Photography on the iPhone

The iPhone 3G has a basic built-in 2.0 MP camera. If you upgrade to the 3GS, you get a 3.2 MP camera, with autofocus, auto white balance, and auto macro. I would love to upgrade, but it’s not all that feasible at the moment. (Hey, AT&T, why don’t you offer some incentives for current iPhone users to upgrade to the 3GS??)

As you can see, the camera has limitations. Over the past few months, I’ve acquired a nice collection of photography apps to enhance my photos to make them look somewhat better. The main problem is most of the photos come out looking rather flat. Sure, I could move them to the computer and edit in Photoshop, but that’s a pain when I want to take a shot and immediately stick it on Facebook or Twitter. So here are some things I use:

Camera Genius
This is a photo-taking app. It allows you to zoom, set a timer, put guides on your screen, and more. It’s handy. I mostly use it when I want to take photos of myself.

Pano
Another photo-taking app. It allows you to take multiple shots and stitches them together in a panorama for you.

TiltShift Generator
This app applies a tilt-shift effect to your photos. I love it because it allows you to super fine-tune all the details. And not only can you add blur, but you can also play with saturation, contrast, and vignetting.

Best Camera
This app provides many different filters to apply to your photos. There are your basic warm, contrast, lighten, darken, vignette, desaturate filters, as well as some more custom ones, such as Jewel and Paris B&W. Kind of like actions for your phone photos. The downside? There’s no way to adjust anything. You just apply it and go. So, for example, if the Jewel filter saturates your photo a little too much, there’s no way to fine-tune it. Unless, you combine it with other apps.

Photoshop.com Mobile
The newcomer on the block. Adobe’s app allows you to crop and play with exposure, saturation, and tint. There are also filters here too. You can make your photo look like a sketch, add soft focus, borders, and a few different color options. I eventually hope they add more features, as most of this stuff I could accomplish in other apps.

Crop for Free
I used this before I downloaded the Photoshop app. I’ll probably delete it soon. It’s very simple. You can crop your photos. The downside? There’s no way to maintain aspect ratio that I could figure out (same goes for the cropping feature in Adobe’s app).

Flickr
A must-have for any Flickr user. Allows you to upload photos to Flickr (surprise!) and you can even choose to geotag with your current location. Neato.

And now, the photos!

Here is a photo of Vera that I snapped one day (using the timer, since she was sitting next to me).

I cropped myself out slightly (using Crop for Free).

Then I warmed it in Best Camera.

Then with TiltShift Generator, I added some blur, upped the saturation and contrast, and added a vignette.

Another example: A photo I took of my soda-can-castle-in-progress at work.

Added blur with TiltShift.

Then used the Jewel and Vignette filters in Best Camera.

Here’s a couple panoramas I made using Pano:

This photo wasn’t taken on my phone (it was taken with my SLR), but I used TiltShift Generator on it:

Here’s one of Photoshop Mobile’s filters:

Canon also has put out a dSLR Camera Remote app that I desperately want. It’s $20 and I just haven’t decided if I’d have much use for it right now. But it sounds neat!

What makes me happy? (part 2)

So, remember a little over a month ago, when I posted results from my last happiness survey? The results of my second one are in! Let’s compare.

My previous Weekday chart was pretty even (except for Friday). I was generally hovering around 65. In this one, you can see my week peaks on Saturdays (slightly below 80) and gets progressively worse (around 60). What can I say? I’ve had some fun Saturdays lately and the work week has sucked.

The Location chart. GMX (Geek Media Expo) was last weekend. Apparently I was having a blast. But I seem to be having a blast as long as I’m not at work or at home. My restaurant experience improved dramatically between the two survey periods, seeing as I scored around 50 for “At A Restaurant” last time and close to 80 this time.

The Want To/Have To chart didn’t really change, so I’m not including it this time. Also, I was never Outside when answering surveys, so that chart is rather boring.

My Alone? chart gave basically the same result, although I was overall happier during these two weeks.

