Momathon Blog

18 Days of Instagram Filters: Day 15 with Valencia Filter

If you like to take outdoor photos, chances are you will have plenty of opportunities to use the Valencia filter on Instagram which adds a subtle brown tint to images. That said, I found this filter versatile enough to use with shots of my favorite shelter dogs at an adoption fair and even bakery goods for a picnic. I don't feel I need to use the LUX feature very often with this filter because of the built-in contrast provided by the Valenica filter. I will use the LUX feature to add a nice contrast with brick and other building materials when photographing house exteriors, cityscapes, etc.

For more information on the LUX feature plus a handy list of how to use other features including the focus, frame, and more, check out my link here.

Your Instagram Photos Help Shelter Dogs
The adorable  dog featured below is a rescue dog named Rosie. For more information on adopting this dog, go to this dog rescue link. #german_shepherd

Images in this post by me, Chris Olson, using an iPhone 4 + Instagram with Valencia Filter (#Valencia)

 

 

 You can find other posts in this Guide to Instagram series here:

Day 1: No Filter

Day 2: Amaro Filter

Day 3: Rise Filter

Day 4: Hudson Filter

Day 5: X-Pro II Filter

Day 6: Sierra Filter

Day 7: Lo-Fi Filter

Day 8: Earlybird Filter

Day 9: Sutro Filter

Day 10: Toaster Filter

Day 11: Brannan Filter

Day 12: Inkwell Filter

Day 13: Walden Filter

Day 14: Hefe Filter

 

18 Days of Instagram Filters: Day 14 with Hefe Filter

Boost the warmth and cozy factor of photos by adding golden tones and a subtle fuzzy effect using the Hefe filter on Instagram (#hefe). Because the filter ever so slightly increases the saturation in the image, I did not use the LUX feature which adds vibrancy to the photo by bringing out more details. I opted to use the Tilt-Shift (DoF) feature with the pool photos to blur a portion of the image because of personal preference—I think pool ripples and depth of field is fun to play around with. If you like yellow and gold hues, then this is the perfect filter for almost any occasion. The retro vibe with the Hefe is visible but rarely distracting.   

Use Instagram to Help Shelter Dogs Get Adopted

If you like to take photos, grab your iPhone and stop by your local animal shelter. Snap some cute pics with Instagram. Then post them on Facebook and Twitter with a link to the shelter. This Instagram photo features Rocko, details on him at this dog rescue link.

More Instagram Tips

EYE ICON

Tap the "eye" icon in the lower right corner of the Instagram camera screen and the Instagram filter bar appears.

TEAR DROP ICON

Tap the "tear drop" icon or Tilt-Shift focus icon located up on the upper right of the Instagram camera interface to give you the ability to focus on a particular part of your photo. The unselected portion of the image will fade into a blur. You can adjust the location/placement of the focus and the size. To use this feature, just tap the tear drop icon at the top of the Instagram camera interface, next select either the line or the spot effect, then tap or drag/rotate the image to preview how this feature adjusts the in-focus area. Instagram includes two different types of focus options, a focus area in a line and a a focus area in a circle. Select the line or circle and then use your fingers to play with the placement and size on your image. If you don't like the focus effect, just click on the "X" icon to remove any tilt-shift effect.

FRAME ICON

Each filter—except the no filter option—comes with a unique frame. You can opt to use it or keep it simple with no frame.  Tap on the "frame" icon to see how it looks. Tap again to remove the frame.

SUN ICON

in the lower left portion of your camera screen is the "sun" icon also known as the LUX effect. Tap on the icon to add pop or vibrancy to the photo by bringing out more details. Tap it again to remove the LUX effect. The LUX effect changes dramatically depending on the photo and the filter. Once again, experimenting with this feature is the best way to know when you want to use it.

Images by me, Chris Olson, using an iPhone 4 + Instagram with Hefe Filter (#hefe)

You can find other posts in this Instagram series here:

Day 1: No Filter

Day 2: Amaro Filter

Day 3: Rise Filter

Day 4: Hudson Filter

Day 5: X-Pro II Filter

Day 6: Sierra Filter

Day 7: Lo-Fi Filter

Day 8: Earlybird Filter

Day 9: Sutro Filter

Day 10: Toaster Filter

Day 11: Brannan Filter

Day 12: Inkwell Filter

Day 13: Walden Filter

18 Days of Instagram Filters: Day 13 with Walden Filter

The soft watercolor effect of the Walden filter on Instagram gives photos a bluish "late afternoon" effect. Like most Instagram filters the Walden effect has a retro feel. Add this mellowing effect to achieve a romantic glow in shots that reminds me of spending a lazy summer afternoon without the constant interruptions of my iPhone. Perfect for a landscape or cityscape, vacay photos, pets, and even product shots.

