Buttercup Bud

Camera App: 645pro
Extras: Ollo Clip 3in1 Lens System, Macro Lens

Additional Apps used for post processing:

PhotoForge2 - for a High Pass filter version
Blender - to re-sharpen the photo a bit by blending the High Pass version with the original photo in Overlay mode
ArtistaSketch - for a clean pencil sketch version
Blender - to blend the pencil version with the previous version to enhance sharpness, contrast and colors
MokuHD - to see what result Moku will give me...
AristaOil - to see that my picture will look like in oil...
Blender - to see what the result will be when blending the Moku version with the Oil version - and I liked the outcome a lot!
Blender and Blender again - to blend that version with the Sketch version again, then with the Oil version again, then with the original photo again to enhance details...
Camera+ - for the beautiful vintage paper frame
Pixlromatic - for the Perga frame. I love the Camera+ frame a lot but I wanted to make it look a bit different on  this picture.
A+Signature - for the copyright watermark handwritten signature as well as the markings on the composition of the steps I took to make this picture.

Sometimes it pays to put your work aside and let it sleep for a while if you aren't completely satisfied with it. In this case I was playing around with some apps for a while but I wasn't satisfied with the outcome of my picture so I dropped it, but I didn't delete the files. That was about two weeks ago. Now I had a different idea. I created an Artista Moku version as well as an Artista Oil version and I liked the outcome a lot. Then I was blending both versions in Blender and I was blown away by the beautiful result I got. Playing around with Blender a bit more I finally created a picture that I really loved. What about you? Do you like it?

The composition above show you some of the steps I took to create this picture. If you got questions about techniques used please feel free to leave your comment. You may also find me on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/quaffit. Add me as your friend and we may discuss iPhoneography in detail if you like.

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Geranium...After the Rain

Camera App: CCD
Extras: Ollo Clip 3in1 Lens System, Macro Lens
Nomad Brush: to paint on masks

Additional Apps used for postprocessing:
PhotoForge2 - for converting the original TIFF file into JPG format to process it in Blender because Blender cannot read TIFFs. Also I created a High Pass version of my photo to use it in Blender for the usual sharpening process.
Blender - to sharpen my photo a bit more using the High Pass technique. I usually create a High Pass version in PhotoForge2 where I apply a High Pass filter with a setting of something between 100-200. I save that version and blend it in Blender with the original photo in Overlay mode, original photo on the left side, High Pass version on the right side. Moving the slider quickly shows the change in sharpness and contrast. Settle where you like it the most and save the result. You don't need to save every step you took in Blender before adding another layer (version of your picture) to blend with the previous one. All you need to do is holding your finger on the screen until a menu appears where you can choose "flatten" from. Then your blended picture goes to the left side and the right side is free to add another version to it. Tapping your screen once brings up the menu to choose from editing or arranging of your layers. You may change your top layer's position and size, or in edit mode you may apply a mask. The pencil behaves in relation to the zoom factor. The more you zoom in, the smaller the pencil will be, hence the more detailed you can work with it. Strokes may also be erased again, indeed.
Photo fx Ultra - to use the Polarizer filter for enhancing the colors a bit.
ArtistaOil HD - to create an oil painting version
ArtistaSketch HD - to create a clean sketch version. I used a dark violet pencil this case
Blender - to blend oil and sketch and previous version again and again with different slider settings. Also I applied a mask in Blender to save sharpness in the center of the picture.
RippedHD - for the frame. I use my Nomad brush a lot when editing pictures. It's very handy for painting masks precisely or for defining the ripped off parts in a picture when using RippedHD.
A+Signature - still my favorite app to apply my copyright watermark.

Bad weather actually - too bad for riding my bike, so I used the occasion to play around a bit with my Ollo Clip macro lens once again. The flower looks big on the picture but in fact it's only a small part of a Geranium flower that I pictured with the Ollo Clip.
CCD is really a great app if you want to get maximum picture quality in RAW format without any effects applied to it. Most camera apps as well as the integrated software of modern compact cameras optimize your photo before it is being saved. that's why you get stunning results when using camera programs. Usually only DSRLs are also capable of saving your photo in a clean format, without any optimization, which is called the RAW format. You need a RAW converter, a special software usually provided by your DSLR manufacturer to convert your RAW files into a format usable in other software, such as JPG or TIFF. Currently there are two camera apps available in the app store that are capable of converting RAW data into a format usable for post processing. These are "645pro" and "CCD". While the 645pro simulates a well done camera with many settings plus some films and different picture format settings it's current version (1.11) unfortunately runs very unstable. If you take another photo before the previous one had been fully saved in TIFF format, which takes a little while, the app usually crashes and no picture will be saved. This is not the case with CCD. which is very quick and very reliable. You can take up to 4 pictures in sequence before the indicator turns red, but the files in memory are quickly saved so you don't need to worry too much about this. Other than 645pro, CCD saves only TIFF files, no JPG. In 645pro you can set your picture quality to save uncompressed JPGs + TIFF, which needs processing time. The 645pro generally is really an outstanding app which I only can recommend to buy. Currently it's only disadvantage is instability but I'm sure it's developers work already on this to correct it with a future update of the app. I especially love the black and white films of the 645pro. The great thing about RAW format saving is that the 645pro saves you a b/w JPG but also the RAW file in color.

Got a question? Please leave me a comment and I'll answer it. Or you may find me on Facebook. Just search for "quaffit".

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