I didn’t include this one last time, but the Number of People Interacting With chart shows that I’m happiest in smaller groups.

And, finally, the What are you doing? chart. Didn’t go canoeing this time, but I am super happy when watching movies and taking pictures. And just like last time, I still hate doing housework and paying bills.

This week’s links.

I didn’t have very many links last week, so I’ll include the few I had with this week’s.

Plan 9 from Outer Space Remake Teaser Trailer (via @GeekTyrant)
http://geektyrant.com/2009/09/plan-9-from-outer-space-remake-teaser-trailer/
What’s that you say? A remake of Plan 9? Yes, it is apparently true. And stupid. This wins the “worst idea of the year” award.

Facebook introduces @mentions in status updates (via @mashable)
http://mashable.com/2009/09/10/facebook-mentions/
This was news last week and it’s been implemented now. I still haven’t used it. I guess I don’t mention people in my statuses as much as I do in my tweets.

MMS for iPhone Rollout has Begun (via @mashable)
http://mashable.com/2009/09/13/mms-iphone-rollout/
I haven’t gotten it yet.

9 Ways Marketing Weasels Will Try to Manipulate You
http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/001301.html
I thought this was an interesting article. It’s all about how not to react irrationally to marketing schemes.

Geek Media Expo
http://www.mtac.net/gmx/index.html
A new convention in Nashville! Pre-registration has been extended to Tuesday, so get tickets now!

Famous Failures (via @strobist)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6hz_s2XIAU
A nice inspirational video on YouTube.

I also discovered an iPhone app that puts tilt-shift effects on your photos. Examples:

http://twitgoo.com/3cthw

http://twitpic.com/i4fad

This week’s links.

I was busy on Twitter this week.

Dogs, Ferrari, strangers — weird stipulations
http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/wayoflife/08/31/bizarre.will.stipulations/index.html
This is a list of weird stipulations people have put in their wills. Like being buried in your Ferrari.

Twestival Local: Nashville, Let’s Get Quacky
http://nashvillest.com/2009/08/31/twestival-local-nashville-lets-get-quacky/
Twestival is partnering up with the Great Nashville Duck Race to raise money for the Boys & Girl’s Club of Middle Tennessee. There’s a big fundraiser at the Big Bang on Thursday. You all know I love the Big Bang. Please come so I don’t get hit on by the guy at the door this time.

Arcade Needs Your Help
http://blogs.nashvillescene.com/bites/2009/09/arcade_needs_your_help.php
There’s talk of the post office in the Arcade in downtown Nashville closing. That would suck. Don’t let them do it.

Playing Tetris Could Be Good for Your Brain, Study Says (via @LtGenPanda)
http://www.nytimes.com/external/venturebeat/2009/09/01/01venturebeat-playing-tetris-could-be-good-for-your-brain-s-6445.html
I haven’t played in a while; maybe this is why I feel like I’m losing my mind.

One year walk/beard grow time lapse video
http://www.boingboing.net/2009/09/01/one-year-walkbeard-g.html
If you look at only one of these links, check this one out. It’s really neat. Maybe I’m just a big of time lapse videos.

5 Things to Do While Gmail is Down (via @mashable)
http://mashable.com/2009/09/01/gmail-is-down-3/
Gmail went down this week. I think I did everything on this list.

A cordless future for electricity?
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/09/02/wireless.electricity/index.html
A neat article about wireless electricity. I’m longing for the days when I don’t have to go in search of my phone/DS/laptop charger that I’ve inevitably misplaced.

Geek Tip: Make Money at Home With These Online Jobs (via @geekinheels)
http://www.geeksugar.com/4585895
I like extra money. I might have to try some of these out.

AT&T to Launch MMS for iPhone September 25 (via @mashable)
http://mashable.com/2009/09/03/iphone-mms-launch/
Yay!

This week’s links.

TIME - 50 Best Websites 2009
http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1918031_1918016,00.html?CNN=YES
This was a neat list because I discovered a lot of really cool new websites.

