Central Park in Fall

One of the things I never really experienced much of, growing up in Arizona (besides snow) are the colors of fall. Throughout the city the leaves were changing but nowhere near as dense as Central Park for the fall colors. I decided to take a side trip through the park while coming back from an appointment on Central Park West.

Armed with my trusty iPhone, I entered the forest of Central Park to leave the sights and sounds of the city behind. Luckily, there were many paths to follow on my journey through the manicured wilderness. There are parts of the Park where you can completely detach yourself from the buildings and city noise.

I love the fact that the grass was still very green which offset the warm fall colors. The park was also fairly empty in this area in the early afternoon. I made use of my iPhone camera using the Pro HDR, TiltShiftGen and PS Express apps.

The colors were pretty spectacular and I couldn't resist enhancing them a bit. I also thought they were good images to put the photo edges on.

The last photo was HDR and enhanced with the vignette blur and, of course, some serious saturation. I almost pulled back a little on the saturation but I decided I like it over-saturated.

My 5 Must Have iPhone Photo Apps

I finally went and picked up my iPhone 4 last weekend. I've been wanting the better camera and when my headphones went out, I thought that was a good opportunity. Now I can't believe I waited so long. I am loving this new phone. They say the best camera is the one you have on you. Right now, aside from my DSLR, my iPhone camera is my go-to.

Since my main objective was the camera, I went looking for some cool new apps for the camera. I already had TiltShiftGen and CameraBag and had just recently gotten Hipstamatic. Hipstamatic is fun but, aside from switching lenses (many sold separately) you don't have much control. Plus, the images are still pretty low-res even with the iPhone 4.

This is my screen. I'll go through the apps I use and what I like about them.

Best Camera
This app was done by photographer Chase Jarvis and based on the aforementioned saying that the best camera is the one on you. The app allows you to take a picture or use one in your photos. There are several filters which you can stack to make a multitude of different looks. You can then share the result on the Best Camera website or via email as well as Facebook, Twitter and Flickr.

La Amada Marina sign done with Pro HDR and Best Camera apps.

Pro HDR
Apple came out with a built in HDR function but Pro HDR does a much better job. It also gives you more control. Auto mode takes an over-exposed and under-exposed image, aligns and processes them and then lets you adjust the brightness, contrast, saturation, tone and warmth. I am amazed at the pictures that have been taken with this app.

TiltShiftGen
I love this app. It’s very simple: take a new image or import one from the library and apply a tilt-shift lens effect. I love how it takes scenes and gives the illusion they are miniatures. You can control the amount of blur and the shape (horizontal or circular) and even apply a lens vignette.

Empire State building done with Pro HDR, TIltShiftGen and PS Express.

PS Express
This free Photoshop app has some very basic, yet useful tools. There is a crop tool for cropping, rotating and straightening, a color adjustment tool, sharpening and softening and even color effects and borders. You can save the edited images to your photo library or share them via Facebook and TwitPic directly from the app.

Camera Bag
Camera Bag turns your iPhone into several different camera simulations and effects. Take a picture from the app or select one from your library and chose from different cameras like a Holga or Lomo. You can also apply effects like cross-processing, 60s film, 70s film, fisheye and even infrared to name a few.

So there you have it. I'm always looking for more apps to help me make killer pictures on my iPhone.