Good morning world! Breakfast time!

Breakfast time!  Although I have posted an image of all the ingredients before on this blog, here is the finished product--my typical breakfast.  The ingredients have changes a little over time.  Throw in 2 cups homemade kefir, a banana, half a roma tomato, half a carrot, half an avocado, some spinach, some kale, a cup of frozen mixed berries, 3 large frozen strawberries and two raw eggs.  Run it all through the Blendtec blender and use it to down the morning dose of vitamins and minerals.  All set for the day to start now.  Good morning world!

Good morning world!  Breakfast time!

Details:
iPhone 5, ProCamera, Filterstorm, PhotoStudio


Original image from camera before post-processing which included cropping, curves, saturation, sharpness, vignette and framing:

Original image

Has it been awhile since you called home?

Time to call home?  My goodness, times have changed.  There are some today who don't even know how to dial the old rotary dial phones.  I never had to deal with phones like this--that was for my parents and grandparents.  However, I did like this refinished antique phone hanging on the wall of a local business.  

On a different topic this image celebrates the 600th post since I began this daily creativity challenge of posting one photo each day taken with my iPhone and processed on the iPhone or the iPad.  Happy Anniversary!  I never thought it would last this long.  In fact, I am astonished that I am still going after all that time.  It must be my CDO sickness (for those who don't know, that's OCD--in the correct order.....).  It all started as a wager with a friend to see who could continue a daily post the longest.  My friend lost the wager about 586 days ago.  I just kept going--loving the challenge and especially the creativity of putting up a daily image.  How much longer will I continue?  I don't rightly know.  Guess you'll have to visit this site often to find out.....  One of these days I am going to write a more lengthy post on the many lessons I have learned over the last 600 days.

Has it been awhile since you called home?

Details:
iPhone 5, ProCamera, Filterstorm (cropping, curves, saturation, sharpness), Retouch (remove small brass plaque from wood), PhotoStudio (vignette and frame)


Original image:

Original image

First snow of the season

8,500 feet in elevation was enough this week to see several inches of snow above Park City, Utah.  Under the eves at the Stein Erickson Lodge these little flowers get their first taste of what is coming soon.  Not long from now they will be buried under several feet of the white stuff.....or at least we hope so.  Make your plans now to ski Utah for the best snow on the planet.

First snow of the season

Details:
iPhone 5, ProCamera, Filterstorm (a little cropping, some Curves tweaking for contrast, a slight painting of saturation in several areas, a little Sharpness), PhotoStudio (for the vignette and framing)


Original image:

Original image

Ready to start the show...

Our company is sponsoring a huge conference for our customers up in the mountains near Park City, Utah.  And yes, it has been snowing every day.  And yes, there were a few who did not heed our warning to bring warm clothes.  Anyway, the kickoff began with an Scottish themed introduction.  One of our employees is a professional bagpipe player (in fact, he makes bagpipes too).  As you can see, he also has the full and authentic costume to go with the instrument.  Too colorful an image to pass up.  

Post processing included the basics I use for most of my image.  The ProCamera app is set for a square format and there is no post-cropping on this one.  Just some tweaks in Curves to increase the contrast and pop some of the colors through a couple of Curves layers.  Then a bit of Saturation increase, a little sharpening.  Finally, the image was moved to PhotoStudio where I applied a little vignette and the frame.  Because this is the process I follow for most of my photos, it goes quickly.  There is no magic setting, I just play with each setting until I like what I see.  Post processing here took maybe 2-3 minutes.

Ready to start the show...

Details:
iPhone 5, ProCamera, Filterstorm, PhotoStudio, one Scottish bagpipe player


Original image:
The original image straight from the camera:

Original image

Get up, get out, get dirty!

Digging a hole large enough to create an underground commercial building parking level leaves a pile of dirt that would have entertained me for a year or two as a young boy.  Climb it, throw it, jump down it, roll in it, create avalanches, eat it....  With one of these in the neighborhood, we would have been the talk of the town.  Of course that was back in the days before the internet, Apple products, the Wii and color TV was just beginning to come to the wealthier neighborhoods.  Get up, get out and get dirty!  Those were the days....

Get up, get out, get dirty!

Details:
iPhone 5, ProCamera, Filterstorm, PhotoStudio

Corny.....

My wife was in the middle of making several microwave corn-filled heating bags.  A 50 pound bag of field corn ingredients sat in the family room waiting to be put into the bags.  With all that corn around there had to be a picture of some kind just waiting to happen.  That is when Joe saved the day.  He jumped in and added just the right touch to make a worthwhile image.  The original image just did not have the contrast and color that I envisioned.  No problem.....some tweaks in Filterstorm saved the day.  The original image straight from the camera is included below so you can see the effects of the post-processing work.

Corny?  Yea, but that's the way Joe rolls.....

