...and this is how I created it.

• Step 1.  I started with two images, taken with similar vision in mind. This image of my colleague reflecting on something she's encountering through her mobile screen, and the image of the man walking down the terminal (O'Hare, Chicago). I wanted to make sure that both images had similar qualities, in particular the tunnel like perspective created by the long hallways, since my vision revolved around making the images complement each other.

• Step 2.  First I proceeded to convert the "Terminal Man" image to Black and White. For the conversion I used Monophix, making sure I toned down the intensity level of the bright areas of the image. After the conversion, I ran the image of the "Terminal Man" through TiltShiftGen to soften the edges with a blur, and to add a soft dark vignette.

• Step 3.  When the "Terminal Man" image was done, I first loaded that image into BlendCamP Lite, and then added the image of my colleague in the hallway. I reduced the "Terminal Man" image brightness, then did the same for the image of my colleague keeping in mind that as the visually dominant image, I did not want to reduce its brightness as much. After careful previewing and adjusting of brightness levels, I landed upon the image below (#3), a fine blend, if a bit washed out and bland.

• Step 4.  I wanted to add more visual presence to the "Terminal Man" image, so I loaded the blended image into Photoshop Mobile, increased the contrast a tad, and enhanced the saturation so that neither image would wash out. A tiny bit of sharpening allowed me to impart a less "soft and hazy" look to the image while still keeping the feeling of convergence and occupying similar "spaces."  I  actually like both of the last images (the more washed out version and the final one), but one part I really like is the superimposition of the windows over the body of my colleague -- and that emerges best in the last image.

Simple enough, but it took a few tries to make sure the blend of the images was right, and that the processing of both images was what I wanted. Careful selection of images was critical. There it is!

So, that's how Nacho created his photo, so if you would like to share your photo with the rest of us, then send me an email and I'll reply with details on how to submit.

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.
If you would like to showcase your iPhone photos here on the iPhoneography blog, then send me an email with a link to your Flickr account and a short bio about yourself and your iPhoneography, and if suitable I will post your showcase.

AppStore Description:

• "Content Aware Image Resizing"
• Mark areas for removal or to preserve them
• Send results directly by mail or save them into the camera roll
• Before-after toggle
• Select from three qualities (low, medium or high resolution)
• Live Seams View. Using this feature you can see exactly what’s going on while resizing.

The App

Launch the app and you are taken directly to the home screen where you have the following icons.

From left to right you have...

• File icon -tap this to select a photo from the camera roll.
• Camera icon - tap this to take a photo from with in the app itself.
• +/- icon - tap this to reveal a sub-menu where you highlight the area of the photo that you wish to remove (-) or keep (+).
• Arrow icon (export) - tap this icon to either save your image to the camera roll or email it via the mail app.
• Cog icon - tap this to enter the apps settings menu.

Above: The various stages to remove the unwanted area of the photoTo get started with Liquid Scale, first select or take a photo and load it in to the app.  Once loaded tap the +/- icon and from the sub-menu decide if you want to erase areas, or highlight areas to keep. Having made your selection, tap done icon and you will see two progress bars moving from the outer edges of the photo to the middle.  This is showing the progress of the app analyzing your request, and when the two progress bars have met in the middle, then your photo is ready for the unwanted areas of the photo to be removed. The removal of any unwanted areas of the photo is a simple manual process, and is done by touching on the edges of the photo and pinching together. As you do this, you will see what I will describe as lightning effect running down or across your photo as the highlighted areas are removed.  Continue pinching until all the unwanted areas have been removed and when you're happy simply tap the export icon and save or email your finished photo.

So what do I think about Liquid Scale?

Above: Close-up you can see the splice linesI am not a fan of these slice and dice apps, however this app with the right subject does produced some surprisingly good results, although as the close-up shows you can see the splice lines, which is something you will see on most photos processed in this way.

The app itself is very easy to use, although a little slow processing the edit (although it is doing a lot of work), and saved images are kind of full resolution, however because you are effectively cropping the image, then the size will depend on the extent of the area being erased.

Despite my general dislike for these types of apps (as they generally do not work very well, or produce unappealing results), this app does seem to work quite well, and so I'll give it 3 out of 5.

Above: The original photoAbove: The same photo with the guard removedThe bottom line

If this is the kind of app you need, then this one seems to do a good job.

AppStore Link: Liquid Scale - Price £1.19/$1.99

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.
If you would like to showcase your iPhone photos here on the iPhoneography blog, then send me an email with a link to your Flickr account and a short bio about yourself and your iPhoneography, and if suitable I will post your showcase.

Description from the AppStore:

• ASK YOUR IPHONE WHERE YOUR PHOTOS WERE TAKEN - TravelPad is magic: it can tell where the pictures taken with your iPhone come from.  No information to provide, TravelPad finds the name of the cities and countries where your photos were taken, and the dates too.
• SEE YOUR PHOTOS ON A MAP - View on a map the place where you took your pictures in a wink, and trace the route you followed while travelling.
• ANNOTE YOUR MEMORIES IN YOUR TRAVEL BOOK - TravelPad allows you to create stunning photo albums in a few seconds. Import new pictures from your iPhone photo library, and annotate each photo in your album with an associated memory.
• SHARE YOUR TRAVEL IN A NEW WAY - Visualize your shots and share your souvenirs with friends and family: Retrace the route of your trip on the map in your album, and re-play your journey in the slideshow.

