people here.

Personally, I don’t trust an alt camera to capture, save, transfer an important shot to my camera roll. That’s why I mainly use the iPhone’s native camera app. But there are instances where you have to use an alt camera, such as HDR. In the case of Hipstamatic, you can’t import photos. You MUST use the app to take the photo.

Please note: All these apps also work on your iPad, and several of them have iPad native apps that contain additional features. Additionally, most apps run significantly faster on an iPad. Lastly, the apps listed below are in no particular order.

“True HDR” by Pictional LLC
This is my main HDR camera. It’s easy, fast, and has automatic and manual capture settings. I usually use automatic and just let the app take the series of photos. I then tweak them using the color controls and filters. If you’ve seen any of my HDR images online or Facebook, chances are they were taken with TrueHDR.

“Pro HDR” by eyeApps LLC
Pro HDR has a few more features than TrueHDR (like a on-screen grid to help you keep the series of photos aligned) and also has more filters (which I don’t use). But in automatic mode it takes almost twice as long to get the shots as TrueHDR. Using a tripod and a GLIF helps tremendously. And for times when I have a comfortable amount of setup time and/or can brace my self, or the iPhone, against a stationary object, the additional features of Pro HDR are nice to have available for tweaking the resulting image.

“Gorillacam” by Joby Inc.
There are now lots of iPHone apps that have camera timers. But 2-3 years ago the only one I could find was Gorillacam. And because I have several GorillaPods, it was natural to use an app by the same company that makes GorillaPods. In addition to the Timer, it has other great features like: Time-lapse, Anti-shake, a bubble level, Grid, 3 shot burst, and “Press Anywhere” that makes the entire iPhone screen the shutter button. Very helpful for self-portraits or when you have the iPhone purched in a difficult to reach position (like high in a tree). You can set the Timer and Press Anywhere to start the Timer counting down and give yourself time to get in the shot.

“Looker” by Kogeto
Looker is unique in this list in that it requires hardware. The Looker app, in conjunction with the DOT hardware that clips to your iPHone 4/4S allows you to take 360 degree video! I’m not going to go into the “how” this all works. Just go to the Kogeto website and check it out for yourself. You’ll want one!
PS: I was an investor in Kogeto’s Kickstarter project and am thrilled with their success and the result of all their hard work and dedication to their idea, product, and the community they have created and continue to support.

“Hipstamatic” by Synthetic, LLC
Ahhhhh… Hipstamatic. If you’re already taking photos with your iOS device then chances are you have, or at the very least know what Hipstamatic is. I would venture to say that Hipstamatic is largely responsible for the explosion in iPhoneography and the mobile photography revolution. And yes, we’re all kinda tired of the Hipstamatic-look in mobile photography. But let’s not blame Hipstamatic. Let’s blame everyone that uses the same lens/film/flash combinations. The combination of lenses, films, and flashes combined can create more than 1,400 different effects. Mark Bruce created this “Hipstamatic Combination Chart” over the course of an entire day. It’s an impressive amount of work and dedication. So if you’re tired of the Hipstamatic-look, you might want to spring for a new PAK and mix up your combinations!

“Slow Shutter Cam” by Cogitap Software
I love the promise (and demo photos) from the developers of Slow Shutter Cam. But I must say, my pics don’t turn out anything like the demo photos and I have a LOT of experience with taking slow shutter photographs.
But, I keep Slow Shutter Cam in my primary alt camera folder because I have seen what others have been able to produce with it and I trust that it’s just a matter of putting in the time and getting familiar with all the settings of the app in order to achieve the effects I’m after.

“ToonCamera” by Code Organa
I haven’t used ToonCamera for any published work, yet. I think it creates very cool effects. I keep it in my main alt camera folder so I don’t forget about it, and because I plan to spend some quality time with it for ideas of how to incorporate it into my app workflow.
And it shoots video with a live preview of your selected filter settings! How cool is that!?!

“IncrediBooth” by Synthetic, LLC
Another “fun” alt camera that I keep in my main alt camera folder so it’s easy to find. IncrediBooth creates “Photo Booth” photo strips. You know, the crazy, wide-eyed, tongues-out photos you take with your friends at the mall. And it has has effects/filters, sharing, etc.

