New England Images - Mike's Journal

PicMonkey

2012-05-05T17:41:00.014-04:00

Thanks to a tip from a super cool photographer friend of mine in Canada, I've been messing about with a web-based image editor known as PicMonkey these past couple of days.

PicMonkey is a snap to use and it offers a number of sophisticated features. It's also fun and (for now) it's free. (Certain "royale effects" are free at the moment but are considered "introductory": PicMonkey will eventually turn into a subscription-based model for these higher end features.)

No account setup is necessary and according to PicMonkey, your images are your own. I can think of so many people who are intimated by image-editing software; this site will greatly benefit them.

But it's also fun and interesting to use even if you're a veteran pixel pusher.
Check it out!

PS - You may view a larger version of this image here.

Bangor - 4/10/12

2012-04-11T12:59:00.004-04:00

You may view a larger version of this image here.

Approaching Storm

2012-03-19T21:29:00.012-04:00

Here's an iPhone snap of my dog Yoshi which I took earlier today by a lake in Maine.

The original color shot was nice, but I thought the approaching storm clouds could use a little drama, so I went with a punchier B&W version.

The image was processed "on board" using Snapseed by Nik. (It's one of my most-used apps).

A larger image may be viewed here.

My Week In Pictures - #10

2012-03-11T07:48:00.000-04:00

March 4th through March 11th: An oddly food-centric theme seems to permeate this week's snapshots.

From behind-the-scenes restaurant shoots for a local magazine to my favorite local sushi spot to Girl Scout cookies. This doesn't happen very often, but it feels like a trend. Meals, chefs and restaurants are what I've been shooting over the winter.

You may view a larger version of this image here.

Clear

2012-03-08T06:54:00.004-05:00

This is the third post in a series, "A Few Of My Favorite Apps".

I'll keep this is as short and simple as the app itself: Clear, a to-do list app from Realmac, is the simplest, easiest, most elegant app of its class in my humble opinion.

I use this app every single day.

In terms of how Clear works, Realmac's brief intro video says it all.

In The Dead Of Winter

2012-02-11T20:07:00.007-05:00

Hasn't been much of a winter thus far in Maine. Not very much snow, and the temps have been fairly mild on the whole.

I miss winter. I miss snow. I like the four seasons!

Still, the last two weeks of February going into the first two weeks of March - well - this has to be my least favorite time of the year. I'll have to come up with a suitable name for this blank, tedious period. (Girl Scout cookies are a traditional consolation, however.)

PS - why the cell phone snap of the peppers? Because I saw them in the supermarket and I liked the colors and they made me feel warm in the middle of February.

You may view a larger version of this image here.

My Week In Pictures - #9

2011-12-26T13:16:00.007-05:00

December 18th through December 25th: After weeks of mild weather, most Mainers didn't think they would see snow before Christmas. And yet we got a dusting of snow on the morning of Christmas Eve. Just in the saint nick of time.

You may view a larger version of this image here.

My Week In Pictures - #8

2011-12-04T21:45:00.000-05:00

November 27th through December 4th: The holiday season kicked into high gear this past week with many homes in my town going all out with lights and decorations. (Some more than others!)

I also took advantage of the colorful holiday lights by experimenting with in-camera multiple exposures, something I seem to do every year around this time.

I made an afternoon trip to Belfast, Maine - a quintessential New England town and a magnet for artists if there ever was one. I love Belfast and it felt good to do my holiday shopping at stores and galleries which are independently owned and operated.

Last but not least I attended a wonderful violin recital (with piano, flute and viola) by Anatole Wieck and the UMaine School of Performing Arts.

You may view a larger version of this image here.

Pixels 'N Paintbrushes

2011-11-21T07:29:00.014-05:00

Several of my prints have been sold to artists who aren't interested in hanging my prints up on their walls. At least not directly.

They then go on to explain that they would like to buy one of my photos to use as the basis for one of their own paintings. I always consider this a real compliment.

I've always enjoyed watching painters work along the coast of Maine and elsewhere. They set up their easels in many of the same places I set up my camera and tripod. I do envy painters. I think it has to do with being unencumbered by some of the technical restraints imposed by photography, although I'm not really sure. All I can say is that I've always been attracted to painting as a medium but I've never taken a class or a workshop.

