Refresh Your Viewpoint

Forget that you've used an iPhone for years! Now that we have iOS 18.2 and Apple Intelligence, it is time to erase our past experience with the Camera app and the Photos app. Especially the Photos app! 

Our muscle memory is not helpful now. How we interacted with our devices is ancient history. Put those visual clues out of your mind. Look at the app as if 1) this is your first time seeing it ... touch every button; 2) you are a 7 year old child exploring this screen for the first time. 

You know, "touch every button" is not a complete thought. There are gestures that have become more useful and the "when and where" to use gestures is not ... intuitive. Yet. We will build new habits this semester. 

Apple Intelligence has arrived

Yes, AI is everywhere and always on. I have successfully updated all my devices, iOS 18.1 and iPadOS 18.1 and just this week, MacOS 15.1 Sequoia. All photo and editing apps seem to be working. A few of my other productivity apps are showing signs of not keeping-up-with-the-times and I am looking for replacements. 

In December and then in early 2025 we can expect updates to operating systems that will introduce additional AI tools. 

Go to the source at Apple Intelligence. 

Spring 2025

A new proposed class for Spring 2025 to run 6 meetings on Zoom or photo walks, Thursdays 10 am to noon beginning February 6th and ending on March 13th. Our class will be closed to new participants - previous Studio participants will be moved from Waitlist to Enrolled once registration begins. Please keep a list of potential venues for photo walks. 

The RenSoc open house is Jan 17th and online class registration opens that week. Our Shared Photo Album will be open to new postings until January 22nd. 

Authenticity, Provenance and Metadata

In these AI (artificial intelligence) days we need to know about how images are created and edited. Often we look at the information attached to a photo, metadata, and know ISO-Aperture-ShutterSpeed and location. After editing, some apps add to metadata with their name and Photos Search feature (iOS 17.x) can find other images edited with the same app.  

But what about images generated by AI? What about deepfake images? What do we see in metadata? How do we spot photo manipulation? 

This post will share recent articles to increase our understanding of the information behind our images. 

Content Authenticity Initiative is a site to watch: 

• How Wrapt’s end-to-end platform protects creative workflows with Content Credentials by Coleen Jose, 7-24-2024 In the top right corner of the Brooklyn Bridge photo is a small (cr) icon. Click it to investigate further. Stuart Waite: " In an era of deepfakes, content theft, and plagiarism, Wrapt provides an industry solution to millions of content creators, brands, and publishers seeking to protect and insure their creative assets. It's as simple as wrap it, share it, track it! Wrapt is a B2B SaaS content protection platform. With Content Credentials, Wrapt protects and insures your creative work by securely tracking how it’s created, shared, and published across the internet." 

more later ... 

iPhone 16 Pro and Pro Max

Watch this post - it will be updated as new resources are found …

Compare iPhone models - past and present and coming soon at GSM Arena 

https://www.gsmarena.com/apple-phones-48.php

This was fun to look back and compare the past models of iPhones over the years. 

Great information from Austin Mann - iPhone 16 Pro Camera Review: Kenya video. 

Just In Time - Learning

Where have I been? Lately, months ago and even years ago? Safari is revealing tricks to me now on the verge of an update. Just in time to learn new things about browsing the web. 

I've been struggling with websites that include Cookies, Ads and Pop-Ups. So Cookies get managed, Ads get blocked and Pop-ups are ... well, broken. On a computer, open Safari then Safari > Settings... > Websites and look on the list for both Content Blockers and Pop-up Windows. (Don't ask me about the difference or why these two items are so separated on the list in MacOS Sonoma 14.6.1). 

Some websites are virtually unusable if you block their content. You can miss the nano-blink-of-an-eye notice in the URL bar about "blocked content" and the little icon (box) next to the refresh page arrow icon. This can't be an "accessible feature" if it disappears instantly from the URL field. Where is the setting to delay the instant disappearance of this note? 

In Safari's toolbar, look at the report you get with the Gear icon about each website and what is allowed or blocked. Many of Apple's apps let you Customize the toolbar, so look it over for a button that might improve your workflow. 

Folsom Photography Competition & Show

Folsom Focus Photography Contest 2024 submissions October 1st through 14th.  This contest encourages amateur photographers of all ages to submit their favorite photos that showcase Folsom from their own unique perspective. Contestants are not required to be Folsom residents, but all photographs submitted MUST be an image taken in FOLSOM and identifiable as such. All entries must fit into one of the categories listed below. Entry fee is $7 per photo. 

Capture life in Folsom:  

• Folsom Outdoors
• Folsom Wildlife
• Urban Folsom
• Macro Photography 

Read About iOS 18 and iPadOS 18

The Tips app has iOS 18 Preview with 7 notes on what is coming up. While you are in this app, check for Photos and Camera Tips to see if you have missed something in iOS 17.x - like Action Mode for video clips. 

Charlene reminded me that a great place to read about operating system updates is MacRumors. Here are direct links to the follow articles and resources ...

• Just Install iOS 18? Here Are 10 Things to Do First 
• Comprehensive look at Roundup - iOS 18 
• Forums - iOS and iPadOS 

Forum post has my head spinning and I want to do more research! Does anybody actually LIKE the new iOS 18 Photos app? [MERGED] and then to see what's new, maybe a YouTube search next. Found one! AppleInsider offers Photos in iOS 18! Everything NEW in Apple's Controversial Redesign! You want to watch this one and read the comments posted by others. Change is hard. Change in something we use often can be a headache until we ... get over it ... get used to the new look. Wonder about how it will look on the iPad? I want to test the natural language request to create new Memories.  

New to me is Rich Bowlin and he offers iPhone Tips for Seniors: iOS 18 7 New Features!  on his YouTube Channel and he introduces some customizations. I'm hoping he adds additional videos about the Photos and Camera apps and other new iOS 18 features. 

Also checkout the Ellen's Tips for iOS YouTube channel. 

Don't miss Joanna Stern - WSJ tech writer - iOS 18: 18 New Features for Apple’s New iPhone Software Update | WSJ  and iPhone 16 First Look: New Buttons, Cameras and Other Features | WSJ 

Lesson is … GO SLOW. This is a big update! 

There is a security update, 17.7 that is available for mobile devices. This move from 17.6.1 to 17.7 would not bring on the deluge of next generation features. 

Other routine pre-update activities include:

• watching for app updates in the AppStore > update! 
• export any data stored inside apps (databases to CSV - open in Numbers or Excel) 
• export image projects with layers as PSD - Photoshop Document format (Leonardo as email attachment) 
• review and delete old/unused passwords 

You will probably update all devices before I do. There is one critical software on my Mac that needs to be compatible before I update to MacOS 15 Sequoia. In iOS 18 there is a big change for passwords  — actually a new app called Passwords and they sync across all devices using the same AppleID. In iOS 17 and earlier, Apple Keychain was how I saved passwords for apps and websites. This shift in password management might not be as critical - because some folks still have older laptops or computers that cannot be updated to Sequoia. Maybe this is a time to pose an iOS 18 question in the Apple Communities Forum.