Author Archives: Matt Hoffman

My New Love: Tiffen’s Photo fx App

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If you’re like me, you probably have tons of photo-filter apps on your iPhone. So many in fact, that you have enough filter combinations to last you a lifetime. So why would you look for more filter apps!? Well, I was bored, and I came across Tiffen’s Photo fx app. Some of you may be familiar with Tiffen’s line of optical filters for DSLR’s and other cameras. Tiffen created this app with their heritage in optical filters in mind. As I read through the list of filters in the app, it was like having a bag of these filters at my finger tips! To make things even better, the filters could be stacked, tweaked, and masked! I was sold!

I browsed my photo stream looking for a photo to put this app through it’s paces. I decided on a photo that I took very recently on a gray day as I was hiking through the White Mountains in New Hampshire. This photo is an HDR (High Dynamic Range) of one of the Greeley Ponds. I picked this photo because of the huge expanses of gray in the water and sky. Here is the original:

Gray day at Greeley Ponds.

I like this photo and I took it specifically with the a conversion to black and white in mind. But after browsing through the filters in this app, I knew that I could punch it up a bit. I made a few tweaks in Snapseed, like contrast, saturation and cropping. Yes, I like to crop in Snapseed.  Then I brought the photo into one of my other favorite (new to me) apps, Perfectly Clear. After that app worked it’s magic, I was left with this image:

A bit better, but still gray.

Perfectly Clear really punched up the contrast and saturation, and got rid of some of the diffusion from the fog. It also brightened up the sky and the water, which is exactly what I wanted before applying a filter from Photo fx. Once I uploaded my photo into this app, I opened up the Grads/Tints filter folder, and then opened the Sunset/Twilight folder. For this photo I picked the Twilight 2 filter. At first glance, the photo looked really cool, but the colors were a bit too saturated. No problem though, the app lets you dial back each of the primary colors found in the filter, in this case, blue, purple and red. I made my tweaks and things were starting to look better, but I wasn’t happy about the filter being applied like a blanket over the entire image. No problem again! Tapping the paint brush icon on the bottom of the screen revealed the masking feature. Using my finger, I was able to mask out the grass and trees, effectively eliminating the filter from those areas. I feel that this gave the image a slightly more realistic feel. From there, I brought the photo into PicFrame and added the black frame and then posted to Instagram.  Here is the final image:

Not very gray anymore!

What do you think? I’m excited about the control this app offers and the realistic filters. If this app looks like something that might interest you, we’d love to see your creations! Post them up on Tiny Shutter’s Facebook page or maybe our new Twitter page! This app is $2.99, but I feel it is worth every penny. So if your tired of filter apps that only seem to be able to make your photos look “retro”, this might the app you’re looking for!

Matt

A Day at the Beach

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iPhone abuse?

Listen to the feature segment in episode 13 of the Tiny Shutter to hear more about my experience with the Life Proof Case.

Recently, I went on vacation to the beach in North Carolina. I was going to be spending some time with my 1-year old niece also. I knew that my phone would be the main way that I would record photos and videos on this trip, but I worried that the sand and the water would be the demise of my phone.  After a bit research, there seemed to be only one choice of phone protection: LifeProof.

The LifeProof case bills itself as being waterproof, snow proof , dust proof and shock proof. Snow proof seems a bit redundant (snow is water after all), but I’ll certainly test that claim next winter. The case is a 2-piece case with an o-ring seal. It snaps tightly together and the o-ring forms a waterproof barrier. LifeProof claims that the case is waterproof down to 6.6 feet for an unlimited amount of time. Before testing the case with my phone in it, I snapped the case together, and then submerged it in my sink for 1 hour. After drying off the outside of the case I took it apart to inspect it. No water inside! So far so good.