I recently bought a secondhand plein air easel kit from an artist friend of mine who no longer needs it (it was too good a deal to pass up) and I've decided to take a novice painting workshop next summer. I'll see how it goes.

But until then, there are apps for that.

Actually there are several sophisticated digital painting apps, particularly for the iPad: (Procreate, Auryn Ink, ArtistsTouch, etc.) With this boat and lupines photo, for example, I used an app which allows me to control the individual brushstrokes by hand (well, ok....by finger or stylus.)

The point is, I have much more control over the photo painting process than if I were to simply run a filter in Photoshop. (I almost wrote 'finger painting process' in that last sentence and I'm having a kindergarten flashback just now.)

The best part about digital painting? No messy cleanup!

Painting apps and filters - as creative and fun as they are - still demand a certain degree of discipline in order to get the results you want. Anyone can run a robo-paint filter and hit "print", but it's rarely that simple.

I tried to come up with a funny way to summarize my feelings on these kinds of things:
If your process is easy, your work might be cheesy. Which sounds a bit like something the late Johnnie Cochran might have said, come to think of it.

For further reading on digital painting, check out Marilyn Sholin's excellent book The Art Of Digital Painting. It's an inspiration if you've ever wanted to turn your photos into painterly works of art.

You may view a larger version of the painted lupines & boat image here.

My Week In Pictures - #7

2011-11-14T00:15:00.010-05:00

November 7th through November 14th: A walk by the ocean in Lamoine State Park with my dog and a visit to the LL Bean flagship store in Freeport, ME for some holiday shopping were a few highlights of my week.

Also, I've resumed my series of nighttime landscape photography. This means that on clear nights I'm often out with my camera gear in total darkness while sane people are warm in their homes, watching TV or whatever.

You may view a larger version of this image here.

Happy Halloween

2011-10-31T20:03:00.033-04:00

Paying homage to one of my favorite childhood movies with a Jaws-O-Lantern.

My Week In Pictures -#6

2011-10-30T18:50:00.004-04:00

October 23rd to October 30th: First snowfall of the season the day before Halloween. Brrrr.

Good weekend to stay inside, so I attended back-to-back classical music concerts at UMaine's Collins Center for the Arts. Saturday it was the phenomenal violinist Ryu Goto, and earlier today it was the Bangor Symphony Orchestra's Totally Beethoven, an ode to good ol' Ludwig van.

Both concerts were fantastic. And I was struck by how many photo ops I spotted while watching the musicians. Lots of great facial expressions and overall passion. I think I should experiment with candid musician portraiture and see where it goes.

Getting ready to carve some pumpkins and greet all of the wee tykes at the door tomorrow night. I love Halloween.

In other news, an unattended candle (which I thought I blew out) melted down the front face of my Mac. Oops. I'd stop putting candles on top of my Mac except that candlelight looks really nice in my office during these longer, darker days.

You may view a larger version of this image here.

Pocket Van Gogh

2011-10-26T06:52:00.000-04:00

This is the third post in a series, "A Few Of My Favorite Apps".

Playing around with a nifty app called AutoPainter by Media Chance, and I have to say I think it's pretty cool.

Here's a snapshot I took in Acadia National Park with my iPhone 4 at Jordan Pond last week:

Automatic "painting" filters are nothing new, but some are better than others, and AutoPainter is one of them. It's fun to watch AutoPainter do its thing on a photo taken with the iPhone. The steps take about two minutes but the results are often really nice. As with many of these types of apps, a lot rides on the original source image.

Painting styles include Aquarelle, Van Gogh, Cezanne and Benson. A second app, AutoPainter II, brings sketch and illustration effects (watercolor and ink, chalk, etc.) which dovetails nicely with AutoPainter I.

Here's the Jordan Pond snapshot as "remixed" through AutoPainter using the Van Gogh filter (which is one of my favorites):

Color me impressed. The only minor criticism I have of this app is that it does not currently support full resolution images from the iPhone; perhaps this will be addressed in a future update. Still, I likey!

You may view larger images of the straightforward snapshot and the AutoPainted version (a la Van Gogh).

