Single Image Sundays: Momentary

Two unrelated moments make sense for a moment here. This is made from a photo of a faux stone figurine of a child sleeping, from Pier 1 Imports, in Greensboro, NC (taken with Hipstamatic John S. lens & Rock BW-11 film), along with a photo of a steel pole with peeling paint in the Church Street Parking Deck, in Winston-Salem, NC. I used Photoforge2 to combine the images via layers. The concept was inspired by my favorite photographer, Jerry Uelsmann.

What do you think? Have you ever combined two unrelated photographs for artistic harmony? What are some examples of this that you find inspiring? Let us hear from you in the comments!

Single Image Saturdays: Spring is Springing

From today’s afternoon walk around town. Shot via iPhone using Hipstamatic with Libatique 73 lens and Ina’s 1969 film. Full-size version over at Flickr.

Tomatoes, I have never understood you

Nor you me…

But I am enjoying these heirloom summer babies pretty much on the regular lately.

Related Posts

• The Inspiration of Immediacy


• Single Image Sundays: Vintage Suitcases


• National Moth Week: Mmm… Sugar Water! [VIDEO]


• WordPress is Best


• Secrets In The Trees – Single Image Sundays


• Get Thee To The Getty


• Dream Theater After Uelsmann: Learning From The Masters

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)

Trade Street and Tree – Single Image Sundays

Trade St. & Tree | See full size at 500px | Originals at Flickr

I’ve been meaning to document this doorway for a while. I ride by it at least a few dozen times every month. So it only felt right to work it into a montage. I snapped an image of it usingHipstamatic one day while waiting at a traffic light. Later, I realized it would be more interesting with the door part obscured and replaced with an image of a tree. I snapped the tree photo in the moment, especially for this image. But it still needed at least one more element, so I browsed through my repository ofunfettered originals from here and there, and found the perfect complement in this outdoor light from a bar, Single Brothers, a few blocks up from where the door exists.

Originals at Flickr

So, I mix all this together in Photoforge2 with masks, a border, varying levels of curves/levels/clarification adjustments, and here we are: an image to accurately represent my creative vision that also represents a part of my city. There’s even more of Winston-Salem, on Instagram, courtesy the good folks at Airtype and theirWinstagram project.

What do you think? Ever seen any interesting doorways in your city? What would you create in a photomontage? Let us hear from you in the comments.

Related articles

• Belief in the One True Power: Foto Fridays (rsmithing.com)
• At Sunset in November… (benjiinteriors.wordpress.com)
• Woodpecker, blackbird on balcony (dearkitty1.wordpress.com)
• Hipstamatic Urban Astoria (batribune.wordpress.com)
• Traffic (mildlymixed.wordpress.com)
• Hipstamatic Haiku Sunday (blissfuladventurer.wordpress.com)

Friendly Fireman: Single Image Sundays

I met this fellow last week. He is actually a fireman. And he was friendly enough to let me take his picture. I explained that it would end up in a wild edit and showed him some examples on the spot with my phone. He was cool with that. And here we are. Check out more like this at my Pinterest, Flickr, iPhoneArt,Instagram, or 500px collections.

What do you think? Ever met someone randomly and asked if you could take their picture? How’d that go? Let us hear from you in the comments.

Related articles

• Fireman gives kiss of life to dog – Confused.com (confused.com)
• Google/Snapseed Deal Challenges Brands to Up the Ante with Photographic Content (greatfinds.icrossing.com)
• Tech Trends w/ Tara: Instagram Web Profiles (lmulibrary.typepad.com)
• Abandoned boy meets Texas fireman who saved him (newsday.com)

The Haunted Mansion: Snapshot Sundays

In honor of public relations for the Halloween season, here are some snapshots using Hipstamatic of my favorite DisneyworldMagic Kingdom attraction, The Haunted Mansion. I snapped these photos with my phone while waiting in line and did a quick post on a bus between parks with the WordPress app. I’ve been here the last couple of days (the park, not just the mansion) and it’s been excellent.

What do you think? Ever been to The Haunted Mansion? What’s your favorite Disney or other amusement park attraction? Let us hear from you in the comments.