The case allows full use of all the iPhone functions. I found that the touch-screen functions almost as well as no case at all. The only time the touch-screen will not work is when the phone is under water. The phone comes with a screw-in plug that seals the headphone jack. The Apple iPhone headphones will fit without an adaptor, but most other headphones will require the supplied adaptor.  I use my headphones often, and at first I was annoyed with this minor inconvenience, but I quickly got used to it. The charging/data port is also sealed with a waterproof “door”. The Apple 30-pin connector will fit without any trouble, but if you use a speaker dock or 3rd party connector, you might need an adaptor.  Again, a minor inconvenience, but not a big deal.  Another plus to this case? It’s thin!  I got used to the bulk that my old Otterbox added to my phone, but this case only adds 1/16″ to the thickness of the phone! I love have a thinner phone in my pocket.

Surfing iPhone!

This case was not created specifically with iPhoneography in mind, but it does have a feature that helps. There is no tripod socket, but the rear-facing camera is covered by real glass, with an anti-reflective coating. Nice! The l.e.d flash and the front facing camera are also fully functional with this case.  If you take a lot of photos outdoors (hiking, kayaking, biking) then the level of protection that this case offers is definitely a great feature.

So I know you’re all wondering… does it live up to its claims?  Well, yes! The first thing I did was bury the bottom 3rd of the phone in the sand. I checked the seals and they had no sand in them. Then it was off to the ocean.  I laid the phone down in the surf and let the ocean repeatedly wash over the phone for a few minutes. I did this test for 5 days.  Every day after my time at the beach, I would wash the outside of the case off in the sink with running water, to get the sand off. I pulled the case apart a few times to check the inside. Never, not once, was there ever any water or sand inside the case!

So what don’t I like about it? Having to use adaptors for headphones and speaker docks is kind of annoying. I’m getting used to it.  The phone screen collects oils from your grubby hands. It needs daily cleaning with the supplied lint-free cloth. The case is extremely hard to get apart. If you like to change cases often, then this might be a deal breaker. LifeProof recommends not taking the case apart very often in order to not wear out the seal prematurely.

All in all, I love the LifeProof case and I highly recommend it. The case retails on the LifeProof website for $79.99, but a bit of poking around on the interwebs will get you a cheaper price. Whew! That’s a lot to say about an iPhone case! How many times did I use the word “proof” and how many times did I use hyphens?

Photo Journeys with Matt Hoffman

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Todays photo journey focuses on how to achieve the long exposure “blur” effect while photographing waterfalls with an iPhone.

Bicknell Brook

Bicknell Brook in the Upper Valley of New Hampshire.

Every now and then it’s good to get away from hectic pace of everyday life. But I can’t always take a trip for a day, so it’s great to have a place I can go to relax that is close to home. Bicknell Brook Conservation

Area, in the Upper Valley of New Hampshire, is that place for me. A 1.5 mile trail follows along the brook, passing remnants of an old logging mill from the 1800’s.  The brook is punctuated with marshes created by beaver dams and wanders through areas of dense pine trees. The real highlight for me is the many waterfalls and cascades along the brook.

Usually, I bring my Nikon D80 with me, but recently I decided to see what kind of images I could capture there with my iPhone. In early March the brook was high with snowmelt and I knew I had to capture the rushing water in the same manner I would as if I were shooting with my Nikon. I wanted to use a long exposure to blur the water , but how do you do that on an iPhone?  As with all things iPhone, the secret is in the apps.  For this particular application, my go-to app is called SlowShutterCam.

This app allows me to use my iPhone as if it has a shutter priority mode. Using the apps Automatic mode, I chose a shutter speed around 2 seconds long. I tapped the screen on the water to tell the app to expose for the water. The resulting image is a bit underexposed but the water is blurred beautifully. I should note that just as you would with a long exposure on any other type of camera, using a tripod with the SlowShutterCam app is essential if you want your images to be sharp!

