iBeastie - for when you need more Time...

This photograph captures the launch of the new MINI GP perfectly for us. The new boy on the right is getting all the attention and the original GP on the left is sad and lonely and ignored. But is he?  Notice how he shines, how he hogs this photograph and pulls your eye to him. He screams I wont be ignored and looking from afar as we were, where we could see the wood as well as just the trees, we could hear his voice, his primal supercharged scream as he shouted, " I am the Lord of all Superchargers and I will own your head and soul like no other car can!"

On christmas Day we went on a long coastal walk which turned out to beabout 5 and a half miles. This was quite a tough walk as it includedrocky bits, hilly bits and sandy bits. We started off at Gigaro Beachnear La Croix Valmer and the aim was to walk to within sight of CapTaillat.

At this point we were flagging a bit and I remember saying that whenwe get to this post we will see Cap Taillat. We didn't - Cap lardiershowed up blocking our view of cap Taillat and we had to walk foranother mile before our mission was accomplished.

It was a beautiful walk though and the light was simply stunning. Ican understand why painters flock to the South of France.

NB. Cap Taillat is protected by the Conservatoire du Littoral (whichbought it from Club Med after it tried to turn the precious,nature-rich cape into the world's largest Club Med in the 1970s). Thetiny spit of sandy land today supports a range of important habitats,from seashore to wooded cliffs, and hides some of France's rarestplant species as well as a population of Hermann tortoises.

Put simply iPhoneography is about creating stunning creative images on an iPhone.  The truth is I am very late to this party having only had my iPhone for a week now. Already though I am smitten by this massively growing field of photography and three things have conspired to make me a serious adopter of this genre of photography.

First the iPhone itself which makes taking a photo incredibly easy  and also the incredible number of photography focussed apps that are available in the Apps store. My first foray into the app store found Instagram  and instantly I have fallen in love with this app which is just so right in so many ways not least its simplicity and speed. You can find out more about Instagram here.  Below is one of my first forays into the wonderful world of Instagram iPhoneography and social netwrok sharing:

Secondly, a friend of mine - Wibbly - pointed me at a smashing online forum dedicated to iPhoneography, called mobitog.com. On my first day of joining this forum, it has already pointed me at another promising photo app called Hipstamatic. Their slogan is "Digital photography never looked so analogue"  The Hipstamatic for iPhone is an application that brings back the look, feel, unpredictable beauty, and fun of plastic toy cameras from the past. Like Instagram the app smoothly lets you share your photos with Flickr and your social network sites. Mobitog though, promises to be a gateway to a whole community of fellow iPhoneographers seeking information, tips and perhaps validity for their work in the often Purist driven world of photography!

Thirdly and perhaps as another shot across the bow of the Purist ship, iPhoneography is legitimising itself not just with its own word for the genre and its own internet forums but also with a number of very professional websites that are dedicated to the subject. One that stands out is iphoneographycentral a smashing website that explains itself and iPhoneography as follows:

Iphoneography is about creating stunning creative images on an iphone. Learn and share the latest creative effects, tips and tricks from the best iphoneographers in the world. Got an iphone and want to make great photographs and art? Need to know what apps to get you started? This is the website to learn and share. Packed with tutorials from leading iphoneographers, they will show you how to create breathtaking images step by step. Fed up with boring pictures? then learn how to lighten, brighten and transform your images into works of art. This resource is suitable for all levels from both newbies to professionals. 

The site is run by Nicki Fitz-Gerald whose infectious enthusiasm for the subject can be found in every corner of her site and who has a mean portfolio of her own. You can check out her work at http://www.iphoneart.com/FlickrFitzy and her Flickr work can be seen at http://www.flickr.com/photos/52982031@N00/with/5576048001/.

To conclude, the combination of simplicity of camera use on the iPhone and the abundance of photography based apps availble for it, combined with the availabilty of some excellent on line Forums and  knowledge websites for the genre, has ensured that for me iPhoneography is the new religion!

A modest bit of success with one of our pictures this week. This a photo we took of bluebells in the woodlands on the side of the hills approaching Midsummer Hill in The Malverns. Basically we applied a vertical motion blur to the bottom third of the photo giving the pathway and the bluebells flanking it a dreamy surreal look that almost begs the question, "What dream is waiting at the end of the path?"

We were very pleased to have the picture noticed and have it enjoyed by more people than usually get to look at our photos so we wanted to pass the good news on.

Thanks Beastie and Peanut

The best way for me to explain Instagram is to send you over to App Boy and a blog by Hillell Fuld.

Hillel Fuld - 5 Things Instagram Got Right that Others Before it Couldn’t.

This is a selection of my collection of Instagrams which I will share on Flickr, Facebook and Twitter.

LUMIX G Micro System Digital Camera GF1 - The World’s Smallest, Lightest Interchangeable Lens Camera with Artistic Flat Design

A friend of ours Wibbly has just bought this camera and reviewed it on intoclassco.co.uk assessing it as follows:

"Imagine having to lug about all those lenses and a monster body, and filters and all the additional bits and pieces associated with a DSLR people lug about nowadays.  Now as an amateur togger, I’m guessing quite a few people start off chasing the ultimate dream and spend more time buying kit than taking pictures.  I know I have in the past, and in a short time what happens is it spends more time collecting dust and a nice ornament than it does taking pics.

So after all that chasing I decided to downsize my big bag of kit and buy myself a 4/3rds camera which I guess is a good compromise between compact portability and DSLR quality.  4/3rds is basically DSLR without the mirror element which means you get no viewfinder, and in some circles that is sacrosanct for good imaging.

All I will say is take a look here at this site, and the review of the camera I have bought and see if you agree with me that a 4/3rds is more than capable enough for an amateur shooter like me!

http://www.davidclapp.co.uk/blog/reviews/43-panasonic-gf-1-in-the-landscape.html

I think I can quite happily live with some of the images produced here!"

Wibbly's thoughts and those of David Clapp in the link above have convinced me of the merits of this camera. The attraction of our current Canon 400Ds is that they were small for a DSLR and that is the strength I see with this camera, so enjoy your camera Mr Wibbly you have made me hanker for something my wallet cannot yet support!

Key Features - Source Panasonic Website

LUMIX G Micro System - Interchangeable Lens Digital Camera

High Image Quality with 12.1-megapixel Live MOS Sensor & Venus Engine HD

HD Movie AVCHD Lite & Motion Picture P Mode

My Colour Mode

iA Mode with Face Recognition

LUMIX G 20mm/F1.7 ASPH. Based on Micro Four Thirds System Standard

"By using the Micro Four Thirds System standard and developing a camera body that eliminates the mirror box and optical viewfinder unit, the DMC-GF1 was able to achieve the world's smallest, lightest body as a system camera with a built-in flash. It also features classical, but new artistic flat design. This new-generation system camera features Full-Time Live View, high-speed Contrast AF, HD movie recording, and more. It is small enough to take anywhere, yet sophisticated enough to take you as far into photography and movies as you want to go.

The DMC-GF1's 4/3-type Live MOS sensor with 12.1-megapixel gives you the high image quality. It also adds a high-speed readout for HD movie recording. The Dust Reduction System helps maintain image quality by placing a Supersonic Wave Filter in front of the sensor. An image processing LSI, Venus Engine HD, incorporates two CPUs. This does not only boost image processing speed, it also helps achieve an exceptional noise-reduction performance. Also, it allows long-time movie recording in AVCHD Lite while maintaining low power consumption."