Study finds people who multitask often bad at it
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090825/ap_on_sc/us_sci_multitasking_mayhem
I’m not much of a multitasker myself; I get way too distracted. I do like to have the TV on while I’m working, though; does that count?

Breaking Up a Traffic Jam - One person CAN make a difference (via @leolaporte)
http://leo.tumblr.com/post/171887409/breaking-up-a-traffic-jam-one-person-can-make-a
This was neat. I’ve been trying to do this ever since I watched this video.

EASTER EGG: Yelp is the iPhone’s First Augmented Reality App (via @mashable)
http://mashable.com/2009/08/27/yelp-augmented-reality/
Sadly, it only works on the iPhone 3GS, which I do not have. But if you are lucky enough to have the newest device, try this out!

IT’S HERE: Facebook 3.0 for iPhone Has Arrived (via @mashable)
http://mashable.com/2009/08/27/facebook-3-iphone/
I’m in love.

What makes me happy?

A few weeks ago I signed up for an experiment, Track Your Happiness. The experiment is part of some research by a Harvard student seeking his PhD and is a set of surveys conducted via iPhone. I was sent surveys three times a day for about two weeks and a “happiness report” was created from my data. In a month, I’ll repeat this process.

So, what was in my happiness report? Well, I am generally pretty happy all of the time. Most of my averages were above the halfway point. But for a complete breakdown, here are some of my charts:

First up is my Weekday chart. You can see that I’m about the same, no matter the day of the week, except for Friday. Why is Friday so low? Since the surveys only lasted two weeks, my average got dragged down by one very bad day. I’m hoping that when I start taking surveys again in another month that those results will be averaged with these and Fridays won’t look so depressing.

Now for my Location chart. Ignore my misplacement of an apostrophe please. I’m not quite sure why ‘Downtown Nashville’ and ‘At a Restaurant’ are so low. I would at least expect to be happier in a restaurant than, say, in my car, but who knows.

This chart compares if I Want To or Have To do the things I was doing right before I started taking the survey. This one is quite predictable. I’m happier when doing things I want to be doing and not as happy while doing things I have to do.

This one is pretty self-explanatory. I’m happier when I’m outside. I’m sure these results would flip-flop in the winter.
Outside?

I’m also apparently happier around other people. Though barely.
Alone?

And now for the big one. The What are you doing? chart shows what makes me happiest. Apparently it’s canoeing. Though I only did that one time in the two weeks, and I didn’t have to row, haha. ‘Playing’ referred to playing games on my iPhone. I also apparently really like to groom myself. I was worried about this chart for a while because for the first four days or so, ‘Eating’ was way ahead of everything else; however, it settled in nicely at the fifth spot. And you can see how much I hate doing that stuff I ‘have to’ do: housework and paying bills.

After my next round of surveys, I’ll post the results again and compare!

This week’s links

Not as many this week.

GPush Finally Brings Push Gmail to the iPhone (via @mashable)
http://mashable.com/2009/08/17/push-gmail-iphone/
I haven’t tried this out, as I really don’t care if I have push email or not. The article also claims that it’s a bit buggy. But if you have an iPhone and this is something you really want, you might try it out. It’s free.

So your cat wants a massage?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnZhi5gaX8g
My co-worker Jonathan sent me this. Regardless if you like cats, you’ll at least think this woman is a little off her rocker.

“The Wizard of Oz” in Theatres for One Day on Sept. 24 (via @GeekTyrant)
http://geektyrant.com/2009/08/the-wizard-of-oz-in-theaters-for-one-day-on-sept-23/
If you’re a big Wizard of Oz fan, I think it would be pretty cool to see it on the big screen.

This week’s links.

I regularly tweet about interesting links and news I find, but I rarely blog about them. So I’m going to try to keep this a regular thing and post about some of the past week’s most interesting links that I tweeted.