After saving the image, I open it in my favorite editing app, Snapseed.  After adjusting the sharpness in the Details tab, I open the Drama tab and select the Bright 1 preset. This preset brightens up the underexposed area of the image, usually without blowing out the details in the water too much. I’ll adjust the intensity of this preset as necessary. Then I make some quick global adjustments to the contrast, and saturation in the Tune Image tab. Lastly, I go into the Selective Adjust tab to fine tune the local exposure using control points.  That’s it!  With the right apps it’s possible to achieve any number of effects just as you would with your fancy DSLR and Photoshop.

Please leave any comments or questions and I will respond ASAP!  Also, stay tuned to the website for Photo Journeys from Marc and Keith!

A birch tree reflected in a calm pool on Bicknell Brook.

A great cascade under a bridge on Bicknell Brook.

Getting close to water!

 

Steady as she goes: A DiffCase Review.

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DiffCase with cover.

Those of you who follow me on Instagram know that I tend to create a lot of HDR images with my iPhone. While the HDR app that I use is pretty good at aligning hand held shots, it’s not perfect.  And so, the need to put the iPhone on a tripod arises. There are many iPhone cases out there with standard 1/4″-20 tripod threads. I have a couple of them, but they are not meant to be an everyday case. So when I saw the DiffCase, I knew I had to try it out.

The DiffCase is a tough ABS plastic full-bumper case with two tripod sockets, one for portrait and one for landscape mounting.  The case also features a front and back lid, which can be used to protect the front and back glass on the iPhone, as well as eliminate glare or increase privacy while using the phone.  The lids attach to the case using small plastic pins. There is also a tab on each lid that moves into two different notches on the phone case as you lift the lid; one at 90° and the other at 135°.  Further more, the lid is fully removable just by continuing to open it as you would a book.

My experience so far:

As I mentioned before, the DiffCase is plastic, so there were no surprises there when it arrived in the mail. The case did come with a soft, lint-free cloth, which does an amazing job at cleaning fingerprints off the glass of the iPhone.  In the corner of the case between the two tripod sockets, there is a hole for attaching a carabiner clip. The case did not come with a carabiner though. It’s not a deal breaker for me, as I doubt I’d ever carry my phone that way, but some people might be disappointed.

Shortly before receiving this case, I was at the coast in Massachusetts. There was snow on the ground, and the sun was shining brightly. I wanted to take photos with my iPhone but the glare made seeing the screen impossible. Fast forward a week and again I was in Massachusetts, walking around Boston. The sun was bright with not a cloud in the sky. This time I had the DiffCase. Using the lids as shades to reduce glare, I had no problem seeing the screen while standing in full sun.

DiffCase with lid open

DiffCase with no lid

DiffCase tripod sockets

Now for some of the quirks: While the funky design claims to be ergonomic, I found it to be cumbersome when hand holding.  The case has an opening for the headphone jack, but it does not allow headphones to actually plug in. On the bottom of the case, it is cut out so that you can access the dock connector on the iPhone, however, you will only be able to use the dock connector cord that comes with the phone. I need to remove to the case to plug the phone in to my speakers, and the case does not fit well in my car holder mount.  Explicit instructions come with the DiffCase on how to install and remove the lids. There is even a video on the DiffCase website showing that the plastic pins on the lids are indeed very strong. Despite all that, I still managed to break one pin on each lid in a short amount of time.

Final Thoughts:

I was hoping that this would be my everyday case; the idea of having tripod sockets at all times is very appealing to me. But the inconvenience of not being able to use the headphone jack and only the dock connector cord has limited the use of this case.  Any time that I know in advance that I will be using my iPhone on a tripod, I will be using this case for sure.  The protective lids keep the phone sealed up when it’s not in use and eliminates glare when using the phone in the sun.  This is the first generation of this case, so it will be exciting to see what improvements have been made to the next version of the DiffCase.

The DiffCase retails for $34.95, and is available in black, red, and white. The DiffCase fits the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S. You can find the DiffCase here: http://www.diffcase.com/DiffCase.html

DiffCase mounted in landscape mode

Hand holding the DiffCase

Here’s some photos taken while using the DiffCase and a Gorillapod.