“ProCamera” by Jens Daemgen
Lots of people use ProCamera (and/or Camera+ below) as a full replacement for the native iPhone camera. It has a plethora of features, much like Gorillacam (anti-shake, timer, grid, rapid-fire, etc.) plus a LOT more. It can be set to auto-save to the Camera Roll to help minimize the chances an app crash will miss the photo. It also has a gorgeous on-screen leveling system.
But mostly what I would recommend ProCamera for is the separate Focus and Exposure controls. If you don’t know why you would want separate control over your Focus and the Exposure, you should read through their feature set, get the app, and use it.
PS: I’ve recently found that a LOT of iPhone users don’t even know that you can tap the screen when using the iPhone’s native camera in order to set focus and exposure…? If you’re one of those people (no shame) ProCamera’s feature set will blow your mind!

“Camera+” by tap tap tap
Much like professional photographers tend to align themselves either with Canon or Nikon, serious iPhoneographers tend to align themselves with either ProCamera (above) or Camera+. While I don’t pledge allegiance to either camp, I will say that I reach for Camera+ more than ProCamera. BUT, that is only because I have more experience with Camera+ and started using it prior to downloading ProCamera.
Camera+ has a dizzying number of settings and controls. White balance, filters, effects, cropping, borders, sharing, burst mode, timer, grid, and separate Focus and Exposure controls (the reason I downloaded it in the first place). It’s “Clarity” feature “magically transforms your photos with a single tap.” It actually really does and is a good enough feature to warrant buying Camera+.

“Big Lens” by Reallusion Inc.
Big Lens attempts to mimic aperture controls found on big, expensive D/SLR cameras. If you don’t understand Aperture and depth-of-field, the easiest way to explain it would be to point out the main visual difference between a photo taken with an iPhone/point-n-shoot and that taken with a D/SLR. With the iPhone/point-n-shoot everything in the photo is in focus. But with a D/SLR you can adjust how “open the shutter is” which affects how much light gets in the camera and which areas of the image are in focus. So with a D/SLR photo, generally the main subject is in focus but the background is wonderfully blurry which helps the main subject “pop.” Big Lens basically lets you “paint” which part of the photo you want to be in focus and makes everything else blurry. It has a very magical auto-mask feature that, when used with high contract subjects, does an amazing job of isolating the main subject in focus and making everything else blurry.
Trust me, it’s worth the $0.99 if you take a lot of photos of people, kids, flowers, etc.

NOTE: I don’t include Instagram or EyeEm in this folder because I consider both to be primarily Social Networking apps and, for me, not specifically alternate cameras.

There’s lots of other alternate camera apps available. And these days, most every photo effects, filter, painting, studio, etc. app has a built-in camera and will allow you to take photos directly in the app. But not all apps can take photos at the largest resolution of the iPhone and so, as I said up top, I rarely use the in-app cameras.

Share your favorite alt camera apps and why you use them in the comments below. If you love your particular app, sharing it with others helps support the developers which in turn allows them to continue to support and improve the app!

I am honored that my “Gingered Torso” won the Percolator category and is part of this ground breaking exhibition.

Roxanne and I dropped into Orange County to view the OCCCA show, took a nice drive up through the Big Sur coast, and then attended a gracious reception at ArtHaus. All along the trip, people kept asking what iPhone apps I use. If I had the time, I would show a couple of my favorite apps and try to explain what they do and/or how I use them for my work.

At the ArtHaus reception, so many people were asking about the apps that I promised I’d send them screenshots from my phone. In several cases, people have purchased several of the apps right there as we discussed them. (He he, I wish there were some kind of affiliate way to score credits toward future app purchases. I’ve sold a LOT of apps for Apple and app developers.)

So, rather than emailing screenshots of my iPhone to individuals, it makes more sense to create a series of posts here. In doing so, I can provide links directly to apps in the iPhone app store.

Part 1 is going to cover my 12 “go to” apps. The apps that follow are generally used, at some point, in almost every photo I create on my iPhone or iPad.

Please note: All these apps also work on your iPad, and several of them have iPad native apps that contain additional features. Additionally, most apps run significantly faster on an iPad. Lastly, the apps listed below are in no particular order.

