Life as seen through my iPhone camera.
Today's photo was taken in the backyard while adding some water to Essie's wading pool. During this dry weather I don't like to run the sprinkler or let her play with the hose so she gets a bit sad about having to leave it in the pool. She does like to help me scoop old water from the pool to water her grandma's garden, though, so it all goes to good use, at least.
I took the shot with Camera+, cropped it, used the Clarity filter from the Scenes menu and the Pinhole Camera filter from Effects.
I had Essie outside a couple of times today and noticed this tomato in the garden starting to get a nice red glow. It will likely not end up suffering the same fate as the tomato in Number Twenty-Six!
I took the picture with Camera+, cropped it, used the Clarity filter from the Scenes menu and the Vibrant filter from Effects.
As I mentioned in yesterday's entry while we were in the park in NOTL Essie watched a couple of guys tossing a football around. We were standing up the hill from them and Essie narrated every catch and throw, just as excited about each miss as she was each catch. I did try to get her to cheer more loudly than she said, "OH HE MISSED IT AGAIN! HE DID NOT CATCH IT!" but she was having such a good time. I love that I got all three of them in this shot plus Essie's obvious glee over the whole thing.
I took the picture with Camera+, cropped it, used the Clarity filter from the Scenes menu and the Magic Hour filter from Effects.
Today in Niagara On The Lake we took Essie to a park so she could cheer up. She'd been having a bad day up to that point and needed some space to work out her issues. So to speak. So we went and she had a fantastic time checking out the wading pool, play structure and watching some guys play football. The highlight, though, was the empty bandstand on top of a hill where she put on 'a show' which consisted of her being an ant and me being a grasshopper. It was low-effort, though, since all she did was catch ants and all I did was take pictures.
I took the picture with Camera+, cropped it, used the Clarity filter from the Scenes menu and the Sunkissed filter from Effects.
This picture was also taken during our walk at Lake Ontario Park the other day. We walked past a couple of large trees that had some pretty severely broken branches and I liked the inverted V-shape that this one made. I asked Essie to go stand under it for a picture and for some reason this made her hands-on-hips angry.
I used Camera+ to take the picture, cropped it, used the Clarity filter from the Scenes menu and then the Nostalgia filter from Effects.
I took this photo today on the spur of the moment while sending Andrew a text. I was sitting at the kitchen table with Essie while she ate a jello snack pack thing and wanted to show her dad how cute she was being. I was kind of charmed by it and decided to play around with it a bit.
I took the picture with Camera+ and cropped it, then used the Clarity filter from the Scenes menu and the Silver Gelatin filter from Effects.
Mom and I took Essie and her cousin July to Lake Ontario Park for a walk. We were going to try to fly Essie's kite but the wind wasn't high enough when we got there and when we got back to the park area Essie was ready to go home even though the wind had picked up a bit. July is so great with Essie, though, and tries hard to help out with her as much as she can. She also plays games with her a LOT even though their age difference is pretty major. July is twelve now and I know at twelve I was nowhere near as adventurous and confident as she is with her clothing and style. Black, white and hot pink with horizontal stripes and zebra print!
I took the shot with Camera+, cropped it, used the Clarity filter from the Scenes menu and then the Fashion filter from Effects.
OK, I don't really have a fish but my friend (whose cat I am looking after this week) has some fish and I tried to get all artsy and take some pictures of them swimming in their tank. Needless to say my shots did not turn out so hot so I ended up experimenting with them in various apps to see what I could do. My favourite ended up being this one of the darker fish swimming by the camera as I pressed it against the glass.
I took the shot with Camera+, then used the Clarity filter from the Scenes menu and then the HDR filter from the Effects menu. This didn't necessarily make the picture look better but they brightened up the colours and ambiance a bit. After that I imported it into Corel's Paint It! Now where I used the Oil filter on it.
I took today's picture while sitting out on the front step this evening enjoying the coolest breeze I'd felt all day. It's been hot. So hot that it makes me hate everything and everyone and every single one of my sweat glands. So hot. Thus sitting there for a few minutes and feeling cooler air was blissful. Then I saw how pretty the sky looked and took some shots of that. After I went through them I realized how much this one in particular looks like an old sailing ship made of light and clouds and my mind was blown.
I took the shot with Camera+, cropped it a bit. That's all.
I am cat-sitting for friends this week and must go over every day to feed and pay attention to their hella cute little tortie girl cat. She is a very affectionate little thing and got comfortable with me very quickly, as evidenced by the gnawing she's doing on my hand in the top left photo in this triptych. I'm super tough (when it comes to cats) so I put up with it for the sake of the photo but don't worry, Kristen! I won't have her eating human flesh by the time you come back.
She's really very adorable. Look at those ears! Look at that sweet bratty face!
I took all the photos with Camera+, cropped them, used the Florescent filter from the Scenes menu and then the Fashion filter from Effects. After that I imported them all into Diptic so I could assemble them into this triptych.
