Thursday, April 5, 2012

An app a day, makes it fun to play!





I'm so excited about In Focus and having a monthly theme!  What fun we will have!

This month's theme is "favorite things".  (go here to read about the monthly theme)  I want to share my favorite thing (or things in this case!)

You can probably guess from my picture that in iPhone may be involved.  (Much to the dismay of my DSLR who was slow to activate the shutter button and give me a rear display as I took pictures of the phone! such a diva!)

My iPhone is a favorite thing of mine, that's for sure, and not because of it's ability to make and receive phone calls.  It's ability to give me access to Instagram is it's shining grace!  And, that is fun!

I love Instagram.  I may love it too much!  But there is no other place where I can log in and have an instant surprise party!  I never know what I'm going to find there!  Everything from the everyday to the really beautiful works of art that my Instagram buddies create and post.  I see pictures from all over the world!  It's an amazing look at places I may never actually visit.  A peek into different lifestyles.  A sharing of accomplishment and joy, pride and folly, melancholy and nostalgia.  I go on vacations and to parties through Instagram!  It's always an adventure!  Instagram has it's own camera. (that I never use because you have to immediately download your picture to Instagram and sometimes I'm just not ready to do that because I'm an artist and need to make my pictures all artsy fartsy) Instagram is free at the app store.

My favorite camera to use on my phone is the 6X6 app.  I use this 99% of the time to take pictures.  The reason is because it takes pictures in square format and saves them to my camera roll.  (There is something so nice about square format. I like to print them too, hello, PostalPix!)  From there I can edit them or add them to Instagram.  It also take incredibly beautiful black and white pictures.  6X6 is .99 cents.

For processing, I use 2 or 3 different apps.  Magic Hour is fun because it comes with some really neat filters you can use to get neat effects on your pictures.  There are also a gazillion filters that are free to download and you can create your own filter.  Magic Hour is $1.99.

Camera+ is a good app for picture taking and processing.  The camera in this app has a timer. Useful for selfies!  Camera+ is 99 cents.

Squareready will take pictures that are not square and make them square.  (No camera in this app.)  I like this for those pictures I took with the regular camera on the phone.  Because it's so much work to pinch and stretch my pictures to get them to fit the frame on Instagram-I'm lazy like that!  Squareready is free.

Filterstorm is good for really fine tuning your pictures. You can adjust white balance, levels, curves, sharpen, noise reduction, red eye brush, layer masks, watermark it, crop, straighten, rotate, add a border and lots of other things I don't even know what they are!  Filterstorm is $3.99.

These, and other, apps are sometimes offered for free.  If you see one of these for free-grab it! (there's also an app called "Find Free Apps" that will tell you when an app is being offered for free and "Find Free Apps" is free!)

Don't worry, Android users, Instagram is coming!

OK, so I may or may not also have a few versions of Angry Birds on my phone and maybe some other crazy word games with friends and possibly facebook but, hey, cell phones aren't just for talking anymore!

One thing's for certain, I'd be in a world of hurt if my little friend got lost or broken!

I better take the DSLR out for some one on one time.  She's got her memory card in a wad!

I'd love to hear of any favorite apps you might use!  Share a picture you have taken using one! Fun!!

And don't forget to tag your pictures with "my favorite things" for a chance to be featured in our "In Focus"!




“If you never did you should. These things are fun and fun is good”~Dr.Seuss




xo,










7 comments:

Dotti said...

WOW, Linda! What a plethora of apps you've listed here! All good for this iPhone newbie. Well, I'm not a newbie to the phone, just to the part about liking the camera. It took me a long time to appreciate anything I took with the iPhone but I'm getting better. True story: Granddaughter (4 y/o) was sitting next to me when I was trying to figure out Hipstamatic. She took the phone and said this is how you do it. I said, no, you don't know how. Voila! She produced a portrait of me and then proceeded to show me how to use Hipstamatic. Duh!!!

xo
Dotti

Anonymous said...

I'm addicted to my iphone and IG as well! (as you know from my plethora of daily photos :) I haven't heard about 6x6 before. I'm going to have to check it out. I tend to shoot everything in IG, but I would love another option because I don't always want to post the photo that I take right that second and it won't save it to my camera roll unless I post it. They need to come up with a little tweak for that :) Thanks for all the good app recommendations!

Barbara said...

That is funny Dotti, sounds like something my GD would do. I have mine explain the game apps to me.

I really like the Snapseed app that Tracy Clark turned me on to. Thank you for the list of the other great apps for the iPhone, must check them out. I didn't know you could upload to Instagram without taking an image there, learned something new. I have been taking the picture in Instagram and clicking the checkmark and then going to Snapseed to edit. I also didn't know Instagram uploaded it to Instagram right away, ugh. Thanks again for all the info Linda.

Deanna said...

Wow, since I just purchased my first ever I-Phone I have a lot to learn about these amazing apps...Thank you so much for educating me. I must play more with my camera phone and learn all these fun apps.

C'est moi Claudette said...

Good morning Linda
Funny I should read this today. My son just asked me if I used Instagram and of course I said WHAT? I downloaded it last night and was going to play with it today, and now you have clarified so many things for me.
This site with all you talented ladies might just open my eyes to the beautiful world out there through that camera lens that has scared me for so many years.
You've made my day Linda, thank you.
Instagram on girl!!!!
Love Claudette
xoxo

Claudia said...

I see all sorts of people out with their iphones and i smile and think "linda would love this" :) Technology is so huge these days... have to keep up with the times.

Have a fabulous Easter darlin

stephmull said...

What a cool post, Linda. Wish I had an iphone! But I will definitely check back (or check in with you) when I do! Thanks for sharing!

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