Corny

Details:
iPhone 5, ProCamera, Big Lens, Filterstorm, PhotoStudio


Original image:

Original image

Spray-n-wash

A black foam core board for a background, a simple household object, some natural window light make for the original image.  Then the post-processing begins.  Add some straightening, some contrast tweaks in Curves, some saturation and sharpness.  Throw in some water drops and a frame and the final image emerges.  A spray bottle that has been sprayed or "Spray-n-wash"...

Now come on, you have to admit this mobile phone photography is just great fun.  The camera is always with you.  The post-processing apps are almost innumerable.  The possibilities are endless.  And anyone can do it!

Spray-n-wash

Details:
iPhone 5, ProCamera, Filterstorm, PhotoStudio


Original image:

Original image

All strung up

This shot comes from my wife's work room where she does all her quilting, quilt piecing and sewing.  I was struck by the threads and this hanging empty spool under the natural window light.  Since the background was distracting I simply placed a piece of black foam core board in the distance to simplify the image and capture the scene I had envisioned in my mind.  This one did not need a lot of post-processing.  A careful comparison between the final image and the original image shown below will turn up clues to the increase in contrast through Curves, some Saturation, a little Sharpness (all done in Filterstorm) and a touch of Retouch to remove a distracting spot on the background.  Then the final addition is the frame from PhotoStudio.  All that post-processing took about 2 minutes on the iPad.  And there you have it..."All strung up"

All strung up

Details:
iPhone 5, ProCamera, Filterstorm, Retouch, PhotoStudio


Original pre-processed image shown below for comparison:

Original image

Surfing the salsa...

I love my salsa and my Xochitl Mexican style corn chips (the best store bought chips I have found)!

I also love to surf behind our boat all summer long!

My friend Joe here has combined two of my passions as he surfs the salsa on his Xochitl board....

Surfing the salsa

iPhone 5, ProCamera (my go-to camera app), Filterstorm (my go-to processing app used here for straightening, cropping, curves, saturation, sharpness and spot retouching with cloning stamp), PhotoStudio (for vignette and framing)


Original image capture from ProCamera is shown below for comparison purposes:

Original image

Kiwi Style Honey

I am still enjoying the "strong flavour" pure natural New Zealand honey personally delivered by my daughter on her last visit back to her lonely folks. The honey is fantastic!  It was even better to have it hand delivered. Nothing fancy in this image, just a colorful container resting on a white counter top with a few tweaks to bring out the color and increase the contrast.  Just another snippet from daily life recorded by the camera that is always with me.  I think I'll go make another piece of toast, coat it with butter (the magic ingredient for everything) and spread on a thick coat of New Zealand honey--letting the heat of the toast melt it down into the homemade bread.... Mmmmmm, I am salivating already.......

Kiwi Honey

Details:
iPhone 5, ProCamera, Filterstorm (Curves, Saturation, Sharpness), PhotoStudio (for my normal frame)


Original image straight from ProCamera:

Original Image

Fall flowers

Most of the flowers are winding down at the end of the summer.  Not too much longer from now they will all be sleeping for the winter, covered with a blanket of snow.  For now, it is nice to enjoy the cooling temperatures and the fall colors.

Fall flowers

Details:
iPhone 5, ProCamera, Filterstorm, PhotoStudio


Original image straight from the camera before post-processing:

Original image

Proud mama moment!

Over a year ago my wife took one leaf off another African Violet and set the stem in water.  She nursed that sole leaf like a new mama, cared for it and encouraged it.  The now fully grown babe, in all her glory, makes her mama proud....

Proud mama moment

Details:
iPhone 5, ProCamera (set to square format), Filterstorm (for tweaks in Curves, Saturation and Sharpness), PhotoStudio (for framing), taken on my kitchen counter


Original capture is show below:

Original capture

Water--can't live with it and can't live without it

Water is what make the West go around.  We are living through a several year drought now and the reservoirs are almost dry.  We are all hoping for a heavy snow winter to replenish the supplies (and the skiers and snowboarders are itching to hit the slopes too).  Out here in the West water has always been a precious commodity.  You can't live with it (in the wrong places at the wrong time--just ask anyone in Colorado right now.  Our hearts and prayers go out to them.) and you can't live without it.

Water--can't live with it, can't live without it.

Details:
iPhone 5, ProCamera (my favorite camera app), Filterstorm (my go-to post-processing app--usually a bit of cropping, curves, saturation and sharpening work), PhotoStudio (my vignetting and framing favorite)


The original image from the camera is below:

Original image

Nickel Three Cent coin

I was sorting through a collection of old silver dimes for a relative who had collected over 600 of them.  The oldest of the coins was this 1870 coin.  Wow, I thought!  I have never seen such an old dime.  On the reverse side it has a large Roman number III.  After a little web search I discovered that this coin is not a dime at all.  It is a Nickel Three Cent piece.  Hmmmm, not being a coin collector, I certainly had never heard of such a thing.  Interesting history this Three Cent Nickel.  It was originally designed when postage dropped from five cents to three cents and folks wanted an easy-to-handle, small denomination coin.