My Week In Pictures - #5

2011-10-23T15:05:00.009-04:00

October 11th to October 23rd: Fall foliage season is on the wane, but I did some experimental motion blur photos.

When the weather is chilly and I'm on the road on photo trips, I set up the slow cooker to make meals for when I return home in the evenings. (Lately I've been making Indian dishes in the slow cooker.)

PS - In case you're wondering what's up with the Godzilla snapshot, he sits on top of my Mac and I had to test out a new photo app for iPhone. So that explains that. I guess.

You may view a larger version of this image here.

My Week In Pictures - #4

2011-10-09T21:25:00.008-04:00

October 3rd to October 10th: Fall foliage season is in full swing; I've been in northern Maine lately.
(Except for an impromptu trip down to Portland on Columbus Day.)

The wine bottle was given to me while on the road; two Canadians from New Brunswick approached me and asked if I wanted the bottle as they could only take two bottles of wine across the border. They didn't have to twist my arm, eh!

You may view a larger version of this image here.

My Week In Pictures - #3

2011-10-02T21:25:00.016-04:00

September 26th - October 2nd, 2011: With the fall color season fast upon us, I've updated my fall color tracking bloglet, New England Colors. The bloglet is seasonal and I'll be on the road for the next three weeks.

Speaking of hitting the road, I also visited Moody's Diner near Waldoboro, ME. Moody's is something of a Maine institution.

You may view a larger version of this image here.

My Week In Pictures - #2

2011-09-25T21:34:00.016-04:00

September 18th-25th: I revisited the Pemaquid Point Light (one of my favorite places in Maine); I was also the event photographer on behalf of a local historical society at Leonard's Mills, Maine; and to end the week I went for a drive to take in a sunset tour of some coastal fishing villages including Broad Cove, which is a stone's throw from Bremen, Maine.

You may view a larger version of this image here.

My Week In Pictures - #1

2011-09-18T21:23:00.006-04:00

This is the first entry of a new feature I've created for this journal, My Week In Pictures.

I'm using this iPhone app which collates a week's worth of smartphone snaps and organizes them into a collage. It's a nifty way to present a quick overview of what I've been up to for the past seven days.

I'll try to post a new collage every Sunday night.

September 10th-17th: I photographed the Eastport Pirate Festival, the lighthouse at Quoddy Head State Park (note: this is a link to a PDF file) near Lubec, Maine, and the Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge.

You may view a larger version of this image here.

Maine Open Lighthouse Day - 9/17/11

2011-09-12T08:15:00.002-04:00

Maine Open Lighthouse Day is happening on Saturday, September 17th 2011. This is a GREAT way to tour those lighthouses which are usually closed to the general public.

Earlier in July I visited the lighthouse at Fort Point State Park near Stockton Springs, Maine. It was a rare, one-day tour and as I only live about 45 minutes away I had to take advantage.

It was really cool! I chatted with the couple who oversee and maintain the lighthouse and they opened up the fourth order Fresnel lens so that I could capture the cross-section photo seen above. (I remember being surprised at how small the actual bulb is.)

A full listing of lighthouses which will be open to the public on Open Lighthouse Day can be found on the Lighthouse Day website.

I'm not sure which lighthouse(s) I will tour on Saturday. So many choices, so little time...

The Wheels Fly And The Colors Spin

2011-08-29T12:29:00.015-04:00

A few scenes from fairs and carnivals in Maine this summer. I mean, "summah".

The Blue Hill Fair and the Common Ground Country Fair are just around the bend in September; I'll be at both venues with my camera.

A larger version of this image may be viewed here.

Summer's End (...Or Is It?)

2011-08-21T13:47:00.069-04:00

Yesterday I fed apples to a strikingly beautiful horse (above) which approached me in a meadow near the villages of Liberty and Palermo, Maine. I was attending a friend's wedding reception, and I heard many guests bemoan the "end of summer" and the fact that school starts next week.

"I can't believe summer's nearly over," they cried. I smiled to myself and bit my tongue. As far as this outdoor photographer is concerned, summer in Maine happens in September. Allow me to explain.

Sure, the days are a bit shorter, but they're still warm. The evenings are often nice and cool and if the sky is clear one can see a breathtaking number of stars.