“Iris Photo Suite” by Pranav Kapoor.
High quality textures. Layers. Resize. Cropping. Color Adjustments. One of my “Swiss Army” apps. Funky, inconsistent interface but one of my long time favorites. On the iPad, use Laminar, also by Pranav Kapoor.

“Percolator” by Tinrocket, LLC
Percolator reduces your image to areas of color circles with almost unlimited customization. When used creatively, Percolator creates unique effects not possible with any other app.

“TiltShift Generator – Fake Miniature” by Art & Mobile
Very high quality blur, saturation, and contrast controls. TiltShifting an image can help bring areas of high focus to parts of the image and can also create a 3D-like effect.

“Plastic Bullet Camera” by Red Giant Software
I actually don’t use the randomly generated filters and effects created by Plastic Bullet much recently. But it’s fun to return to now and then and it can create complex effects with a single click. No adjustments. No fine tuning. Just click “refresh” to get a whole new screen of effects.

“Adobe Photoshop Express” by Adobe Systems Incorporated
PS Express is free, and has basic functionality, brighness, color, contrast, sharpness, etc. BUT, the reason to spend the $4.99 in-app purchase is for the “Reduce Noise” functionality. iPhone’s are not great in low light conditions and introduce a tremendous amount of “noise” into the resulting photo. PS Express’ incredible Reduce Noise functionality smoothes out the areas of noise like no other app currently available. It’s worth the $5 bucks!

“Snapseed” by Nik Software, Inc.
Nik is known for its extremely high quality filters and plugins for Photoshop, Lightroom, and Aperture. Snapseed boasts a completely unique and intuitive interface and very high quality effects and filters. It is one of my primary apps for making initial color adjustments and pulling out details within the photo without reverting to what can sometimes be harsh sharpening adjustments. For all around adjustments and helping your images pop, I would start with Snapseed as your first purchase.

“Decim8″ by Kris Collins
It’s difficult to describe what Decim8 does. While you definitely don’t “need” Decim8, once you get the hang of toggling effects on/off and reordering them, I think you’ll reach for it more and more often to give your work a completely unique and un-reproducible look. Most people dislike Decim8 and don’t understand it. But if you stick with it, and use it in conjunction with other apps, you might be surprised what you can create.

“Dynamic Light” by Mediachance
Dynamic Light imparts an HDR (High Dynamic Range) effect to your photograph. It has a unique “ball” interface that allows you to adjust the light and how it “shapes” your photo. It’s not the highest quality effect, but it can pull out interesting details in your photo and very quickly apply uniquely colored effects to your work.

“FX Photo Studio” by MacPhun LLC
FX PhotoStudio has what seems like hundreds of filters in dozens of categories. I mostly use it for rotating, flipping, and mirroring work. But I also use several of its filters for creating completely unique effects that I then combine with other apps. It’s a great all-around studio app and a must have in your toolbox.

?Rays” by Digital Film Tools
Rays creates…rays. Rays of light that appear to emanate from the lightest areas of your photo. You control the color, brightness, and length. The resulting effect is incredibly high quality and very, very realistic.

“Noir Photo” by Red Giant Software
Noir reduces your photo to 1 of 5 muted colors and provides highly configurable controls which produce high quality, high contrast effects. Other apps may be able to reduce images to sepia or black and white, and provide contrast and brightness controls, but Noir has a unique “spotlight” feature that allows you to specifically control where you want “light” to illuminate your subject.

“Tiny Planet Photos” by infoding.com
If you don’t know what a “Tiny Planet” is, just search Flickr for “Tiny Planets” and you’ll see. Once you get the hang of how to frame your photos, you’ll be able to instantly produce amazing results.

So, these are currently my top 12 iPhone/iPad apps for creating iPhoneography Artwork. I have dozens of other apps that I often reach for, but these sit in a folder together at the top right of Screen 2 because they are the ones I go to first. You may notice that I don’t have any “Painting” apps in this first group. That is true. If I had to limit my total apps to only 12, I would dump Plastic Bullet and Dynamic Light and replace them with two painting apps that I’ll cover in one of the next posts.

Stay tuned…

Pixels are the paint of the 21st Century. And our hashtag for this event is #MPASF for Mobile Photo Awards San Francisco!