Nickel Three Cent coin

Details:
iPhone 5, ProCamera capture app set for a square format, OlloClip close-up lens, Filterstorm for some tweaks in Curves, Saturation and Sharpness, and PhotoStudio for a vignette and the framing.

The original image out of the camera is shown below:

Original image

Gourd season

Halloween is coming.  Pumpkin patches are maturing.  Along with all the pumpkins come many of their cousins.  Yep, it is gourd season--and they come in all sizes and styles.  I found this lumpy guy at the local grocery store just lying in the gourd bin shouting for some attention and looking for a good home.  It is hard competing for popularity next to all the nice looking pumpkins.  Face it though, most of the pumpkins will be ruthlessly cut up and carved out.  However, odds are good for these types of gourds.  Most of them remain whole and just end up as a symbol of the fall harvest in some decorative arrangement.

Gourd Season

Details:
iPhone 5; ProCamera for capture--set for the square format; Filterstorm for my standard tweaks in Curves, Saturation, and Sharpness; MobileMonet for the painterly look and desaturation of the edges and PhotoStudio for the framing.


Original camera image:

Original camera image

Video store killer

Redbox--now part of all of our lives around the country....  I don't know about your town.  But in our area Redbox has killed most of the local video stores.  There aren't many such stores around anymore.  Although the selections are somewhat limited (which is why one of our local stores has survived since they carry all the old, classic stuff that is never in Redbox), the convenience and pricing advantages are great.  I love renting a video, hoping on a plane, or taking a long car trip and then returning the DVD in some other state. Immediately I get an email receipt and acknowledgement.

Video store killer

Details:
iPhone 5, ProCamera for the capture, Filterstorm for some tweaking in Cropping, Curves, Saturation and Sharpness, PhotoStudio for a slight vignette and the framing


Original image captured with the ProCamera app in square (1:1) format is shown below for comparison purposes.  The post-processing was not significant.  By looking closely you can easily see the cropping, the saturation, the contrast, the vignette and, of course, the framing effects.

Original image from camera

Monkey mascot

Took our baby daughter to her out-of-state university for her freshman year start.  New freshman orientation needed mascots and banners for small social welcoming groups.  This monkey mascot came out of someone's dorm room storage to join the party and welcome the new students.  The whole experience makes us empty nesters now.  Not sure how I feel about that yet.  

Monkey mascot

Details:
iPhone 5, ProCamera for image capture, Filterstorm for post-processing tweaks to contrast, saturation and sharpness, PhotoStudio for vignette and framing

Just rolling in the dough

Joe has it made this week.  He hit the jackpot and is rolling in the dough.  Actually his jackpot is a box under his mattress where he keeps every penny.  He just loves to see stash grow and mooches every thing from me.  He is such a miser.

Rolliing in the dough

Details:
iPhone 5, ProCamera, Filterstorm, PhotoStudio, taken on kitchen counter

Knights of the Round Table were missing out

Forget King Arthur and his Round Table....they did not have indoor plumbing or frozen yogurt.  I'll gladly stay right here and be a knight at this round table while I enjoy my frozen treat covered with various fresh fruit pieces while the guys in the heavy armor ride their horses around to save the kingdom.

Knights of the Round Table were missing out

Details:
iPhone 5, ProCamera, touchRetouch, Filterstorm, PhotoStudio, local frozen yogurt store

1962 all over again...?

Looks like 1962 all over again (the Cuban Missile crisis during the Cold War days).  That is what this image reminds me of--the days when we practiced taking cover under our school desks and had fallout shelter signs everywhere we would go.  History has a habit of repeating itself.  This was taken in front of a local retail store this week--bomb shelters are being marketed again.  Can't we all just get along...

1962 again? 

Details:
iPhone 5, ProCamera, processed in Snapseed and framing from PhotoStudio.

Original image before processing

Chicken for the masses

State fair week.  When the people come, you have to feed them.  No backyard grill can accommodate the crowds.  No, if you are going to serve this crowd you have to have a crowd sized grill.  That is what I came across here--a few crowd sized grills roasting up the chicken for the late evening crowd.  Lots of charcoal, lots of grill space and lots of chicken.  Time to eat!

Chicken for the masses

Details:
iPhone 5, ProCamera app, some cropping and minor adjustments in Filterstorm, a slight vignette (which you can hardly see due to the edges that are dark anyway) and framing added in PhotoStudio.  State Fair chicken vendor.

