This week "Through the Lens of an iPhone"

This week has seen another large number of great submissions to the iPhoneography blog "Through the Lens of an iPhone" Flickr group, resulting in an even bigger showcase, so I'd like to thank all those who have submitted some really good stuff, not all of which I can show here; so if you want to see more submissions, then head over to the Flickr group, or click on any of the photos you see, to see that iPhoneographers Flickr stream.

Want to get involved? Then head over to the Flickr group and join up, then read the simple rules and start uploading, but remember, all photos must be taken and processed on an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad (NO DSLR photos please).

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My Shot: A bit of Olde England

Whilst on a recent business trip I captured the following two scenes with my iPhone 5, using jag.gr's PureShot camera app [App Store Link], before applying some subtle effects with my current favourite editing app, VSCO Cam [App Store Link].

Above: Both photos were taken using PureShot and edited with VSCO Cam #5, +1 grain and +1 vignette.Above: The before shots.

VSCO Cam™ isn't just for iPhoneographers

Above: Taking with my Canon S110, as part of my "Under Exposed" series, this shot was edited on my iPad, and had VSCO Cam™ effect number 2 applied to it, along with +1 Grain, and +1 Vignette.VSCO Cam™ from the Visual Supply Company is an easy-to-use iPhone camera app that offers minimal yet elegant processing options, with a sleek interface and streamlined workflow. What many of you may not be aware of, is that VSCO Cam™ will not only run on the iPad 2, iPad Mini and iPad Retina, but it will also support files sizes much greater than those from the current crop of iPhones (my samples are all from a 12 megapixel Canon S110 camera), making it ideal for those who shoot with a digital camera and edit on an iPad.

VSCO Cam™ offers 10 predefined effects, that are derived from the companies Lightroom, Adobe Camera RAW and Aperture 3 plugins. These plugins (called VSCO Film) emulate the emulsions and grains of real 35mm film brands like Kodak, Fuji and Ilford, and cost from $79 USD. Because the VSCO Cam™ effects are derived from, and not direct reproductions of those found in VSCO Film, the Visual Supply Company have chosen to number the apps effects rather than label them.

Above: Again, both of these photos were taking with my Canon S110, as part of my "Under Exposed" series. Both of these shots were edited on my iPad, and had VSCO Cam™ effect number 5 applied to them, along with +1 Grain, and +1 Vignette.

In addition to the 10 predefined effects (3x B&W, 7x Colour), VSCO Cam™ also lets you

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MullerPhoto tries to bring that Hollywood look to your iPhoneography

MullerPhoto is a new app from celebrity and entertainment photographer Michael Muller and development house Vinegar, INC, that aims to bring bit of that Hollywood look to your iPhoneography.

Michael's distinct look has been used on posters for the Avengers, Captain America, Ironman, Spiderman, X-Men, Entorage and Sons of Anarchy, as well as on the covers of, and in the pages of, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone and Esquire, as well as campaigns for for the likes of Nike, Billabong and Range Rover.

The app is described as offering a new approach to mobile photography, and incorporates Michael's most commonly used visual treatments layered on a first of it's kind mixing pad that allows you to explore countless blending variations for each photo with a single gesture.

So that's a little bit about the photographer behind the app, and what the developers say about it, but what is the app really like? Well, the app is simple and easy to use, however the camera function are as basic as that of the iPhones default camera app. The 2 looks that come free with the app are nice, and the implementation of the "mixing pad" (which you glide your finger around), makes adjusting these looks very easy. The app does not offer any fancy effects, there are no grunge looks or frames, just a series of light leaks, making this app more of a photographers app, that a quick fix snapper app. What the app description neglects to tell you, is that if you want all of Michael's looks, then you will need to buy them via the apps in-app-purchase option. When it comes to sharing, the app is limited to Instagram, Facebook  and Twitter, although you can save to the camera roll and share elsewhere from there.

MullerPhoto features...

• Innovative "Mixing Pad" lets you edit by gesture
• Light leak effects
• MullerPro and Waverly looks
• In-App-Purchase* looks/styles: Ellis B/W, Runway, Paris '75, Mulholland '67 and Billboard

Final thought: The biggest disappointment with this app, which by the way I think is expensive if you want all the looks, is that it only saves at 5 megapixels. So, despite the pleasing photographic effects/looks, and being backed by one of "Hollywood's most sought after" photographers, MullerPhoto with its less than full-res support gets my thumbs down. If however, the app gets full-res support, and the price drops, then my thoughts will be different, but for now, this is an app to watch not buy.

App Store Link: MullerPhoto; Price: £1.49/$1.99/€1.59

*Please note: The In-App-Purchase looks are available for £0.69/$0.99/€0.79, or £1.49/$1.99/€1.59 for all 5

This week "Through the Lens of an iPhone"

This week has seen a large number of submissions to the iPhoneography blogs "Through the Lens of an iPhone" Flickr group, resulting in one of the biggest showcases in a long time, so I'd like to thank all those who have submitted some really good stuff, not all of which I can show here. So, if you want to see more submissions, then head over to the Flickr group, or click on any of the photos you see, to see that iPhoneographers Flickr stream.

Want to get involved? Then head over to the Flickr group and join up, then read the simple rules and start uploading, but remember, all photos must be taken and processed on an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad (NO DSLR photos please).

Click to read more ...

Analogue meets Digital with the Lomography Smartphone Film Scanner

The folks over at lomography.com have recently launched a Kickstarter project to bring their idea of a Smartphone Film Scanner to market. The Lomography Smartphone Film Scanner has been designed to work with all iPhones and most Android based smartphones, and aims to offer a new and easy way to instantly scan and share your old or even new 35mm films.

For more information on this cool project, head over to Lomography's Kickstarter project page, which can be found here.

Afterglow, another very good photo editor for your iPhone

Similar to Wood Camera, Afterglow is another very good photo editing app, that offers easy and controllable editing of brightness, contrast, saturation, exposure, highlights, shadows, highlight and shadow tones, colour temperature, vignette, grain and sharpening, and all via easy to use buttons and sliders. In addition to all these fully controllable options, Afterglow also features...

• 13 Adjustment Tools: Use any of the 13 uniquely made adjustment tools to enhance your images to perfection with ease.
• 34 Filters: Afterglow has 21 fully adjustable "Original Filters", that include 13 "Guest Filters" created by various Instagram users.
• 23 Textures: Afterglow includes a range of real and natural light leaks that were created using 35mm film, to simplistic scratchy film textures.
• Cropping & Transforming Tools: Crop your photos with the quick and easy cropping tool that has 13 different presets. Transform your photos with the rotating tool, vertical and horizontal mirroring tools, and even straightening!
• Frames: There are 13 different simplistic and adjustable frames, paired perfectly with Instagram.

Like Wood Camera, Afterglow is available from the App Store, priced at just £0.69/$0.99/€0.79