Related articles

• House like Disney’s Haunted Mansion for sale (ocregister.com)
• Haunted Houses for Sale – Amityville and The Haunted Mansion(dreadcentral.com)
• The Haunted Mansion and Paint the Silence (kevinhunter.wordpress.com)
• Nina Dobrev: Haunted Mansion at Disney’s Magic Kingdom! (justjared.com)
• Creepy Disneyland Horror Short Based on Haunted Mansion Urban Legend(geektyrant.com)

Belief in the One True Power: Foto Fridays

Belief in the One True Power
Click for full-size at 500px

Here’s a photomontage I did recently using my iPhone and some choice apps. I was visiting the Grove Arcade in Asheville, NC a few weeks ago and noticed the sunlight looking interesting around this stairwell, so I snapped a black & white with Hipstamatic. Later in the week a gnarled tree trunk in my neighborhood caught my attention, so I snapped that.

Click to see the ingredients at Flickr

I knew I wanted to do something with the tree and the stairwell, but it looked incomplete when editing just those in Photoforge2, so I snapped a candle that happened to be burning when I was working on this. Finally, I added some texture with the TtV Photo Studio app, then some magic from the universe… and there we go.

But What Does it Mean?

The title of this image is from a lyric in a song by one of my favorite bands, The Deftones, titled, “Pink Cellphone.” It’s an airy, dark, and experimental-sounding track – qualities also applicable to this image, so I thought it was an appropriate fit. It’s not my intent to promote any belief an any kind of power whatsoever. I just like the sound of the song and the pairing with the image.

If there is any one true power as far as this kind of thing goes, it’s the brilliant photomontage work of Jerry Uelsmann. If you like my humble creation here, definitely check out his stuff. This piece in particular reflects my appreciation for his art.

Thanks to Mitzi Rice, who suggested this image for blog fodder over at Instagram. Check out her blog, Mit Lear Moments.

What do you think? Ever made a photomontage? Do you see a connection between visual art and music? Let us hear from you in the comments.

Related articles

• Seeing Past The World View (mitlearmoments.wordpress.com)
• Up With The Sun: a MobileArtistry Feature (rsmithing.com)
• Your true power (drbillwooten.com)
• Overcoming apathy and giving our creativity true direction and power(sixtyandsingleagain.wordpress.com)
• Friday’s Foto Fun (scottiechronicles.com)
• Foto Friday – Afternoon Walk in the Park (ericbrown.com)
• Freemason Writes Fiction Based on Secret Fraternity (prweb.com)

Beats Antique in Photos

Zoe Jakes of Beats Antique – silhouette

This weekend I caught one of my favorite bands these days, Beats Antique, in concert for the second time this year at the Orange Peel in Asheville, NC.

Flyer, ticket and marquee of Beats Antique gig at The Orange Peel in Asheville, NC

As I’ve mentioned previously, their music is a perfect blend of exotic Eastern sounds, modern electronica, and of course… killer beats.

Zoe Jakes of Beats Antique dancing at the beginning of the show.

These are some choice photos from the gig I took and edited via iPhone, using apps like Photoforge2 and Hipstamatic to boost the atmosphere.

Beats Antique: Sidecar Tommy Cappel (left), Zoe Jakes (center), David Satori (right)

Full disclosure: their PR team, The Confluence Group, emailed me asking if I’d be willing to post something about the show, which I probably would have done anyway. I’m just flattered to have been asked and am happy to promote a great act.

Zoe Jakes of Beats Antique in atmospheric lighting

Click on any of these to see at full size, along with more Beats Antique photos I’ve taken.

Zoe in costume with antlers and flowing dress

Pick up the band’s music at iTunes, Amazon or direct from the group on their Bandcamp page.

This chandelier was part of the band’s stage gear. I like chandeliers.

See also: Beats Antique tour dates. Definitely a fun show worth checking out if they come near your town.

David Satori, in the spirit of duck, in full duck mask gear. Things get crazy toward gig’s end.

Beats Antique links: Official Site | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Soundcloud | YouTube | Store

Always in touch with the animal world, the band unleashed the Kraken for an encore.

