The Rough and the Smooth – iPhonography at the Botanic Gardens

Posted on 28/01/201428/01/2014 by Alastair

Last week we had a walk at the National Botanic Garden of Wales (NBGW), taking advantage of free entry during January. It is easy to think that there is not so much to see in a place like the Botanic Gardens at this time of year but, of course, that is not true – it is just that things look different.

I had downloaded a new app for my iPhone 5c, namely PureShot, and I was keen to try it out. This camera app allows more control than the standard iPhone Camera app as well as having options to use TIFF images and different quality JPEGs. The photos below were both taken using PureShot and it gave good results. However, as will be seen through other shots I will be posting this week, it is not always the best app to use.

I discovered PureShot through the a post by Emil Pakarklis and the iPhone Photography School and would recommend his website as an excellent aid to anyone interested in improving their phone photography.

Another discovery I made when looking at images of Silver Birch bark was esdesigns – I liked the silver birch bracelet in particular!

You can use the Donate button below to help StillWalks. Pay how much you want and receive a high quality download of this week’s featured StillWalks video – “Winter Lakeside Walk” which features Llyn Llech Owain Country Park in Carmartheshire. Click the image below to watch the video. DVD Collections are available to order in the StillWalks Shop.

Effects of the Sun

Posted on 27/12/201327/12/2013 by Alastair

Taking a photo into the sun is not usually recommended if you want a half decent shot but having an idea of what was going to happen doing this with my iPhone, I went ahead and broke the rules. A very important rule in photography is first to understand the rules – and then to try breaking them.

The resulting photograph was not what you see below – that has had the darker areas adjusted (minimally) but I made no other changes as I actually like the strange light the image has. The thing that is frustrating though, is the effect of the sun itself and without lens filters, I don’t I have much control over that. I don’t mean the lens flare – I like that too. I mean the uneven edge to the white area . . . but the more I look at it, the more I like that too. To each their own – you can make up your own mind about it!

And the shell? This is a very common and fascinating object on Swansea Beach.

Photos taken and adjusted on my iPhone 5c. Check out StillWalks on Instagram for more of my iPhonography.

This week’s featured StillWalks video is the introductory welcome video to the StillWalks website. On this you will meet me and see just a little of what goes into making a StillWalks video.

You can use the Donate button below to help StillWalks. Pay how much you want and receive a high quality download of this week’s featured StillWalks video. DVD Collections are available to order in the StillWalks Shop.

Sea of Sand – Low Level iPhonography

Posted on 26/12/201326/12/2013 by Alastair

Changing the angle at which you look at things may be an essential rule of life (at least in my life) – see Monday’s post – but it is also invaluable when it comes to photography and perhaps even more so when it come to iPhonography.

Justin Balog of the iPhone Photography School spoke about this recently via Instagram. It was one of his most important tips in my opinion but he has many others. I’m pleased to say that when I discovered the website, I was already incorporating much of his advice and many of his tips. There is always room to learn more though, and even if you already know stuff, the occasional reminder never goes amiss.

So if anyone got a new smart phone for Christmas and you want to learn a bit about using it for photography, the iPhone Photography School wouldn’t be a bad place to start 🙂

Photos taken and adjusted on my iPhone 5c. Check out StillWalks on Instagram for more of my iPhonography.

This week’s featured StillWalks video is the introductory welcome video to the StillWalks website. On this you will meet me and see just a little of what goes into making a StillWalks video.

Keeping Things in Perspective

Posted on 23/12/201323/12/2013 by Alastair

Keeping things in perspective seems to me to be so important. In order to do this I often have to adjust the angle at which I look at things and take into account the current circumstances. Standing back and being more objective can often help but this is not always easy to do.

My main strategy for doing this is walking – and that, of course, is where StillWalks came from and, I hope, may be able to take others as well. With this is mind, I have decided to feature my StillWalks “Welcome” video this week.

Photos taken and adjusted on my iPhone 5c. Check out StillWalks on Instagram for more of my iPhonography.

This week’s featured StillWalks video is the introductory welcome video to the StillWalks website. On this you will meet me and see just a little of what goes into making a StillWalks video.

Blown in the Wind

Posted on 14/12/201314/12/2013 by Alastair

I love this tree! Blown in the wind and standing at one end of the “Show Field” by the marshes near Pontarddulais in South Wales, it is on the route of one of my regular and much loved walks.

Hendy is in the background, just across the other side of the Loughor Estuary. From another angle you could see Graig Fawr but the tree would not have this shape. To see the view of this landscape from Graig Fawr, visit the post from a few days ago – “Looking Over the Landscape”.

The photos were taken and edited on my iPhone using PhotoShop Express with some final adjustments in Adobe Lightroom. Click the images to enlarge.

This week’s featured StillWalks video started out as an experiment to see if I could produce an acceptable video using only my iPhone 4s to take the photos and record the sound. Here is the result – Forest Walk – Summer”

You can use the Donate button below to help StillWalks. Pay how much you want and receive a high quality download of this week’s featured StillWalks video – “Forest Walk – Summer” which is at Fforest, Carmarthenshire, South Wales. Click the image below to watch the video. DVD Collections are available to order in the StillWalks Shop.

Twisted Details – Oak Trees After Autumn

Posted on 13/12/201313/12/2013 by Alastair

Zooming in from the Welsh landscape overview in my previous post, I can reveal some of the twisted details of our local park. The oak trees of Coedbach Park in Pontarddulais, are wonderful in all seasons, but when the leaves are gone they truly reveal their twisted, crooked forms.

Photo taken on my iPhone 5c. Click the photo to enlarge.

Swiss Valley, Llanelli

Posted on 04/12/201304/12/2013 by Alastair

Why the area is called Swiss Valley, I do not know! It is clearly not in Switzerland but a beautiful area in South West Wales. The photos were taken on my iPhone – I love the snaking shape of the reservoir overflow but that particular image needed some work on it.

Cwmdonkin Park Recce, Swansea

Posted on 21/10/201321/10/2013 by Alastair

Last week I had an unexpected walk around Cwmdonkin Park in Swansea. The park is well known for its association with Swansea’s very own poet Dylan Thomas and it has recently had some work carried out in it with a grant from European funds.

It was a good time to be there as this work had been completed and the colours were changing with the season. The sun was shining and if it hadn’t been for the noise pollution of a park worker blowing leaves away with a noisy machine, it would have been perfect. The noise (which eventually stopped) did not stop me getting a number of photos on my iPhone and I will be posting these here through the week.

This weeks featured StillWalks video can be viewed at the bottom of this post and last week’s video will revert to the sample version.

You can use the new Donate button below to help StillWalks. Pay how much you want and receive a high quality download of this week’s featured StillWalks video – “Autumn Lakeside Walk” from Gnoll Park, Neath, South Wales. Click the image below to watch the video.

Tag Archives: iPhone

The Rough and the Smooth – iPhonography at the Botanic Gardens

Effects of the Sun

Sea of Sand – Low Level iPhonography

Keeping Things in Perspective

Blown in the Wind

Twisted Details – Oak Trees After Autumn

Swiss Valley, Llanelli

Cwmdonkin Park Recce, Swansea

stillwalks