AppStore Link: TravelPad: Travel Photo Album - Price £0.59/$0.99

• Photo Shootout is a pro photographer sim[ulator] game for the iPhone and iPod Touch.
• Shoot beautiful in-game models, edit, sell and show-off your professional photos. Earn money from your published photos to buy better camera equipment - Shoot, repeat until famous!

Why is it Unique and Interesting?

• What if a pro photographer on a high stakes fashion and beauty shoot handed you a camera, and challenged you to a shootout? Now with Photo Shootout, you can experience the challenge, glamour, fame and fortune of being a pro photographer anywhere, anytime on your iPhone and iPod Touch.

What Segment?

• Photo Shootout spans two categories; Photography and Sim Games.

What do you get?

• 11 Photographic Assignments
• 3 Gorgeous professional female models
• Models in Bathing suits and close-up
• Professionally shot footage
• 3 Training modules
• No previous photo experience required

Price?

• $4.99 with a release special price of $2.99

When will it be Available?

• Estimated release date in App store; 16 March, 2010

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.
If you would like to showcase your iPhone photos here on the iPhoneography blog, then send me an email with a link to your Flickr account and a short bio about yourself and your iPhoneography, and if suitable I will post your showcase.

AppStore Description: Lens Flares are the result of light interacting with camera lens optics. They add a whole new layer to your photos - an interplay of light and imagery. Lens flares can be used to enhance existing light sources in your photo, such as the sun, or add a completely new source of light.

Take a new photo with your camera, or choose an existing photo. Professional sample images included. Landscape photos work best, especially with the anamorphic lens.

POSITIONING - Position the flare naturally by simply tilting your device, or tap the lock icon to use touch positioning.

LENS OPTICS - Lighting effects modeled after real lens optics:

• Various tinted lens coatings
• Unique anamorphic lens effects as seen in Star Trek, Transformers, etc.
• Edge detection for aperture reflection
• Prismatic lens diffraction

FEATURES

• Incredibly Easy to Use
• Real Time Flare Positioning
• Nine High Quality Lens Types
• Position Flare with Tilt or Touch
• Brightness Control

The App

Launch Lens Flare and after the splash screen you are presented the apps home screen with 5 icons across the bottom of the screen.  From left to right you have an icon that when tapped allows you to adjust the intensity of the flare, an icon to select 1 of 9 styles of lens flare, a camera icon that allows you to take a photo, load a photo from the camera roll, or load one of the 9 sample photos. Second from last you have the save icon, and finally you have the information icon, but this tells you little more than who has developed this app.

Above: The apps homescreen with menu icons across the bottom and padlock icon in the top right hand cornerTo get started with Lens Flare, load or take a photo and then select one of the 9 lens flare effects.  Using the iPhone's accelerometer move the iPhone around until you have positioned the lens flare where you want it, and then when happy lock the lens flares position by tapping the padlock icon found in the top right hand corner of the screen. When locked in position you can now adjust the intensity of the flare, and when happy with your result hit the save icon and you're done.

Above: The 9 available lens flare effectsThe problems

This is quite a nice app that with the right photos can work reasonably well, however it has a couple of major bugs that severely limits its use.

First up we have the dreaded resolution issue, which is a poor 900x600. The next problem is the app can not cope with portrait orientated photos, loading them in landscape and cropping them, making this app only suited to landscape orientated photos!!

So what do I think of Lens Flare?
This is another one of those one trick pony apps, but with the right photo can add that extra something to your iPhoneography, but with its poor resolution and landscape/portrait bug, this app is best left on the shelf, at least until the bugs are fixed.

Above: My "Flying the Flag" photo given the Lens Flare treatmentAppStore Link: Lens Flare - Price £0.59/$0.99

• Color Accent: add a dramatic look to Your photo by converting the photo to black and white keeping your chosen color untouched.
• Color swap: choose a source and a target color, and the program will change the areas on the picture with the chosen source color to the target one. Great for finding out which color will fit your walls best.
• Duotone: add a color touch to your photo from one of the preset colors or choose your own tint!
• Digital zoom, 1x - 3x is available in all color effect modes.
• More to come…

Usage:

• Use the arrow keys to choose between different effect setups. All of the effects can be previewed in real time. On the top left quarter of the scene is the viewfinder with the unaltered preview, and on the top-right right quarter is the preview of the chosen effect. Use the tolerance slider to fine-tune the effects and the zoom slider to magnify the image.

For all the effects require a source color to be chosen, simply point the camera towards an object of the desired color, so on the preview screen the object is in the target reticule, and press the sample button to pick the color. (Color Accent and Duotone uses only one source color, but color swap uses era source and a target color, therefor there is two sample buttons named as source and target respectively.)

AppStore Link: Camera Accent - Price £0.59/$0.99