Unlike spring and early summer, there are fewer bugs at this time of year. That's important if you spend a lot of time outdoors. Maine is infamous for its ravenous blackflies and mosquitoes. It's nice to work on location without having to swat at annoying insects.

On a related note, there are also far fewer tourists after Labor Day! (Sorry, couldn't resist that. Truth is I like tourists and I'm always friendly/helpful towards them.) Still, I can't deny that it's nice to have some of my favorite places more or less to myself. It can be difficult to visit some of these places during peak tourism season.

Families are ending their vacations this week and heading home. It's a gradual exodus which carries through all the way past Labor Day weekend. Writing that makes me feel a little sad, but then I am reminded that the number of RVs on the highways and byways will drop precipitously. Heavily-traveled roads will "open up" just for people like me. Now I'm smiling again.

The light for photography is wonderful at this time of the year- it's like being on the other side of spring. But then again, the light in Maine is wonderful all of the time, really. Who am I kidding on this point? But with cooler days and nights and less variable humidity and haze, the skies (on nice days, anyway) are true blue.

"Septem-bah is the nicest month in Maine", an old-timer once told me. I believed him then as I do now.

And the best part? September is followed by the glorious autumn leaf season. Life is good! But autumn isn't here yet, and we still have a good month of summer ahead of us even if some people prefer to think otherwise.

A Hiking I Will Go

2011-08-14T16:47:00.031-04:00

I spent all of Saturday hiking around one of the best places in The Whole Wide World:
Maine's very own Baxter State Park.

No signs of "moosage" anywhere on this trip so I still haven't captured one of my "Holy Grail" photos: a moose standing in Sandy Stream Pond (above). There were lots of deer and cedar waxwings though.

The weather was great and the scenery, as always, was spectacular. I ended the day with a nice dinner at River Driver's Restaurant in Millinocket.

A perfect end to a perfect day. Except for the missing moose.

Guess I'm Not Checking My Email, Then

2011-08-11T16:51:00.022-04:00

?!?

Grunge-ography Apps

2011-08-06T08:15:00.017-04:00

This is the second post in a series, "A Few Of My Favorite Apps".

I travel often and my smartphone is a hub of information and convenience. It's one of those "where have you been all of my life?" tools, and quality software development really makes these things shine. Here are two cool new apps that I like to use whenever I feel like messing around with my shots, which is often:

Snapseed

At home, I use Nik Software's plug-ins for Adobe Photoshop ALL the time. Nik makes high quality software specifically for photographers. I'm not even sure I can think of Silver Efex Pro, Viveza or Color Efex Pro as "plug-ins", really. To me, these are essential image processing applications.

So when Nik announced a post-processing software app for iPad/iPhone, I was pretty excited. I just knew it would be brilliant! And I wasn't disappointed.

I won't bore you with a lengthy review of this app when there are much better places to find that sort of detailed information.

Using your fingers to swipe, push and poke you can make adjustments to your iPhone photos in Snapseed. Users of Nik's desktop software will feel right at home here; it's intuitive once you've played around with it.

I took this shot at Cape Enrage (love that name!) in New Brunswick, Canada the other day. I went a little bonkers with the image processing here but I wanted to see what Snapseed could do. I could have made subtler adjustments of course. This app is so much more than a "grunger-upper".

You may open up a larger version of this grunged-up lighthouse image if you're interested.

* * *

TtV Studio Pro

TtV photography, for those who aren't familiar with it, means "through the viewfinder". Basically, you shoot a photo through the viewfinder of another camera! (Preferably a vintage camera.)

TtV Studio Pro emulates the TtV effect by processing your photos with several texture/graphics overlays. Choose from an old Argus or Brownie camera to "shoot through", for example. It can be interesting.

Why grunge up, degrade or otherwise mess up your photos in the first place? Because playing around with the creative possibilities is fun, that's why! TtV Studio Pro is developed by Taplayer.

You may open up a larger version of this grunged-up pier image if you're interested.

Bangor Metro (July 2011)

2011-07-13T14:07:00.036-04:00

A couple of my 4th of July shots from last year made their way to the July 2011 issue of Bangor Metro - including the cover, which was shot in Eastport.

Pick up your copy at fine bookstores EVERYWHERE!
Well, you know. In Maine, anyway.