The original unretouched image from the camera is below:

Original image from the camera

Color Ball

State Fair time of the year.  As we were wandering around the State Fair I saw this decorative color ball hanging for sale in one of the display tents.Its bright colors caught my eye and I grabbed a picture (because I always have me iPhone camera with me).  I did not have to do a lot of post processing on this final image.

Color Ball

Details:
iPhone 5, ProCamera, Filterstorm, PhotoStudio

The original image below shows how well the camera captured the colors.  And yes, I have my ProCamera app set to save only square (1:1) images.  In post processing there were only slight cropping, curves, saturation and sharpness adjustments in Filterstorm and my normal vignetting and framing done in PhotoStudio for the final image above.

Original image from camera

Remember the Kaleidoscope?

Okay, I am old.  After all I am a grandpa many times over.  Last week I had another birthday and the kids keep reminding me that I am not getting any younger.  Back when I was young of course it was a different world.  We did not have iPhones, the internet, video games, videos, or even push button telephone dialing pads.  We did however, have indoor plumbing in my generation for which I am eternally grateful--one of the world's greatest inventions IMO.

After taking a picture of my daughter's car key ring with all of its accessories as it sat on the countertop, I began playing around with some different apps and ended up creating this one using the Symmetry Quad option found in the PhotoStudio app.  Now this image brought back some old time memories for me.  It reminds me of the countless, ever changing images found in a Kaleidoscope.  Yep, a Kaleidoscope--you youngsters may have to look that one up in Google.  We could entertain ourselves for hours with the trusty Kaleidoscope.  But, then again, life was simple back in the day.....

Kaleidoscope memories

Details:
Taken with an iPhone 5; ProCamera capture app; Filterstorm used for some curves, saturation and sharpening adjustments; PhotoStudio used for distortion, vignetting and framing.


The original image captured with the ProCamera app prior to any post-processing is shown below for comparison purposes.

Officer down

Flags at half staff this week to honor local law enforcement officer shot and killed this week while serving our community.  Valiant service and paid the ultimate price.

Officer down

Details:
iPhone 5, ProCamera, Filterstorm, PhotoStudio

Sweet peach!

Ahhhh!  Nothing better than a fresh, ripe peach right off the backyard tree!

Of all the fresh fruits I can think of, there is nothing as good as a fresh, ripe peach right off the tree.  This one is even better as it is from the first crop of our recently planted trees.  While peaches can be canned, frozen, turned into jelly, pie filling, smoothies, etc. there is still nothing that compares to the soft juicy texture and sweet taste of the peach itself.

Excuse me, gotta go finish the peach and then pick another.....

Sweet peach!

Details:
iPhone 5, ProCamera, Filterstorm, PhotoStudio, fresh peach

Let the good times roll...

I love my Tilley hat.  Most of all, I love to wear it at the lake, on the boat and in the sun.  So this unabashed selfie (that's self portrait for those who don't know) helps me remember the good times.  I would rather be at the lake.  Let the good times roll....

Let the good times roll...

Details:
iPhone 5, ProCamera, Filterstorm, PhotoStudio, summer at the lake

Pretty peaches

Our first crop!  We planted a couple of very young peach trees in our backyard a couple of years ago.  The first year we did not get any peaches due to the young age of the tree and a spring cold spell.  This year however, things are looking great!  Another few days and we will have some nice, juicy, fresh peaches right in our own backyard.  My mouth is already watering..... I love fresh peaches!

Pretty peaches

iPhone 5, ProCamera, Filterstorm, PhotoStudio, backyard peach tree

Staring

Now here is a camouflage sweatshirt that might make the deer or the elk a little nervous.  Not one to wear in the field if you are going out hunting this season.   Maybe a better use is for the campus males...showing their intentions as they begin the prowl this new school year.

Staring

Details:
iPhone 5, ProCamera, Filterstorm, PhotoStudio, sweatshirt in hunting store

Attention!

What a great exhibit of the African plain found at our local Cabella's superstore.  Looks like the drill sergeant just barked "Attention!"  I liked this shot showing all the detail in the exhibit.  Unfortunately the lighting leaves a bit to be desired--especially on the animal's face.  But, hey I could never get an iPhone photo this close with a live animal in the wild unless I had a great costume and smelled like....well, I am not going there.....

Attention!

Details:
iPhone 5, ProCamera, Filterstrom, PhotoStudio, Cabella's

What? You talking to me?

Out in the savanna grazing for lunch.  Always on the lookout for predators.  A surreal close encounter?  I'll give you a hint....where are the flies?  Looks so clean, like he just stepped out of the shower within the last hour.  It even smelled good in here.  Where is here?  Just walking through the Cabella's store after having lunch with a friend--I had an elk burger with sweet potato fries.  This fellow is part of the African Plains exhibit.

What?  You talking to me?

Details:
iPhone 5, ProCamera, Filterstorm, PhotoStudio