september - october 2013 featured article · photoshop elements or lightroom), and they do some...

Bill Black, Acting Editor

September - October 2013

Featured Article

Phoneography Overview by Witta Priester

The definition of "phoneography" is still being debated. To me, phoneography is the art of creating images on a smart-phone or tablet. It is more than just taking photos using a camera-phone. As used here, phoneography is a genre of mobile photography where images are BOTH taken with and processed on a mobile device.

I need to start with a disclaimer: I'm new to phoneography so I am definitely not an expert. I'm hoping that this has made it easier for me to write a straightforward overview.

Camera-phones are convenient and lightweight. They are always with you and surprisingly versatile. Part of their raison d'être is that they allow you to instantly send photos to friends and family, or to your Facebook page, or wherever. And apps for developing photos are both powerful and diverse. No wonder phoneography is exploding.

As with all --and especially new-- technology, there's a learning curve. It takes time to becoming an accomplished phoneographer. Moreover, things in this area are changing rapidly. Fortunately the web is there. You can use it to learn, and to find answers to questions.

Your first challenge is to take a sharp photo with your camera-phone. Holding the phone steady may take practice. Free software (e.g., Camera+) that includes an image stabilizer and a timer can help. Last week I learned that you could just hold the "take-picture" button on your iPhone, and it won't shoot until you gently release your finger. This technique made my photos much sharper. Then, I updated the phone's operating system; now this technique results in a photo-burst instead. Time to learn to take photos again!

The basics of good photography still come into play. As always composition and exposure are important. All that advice about fill the frame, rule of thirds, leading lines, and keep it simple still applies. Also, try to minimize flash usage and ignore the digital zoom; step in closer instead. Get it right in camera and you're halfway there.

One wonderful thing about phoneography is the wide range of apps, with so many of them free (at least for the basic version) or very inexpensive ($1). They are relatively easy to use and learn (compared to say Photoshop Elements or Lightroom), and they do some amazing things.

So far, Snapseed (by Nik/Google) is my go-to app for developing photos. It is versatile and multipurpose. Snapseed lets you do all the usual fine tuning -- cropping, straightening, adding contrast and saturation, and sharpening, Just remember, your captured jpeg, has already been treated "in-phone". Snapseed also allows for to selective adjustments, tilt-shift blurring, and adding grunge, frames and light leaks to the image.

Personally, I'm inclined to do more than straight-forward cropping, saturation, brightness, and vignetting adjustments. Mostly, I like to play! All the images shown here were developed using Snapseed -- highly recommended.

One can easily do something in 10 minutes using Snapseed that would take a skilled Photoshopper hours to create.

Looking at these phoneographs, I think you'll agree, there is plenty of potential to create arty images. And the number of camera apps is large and growing.

You might ask: what's the downside, aside from the cost of the camera-phone and a 2-year service contract? There are several.

My current camera-phone takes jpegs (not RAW), and the number of pixels is relatively small. This will limit print size. Also, there is just the one lens/aperture on the camera (although clip-on lenses are available, and new camera-phone technology is cropping up regularly). But to me, the biggest downside is working on a tiny screen, even if you can do it at anytime anywhere. The small screen makes it hard to know if you've managed to keep highlights from blowing out, or anything else about image quality for that matter. (Clearly a tablet helps here.)

Don't forget you still need a way to get your original photos and the processed images off the phone or tablet, so you can back them up elsewhere. Apple has the iCloud where pictures live for 30 days. I copy them from my Photostream folder to another folder on my hard drive during that time period. After 30 days they disappear from the cloud (but not the camera), so then you might need to email unsaved photos to yourself or use another method to get them onto your computer.

What about printing, you ask? Stores with card-reader technology (like Costco) will

help you print directly off your phone's micro SD-card. They even have a special cable that connects their photo-viewer machine to an iPhone.

Still, these drawbacks merely balance the ease of use, the wonderful, inexpensive editing apps, the awesome results, the do-it-anywhere, and the share-ability of phoneography.

Bottom line: I think even the serious photographer would enjoy giving phoneography a go.

