Evernote, Three Months In

At the beginning of this year I made it a point to get in the habit of using Evernote. I’ve kept reading its praises and since I’m in the world of collecting ideas for future blog posts, it made enough sense to give it a try.

I should say that I’ve previously relied on emailing myself ideas, links, images and other content, filing them away under “read later” or “ideas” in Gmail. This has kinda worked, but I don’t really find myself going through that content often. The idea of a standalone app dedicated to capturing ideas and organizing them at least makes sense to me for that reason. I get the concept, but it’s still taking work to make myself use the program.

Part of the adoption curve for me is having content actually in Evernote. Without many notes to search, there’s not much to draw from, so I can see how some users may get turned off if, say, within a week or two they aren’t reaping tremendous benefit.

But so far for me, it’s been at least good for peace of mind, knowing that all the stuff I’d otherwise be emailing myself is now tagged and easily referenced. In fact, it was the process of going through my notes in Evernote that led to this blog post, so hey… there’s something! I’m interested enough to keep using it, and I’m surely only scratching the surface, given the capabilities some of its power users explore. There will be more to come on this for sure.

What do you think? Do you use Evernote or a similar service? What’s your process for capturing ideas, to-dos or things go investigate later? Let us hear from you in the comments.

Related articles

• The Ultimate Evernote Guide, Part 1: Getting Started with Evernote (teleread.com)


• Evernote-branded device coming. Wait, what? (bizjournals.com)


• Evernote Promises Its Own ‘New, Magical’ Hardware Gadgets Are Coming (embargozone.com)


• Evernote is my Everything (raventools.com)


• Three Third Party Evernote Apps for iOS (centralisious.com)


• Why You Should Be Using Evernote As Your Go-To Place For Remembering Everything (TimeManagementMagazine.com)

Stylized Instamatic 104

Stylized Instamatic 104, a photo by rsmithing on Flickr.

I dig the convergence of technology and time here in one brief second, now extended to the world and infinity. Here’s a snapshot of one of our modern photographic ancestors I modified with the amazing ToonPaint iPhone app, after shooting with Hipstamtic (a modern-retro simulator, no less). I found the camera at a sweet vintage shop called “Ideas” on Burke Street, Winston-Salem, NC. Original here.

What do you think? Do you see a connection between analog cameras and today’s mobile photography? What apps or camera discoveries have you made lately? Let us hear from you in the comments.

Related articles

• Product placement for hipsters: Kodak Instamatic (brandsandfilms.com)
• Waterworld (tawcabout.wordpress.com)
• Gothic Stylized Shoot (specialeventrentals.com)
• photography with low end cameras (tingilinde.typepad.com)

Macro Mantis: Insect Photography Up Close

I see the world in new ways since discovering iPhoneography, especially in close-up macro view. A rich universe of detail exists all around us, all the time, just waiting to be appreciated. And with only a little effort we’re free to visit whenever we want.

Praying Mantis – Here’s Looking At You!

Macro Mantis, featured recently at the 1000 Words Showcase by the WeAreJuxt team.

I noticed this mantis on the porch one morning and brought him to the kitchen table with a glass and some paper. He seemed fine with that, and I was careful not to harm him throughout the shoot.

With my iPhone 4, a macro lens by Photojojo, and a high-powered flashlight from Home Depot, I captured several shots, some like this using Hipstamatic’s John S. lens and Rock BW-11 film. The app adds a random depth that I like.

Experimenting with the light and camera positioning, I coaxed out varying shadows and highlights, the most dramatic being when the beast seemed to stare right into the lens. No doubt he was experiencing what being abducted by aliens must be like for humans.

After about five minutes of that, it was back to the wild on a bush in the yard where he blended in much better than in the kitchen.

The good folks at Juxt recently featured this mantis shot of mine in their 1000 Words Showcase.

What do you think? Ever done any macro photography? What are your techniques? Let us hear from you in the comments.

Related articles

• Safari photography: Some Macro for the change of it…. (safari-photographer.com)
• Turn an Old Kit Lens Into a Macro Lens by Removing the Front Element(petapixel.com)
• Wild Weekly Photo Challenge – Macro Photography(lensaddiction.wordpress.com)
• Review: iPhoneography gear series: Hands-on with $15 Easy Macro Cell Lens Band (9to5mac.com)
• Photographing Insects and Other Small Creatures (nikonusa.com)
• How to Shoot Macro Photography (photolisticlife.com)
• Wild Weekly Photo Challenge – Macro Photography(managuagunntoday.wordpress.com)

Sandpaper Kisses with a Sunbaked Flower

Martina Topley-Bird‘s “Sandpaper Kisses” is the background track for this movie I assembled using the Splice app on my iPhone. I noticed this dried flower on my porch, and discovered this spacey track a few days before. I shot these images and some video elements with a Photojojo macro lens, some with the Hipstamaticapp. I’m still blown away by how easily and effectively Splice lets you tap your way to a video/photo montage.

What do you think? Do you do any video edits on your smartphone? Have you ever set photos to music? What’s your impression of the process? Let us hear from you in the comments!

Related articles

• Single Image Sundays: High Five, Spider Style (colorfully) (rsmithing.com)
• ASK A PRO | iPhone Photography, Part One (designeditor.typepad.com)
• The Profitable Photo App That Didn’t Sell for $1 Billion. Yet. (inc.com)
• The SixBySix Photography Round Up No.2 (davidsmcnamara.typepad.com)

Black & White iPhoneography - Photography Editing Tutorial Video

Here’s another fantastic tutorial video from Guy Yang of The Beginner’s Lens on a subject I’m obviously interested in: black & white iPhoneography, that is, photos taken with the iPhone in grayscale, then intensified into expressive art with selective adjustments (brightness, contrast, sharpening, etc.). Guy takes you through a very thorough step-by-step overview using Filterstorm in this 15-minute professional-level clip, showing how to transform a regular snapshot into a striking composition with selective edits. Note: viewable free for a limited time only.

"This video is all about editing – in particular transforming some of your less than fabulous color photos into stunning black & white photos, all from your iPhone." via iPhone Camera Essentials
 As a graphic designer for many years, I’ll say it’s still amazing to me how we can achieve these results so easily now with just a few minutes, and app, and a thumb — whereas 5 years ago, this required either a PC running full-on Photoshop… or a dark room and major skills. I elaborate more on this in a discussion about Instagram, and am still very much into that experience, more all the time. See also: Become Popular on Instagram.
What did you think of the video? Have you explored iPhoneography? Do you think black & white is more enjoyable than color, or vice versa? What tips and apps do you prefer for editing? Who inspires you? Let us hear from you in the comments!

Related articles & links

• Instagram Makes iPhoneography Exciting (helloely.wordpress.com)
• Sion Fullana (master iPhoneographer; my inspiration and a friendly dude)
• A Moment Captured (manifesty.wordpress.com)
• Train Driver – Fokko Muller Street Photography(fokk0muller.wordpress.com)
• Street Photography in Tempe – Everyday Photography(everydayphotography.wordpress.com)