This is another leaf from the apple tree in Mom's backyard. It's a quite yellow leaf covered in black spots but I found it very interesting looking today with the sun shining through it. I liked it quite a lot with colour but this version was the one I preferred after playing around with it.
I took the picture with Camera+, cropped it, used the Clarity filter on it from the Scenes menu and then the Pinhole Camera filter from Effects.
Even with the drought the berry bushes are still producing some berries, although they've really slowed down over the last week and are starting to get brown. Essie is an avid berry picker although I wouldn't take her berry picking if you want to make a pie or something. I'm sure this triptych illustrates why.
I took the pictures with Camera+, then imported them as they were into Diptic where I assembled them into this triptych. I think the reason for no post-processing filters was more due to laziness than incredible satisfaction with the results but I appreciate the untouched nature of them as well.
When we were down at the waterfront with Andrew's parents on Monday night there was still this big posing board left over from the Busker's Rendezvous, so I asked Andrew to hold Essie up for a photo opp. She was less than impressed.
I took the photo with Camera+, cropped it and used the Auto filter on it.
Another backyard shot. I've noticed more Queen Anne's Lace in the backyard than in previous years, although that could just be lack of attention on my part last year. I think it's actually kind of pretty to look at even though I know it's the bane of many people with allergies. I like how at this early stage the blooms have a geometric frame of green shoots around them, like a snowflake.
I took the shot with Camera+ and used the Clarity filter on it. That's all I did since I liked the framing and focus just fine.
I actually took this photo with Camera+ a couple of weeks ago but didn't get around to editing it until today. I cropped it, used the Clarity filter from the Scenes menu and the Backlit filter from Effects.
Sorry for the brief entry today. I'm feeling pretty under the weather.
Tonight we had dinner downtown with Andrew's parents and before we ate we spent a bit of time at Confederation Basin allowing Essie to run off a bit of steam. I liked how the seagulls were all perched along the top of the fountain arch but when I wanted to take a shot most of them had flown down to eat some bread that a few people were tossing around. I managed to get this shot just as one was taking off and was very happy with the effect.
I used Camera+ to take the picture, then cropped it, used the Clarity filter from the Scenes menu and the Faded filter from Effects.
On our way back home from Ottawa today we stopped at Andrew's parents' place so he could pick up a package. It had started to rain quite hard but I was admiring the flowers in the front and tried to take a few pictures through the window. I attempted to time it so that there weren't rain streaks running in front of the camera but got a few like that anyhow. This one, though, caught my eye. I loved how the streak pulled the colour of the flowers outward like that.
I took the shot with Camera+, cropped it, used the Auto filter from the Scenes menu and the Sunkissed filter from Effects.
We are staying the weekend in Ottawa once again. Often when we stay two of our lovely friends allow us to stay at their place. Last time we were here Andrew, Essie and I were on our way out the door and I saw Essie glance at me in this fancy mirror that hangs inside the doorway. I thought about that a lot after and how her adorable little face was framed so nicely, so tonight I asked Andrew to help me recreate the moment. It worked pretty well although the focus in them all wasn't the greatest. Thankfully her best expression was also the one that worked out best, although it still isn't perfect as far as technical matters go. What's most important to me is that I managed to go back to something I'd regretted letting slip by last time.
I took the shot with Camera+, cropped it and used the Florescent filter on it.
I have a soft spot for seagulls. I really like them! Essie likes all birds and I've been trying to teach her the different names for each one that I know but 'seagull' is an easy one. She knows robins on sight as well but so far starlings are just little crows. Anyhow, in this shot she was trying hard not to startle the bird away and I didn't tell her that seagulls aren't all that easy to chase off.
I took the photo with Camera+, cropped it, used the Clarity filter from the Scenes menu and then the Nostalgia filter from Effects.
Another picture of Essie at the Lakeshore beach the other day. When not facing the water you're facing an expanse of gray rocks that look pretty but are not so pleasant to walk on with bare feet. Or sandals, for that matter. Essie loved throwing rocks into the water, though. She finds joy in everything. I loved the texture in this shot; the smooth dry stones, the wet sand, the lines she was scratching, the wetness of her shirt. Just everything.
I took the picture with Camera+, cropped it, used the Drama filter from the Scenes menu and then the Fashion filter in Effects.
The blackberries are taking forever to ripen. There are about eleventy-billion of them out there on the bushes but they are really taking their sweet time. About four or five ripen up each day and they disappear just as fast between Essie and our blackberry-loving friends. Here's a nice one just begging to be eaten while its unripe brethren face their eventual doom.
I took the shot with Camera+, cropped it, used the Clarity filter from the Scenes menu and then the HDR filter from Effects. I don't use the HDR filter very often but it was OK this time.
Today my mom and I and Essie took a drive to Cobourg to visit my niece at camp there. It was a nice drive up and back but the highlight for Essie was definitely playing at the small beach directly outside of the center of everything. I managed to (barely) keep her from flinging herself into the water although she was thoroughly soaked by the time we were done. I hadn't exactly planned for it but it was worth it. Here you see her heaving a big rock into the waves.