Technology is spawning so much incredible creativity raising challenges for traditional galleries and critics to “keep up” with the new art forms and with the emerging artists as well.

Two galleries who are leading the way are ArtHaus, in San Francisco, and the Orange County Center for Contemporary Art. They are exhibiting the selected works from the 1st International iPhoneography Awards – works of art that were created on the iPhone. Chase Jarvis really opened up our minds years ago with his book, “The Best Camera…Is the One That’s With You.”

What all of the apps and the filters cannot do though is create an artistic composition. This still requires an artist’s eye, an artist’s soul, a special synchronicity in time between the creator and the subject / inspiration. Over 2200 submissions were filtered down to 26 award winning photographs for the 1st International Mobile Photography Awards. Shane’s piece, Gingered Torso, won for the Percolator app, created by John Balestrieri, of Tinrocket.

The idea and production credit both go to Dan Berman, a photographer himself yet also a man with a much larger vision. He assembled a panel of jurors to help curate the 1st International Mobile Photography Awards. He also engaged “app” developers – those geeks who help the rest of us make art or at least express the moment. Despite the fact this art was created from electronica, having an online-only show just wasn’t enough.

Art is perception at its most subjective; art is the farthest we can find from “good or bad” – but that hasn’t stopped many from dismissing certain forms of art as not being legitimate. And so iphone art is making its way from the street corner to the critic’s corner, one show at a time.

What shifts things is when well-respected galleries, like ArtHaus and OCCCA, stand behind the emerging art form. What if pixels are the defining artistic medium of the early 21st century, as oil paints were to the early 15th century?

As a non-artist, the end result is what matters to me. Knowing that something was created on the iPhone or iPad, only inspires me more! Shane and I can stand next to each other and click the shutter, producing vastly different results. We can lounge on the sofa using the same apps, producing vastly different results. Somehow his BFA pokes its way through, or perhaps more accurately, his artist soul is alive and well behind the stylus.

I sincerely hope you will be able to join us at the ArtHaus Gallery on Tuesday April 24th where we can gaze at the gorgeous and thought-provoking iPhoneography and answer that question together, “What is art?” Also, enjoy a cocktail, thank James and Annette for their visionary commitment to digital art, and consider adding to your own personal art collection.

Please click the share links below and tell your friends and colleagues who live in the San Francisco Bay Area. Thanks! And join us here on Facebook too. – Roxanne

This is a “regular” photography juried show and it’s the second year that I’ve entered only my iPhoneography work, and the second year it’s been chosen for inclusion in the show. Last year my “Gingered Torso” was accepted and was awarded one of two Juror’s Awards.

Captured #2 - Self portrait taken with iPhone 3 and a single light bulb

Roxanne and I are hopping to Oahu for the weekend to attend the opening reception. We’re delighted to be staying with our friends, Tracy and Tom Corvo. They are brilliant, fun, gorgeous people and Tracy is an amazingly talented photographer. I’m looking forward to “talking shop” with her!

If you’re in the Honolulu area, be sure to stop into South Street Gallery in the month of April to see the exhibition of some of Hawaii’s most talented contemporary photographers and artists:

Contemporary Photography in Hawaii 2012: 4th Annual Statewide Survey
Opening Reception: Friday, April 6th, 6-9pm

South Street Gallery (inside Frame Arts Hawaii)
627 South Street
Honolulu, Hawaii
Monday – Friday, 9:30am – 5:30pm
Saturday, 9:30 – 1pm
Closed Sunday

In a way this is a coming out party. One of the main reasons we moved to Maui this year was to open up the channels for Shane’s creativity. Who knew he had an art degree and was nick-named “copy machine” in high school for his representational drawing abilities? Alas, he is far more interested in abstract art. And, dare I say, after 20 years as a programmer and technologist, he is far more interested in creating something new and using digital tools to create new art forms.

We especially want to meet other individuals and gallerists who are interested in contemporary photography, digital painting, and abstract art.

It’s a very creative space, on the top floor, with ocean views. Come find your own muse and join us for some “arting” as we now call the process of making art! We’ll have art supplies you and your family can play with.

