Phone vs. Camera Showdown

DSLR Version

Lately, I've been cheating on my DSLR camera with my iPhone.  I can't really decide how I feel about it.  Don't get me wrong, I adore my camera.  It takes great photos - as long as I let it do its own thing.  When I try to get involved - in other words, use it on manual - that's when things go a little haywire.  Just when I think I have things figured out, the weather changes and I'm up a creek again.  I actually like the way the photos look more when they're taken in auto than I do when they're taken in manual. Sacreligious, I know!

That's when I turn to my phone.  Say what you want about Apple, but you have to admit, their products take great photos.  It's so easy to just snap a shot when we all have our photos in our hands all day everyday already.  Also, thanks to my Canon Selphy printer, the pictures on my phone are just so much easier to print than the ones on my camera.  Just a few taps and I'm rolling right along, and scrapping away. It's sort of my new addiction.  I love that little printer - I have no idea why I waited so long!

iPhone version

But that's not actually why I've been using the phone so much.  It's definitely a factor, but not the whole story.  The big reason is photo editing.  Thanks to Pic Tap Go I've become a master photo editor. All of the photos on my phone are so much better thanks to this app.  Everything's clear and the colors are sharp. It's the perfect way to become a master phone photographer.  On the other hand, when I take photos with my camera, I can't use the app.  I have to go through Pic Monkey since I don't have a license for Photoshop.  And Pic Monkey while a great deal, isn't exactly the best way to edit photos especially in bulk. The system is clunky and it just takes too darn long. Today, I almost sent photos to my email so I could open them in my phone and then edit them with Pic Tap Go.  Thank goodness the camera photos are so darn large and thank goodness I have so little space left on my phone, or I would have found myself in a never-ending photo-editing loop!

So what can be done about this?  I have no real answers.  Other than, begging Pic Tap Go to create a desktop app to help me with my photo conundrum. And somehow I don't see that coming.  Luckily, Summer is coming and I always get much better photos in the summer, thanks to blue skies, sunshine and fabulous destinations.  Hopefully that will help me out of my scandalous cheating scandal....Seeing as my camera is worth much more than my phone is, one could only hope.

Friday Five

1. Fall TV: It seems kind of trivial to get excited about the shows coming back, but I love it!  Of course, it's always difficult to remember what the heck happened last year (Bones, Scandal).  But then you also have the news shows to geek out over (Scorpion, NCIS:NOLA).  I have to say, of all the premieres, Big Bang Theory and The Good Wife were my faves. Seems like a good season to be a couch potato : )

2. Books are my Bag: I had no idea when I got this super cool bag in the Edinburgh Waterstone's that it was part of a bigger campaign to promote book sellers.  Imagine my surprise today when Neil Gaiman posted a picture of himself with the same back and linked back to their website.  I was pretty much in love with the bag from the start, and now if possible, I love it even more!

3. I am an iPhone girl.  I have no idea how to use other phones and have no need to find another.  I've been hooked on my little iPhone 4s since the day I got it.  But I have to admit, even I found this ad funny.  I've heard rumors that the bending is a hoax, but coming from someone who regularly puts her phone in her back pocket then sits on it, I'd be a little worried to try it with the new one...

4. After all the terrible stories in the NFL this year, it was so nice to see some uplifting ones, such as the 2 Kemoeatu brothers out of the Steelers and the Ravens.  One brother retired from the NFL just so he could donate his kidney to his brother playing on another team. Or Devon Still of the Bengals who's helping his daughter beat cancer, one pep talk at a time.  It's good to see that there are still some awesome players out there!

5. And speaking of Football, these little guys are the cutest thing ever!  Good luck guys with the payback! 

Apple of My Eye

I'm not a techie by any means.  I don't know my gigabytes from my RAM.  But I have to say I was glued to the Apple announcement today. I don't exactly know why but I actually watched the live blog.  What's gotten into me?!

I have a PC, and I'm completely anti-Mac.  I hate the way the darn things work.  But the other Apple products I'm hooked on.  My iPhone goes everywhere with me and my iPad is my go to for travel seeing as my PC weighs a darn ton.  But I've never been that crazy first adapter that stands in line for each new version of the phone or iPad.  However, this time around, I'm sort of jealous that I can't.  I broke my phone just a few weeks ago and needed to buy a new one quickly.  I didn't upgrade to the 5 because it was mucho expensive and just stuck with the old 4S (also $199 vs. $1 was no contest really).

Now, I'm 2 whole versions behind and I'm super jealous!  I'd like the 6 just for the super cool new camera as well as the sideway screen, not to mention 80 hours of battery life is pretty darn awesome.  It may not fit in my pocket anymore, but I think I can deal.  

On the other side of the coin, they also released the watch (not the iWatch, mind you) which I just don't get.  I mean, as a pedometer, I get it.  But other than that, and the obvious telling time, I have no idea why I need my phone, my iPad and both on my wrist too.  But I'm willing to overlook all that, because Apple will always have the coolest launches and getting the whole world to sit on the edge of their seats is no small feat.  

Go Apple! Somehow, you've managed too make this non-techie girl, geek out!

Instagram: Insta-fun!

As most people with iPhones can attest, there are millions of senseless apps that you can download in just a few finger taps which provide endless fun.  As an iPhone user myself, I'm not such a fan of buying tons of apps because, let's face it, I'm cheap!  If you were to take a look at my phone, you'd find Facebook (of course), Instagram, Yelp, Golf Channel and Foodspotting.  Are you seeing a trend here?  They're all free! What's not to love!?  I use them all pretty much daily but recently I've gotten slightly obsessed with Instagram.  I've yet to figure all the ins and outs of it but it's about the coolest app ever.  Being able to take pics with your phone is one thing but being able to change said pics with cool artsy filters, is entirely something else.  I haven't quite figured out large-scale photo editing tools like Photoshop, although it is on my list to learn this year.  So Instagram being small-scale and easy to use makes me slightly more trigger-happy.

After about a week of using it, I realized they were getting posted to the Instagram universe for everyone to see so that slowed me down...a bit.  But I fear that I'm becoming one of "those" people that take random pictures of leaves or my lunch and expect people to enjoy them.  For those that are following me, I apologize for the randomness but it's just so fun!  Feel free to peruse the shots below and draw your own conclusions of my new addiction. 

Amelia Earhart's Lockheed Vega: Smithsonian

Smithsonian Air and Space Museum

Dumbo at the Smithsonian

Jefferson Memorial and The Cherry Blossoms (Kinda proud of this one : )

My mini-orchid (I am currently watering what's left of this beautiful flower: the stick)

Thank you flowers from a friend's garden

Sunrise over the golf course behind my office

Early morning fire at La Madeleine

See what I mean?  This little beauty really turns out some fun shots....

My name is Kristen and I'm an Instagramaholic.