Call Me

I also saw this phone at the Pottery Barn. Kind of makes me want a land line. But, alas I always use my iPhone.

Pottery Barn Cafe String Lights

Saw these at Pottery Barn and love them. Think they would be fabulous on our patio.

Woman With The Blue Hat

Here is another image I created on the iPhone. I began by taking a picture with my iPhone camera of an old postcard. I then edited it in a number of iPhone photography apps...

MagicHour
PhotoWizard
Image Blender
ArtistaHaiku

Do You Pinterest?

Most creative people I know have some sort of bulletin board where they posts bits and pieces of things that inspire them. Pinterest is a place where you can have all kinds of bulletin boards and share them with others. It is a fairly new social media site. I have only been using it a few months, but already am hooked. I find the most interesting things on other peoples' boards.

The above image is a picture of my places and spaces bulletin board. Here I "pin" images from my wish list of places I want to travel. Most of these pins I have seen on other peoples' boards or someplace on the internet.

You can see my bulletin boards here.  Soon I will start posting some of the best pinterest boards that I come across.

Challenges on Instragram

If you like taking pictures with your iPhone, Instagram is a must have social media app. It is a wonderful way to share your photographs and engage with other amazing iphoneographers. Really...there are so many very creative photographers. You can also just see what someone had for breakfast all over the world if you want.

A fun way to start engaging with other photographers is to join challenges. There usually will be some specific photography assignment such as a street show, something blurred, the color orange, etc. There also are editing challenges. Someone will post a photograph and all those participating will edit that photo using iPhone apps.

My image above was my entry to the editing challenge #originaleditions_004. 

This was the original photograph posted by @originaleditions.  

Here are a few challenges you might want to check out for fun.

#photooftheday - Just choose your best image for that day and put their hashtag into your comments. 

#CURRENTMONTHphotoaday - Each month has a new hashtag. For instance this month is MARphotoaday. Each day of the month has a different assignment so be sure to check out the list.

#jj - one of the most popular challenge creators on Instagram. Josh Johnson also has nightly forums and other weekly challenges. Follow him @joshjohnson.

#applified - another daily editing challenge.

#clubsocial - posts their favorite entries.

Happy Spring.

Here is my new animated e-card. Was hoping to get it done by the first day of Spring... a couple days late. It's up now at Hula Hoop Press if you want to send anyone a Happy Spring Message.

By the way I did all of the individual frames in my iPhone.

This Month's Top Ten Tips From My Favorite Magazines

1.  As usual I find many of my favorite things in my favorite decorating magazine, LivingETC. I have been having turquoise on the mind lately and this month's issue is loaded with my current favorite color.

Love the lamp shade from Rothschild and Bickers. The bed spread was created by the designer Carolyn Quartermaine. I have a vintage brown couch that is a rounded. Would love to have this turquoise couch to go with it. And that tiled shower....wouldn't you feel like you were under the sea?

2.  My bedroom has an awkwardly placed window which makes it difficult to place the bed. I thought this wall treatment could serve as a headboard as well as have the mirrors bounce some light back into the room. (Also seen in LivingEtc.)

3.  The March issue of O had a lot of fabulous decluttering ideas. My favorite was to store each set of sheets in one of the pillowcases. So simple - why did I never think of that?

4.  Love both of these wedge shoes (O magazine). The pink patent leather shoes from Oscar de la Renta are over my shoe budget. Couldn't find the Nine West florals but did find a similar striped pair.

5.  O Magazine also had several pages on a modern day 20s fashion. One of the reasons I love Downton Abby is the beautiful fabrics and dresses. Rumor is the third season will have more fabulous fashions, emphasizing trends of the 20s.

6.  I am forever on the lookout for the perfect trio of brown eyeshadows. This one from Shseido looks like a winner.

7.  I saw these African lamp finials in House Beautiful. A bit on the pricey size for jewelry for your lamp, but very pretty.

8.  I see the future and I like it! I have been wanting an electric car. (The tesla is my dream car.) I read  (also in House Beautiful) about these new Blink recharging pumps that will be installed at Ikea, Walmart and other places so you can recharge your car while you shop.

9.  Also saw this Panama tote in House Beautiful. (A recharging station for electric cars and a tote in a decorating magazine - who knew?) 

10.  Saw this ad for Bottega Veneta's 2012 collection in several magazines. Beautiful clothes.

My New Animated St Patrick's Day Card

I know I am a day early. But, Happy St. Patrick's day. Hope it brings you lots of luck this year. If you would like to email this animated card to friends go to my e-cards store Hula Hoop Press. You can post it to your friends on facebook for free!

Michelle Obama Does it Again - Looks Fabulous

Photographing in Outdoor Light

Continuing the SITS Girls photography challenge. Today it's about outdoor lighting. Lots of good tips about photographing in the "golden hour" and in the shade. 

I spend a lot of time photographing in the California wine country. My favorite days to photograph are on those partial cloudy days. Love the big puffy clouds and how bits of light will peak out and make part of the vineyards glow. I find this especially works well early in the morning or late in the day when the light breaking though is not too bright.

Straightening Your iPhone Photos

I am participating in a forum challenge with the SITS Girls on using Pinterest to display your photographs. I am fairly new using Pinterest like it a lot. I have found the most interesting things that other users have "pinned." 

Today's challenge is about straightening your photo before posting it. I thought you iPhone photography lovers might be interest in how to straighten those horizons with an app. I like to use CropSuey. It's an easy app to use. You straighten your image with your finger, lining up with horizontal and vertical grid lines. My only warning is you have to lift your finger off very gently so the image stays straight.

I wanted the tree in this image to be vertical. The original was pretty far off as I didn't take much time to compose while trying to catch the egret flying out of the tree.

Photography - Finding Your Style

Years ago I was working with an art director at an advertising agency in Silicon Valley. He liked my work but often said my pieces were not edgy enough for their computer ads. (Their ads aimed at the male 18-24 year old market. For some reason they thought that women weren't buying computers too.) I would go back to my studio determined to do "edgy" photographs. It never worked. Edgy just doesn't come out of me. No matter how hard I tried, my images were feminine.

Although I have been a professional photographer for over 25 years and have used just about every size camera you can imagine, I now almost exclusively use my iPhone to take and edit pictures. People sometimes ask me how I keep my photos unique when using apps so many others are using. Well first I almost never use one app to edit. I combine lots of them. Second...my style just comes out. Someone can try to copy what I do using the same apps...but their style will just come out.

How do you find your style? Photograph a lot and who you are will always be seen in your photographs.

I'm a Slut!

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