iColorama

I’m a bit of a sucker for photo apps on my iPad, and over the years have experimented with quite a few. Most of them appeal initially for the rapid and interesting effects that can easily be produced, and most of them quickly lose their appeal for the simple reason that they are  - as far as I’m concerned anyway - a bit over the top and ‘fake’. In addition, most photos put through these processes are not admissible in camera club competitions and so have limited value for me. It is more sensible to use normal photo processing software and one’s own photos, including textures and colour layers. Playing with apps can, however, be an absorbing, even soothing, activity and a fun way to fill some spare time, when reading or TV or other leisure activities don’t quite scratch the itch. 

I’m not talking about the very useful processing apps, like Snapseed, which is my (and many other photographers’) choice for mobile editing as it is very good and versatile. No, these are apps like Distressed FX, which offers texture overlays; Waterlogue, which allows you to convert photos into watercolour effects; BeCasso which offers a variety of creative ‘paint’ filters and my current favourite discovery: iColorama, which offers a plethora of styles and effects. I rarely pay a subscription for these apps, just using whatever free content there is. I rarely delve deep into them either, so I suppose I’m not going to produce instant masterpieces without practice. Nevertheless, they can give quite pleasing results, like the sunset fantasy above. (Not that I can remember now how I created that! That’s the downside when I’m ‘just playing’ as I fail to note the various stages of experimentation so that I can never replicate the effect twice!) 

The same app produced the image below, produced ‘in the style of Van Gogh’. Rather fun. 

Icons in the snow

I took rather too many photos in the snow that briefly appeared. It's such a rare occurrence these days, I get far too excited. I've processed these a little differently from my usual style. They seem to lend themselves to a black and white (selenium toned) treatment, which brings out the architectural details of these iconic locations in Saltaire: the United Reformed Church, the Victoria Hall and the bandstand in Roberts Park (not the Victorian original but a more recent replacement). One of them might have to be next year's Christmas card! 😉

 

Before the snow!

Just had to take a photo of my pot of mini daffs before they get flattened by all the snow that is forecast tomorrow. These tend to flower before the standard sized ones so they are more vulnerable to bad weather.  For a non-gardener like myself, it seems little short of a miracle that they pop up every year, despite the neglect with which they’re treated. I love the blue/yellow combination, which I find so cheering after the long dark winter months. The blooms don’t last long so I make sure to enjoy them while I can, and each year brings more of them as the bulbs proliferate. Hurray for daffodils! (Just trying to think of a way I could protect them against the snow but I can’t really… Put a bucket over them? Do you think that would work?)

Pond life

Just an unassuming little pond... yet it's hard to overstate how excited I can get in a location like this, which is all about light, shadow and shape. I didn't really spend long there and yet it was one of the highlights of my day! Another day, another season, a harsher light and it would look completely different. In addition, the way you edit images like this can change the 'feel 'of them a lot.  These are just my initial edits; I may look at them again another day and decide to try them another way... 

Actually, I think I love this in black and white: