civilized ku # 5256-58 ~ back in the saddle again

giant lobster ~ Wildwood, NJ (embiggenable) • iPhone

Chick fil-A lunch / car hop ~ Cherry Hill, NJ / Wildwood, NJ (embiggenable) • iPhone

For those of you who might wondering, I have broken up my picture making into to genres - my "serious" work and my the new snapshot work.

Over the last week or so, I have been on vacation. In that circumstance I tend to make snapshots. On occasion, upon viewing snapshot work at a later time (most often when I am back at my computing machine), I realize I made a picture as a snapshot, aka: using the iPhone, but it is "serious" picture worthy.

In that case, I have no worry inasmuch as I regularly print iPhone pictures as large as 19"x19" on 22"x22" (trimmed down from 24"x24" paper) substrate. From a "normal" non--pixel peeping viewing distance, those prints are for all intents and purposes, indistingishable from prints made with a "real" camera 12mp sensor printed at the same size.

I am able to achieve that result even with picture making and processing (Snapseed is an amazing processing app) all performed with and on the iPhone. If I want to be extra persnickety, I download the file-after careful/light Snapseed highlight/shadow adjustments-from iCloud to my computing machine and perform my file processing with Photoshop.

That written, I will continue to use my "real" cameras for my serious work. On occasion I do make 30"x30" prints of that work.

FYI, for some reason beyond my comprehension, really thought that the car hop / Chick-fil-A pictures worked really well together.

civilized ku # 5253-55 (picture windows) ~ looking out

Stone Harbor, South Jersey Shore ~ embiggenable • iPhone

Stone Harbor, South Jersey Shore ~ embiggenable • iPhone

Stone Harbor, South Jersey Shore ~ embiggenable • iPhone

These picture windows pictures were made with the iPhone and processed on the iPhone with the Snapseed app.

In this case, the intent of the processing was to create pictures for Instagram. Since the Snapseed app preserves the original file, upon my return home I will be processing the original files on my desktop machine using Photoshop. The intent of that processing will be to create pictures in the manner of my "serious" picture windows work.

In addition, all of the pictures made on my Stone Harbor visit will be converted/processed into The New Snapshot format for inclusion in a new sanpshot album/book.

the new snapshot # 237 ~ cool(ish) evening breezes

embiggenable • iPhone

embiggenable • iPhone

embiggenable • iPhone

At the Jersey Shore, family-my wife's 6 brothers/sisters, their spouses and kids-stuff happens, for me, at sundown or later. The reason for that is that my body, when exposed to heat and very high humidity, stops sweating and retains water which causes me to swell up kinda like the Pillsbury Dough Boy (slight exaggeration).

Consequently, I spend most of the day in our house (rental) in the air conditioning. I do venture out for short periods of time-making pictures being the primary motivator-but never to the beach. During the week I do make one obligatory late afternoon beach appearance where the clan spends the day.

After dinner, the clan assembles-utilizing bicycles-at one of the family houses (all rentals) for hanging out + libations. The kids are free to do whatever as long as-as my dad used to say-it doesn't involve police or pregnancy.

civilized ku # 5252 / the new snapshot # 236 ~ the way it was

Lollipop Motel ~ Wildwood, SouthJersey Shore (embiggenable) • iPhone

Lollipop Motel v. The New Snapshot ~ Wildwood, SouthJersey Shore (embiggenable) • iPhone

WIldwood, NJ has pretty much always been a Honky Tonk town with life and business centered around the boardwalk. Wildwoods' Boardwalk features 38 blocks (2 miles) packed end-to-end with stores, shops, water parks, eateries, live entertainment and amusement piers with over 100 rides and attractions.

Over the years the town / boardwalk has gone through at least a couple up-and-down turns. Currently, it is in a resurgence. Lots of new housing and most of the business properties have, at the very least, a fresh coat of paint. And, I am elighted to report, virtually all of what now must considered Vintage Sign ART has been preserved and refinished.

I made a number of pictures today but tomorrow I am planning to head back at twilight in order to picture the full-on neon display.

civilized ku # 5251 ~ longing for home

lazin ' in the sun ~ Stone Harbor, South Jersey Share (embiggenable) • iPhone

I will never understand the allure of sharing a stretch of beach with thousands (literally) of people. Or to be more accurate, tens of thousands of people along the entire barrier island on which I am currently situated. And then there is the heat and humidity under a blazing hot sun.

For me, it's entirely unbearable, made more so by the fact that I live in a vast forest preserve, aka: the Adirondack Park, to which tourists flee to escape the summer heat and crowding of city living. Hell, even the word "vacation" originated, in the late 1800s at the onset of Summer, from the question expressed by the NYC upperclass, "When are you vacating the city?" And, more often that not, that meant vacating to their Great Camps in the Adirondacks.

civilized ku # 5250 ~

Easter kids ~ Bergen County, NJ (embiggenable) • iPhone

Off to the Jersey Shore, my least favorite place on the planet. Will be posting Jersey Shore pictures with commentary everyday for the next week.

civilized ku # 5249 ~ waiting in line

drive thru ~ Peru, NY (embiggenable) • µ4/3

Robert Adams, in his book BEAUTY IN PHOTOGRAPHY, WROTE:

I think the success of a work of art can be measured not only by its freshness and the diversity of the elements it reconciles, but also by the apparent ease of its exxecution. An artwork should not appear to have been hard work ... only pictures that look as if they were easily made can convincingly suggest that Beauty is commonplace.

That idea, for me, has been the driving force in all of my picture making inasmuch as Adams also wrote:

... how do we judge art? Basically, I think by whether it reveals to us Form that we ourselves have experienced but to which we have not paid adequate attention. Successful art rediscovers Beauty for us.

ku # 2001 / diptych # 231 / the new snapshot (polaroid) # 233-35 ~ out and about

Lake Champlain / Au Sable Point ~ (embiggenable) • iPhone

booths / Port Henry Diner ~ Port Henry, NY - (embiggenable) • iPhone

Champy ~ Port Henry, NY - (embiggenable) • iPhone

diner ~ Port Henry, NY - (embiggenable) • iPhone

booth~ Port Henry, NY - (embiggenable) • iPhone

Over on TOP, a bit of advice was suggested by Kenneth Tanaka:

If I could offer any bit of advice to Mark it would be to drop the 'iPhone Made' distinction .... Just take the photos and merge them into the crowd according to the moments or concepts that propelled them.

When I print my pictures-for gallery display, photo books or just for my walls-iPhone pictures and "real" camera pictures are not identified by picture making device of origin. In those cases, a picture is just a picture.

However, when it comes to my website / blog, I do distinguish the picture making device of origin for one primary reason. That is, I have become an iPhone picture making capability enthusiast /advocate to the point that I conduct occasional iPhone technique-to include on phone processing-workshops. I do so for just the pure enjoyment I get from passing on my experience to others who are able to benefit from it.

When I advertise workshop dates, I direct those who are interested to my website / blog in order that they might view the iPhone (or similar device) picture making capability. In this case the iPhone Made nomenclature serves a meaningful function.

FYI, All pictures in this entry were made with the iPhone. With exception of the Lake Champlain picture, all pictures were processed on the iPhone using Snapseed. After Snapseed processing, the Polariod pictures were created using the Instant app.

The Lake Champlain picture, because I consider it to be a "serious" picture, was Snapseed processed on the iPhone for only highlight capture and a very small amount of shadow lightening. The file was subsequently downloaded from my iCloud storage and the remainder of the processing was performed using PS and my "standard" "serious" picture processing workflow.