----------------------------------------------------- References:

1. A good overview article: http://shuttermonks.com/iphoneography-tips-jose-azquez/#sthash.E3ujvAxD.dpuf

2. Some award winning phoneography images: http://www.ippawards.com/?project=2013-winners

3. Here's a video to get you started with Snapseed. http://blurbomat.com/snapseed-for-the-beginner/

Competition Results With placements from September 2013

http://blurbomat.com/snapseed-for-the-beginner/

http://blurbomat.com/snapseed-for-the-beginner/

Projected Images – Group A General

1. Tim Snyder – ”Morning Dew on Grass” 2. Steve Bailey – “Lavender Fields” 3. Barbara Lippert – “Slieb League” Projected Images – Group A Special (Celebration) 1. Tim Snyder – ”Thrill of Victory, Agony of Defeat” 2. Steve Bailey – “Old Friends” 3. Ardythe Wendt – “Celebrate Our National Parks” 3. Ardythe Wendt – “Working Together can Bring Us Closer” Projected Images - Group B General 1. Michael Laakso – “Virtue” 2. Celene Wendt – “Flying Ford” Projected Images - Group B Special (Celebration) 1. Celene Wendt – “New Beginnings” 1. Michael Laskso – “A Promising Start” 2. Celene Wendt – “Work is Beautiful” 3. Michael Laakso – “A Celebratory Hug” Prints – Groups and Categories combined 1. Roy Kropp –”Olympic Layers” 1. Roy Kropp –”Starburst” 2. Witta Priester – “Posts at Sunset” 3. Witta Priester – “Steptoe Butte Plant” 3. Rich Sherman – “Sunset Sunrays”

Representative Photos From September 2013 Competition

© “Diva Dahlia with Honey Bee” by Bill Black

© “Lunch” by Alan Halfhill

© “The Running Man River” by Barbara Lippert

© “Cline Spit Shack” by Tim O’Neill

© “My Grandmother's Watch” by Jeanne Phepls

© “Bubbles” by Tim Synder

© “Barn Baby” by Valerie Henschel

© “Best Buds” by Steve Bailey

© “Play and Imagination” by Ardythe Wendt

Competition Results With placements from October 2013

Projected Images – Group A General

1. Steve Bailey – ”Escher Stairway” 2. Ardythe Wendt – ”Bug” 2. Tim Snyder – “Sunset Leaves” 2. Barbara Lippert – “Dew Drop” 3. Tim Snyder – “Rocky Beach Sunset” Projected Images – Group A Special (My Favorite Place) 1. Ardythe Wendt – “Natural Wonderland” 1. Jeanne Phelps – “Victoria Falls Rainbow” 1. Jeanne Phelps – “Unset in Lafupa” 2. Jonas Benjamins – “Denali National Park” 3. Steve Bailey – “California Sunset” Projected Images - Group B General 1. Michael Laakso – “Gladiolus Sanctum” 2. Dana Pesola – “Midnight Dreary” 3. Michael Laakso – “Opening Summer Aster” Projected Images - Group B Special (My Favorite Place) 1. Sita Thompson – “La Push” 2. Robin Prentice – “Close-Up of Volcanic Plug” 3. Robin Prentice – “Clouds Part at Rainier” Prints – Groups and Categories combined 2. Roy Kropp – “Four Minutes at Salt Creek” 3. Jonas Benjamins –”Spawning Salmon” 4. Witta Priester –”Storage Area” 5. Roy Kropp – “Kickin’ Up Snow” Rich Sherman – “Canyonlands Oldtimer”

Representative Photos From October 2013 Competition

© “Harvestman” by Ken Timm

© “WoeBeGone Truck” by Keith Ornduff

© “Desert Wash” by Valerie Henschel

© “Stream Fall Colors” by Tim Snyder

© “Opening Summer Aster” by Michael Laakso

© “Blue Glacier with Lupines” by Dan Hudgings

© “Honfleur Harbor Reflected” by Bill Black

© “Cline Spit Sunset” by Tim O’Neill

september - october 2013 featured article · photoshop elements or lightroom), and they do some...

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