Oggl… needs less bugs
Last week I saw the news that Hipstamatic was ready to release a new photo sharing app that was in the same vein as Instagram. The difference was that it was invite only, and there would be memberships. Mid-week I entered my email address to get the early access. On Saturday I got my invite.
This is not a review… rather, this is my first impressions.
Facebook Camera
It seems like all the tech news outlets are gushing over the new Facebook camera app. It’s awesome, it works great, blah, blah, blah.
Here’s my two cents.
With the invention of something really cool comes the fans that want to talk about that cool thing. Heck, we’re in that mix because we love iPhoneography! Instagram is no different.
Also in the mix are the people that want to profit from said phenomenon. Around Instagram is a plethora of services ranging from web pages to view photos, printing photos, it goes on and on. But one man wants to make something a little… different.
Behold, the Instagram camera.
NOTE: This post was related to a previous Instagram Outage. If you’re coming here to complain about Instagram, feel free to let us know that something is wrong. However, we are NOT tech support, and we have no affiliation with Instagram.
And listen to the Tiny Shutter Podcast. Find us on iTunes, Stitcher, or Alpha Geek Radio.
Update 6/30/12 13:00 : My Instagram feed has updated but will not allow uploads. #GettingThere
UPDATE 6/30/12 12:00 :Amazon has continued to update their AWS with information about continuing outages related to the N. Virginia Cloud server. These outages have been caused by violent storms that knocked out power to hundreds of thousands and killing 5 people. Amazon’s most recent update:We are continuing our recovery efforts for the remaining EC2 instances and EBS volumes. We are beginning to successfully provision additional Elastic Load Balancers.
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UPDATE 6/30/12 08:00 : Instagram has been down since @ 23:00 eastern time 6/29/12. The cause of the outage is an Amazon Elastic Cloud server in N. Virginia that has apparently been affected by severe thunder storms in the area. Instagram has tweeted a generic statement acknowledging the outage
– @InstagramHelp
We’re currently experiencing technical difficulties and we’re working to correct the issues. Thanks for your patience
As usual IG has avoided offering any information regarding the outage to the > 1M fans on their Facebook page, IG has updated their wall with a brief description of the cause of the issue. Netflix, Pinterest, and a host of other services are feeling the outage. The latest update from Amazon is: Jun 30, 4:42 AM PDT We are continuing to work to recover the remaining EC2 instances, EBS volumes and ELBs.
EDIT: If you found your way to this page because Instagram is giving you grief by not updating, add your 2 cents to the comment section. We want to know… because odds are we’re feeling the same pain.
Breaking News! What’s wrong with Instagram today? Complaints and questions from frustrated users are piling up on IG’s Facebook page. Messages to the IG help desk have been un-answered to this point and if you’re dwelling on it, the problems may appear to be becoming more severe.
Current issues involved include:
What kind of issues are you having? add them in the comments below.
Have you received any response from Instagram or found other info related to the issues?
Do you think this has something to do with Android?
Do you think this has something to do with Facebook?
Todays photo journey focuses on how to achieve the long exposure “blur” effect while photographing waterfalls with an iPhone.
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!
Welcome to episode five of the Tiny Shutter Podcast.
News – City of Boston settles camera phone case for $170,000, iPhone 4 and Canon MKII seesaw in Flickr popularity, iPhone 5 3D camera rumors, rescuers use iPhone camera to retrieve toddler from well, Instagram debuts on Android.
Featured – Three way iPhone Camera app battle royale between Camera Awesome, Camera+, and the native camera app. Leave your votes in the comments here, on Facebook, or on Google+.
Focus Points – Keith says PicFX, Marc loves his new iPad, and Matt offers a magic freebie.
Show Links:
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Podcast: Play in new window | Download
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Welcome to episode two of the Tiny Shutter Podcast.
News from this episode includes Apple and Android are in hot water due to personal photo and information security concerns. Instagram officially announces 27 million app downloads and teases there soon to be released Android edition. Camera+ gets up to speed with an update to v3.0. iPhone 5 rumors, iOS 5.1, and of course the new iPad.
Featured in this weeks show Marc reviews the Photojojo iPhone Telephoto lens. There are samples from his iPhone 4s and his full text review of the Photojojo iPhone Telephoto Lens here on Tiny Shutter.
Focus Points start with Keith relaying a tip he learned from watching a Creative Live iPhoneography seminar, and Marc offers an Instagramer worth following.
Show Links:
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Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS