Construction #1

Construction #1

Wow, I did not post yesterday and the world did not come to an end....I think I was in mourning as the New York Knicks lost Donnie Walsh, only the best executive they have had in years....my sports side is coming out now....the Knicks have one winning season and the guy responsible is gone....Hopefully they are not bringing back Isiah Thomas.....ok enough ranting.

My good friend Teri Lou Dantzler must have been in my head this morning - TL aka smudgie, is always espousing the idea of simply playing on the iPhone/iPad and that is exactly what I did this morning - looks like I have come up with a new direction for my iPhone/iPad work....Constructions.....

The intuitive brushing/opacity available in Filterstorm (my current favorite) allows a good deal of latitude when combining images. Iris is another that I use quite regularly but Filterstorm seems to have a bit more overall control of the image.

Today's image is from Central State Asylum in Indianapolis. Photographed with my iPhone4 using truehdr (tripod). Application used for image management are:

Iris
Photostudio
Filterstorm
Perfect Photo for sharpening

White Tulip

Really this was a white tulip. And it was sitting right in the middle of our small town. Tulips come in so many colors it was the perfect subject for my iPad blending spree......still playing around changing colors and textures.

Today it was all pretty much all  Iris on the iPad2....discovered something new, at least for me. Once one hits the check mark to save the image it automatically becomes the base layer for the next blend step - huge time saver in using Iris.

You finish a blend, hit the check mark, and upload another image and continue on...also now liking that you can see an image in a larger size before choosing same as the next step - other applications only let you see the thumbnail.. One thing the app developers might consider is reversing the image order ala the application Transfer to not make you continually scroll down to the bottom of your library to find the latest image that you want to work with. A small thing but saves so much time and obviouisly it can be done - Transfer proves that.

So on this image i used:

Iris for sketch
Dynamic Range
Perfect photo for sharpening
photostudio for pencil paint 2 (one of my favorites)
Filterstorm for blending and local tonality

Starting my drive to Indianapolis this morning. Plan to stop in Williamsport and Toledo on the way. Might even stop and visit a friend in Lexington......

Blending and Brushing

Homage to Van Gogh

I continue to search for new and different ways to blend images using filterstorm and iris. If only someone would devise an application with layers an entire new world would appear. The makers of Photoforge are claiming to have layers with blend modes in their new application being launched in a few weeks - this boy is hoping that is a reality.

Up until now Filterstorm and  Iris have been in the forefront of the blending with opacity, brushes and size. One difference for me is that in Filterstorm you can add another image to blend with just a few strokes of the stylus. Iris takes 8 moves to get to the same place.

Filterstorm's opacity dialog is always accessible and you are able to make changes while not losing the blend ability. With Iris you need to say 'done' and then say yes to the apply mask dialog before brushing. Both have eraser features which is a good thing.

When you complete your blending with Filterstorm you hit the check mark to save that move,  and, you then have the ability to add another image rather easily.  With Iris you need to go through a number of stylus moves to get another image ready to blend.

I use both of these applications on a regualr basis. I like many of the FX in Iris and find myself adding them in quite frequently. Another plus with Iris is that the blend modes readily available as you work through the image.

I would highly recommend trying both of them to see what fits in your work-flow. Me, I am goign to continue to pursue blending and brushing with a few other appications as well as getting deeper into Filterstorm, Iris and the new improved Photoforge (when released).

I am off on a drive to Toledo and Indiana tomorrow. Have a great weekend...

Music and Iphone

John Mellencamp, Los Angeles, 1996

'Forget all about that macho shit and learn how to play guitar'...John Mellencamp 

Still working away on my presentation for the Apple Store in Indianapolis. Today I am taking an Indiana icon and processing an image using the iPad2.

This image was originally captured with a Nikon F series camera using Ektachrome slide film.  It was scanned into the digital world using an Imacon/Hasselblad scanner. And now the fun begins...

I downsized the image to 2500 on the long edge which gave me a final output size of 8x10 at 240DPI. One could make the the image bigger or smaller to taste.

My current work-flow is to create various blend layers using SketchmeeHD, Artista Haiku, Photstudio (2): Pencil Paint 2 and Ancient Canvas plus a sharpened layer using Perfect Photo. If you do not have the new Perfect Photo upgrade note that they have improved the sharpening dramatically - they call it sharpening but it is in reality unsharp mask and it works very very well...You can create these blend layers to taste using many different applications.

Next is the fun part in Iris for iPad for blending and masking combination's of these layers to create the look. I might take a sharp layer and blend with an oil painting soft layer to see the effect the sharp has on the soft...I use pencil paint in various combos to create the outlines in some of my images - being a amateur painter I sometimes do this on canvas to call attention to a particular part of the image. Another part of the work-flow is to convert to black and white and paitn in varios amounts of color which I used in today;s image. Filterstorm does an OK job of this and gives some good control options on your conversion. A screen shot of the dialog box is below.

The final step is local sharpening for effect and to paint back in the ancient canvas layer to the desired color you want.

 

Upcoming Events:

May 21: Apple Store, Indianapolis, Indiana - 8AM-10AM Music and iPhone Presentation
September 8-9: Renaissance Fine Art and Design Gallery - 2 day iPhone Workshop
September 10: Gallery Show opens at Renaissance Fine Art and Design Gallery, Carmel, Indiana
October 9: gallery Show opens at Gallery 20 in Toledo, Ohio -Benefit for 1Matters.org.

Merry Oldsmobile

I can not stop working on my iPad2. I did have the first version but for some reason I simply never got into it. I was superstitious about changing from processing on the iPhone - why, I have no idea. Hard to change those old habits. Another old habit I got into was using the same applications from day to day and expecting different results -and we all know nothing ever happens using that model.

The past few weeks I have working mostly on blending technique to include double and triple blending using photostudio, photoforge, Iris, Filterstorm and most recently, thanks to my friend and fellow iPhone addict, Teri Lou Dantzler, the Blender Application. And by the way when I just went to her blog to copy the address for this blog I was blown away by her latest iPhone creation...check it out

OK, on to today's image:


Captured with prohdr handheld then it was sharpened in Photoforge. I then made several blending layers: Photostudio for pencil paint 1, and then another using pencil paint 2 (twice). Used Dynamic Light for yet another layer of Relief pushed to the max. Then I made a separate blending layer using color sketch in Iris and yet another using SketchmeeHD. I also made an ancient canvas layer in Photostudio to use to add final texture. Remember to always make a preset wherever possible so you can repeat this if necessary. I also make screen-shots along the way that I file with the original blend layers. In terms of shameless self promotion I teach my folder structure in my iPhone workshops.

After making all these layers I use Iris and Blender to put them together to create what I am after. Sometimes it takes a glass of wine to get there - sometimes it just happens. As a final touch I take the image into Filterstorm and add the texture (ancient canvas in this case) layer underneath the original. Then you paint with your finger at a low opacity and desired brush size to paint in the texture to your desired level. If you paint in too much texture take the eraser at low opacity and lightly rub it out. Filterstorm is very powerful in this respect. There are many ways to do this but I choose Filterstorm simply because it allows the ipad to work in horizontal and vertical mode depending on the image. Iris does not allow this and frankly they should change that in the next upgrade.

Upcoming Events:

May 21: Apple Store, Indianapolis, Indiana - 8AM-10AM Music and iPhone Presentation
September 9-10: Renaissance Fine Art and Design Gallery - 2 day iPhone Workshop
September 11: Gallery Show opens at Renaissance Fine Art and Design Gallery, Carmel, Indiana
October 9: gallery Show opens at Gallery 20 in Toledo, Ohio -Benefit for 1Matters.org.