I took the picture with Camera+ but imported it into Snapseed to straighten it and while I was in there I used a Drama filter on it.
We bought an inflatable pool for Essie to beat some of the crazy heat we've been having. It's pretty deep for a wading pool and she's already enjoying the heck out of it but she does like to throw grass in it for some reason. Ah, well. Scooping grass out with the net gives me something to do, I suppose. She has a few bath toys in there as well and this combination of a foam fish and a foam starfish ended up creating a rather squid-like shadow on the bottom. I like to capture shadows every now and again in solidarity with Shadow of Shadow A Day.
I took the picture with Camera+, cropped it and used the Fashion filter from the Effects menu.
Remember how I said Essie loves to dance? If I could go back to March 3rd, 2009, I'd tell myself I didn't have to worry about that little 2.5 pound baby quite so much.
I took all the pictures with Camera+, cropped them to squares then used the Clarity filter from the Scenes menu on all of them. After all that I imported them into Diptic and made this wonderful tetraptych with them. Dance, Essie, dance!
There were magic bubbles in the backyard today. Well, OK, not magic but this picture certainly makes it seem so. I was blowing bubbles for Essie and kind of half-heartedly took a few shots, not really expecting anything great since the bubble photos have been so elusive for me. This one surprised me, though! I love how the bubbles seem to be descending on rainbow beams.
I took the shot with Camera+, cropped it, used the Clarity filter from the Scenes menu and then the Sunkissed filter from Effects.
Essie has a little play dough kit with a bunch of cookie cutter shapes. She likes me to help her cut them all out of the dough then she draws on them with the various plastic tools that came with the set. She especially likes giving everything eyes and mouths. One tool is a pair of pincers with a spike that she uses for drawing but she discovered the pincer aspect of it today and set about tweezing the extremities off of a blue man cutout. After he was dismembered she asked me to make another one and so I did. She proceeded to draw this horrified expression on his face which was fitting because he probably knew what was coming!
I took the pictures with Camera+, then used the Clarity filter from the Scenes menu and then the Fashion filter from Effects. Then I combined them using Diptic.
Essie likes to run around with branches of leaves in her hands and do crazy dances with them. She's always liked to do that with bits of greenery or strings or long plastic ties. Kind of weird but in the grand scheme of things it's a weird I can handle. She makes up songs and gets some pretty fancy footwork going. I am going to have to train her out of pulling small branches off of the oak tree, I guess, since it didn't do anything wrong.
I took the picture with Camera+, cropped it, used the Clarity filter from the Scenes menu and then the Fashion filter from Effects.
I loved the veins in these blackberry leaves so much. Some of the leaves are pretty blah looking but then there are some that have such a nice bright green with darker veins and it makes me want to photograph them all day long. I don't, but here is one I couldn't resist.
I took the photo with Camera+ and cropped it, then used the Purple Haze filter on it. It didn't change the colour of the leaves in the foreground at all, really, but gave everything behind it a bit more purple.
This really isn't a technically perfect shot by any means in terms of focus, but the moment was too sweet not to share. Essie loves her cousins but Rowan is the closest to her in age and she's always been excited to have him around. Rowan is a typical six (seven later this month) year old boy and loves to play with other typical little boys but with Essie he is sweet and gentle and loving in a way that can melt your heart. They were picking raspberries off of our neighbour's raspberry bush together (it grows through the fence so there are tons on our side) and here Rowan is trying to teach Essie how to click her tongue. I don't think she learned it but he was so patient with her!
I took the shot with Camera+, cropped it to a square, hit it with the Clarity filter from the Scenes menu and then the Sunkissed filter from Effects.
Maybe it's because there are less than one hundred days to go of Art On My iPhone but I find myself wanting to dig around in my arty apps and revisit some of them. I was quite excited about colour isolation when I downloaded an app for it and did a few of them but I didn't want to go overboard. It's one of those things that can quickly become repetitive and boring, but for today's picture I thought it was fitting. My mom has a rosebush that produces these exquisite cream-coloured flowers and I found in the pictures I took recently the background colours kind of overwhelmed the delicate, pretty details.
So after taking the picture with Camera+ I fired up Color Effects and used the easy interface to crop it, paint the original colour back on the flower with the Original Color brush, then touch up the edges with the Gray brush. That's it!
Today's picture started as a grainy attempted shot of last night's sunset in Ottawa. We drove up there for the long weekend and while all three of us were varying degrees of sick Essie's cough was getting worse and worse. We took her for a drive to get her to go to sleep and while out saw things like fireworks, people celebrating and of course the gorgeous sunset.
None of the pictures I took of any of those things with Camera+ turned out well. I imported one of the sunset photos into PhotoWizard just to play around with it and noticed that there's now a Random Effects filter in the Effects menu that will generate random border/colour effects. I played around with it a bit and was surprised at how pleased I was with the results of a few of them. It was like getting a little gift from my app.