Geek Parent Rejects N00b Boyfriend [Video] (via @mashable)
http://mashable.com/2009/08/11/n00b-boyfriend/
This is one of those videos that so dumb that it’s actually quite funny. At least, if you understand what they are saying.

The Multicolored Mulitask (Guitar Hero + Rubik’s Cube)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUdXhhDDnaY
This kid has some talent. I can’t even solve one Rubik’s Cube. Let alone two. And definitely not while playing Guitar Hero.

Top 10 Funniest Google Suggest Results (via @mashable)
http://mashable.com/2009/08/11/funniest-google-suggest-results/
Good fun with Google’s Suggest feature. What are people searching for these days? And can Jesus microwave a burrito?

The Living Dead Rise Again: Nashville Zombie Walk
http://nashvillest.com/2009/08/11/the-living-dead-rise-again-nashville-zombie-walk/
It’s that time of year. Zombies will take the streets of downtown Nashville once again next month. And you better believe I’ll be taking pictures.

Firefox Tips: 5 Ways to Spice Up Your Sidebar (via @mashable)
http://mashable.com/2009/08/12/firefox-sidebar-tips/
I keep Google Reader in a sidebar now, instead of in a tab. I’m still trying to decide if I like this setup.

Top 10 Gruesome Fairy Tale Origins (via @geekinheels)
http://listverse.com/2009/01/06/9-gruesome-fairy-tale-origins/
I knew about Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella’s origins, but the rest were interesting reads as well!

Crazy Guy Shoots His iPhone (via @Veronica)
http://www.buzzfeed.com/peggy/crazy-guy-shoots-his-iphone
For those days when all Safari wants to do is crash.

iPhone as a Light Source

“using a cellphone display light for a product shoot” from Jann Lipka on Vimeo.

I was inspired by this video, so I grabbed my tripod and set up my camera in my garage. There are no windows in my garage, so it’s completely black when the lights are out. Then I snapped these photos of my stuffed pig Gary (named in honor of Gary Larson), using only my iPhone (the Flashlight app) as a lightsource.

Exposure: 20 seconds
Aperture: f/8
ISO: 100
Focal Length: 35mm

In this first shot, I moved the phone all around his face, on all sides, to get a nice, even light.

In this one, I kept it all to one side, although I did “paint” it a bit instead of just keeping the light still. But you can probably tell it was mainly focused in one area.

I think it’s a pretty neat trick! I’ll have to think of some things I can use it on.

Ben and I gave and received our early Christmas gifts: iPhones.

I am absolutely LOVING it. I’m fairly certain I can never, ever get bored ever again. Here are some of the apps I’ve downloaded: (These are all free.)

Facebook: A must for any Facebook addict, such as myself. Coolest feature? Click on the photo icon, take a picture, and it automatically sends it to Facebook.

Urbanspoon: This was recommended by a coworker. The built-in GPS detects where you are, then you shake the phone to have it choose a random restaurant near you. You can lock in your location, cuisine type, and/or price point. For example: I am in downtown and I want Italian for cheap. Urbanspoon says Venito’s Pizza on Church St. You can also read reviews of the restaurants and vote whether you like it or not.

Banking: This app only works with certain banks, but luckily SunTrust is one of them. Best feature? I can transfer money easily and quickly between my accounts for those days when there’s just not quite enough there.

Stanza: Read books on your phone! Who needs a Kindle? There’s a decent selection of classic books (about half of the ones I searched for were available) and contemporary ones as well.

Last.fm: As a longtime Last.fm user, this was a must. I can find and listen to recommended music easily.

Labyrinth LE: I used to have one of the wooden Labyrinth games and this works just as well. The motion sensors in the phone are incredibly sensitive, allowing precise movements.

Frotz: A great one for interaction fiction fans (think Zork). There’s a good selection of text-based adventures here to keep me occupied for months.

Midomi: I haven’t actually put this one to the test yet, but it identifies a song for you by sound. That has bound to be useful when you have a few lines from a song stuck in your head but you can’t think of what it is.