Safe at Christmas

On the afternoon of Christmas Eve, I accidentally left my driveway gate open. Two of my dogs, Ralph and Bose, ran off. I received a call from a kind person, a half-mile away, who found Bose. Only then did I even realize my gate was open. Ralph was still loose, unaccounted for. I took off on foot, and long story made short, found him within a short while thanks to a number of helpful folks who saw him running in certain directions.

I am so thankful for the kind people in my neighborhood. Having my dogs home safe and sound is a gift this Christmas.

I'm walking them both home in this photo.

Long shadow

The midday shadows are longer during the cold winter months... Taken with my iPhone 4 and processed using Camera+.

Autumn meets winter

Taken and processed with my iPhone 4. Used CrossProcess (a combination of the basic and extreme filters).

A wish from my Christmas tree

The first of my photos for b&w weekend (see #bwweekend on Twitter).

Holiday glow

Part of the ShakeItPhoto weekend, Dec. 10-12, 2010. Join in the fun! Details here.

Festive

I was kinda nervous taking this candid shot! Went a little outside of my comfort zone... :)

Part of the ShakeItPhoto weekend, Dec. 10-12, 2010. Join in the fun! Details here.

Slope

Part of the ShakeItPhoto weekend, Dec. 10-12, 2010. Join in the fun! Details here.

Factory sunrise

A view across the Mississippi River of the Illinois side, taken from the Missouri side. Taken with my iPhone and processed using the Photoshop Express app.

Highway at dawn

Taken shortly before sunrise with my iPhone 4 and processed using the CrossProcess app (using its basic filter).

He doesn't lie still for long

My dog Bose.

The individual photos were taken with my iPhone 4 and processed using the CrossProcess app (using the green filter), and then merged together using the PhotoDesk app.

Rain

Taken with my iPhone 4 and minimally processed using the warm vintage effect in the Photoshop Express iPhone app.

The fallen

Taken with my iPhone 4 and processed using the Helga and Fisheye effects within the CameraBag app

November branches

Taken with my iPhone and processed using the PhotoCopier, Camera+ and CrossProcess apps.

Autumn fusion

Taken with the iPhone and processed using Infinicam (picture style 8LK-MCS5) and PictureShow (MultiExpose style).

Election official

From one of the polling places in University City, MO, on Nov. 2, 2010.

Taken with the iPhone and processed using the Infinicam app with camera style KHO-8H72.

October evening

My first photo processed using the Infinicam app. For fellow Infinicam users who may be interested, this is camera style I61-KQ85.

Asphalt art

From the streets of downtown St. Louis

Autumn contrast

Summer's last hurrah

Seen in my garden last night. I thought these flowers had completed their run for the year!

Wrought iron

Stripes

10 10 10

To commemorate October 10, 2010, I was all about shooting "10's" today! These were my three favorites, edited together with the Adobe Photoshop Express and PhotoDesk iPhone apps.

Autumn crocus

From the Missouri Botanical Garden. I never realized that there were autumn crocuses! At first, I thought our warm October weather in St. Louis was prompting the late-winter, early-spring crocuses to make a super-early appearance.

Reflection of autumn

Taken with the iPhone 4 and processed primarily with the PictureShow app

Variegated leaf

From a plant called a Variegatum Monstrosum at the Missouri Botanical Garden

October flowers

The Tivoli

One of the oldest and most interesting movie theatres in St. Louis, as seen reflected in the window of a clothing store across the street.

Time

Golden sunset

As the days get shorter, the sunsets are coming earlier. Incidentally, this photo was taken on what might end up having been the last "hot day" of St. Louis 2010. The high temperature was over 90, with more-seasonal highs in the 60s and 70s expected over the following week.

Short flowers

Taken with the Hipstamatic but further enhanced with the "Vintage Instant" effect in the Lo-Mob app

This way

From the wall of a parking garage. Taken with the Hipstamatic 170 and its newest film/lens combo, the Ina's 1935 film and the Bettie XL lens. As forewarned by the Hipstamatic folks, the Bettie XL lens suffers from a leaky seal: "Be careful with this one, you never know when the streaks will happen."