Shane will be showing you how he creates original paintings on the iPad as well as some of his “work in progress” acrylic paintings. Perhaps art is at that juncture photography faced a decade ago, when artists could leave behind the darkroom and the chemicals. And despite his interest in nudes, there will be no nude modeling.

Here is the schedule:
Saturday 11 am – 6 pm: Open Studio
Saturday 6 pm – 8 pm: Reception and Party
Sunday 11 am – 6 pm: Open Studio

Directions & Map:
375 W Kuiaha Rd Ste 24 (in the very back)
Haiku HI 96708
Google Map

If you use Twitter, you can RSVP here.

If you use Facebook, you can RSVP here.

Dr. Andrew Weil has maintained for some time that having flowers around adds to our health. It may also be that they cheer up the cook as well. With one of these images on your wall, you have the mana of the flowers as well as an infinite pool of color in which to immerse yourself!

The color, the boldness, the delicacy – the vitality, they all combine to create a stunning collection of images. These are for sale over on our budding online art store, MakaIkeMaui.com.

You can also download this image – Flower Bowl #120 – for free to use as a desktop image on your iPhone, iPad, or computer.

Friday, February 3rd, 6:00-9:00 p.m.
South Street Gallery
627 South Street
Honolulu HI

Those of you in Honolulu will recognize this as connected to Kevin Brewer’s Frame Arts – a wonderful place to get your fine art framed.

Roxanne and I were waiting in line at the DMV in Pukalani and I finally decided to start submitting my work to P1xels. Using the P1xels iPhone app, I selected six images to submit to the site. The 4 shown below were selected.

“Gingered Torso” and “Gingered Self-Portrait” will be familiar to those of you that follow my work. But “Captured” and “Captured II” will be new to everyone.

Even though I stopped posting images online earlier this year (when I got really burned out trying to do another “365 Photos” project), I’ve continued to create work on my iPhone and iPad and now have, literally, hundreds of images finished that no one has seen, except Roxanne. Now I’m finally feeling the vibe to start posting my work online again.

Should be a very interesting 2012!!

Maui Film Festival Celestial Cinema - Photo by Randy Jay Braun

The Maui Film Festival 2011 kicks off today, June 15 through this Sunday, June 19, 2011. The events and screenings place in and around the beautiful areas of Wailea on the South shores of Maui.

If you’re reading this there’s a good chance you are currently attending or attended the Festival and received one of the gift bags that was presented to the VIPs, directors, and actors/actresses that attended the 2011 event.

I was thrilled and honored to be invited to include some of my contemporary artwork for the giftbags. We decided to provide my work in the form Limited Edition greeting cards created specifically for the 2011 Maui Film Festival.

If you find yourself in possession of one of these cards you’ll see there is a “code” on the back, along with information on that specific artwork. Using the code on the back of the card will provide a 20% discount on your purchase, or private commission, on any of my work.

An additional 20% of any purchases made using these codes will be donated directly to the Pacific Whale Foundation.

My new online store will be launched within the next few days, in time for the conclusion of the Maui Film Festival 2001. In the mean time, if you have any questions or would like to discuss any aspects of my work, please contact me via any of the ways below:

email: shane [at] shanerobinson [dot] com
Twitter: @shane
Facebook: facebook.com/shanerobinson
Facebook Fan Page: facebook.com/shaneart

I’ve started to point my Tiny Planet app at my own art work and fine art photographs. 

Another palm tree detail from Planet Hotel Wailea pool side posted earlier today.

Palm tree detail from Planet Hotel Wailea pool side posted earlier today.

The pool at Hotel Wailea on Maui is my favorite hotel pool on all the Hawaiian Islands. 

@RoxanneDarling and I make an early morning stop on Planet Haleakala (Haleakala Crater on Maui).

Original Photo:

Sunrise over Planet Haleakala (Haleakala Crater on Maui).

A beautiful sunset on Palm Planet.

Sunrise in the Mojave Desert, November 2010, as a Tiny Planet.

A view of the Mokulua Islands off Lanikai Beach on the windward side of Oahu as seen from our friend’s dining room table. 

