Way Too Much Fun!

"Reflected", David Hayes, 2011

This past spring I switched my then current cell phone for an iphone4...and to say that I've been having way too much fun with it's camera and the camera apps out there would be an understatement!! I had heard a lot of positive things about the iphone's camera and was seeing more and more about the apps...as well as the pictures taken with these....that I decided to get the iphone4 sooner vs. later.

As of late I've been playing around with the Hipstamatic  app and it's "newest" in-camera app, the Retro Pak which gives the user a "Salvador 84" lens, "Dream Canvas" film as well as another lens that I haven't tried yet...I really like the Salvador 84 lens! The picture above, "Reflected" was taken with this app as were these next two pics:

"Friday Night", David Hayes, 2011

"My World", David Hayes, 2011

I'm impressed with how this app mix takes ordinary scenes and changes the perspectives of what is seen. You never know what you'll get...so each of these are a delightful surprise!

"Self-Portrait #2", David Hayes, 2011

This next pic, "Self Portrait #2" was one that I played around with using several of the camera apps that I have. I first started with Incredibooth that mimics an old portrait booth and took 4 shots of myself in various head poses. I used the Photoshop app to clean this up a bit, then the ColorSplash app to focus the color just on my head, leaving the background black and white. Then...I used Pic Grunger to "grunge" it up with "bleach spills" and a wrinkled paper background. Saving all of this, I then sent it to my printer, which did it's own cropping...so instead of getting all four frames, I was left with the center two frames...cropped in half! Since this final image only existed in print form, I had to scan it to get a digital image of it. Talk about going through a number of generations!! But...creating all of this in-camera....before sending it to the printer and then scanning...only took me about 10 minutes!  Too much fun!!!

Of course, I've featured all of these pics in my Flickr site and on my Etsy shop...as well as my Tumblr site. Two books that I have found very useful and would highly recommend are: Create Great iPhone Photos by Allan Hoffman and iPhone Obsessed by Dan Marcolina. You can get both of these books at Amazon.

I have been a photographer since the 70's...learning the mysteries of black and white film and paper development in the darkroom. I own many cameras...film and digital...have a darkroom...use CS4 alot...but I have to tell you, this iphone4 camera and apps are certainly changing how I go about creating photographs!!

Altered Bits - A New Zine

Here is something exciting! Alicia Caudle, who's blog,  Altered Bits' Altered Blog, has just released her first print zine. Called Altered Bits Mixed Media Art Zine, it is now available for purchase on Lulu, both as a book or as a digital download. You can also get it through Amazon. The zine contains 46 pages of mixed media art from 21 artists...a great addition to your art library!

I am particularly excited by this as one of my collages is included! Thanks Alicia...this has made my summer!!

"Stripper" is available for purchase in my Etsy Shop.

Catching Up! Part Two...

Okay...we made it home from the graduation weekend late Sunday afternoon. Monday was spent trying to catch up on several things...as was Tuesday morning. Tuesday afternoon left us some time to attend our first farmer's market of the season. This was the Loveland Farmers Market which is being held this year in a new spot just minutes from our house.

It's not a huge market but there was great veggies, flowers, herbs, breads/baked goods, soaps and a lot of great vibes floating around!! We had a great time checking everything out, talking to the vendors, making new friends...and I had a great time grabbing pics with my iphone4!

 The market is held every Tuesday throughout the summer...we'll definitely be back for more!! This last picture is for you, Amy of Four Corners Design. I thought of you the minute I saw this scale!!

Catching Up! Part One...

Burr Oak Lake, Burr Oak State Park, Ohio

This past week-end, my wife and I journeyed to Ohio University (Athens, OH) to attend the graduation of our oldest daughter, Cary. It had taken Cary six years to finish her degree in printmaking...and we all were looking forward to the graduation ceremony and celebrations afterwards. We arrived late Friday afternoon at Burr Oak State Park Lodge...which is about 40 minutes from Athens...and after checking in/settling in...checked in with Cary and her younger sister, Melissa, who also attends O.U. And the adventure began...

You see...we found out that Cary had been suffering from a bad cold all week and wasn't feeling much better...and Melissa was starting to experience strong stomach pains. Canceling plans to meet up with them that evening...telling them to go to bed and we'd see them in the morning...we enjoyed a quiet evening by the lake...

The next morning...graduation morning...Cary was worse so it was decided that she'd skip the ceremony!!! After six years of hard work...but it had to be. Melissa...well...her pains had also gotten much worse...so much so that we decided to take her to the Urgent Care facility...where she, her mother, and I spent the next four hours...instead of attending graduation! Meant to be I suppose. It turned out to be nothing really...just a "hidden" infection...the first dose of meds helped her feel better.  They both felt better by the evening so they joined us for dinner at the lodge. What a day!

In any case, the next morning we had Cary put on her cape and gown and took the usual post-graduation pictures around campus. She's an O.U. grad now...what's next...who knows!! That's another story..

Congrats, Cary bug!! I'm proud of you!!!

City Flea

Sue and I ventured forth today on what we hope is the first of many "quests" this summer...to get out and do different things...

Today it was to go to the first every "City Flea" event held today on Vine St., downtown Cincinnati. This turned out to be a a lot of fun with over 50 different vendors featuring everything from vintage items to handcrafted art. When we were there, it was full of fun, energy, people, and great vibes!

It's our understanding that they plan to hold this event again on July 9th, August 6th, and September 3rd. We will most definitely be back! For more information about the vendors and the event itself, City Flea has a Facebook page and a website: www.thecityflea.com.

Here are more pictures of what I saw today...all captured with my iPhone4....I'm loving using this camera!!

Umbrellas and Butterflies

Umbrellas, David Hayes, 2011

I finally made it to the Butterfly Show at the Krohn Conservatory today. My wife and I have put this off until a day we thought wouldn't be so crazy....boy were we wrong! The place was packed! School groups...families with whining children and indulgent parents...I didn't  know who to smack! 

I did many to get some great pics....here's some of them. Hope you like butterflies!