Utility

Birds on the wires

Edited using the PictureShow and Plastic Bullet apps

Goose

One of the geese from my work campus, looking out into the pond and illuminated during the hour before sunset. At 328x328 pixels, this is a severe cropping from a 5 MP photo taken with my iPhone. I processed the photo using several iPhone apps, mainly Picture Show and PhotoCopier.

Little Borat 2

It's been three years since the original Little Borat video, but my nephew Willie is back as Little Borat:



Recorded earlier this month using the HD video camera in the iPhone 4 and edited on the iPhone 4 using the iMovie app.

Goodbye, summer

As the temperatures here in St. Louis cool down during this week of Labor Day, the summer of 2010 starts to fade from my memory...

One of a kind

This was my cousin Brenda's car, until yesterday, when she traded it in. Brenda's words: "My poor little egend. I cried when I handed over the keys."

Japanese

I have no idea what these Japanese characters (or words?) say. I took these four individual photographs early Saturday morning before the start the annual Japanese Festival in St. Louis. There were differently-colored banners for the festival, each identical except for their color.

If anyone can translate for me, I'd love to know!

Ghost dogs

Taken with the Hipstamatic but then processed one step further with the Plastic Bullet app

Sunrise

Another photo in my current obsession with sunflowers

Oh, king!

Fun from a "no smoking" sign

Green-eyed sunflower

Until this year, I've never really noticed how many different varieties of sunflowers there are! Some of the differences are quite subtle.

Fun times

Photos from a nice evening with my friend Ashwini, her mom Kala and her son Milind. Ashwini's mom makes the most delicious Southern Indian food, and she is so kind to feed me... and feed me... and feed me! If I don't eat a lot, she thinks I don't find the food tasty.

The Muny

A light fixture from the box office at the St. Louis Muny, the oldest and largest outdoor musical theatre in the United States. 2010 was a great season at The Muny: Beauty and the Beast, Titanic The Musical, Damn Yankees, Cats, The Sound of Music, Footloose and Show Boat. I saw all of the shows except for The Sound of Music.

Sunflower

Gerbera daisies

Here are some Gerbera daisy photos I've taken recently:

Review: The Apple iPad Case

I just posted this on the Apple Store and thought I'd post it here, too:

The Apple iPad Case protects the iPad very well. More so, it actually adds a lot of functionality, believe it or not. It allows the iPad to sit up at an angle while typing. This is great when the iPad is on a desk or when it's on your lap. I'm typing on it that way while on my lap right now.

Also, and this I just realized last night: you can sit the iPad up on the wide edge (when the cover is tucked into the slot in the back) and then the iPad is like a little TV. Great for watching videos on it.

And from a protection perspective, the extra slight protrusion around the edges protects it from damage in the case of bumps or falls. And the flap that covers the screen is perfect.

Lastly, from a style perspective, while the soft microfiber gets dirty looking, it's easy to wipe off and clean. And when it does look dirty, it actually looks kinda cool in my opinion. Has a bit of a grunge look combined with the gray Apple logo on the front of the case. I just love it.

And I wasn't so sure about this case at first. But now I wouldn't trade it for anything else.

Interestingness

I'm honored to have had my above Hipstamatic photo be selected by Flickr to show up on their Explore pages!

Flickr selects 500 photos per day -- or about 0.005% of their daily upload volume -- based on what they call interestingness. Things such as where the photo visits are coming from; who comments on the photo and when; who marks it as a favorite; its tags and many more things go into the interestingness algorithm. Flickr has actually filed a patent for the interestingness algorithm!

Bose in his throne

This photo marks my first experiment with simulated cross processing (defined at wikipedia as "the procedure of deliberately processing photographic film in a chemical solution intended for a different type of film").