It’s been two weeks since I last posted to my 365 Project. I had reached a point, after 90 days, of really dreading trying to find or create an image to post each day. For some, creating content every day is not a problem. It has been a problem for me. One of my long standing, self-defeating issues I’m working on is the pressure I place on myself and the comparisons I make between myself and others (artists, programmers, creators in general) regarding  the quality and quantity of work they put out. When I feel I can’t put out what I consider to be my best work, all the time, I get frustrated and tend to look for other distractions or plunge myself deeper into billable client work. 

Instead of doing that two weeks ago, I decided to simply take a break, re-focus on what I want to accomplish with my 365 Project, and not make a big deal out of not posting anything for the past two weeks. Initially I thought I’d take a week off but last Friday I still wasn’t ready. Today I’m ready. 

Here’s what I’ve come up with:

1. My 365 Project is simply going to be about posting an image every day. No pressure on having a deep, philosophical meaning, or it being the absolute best or most creative image I’ve ever created. Just simply post a photograph each day. 
2. I may or may not post a description with the image. But at the very least I’m going to give each one a unique title and list the apps used.
3. Use my 365 Project as a venue to experiment with the incredible apps that are available for the iPhone and iPad. 
4. Loosen my self-imposed restrictions of the photos having to have been taken on the iPhone. While I still won’t be posting images I take with my Canon, I will be using some DSLR images within the iPhone and iPad apps that I experiment with. 
5. I’ve identified several other websites that I will use to post what I consider to be my best work. I can relax into my 365 Project as a venue for fun and experimentation.
6. I’m lifting the restriction of only posting via my iPhone or iPad. I’ve proved it can be done everyday. It simply takes a lot longer than posting with my MacPro and full-sized keyboard. “Time” is one of my most important non-renewable resources. Using my time wisely is one of my guiding principles. 

So, with that in mind, the image above was created last week using a very fun app called Tiny Planets. It takes a photograph and “spins” it around on itself. It’s a blast and creates some really incredible photos once you know how to compose the original source photo. There will be many more Tiny Planet photos in the days and weeks to come. 

Only 5 people in the world know how I did this shot with only 3 source photos.

I’d be interested to hear how others guess the shot was created. And yes, this is a real hotel room and I was really there in front of those sliding glass doors in two of the source photos.

It’s the last day of March, the month of my self-imposed self-portraits within my 365 Project. And I’m going to break one of my self-imposed rules. I took this photo (actually 3 photos it took to create this image) with my Canon and not my iPhone. But it was composited and effects applied on my iPad.

This is the first levitation shot I ever created.

I took this several months ago in a hotel in Sherman Oaks, CA after spending the day at a workshop hosted by the brilliant and talented photographer, Brooke Shaden. This is the first time I’ve posted it publicly.

This was more of a test of technical ideas with not to much of a concept behind it. So I’m not going to make up any deep meanings.

There are a LOT of “levitation” shots to be found online. Brooke’s are brilliant, both in concept and execution.

Most of the levitation shots I trip across online involve wispy clothing, dresses, coats, etc. It helps hide the boxes or furniture that the model is actually supported by and which have to be removed (erased) as several versions of the shot are composited together. I simply wanted to see if I could create a convincing levitation shot without flowing garments or other elements.

Guest photographer for today’s 365 is @RoxanneDarling with this shot she took of me on a recent hop to Maui.

Long work day. Energy and creative reserves running low. Dipping back into a self-portrait from a week ago with a fresh run thru Plastic Bullet.

Day 87 of my 365 Project. Day 28 of “self-portrait” March. Most days it’s still a bit of an energetic and creative struggle to keep with the project. I want to produce shots that I’m proud of and enjoy doing, but it remains difficult at the end of some days…

Always a tinge of melancholy when leaving Maui. This photo I took of my reflection in the Hawaiian Airline’ window as we taxied. And, thus is the first 365 I’ve posted while still on the plane.

We’re on Maui today and tomorrow to move out of the studio (long story) and look at properties on the North Shore. Today’s 365 photo is a “guest photo” taken by @RoxanneDarling while I was checking email this morning at HNL before our flight to Maui.

No “artsy” photo or special apps tonight. Just a fun photo @RoxanneDarling and I took yesterday at the Halona Blowhole on our way to Whole Foods in Hawaii Kai. The waves were huge and the blowhole was going off larger than we had ever seen.