What do you think? Do you take photos at concerts & edit them later? What do you think of Beats Antique? Is there a similar band worth checking out? Let us hear from you in the comments.

Related articles

• Beats Antique – Beauty Beats (sonicalkaline.wordpress.com)
• Anyone on here producing compositions rather tahn just beats? (gearslutz.com)
• Beats Antique: Skeleton Key Review (oddluxmedia.wordpress.com)
• Beats Antique: October Tour (jambase.com)
• Win Tickets to see Beats Antique at the Music Farm! (holysinner.com)

Up With The Sun: a MobileArtistry Feature

The Instagram-based group, MobileArtistry, includes me in their gallery today as a featured artist. I created this montage as an example of my style for the feature and did the following writeup on my technique. My huge thanks to them for the highlight.

Up With The Sun – click to see more like this at Pinterest

Ever since seeing a book of Jerry Uelsmann’s photomontages in college, I’ve been fascinated with the art form and have since become motivated to become a professional graphic artist, designing for over 16 years now. Manipulating reality for artistic effect in Photoshop has always been my favorite part of designing, so when I discovered iPhoneography, and especially the appPhotoforge2, which is very similar to Photoshop, I was hooked. It was seeing the evocative iPhoneography of Sion Fullana that inspired me to give it a go, and Sion was even good enough to share his guidance with me on what apps to get started with.

Repost of “Up With The Sun” at MobileArtistry

How The Magic Happens

I basically take photos all the time with my iPhone 4 of whatever I find interesting. When the urge to create strikes, I’ll mix ‘em up and see what happens. It’s really as simple as that. Sometimes I know exactly where I’m headed, and other times I’m just along for the ride, letting magic from the universe do the driving.

For this montage, I combined two photos I took on a Saturday in late summer: one of a wig mannequin at a beauty supply shop, and another of a rising cloud at a winery out in the country. Both were shot originally in with Hipstamatic, using the John S. lens. Wig girl was shot with Rock BW-11 film, and the cloud was shot with Blanko film. You can see the originals at my Flickr stream.

Originals for this montage – click to view at Flickr

I brought wig girl into Dynamic Light and gave her the Solarize treatment. I also used Noir to get the right mix of monochrome highlights in the cloud scene. Next, I brought both images together in Photoforge2, each on its own layer. I set wig girl’s blending mode to Overlay, then selectively hid and revealed bits of each layer via masking. Finally, I did some minor cloning cleanup in Filterstorm, then added the copyright & signature with Phonto. I named this after a U2 song lyric in “Gone,” an expansive rising track that seemed appropriate for this composition.

What’s amazing to me is how, as I’ve become adept with a few apps, I can pull techniques from each of them almost like selecting colors on a palette. It’s like having a box of tools to achieve an artistic vision… that fits in your pocket and makes phone calls, too.

Thanks very much to MobileArtistry for featuring me – it’s an honor to be included with such beautiful, creative art. Definitely check out their great gallery for consistently innovative creations.

Related articles

• 20 Best Photo Editing Apps for iPhone (downgraf.com)
• The Mobile Artistry Manifesto (MobileArtistry.tumblr.com)
• Don’t Be an Instagram Photo Jerk (pcworld.com)
• Jerry Uelsmann News (jerryuelsmann.wordpress.com
• Sion Fullana (The Happy Snapper)
• Manifesto of the Mobile Art Revolution (iPhoneArt.com)

Cicada Eyes – Single Image Sundays

These guys are making a furious noise in the trees here in North Carolina. Every 13 years or so, depending on the species they come around, and I was lucky enough to get some shots of one over the weekend. I believe it may be part of Brood I, but I’m not totally sure. I took this with my iPhone, using Hipstamatic and a macro attachment lens.

What do you think? Have you experienced any of these critters around your neck of the woods? Let us hear from you in the comments!

Related articles

• Mr. Waspy – Single Image Sundays (rsmithing.com)
• Bugged (forkinmyeye.com)
• Cicada (antoniodiaspoetry.wordpress.com)
• In recent prints (dooce.com)
• Cicadas’ Concert (lynnwyvill.wordpress.com)