Plant Foundry photos

Oak Park Photo Walk participants: please post your favorite photos from the Plant Foundry part of our experience to our Shared Album. Include a stylized image and the original if you have been inspired. I'd like to combine the photos into some acknowledgment of our visit.

If you return to do any shopping there, you might remember their hospitality and thank them again.

Thinking ahead to spring semester

There is a false equivalency to beginning "spring semester" in February - when it is still winter.

Look at the photos on your device to see what to expect. Practice the skills that Niel taught us about the Search tab and drilling down into our camera rolls. (See the sidebar of links, Discoveries: Search Techniques in Photos.) What subjects show seasonal changes? Go to your favorite locations and explore how weather changes the mood.

What skills and apps do you want to perfect?

Want .. “that new car smell?”

Sometime having the new device is a thing. Sometimes it is an extravagance. But there are times when I want the look of something new. Here’s how to get yours ...

Find a fun image you have created recently and make it your iPhone or iPad Wallpaper for either the Lock or Home Screens. Settings > Wallpaper > Choose a New Wallpaper ...

On the Lock Screen, the time and date are in the top 1/5th of the screen, so you want a dark color or graduated color there.

I’ve also seen some Wallpapers include a phone number and name on the picture. This might be a great idea when traveling.

The Reality of Age

iOS Basics is the other seminar I co-lead with Carol Dabrowiak. It is hard to not over share with people just learning about their iPhone or iPad and it helps to have the iOS Basics website to share notes that folks might come back to after more practice. It is also a place where I can add after-thoughts without sending tons of emails.

At our last meeting this semester we will talk about iCloud - photos, files and history. I'm recommending that the participants take a proactive stance in tracking their digital lives and think about how they designate powers of attorney for health care, finances and digital assets. In updating my personal trust last year the attorney asked this question: "Who will review your online accounts, archive the important content and close the accounts?"  

One of the new photographers sent my way, Numeric Citizen Blog, shared Managing The Elderly's Numeric Life. Maybe your parents have already thought this through and are a model for the next generations ... 

You are a photographer, an artist. How are you organizing and prioritizing your work? What do you want shared, saved, discarded? Have you had this conversation with family and friends? How might you approach tracking your digital life so you can hand it off to the right person? Providing a roadmap is easier on them than forcing them to be a digital archeologist. 

Photographers for Inspiration

Travel Photography - Austin Mann
http://austinmann.com/ checkout his new iPhone 11 Pro photographs as he traveled with YoYou Ma to exotic places. This blog post offers a deep dive into technology - worth a re-read from time to time.

Note: I realize some of this may feel too technical, but it matters. We MUST understand our tools in order to successfully move through the creative process. If we don’t know about our cameras’ strengths and weaknesses and why they’re there, it’s really hard to solve problems and achieve our vision.

New Discoveries page added to our website, Discoveries: Galleries to Explore. Check it out. Let me know if you have something to add. Find this page and others in the sidebar of this site. Best viewed from an iPad or computer.

Reading up on RAW image capture

Our iPhone cameras have improved hardware and software. It is interesting to read about machine-learning and image processing. "The world has turned upside down..."

I'm sharing links to these articles so we can read them once, twice, many times to gradually absorb the underlying magic of realizing our creative vision. 

Articles on RAW photography: 

What the Heck is a RAW Image by Apple (Apps: Halide & Darkroom)
Apple's Photos and RAW Image Handling by Numeric Citizen Blog 

The Power of RAW on iPhone, Part 1: Shooting RAW by Sebastian de With, Halide

The Power of RAW on iPhone, Part 2: Editing RAW by Sebastian de With, Halide 

iPhone 11 Pro Preview: The Camera Hardware Changes by Sebastian de With, Halide
RAW Power 2.0 for iOS by Gentlemen Coders

JF Martin of Numeric Citizen Blog suggests NOT using Photos Extensions to edit RAW photos. Instead find an app that "natively understands RAW images and also keeps editing instructions separately." In my Nikon experience this means keeping the original .NEF file and let Lightroom create the .XMP as a sidecar file.

Apps on our list that handle RAW images include RAW Power, Darkroom, Camera+ 2 ...

Field Trip on 9/10

The Libraries around Sacramento are closed on Thursday, September 10th.

If you are available, let’s do a photo walk in Sacramento, location TBA in email. I’m targeting Oak Park area for the location and lunch. Usual class time, 10 am to noon followed by local eats.

UPDATE - Photo Walk in Oak Park is on Wednesday morning, 10 am. Info sent in email. 

Spring 2020 Seminar Description

The RenSoc Seminar Committee is asking for leaders to prepare the description to be included in the catalog and online. Below is the proposed description - slightly modified from our current activities, current iOS and adding the latest iPhone models.

This seminar includes participant-led demonstrations where experienced photographers use iPhone apps to create print-ready artwork. In-class demonstrations and online shared albums are our critique and learning platforms. This semester we research apps for computer migration and reporting exposure metadata. Visit our website for demonstration videos and artwork examples at https://rsiphonephotostudio.blogspot.com. New photo studio artists should expect to purchase $25 in apps. Requirements: iPhone 7, 8, X, XR, XS, 11, 11Pro; iOS 12 or 13, AppleID. An iPad is helpful for editing. This is NOT a beginner photography seminar. We continue socializing at lunch after session.

There is a 100 word limit on seminar descriptions. So let me add ... What does that mean? We will continue taking/editing photos using iOS 13 apps. We will continue to stylize some photos, make/post collages and photographs to the seminar Shared Album.

It is great to take TIFF or RAW photos on our iPhones, but those images are destined to be processed and archived. What photos will you keep on mobile devices and what will you move to an archive? What is your filing system for DSLR photos? Have you incorporated your mobile images as well? In addition to iCloud, other online services include Dropbox, OneDrive, Box, and more. 

Enter State Fair Competition

Wrapped in a demonstration of iOS 13 and the Apple Files app, we looked at the 2019 guidelines and dates for submitting photographs for display during the State Fair. It is a two-step process, first set up an account, fill-out the online form and upload a photo/image and pay the fee. If your work is accepted, then frame your print and deliver it to Cal Expo.

Cynthia mentioned that photographs can be be entered in either the Photography or Fine Arts competitions. The time frame for 2020 will be similar to what is published for current year. Any submission should be no more than two-years old.

Sac State Union Gallery

New show called If Color Was a Language: A story of color and the relationship between street art and abstract expressionism - artwork by Drew Ochwat is up until October 17th. The gallery is in the second floor of the University Union, open M-F 10:30 am to 3:30 pm. The promotional post card reminded me of the graffiti we saw in the tunnels.