Images by me, Chris Olson, using an iPhone 4 + Instagram with Walden Filter (#walden)

You can find other posts in this Instagram series here:

Day 1: No Filter

Day 2: Amaro Filter

Day 3: Rise Filter

Day 4: Hudson Filter

Day 5: X-Pro II Filter

Day 6: Sierra Filter

Day 7: Lo-Fi Filter

Day 8: Earlybird Filter

Day 9: Sutro Filter

Day 10: Toaster Filter

Day 11: Brannan Filter

Day 12: Inkwell Filter

Lupine Flowers and Lovely Links

 
Flowers are springing up so early in my neighborhood. I love the deep purple blooms of the perennial lupine that covers the terraced garden in front of my house. Their floral stocks remind me of sweet peas. Lupine like to "plant themselves" and rarely do well when transplanted because they have very long tap roots. If you want to add lupine plants, the try harvesting the seeds from existing plants—directions below.

Lupine Seed Saving Directions:
After the lupine plant is done blooming, the seed pods turn yellow. You can hear the seeds "rattle" inside the pods when the seeds are ripe. To catch the seeds to use later, just place pods in a box where they can explode naturally and then gather the seed. Right before you want to plant the seeds, try placing them in a baggie with a moist paper towel. Set the seed baggie in the refrigerator for about a week. The cool temps encourage germination. Seeds treated in this manner can be planted during the growing season (June—August).

 

• • • Lovely Links • • •

What are you grateful for? I'm grateful for Gabrielle Blair at DesignMom.com. Today she has a post similar to my post about kindness. Her post is all about gratitude, check it out here.

I like making printables for my blog and the always clever Nicole Balch over at the design blog Making it Lovely has created an adorable set of 10 printable Rainbow Birthday Party Invitations. They're free and fantastic!

What makes a great bookstore for kids? The moms at Red Tricycle share the best independent bookstores in the SF Bay Area here.

If you are on LinkedIn and use an iPad, the new app just for the iPad launched this week. Find out more here.

Do you have any lovely links to share? Share your thoughts in the comments, or on MomathonBlog on Facebook.

xo Chris

Image by Chris Olson.

18 Days of Instagram Filters: Day 8 with Earlybird Filter

The Earlybird filter adds a romantic glow to an image by enhancing the soft faded colors with a hint of yellow and taupe. This app is great for fashion shots, brown-eyed dogs, and even dreamy decors. 

Your Instagram photos can help shelter dogs

If you like to take photos, grab your iPhone and stop by your local animal shelter. Snap some cute pics with Instagram. Then post them on Facebook and Twitter.

The adorable dog featured below is a rescue dog named Amber. For more information on adopting this dog, go to this dog rescue link. xo

  

Images by me, Chris Olson, using an iPhone 4 + Instagram with Earlybird Filter.

You can find other posts in this Instagram series here:

Day 1: No Filter

Day 2: Amaro Filter

Day 3: Rise Filter

Day 4: Hudson Filter

Day 5: X-Pro II Filter

Day 6: Sierra Filter

Day 7: Lo-Fi Filter

 

Move over Instagram, make room for the Camera Awesome app

I've experimented with loads of photo apps to turn your iPhone or smartphone a better camera. The new Camera Awesome free app from SmugMug joins my list of personal faves for camera versatility and high performance, a list that includes the Instagram, Adobe Photoshop Express, and Camera+ apps. All of the apps listed here are free except the Camera+ app that costs $1.99. However, I will warn you the app is so much fun it is very tempting buy extra bonus features for the Camera Awesome— each set of nine additional (totally awesome) effects is 99 cents. The Hancock effect adds a layer of script and you can see it above.

The photo included in the post today was taken and/or processed with Camera Awesome. I tried to pick a very ordinary subject—a string of lights—and see if the app could "Awesomize" it. And, yes, that is the term the app makers use. Since I am a Photoshop geek, I wasn't sure if this iPhone app would be as versatile and tweakable as a I wanted. Turns out it was a great deal of fun to use. The so-called boring string of lights (I stood on a chair to take this shot) turned out kind of magical with the Hancock filter. I have to add one thing that I really love about this app, you can upload any photo in the app to post process. Here are my thoughts on the new app:

Camera Awesome 

• Camera app works with the iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S (an Android app is in development)
• Full-featured and full-powered camera app
• Free app comes with 36 free effects: presets, filters, textures, and frames
• Option to upgrade and buy more presets, a total of 297 presets available
• Image stabilization, burst mode, camera timer, and more
• Fast burst option for active shotss—camera can capture photos in quick sequences
• Works in video mode 
• All your photos can be shared on social media through the easy built-in sharing feature
• Option to use SmugMug photo archiving at full resolution 

After the snowstorm: What do you see?

 

Could this be a Rorschach snow-blot?

I see a horse. What do you see?

Although it's just random snow patterns on a piece of wood, it made me think of a Rorschach inkblot test.

Photo by me, Chris Olson

 

Grand gardens in small spaces

Gardens have a magic all their own. Inspiring, relaxing, and healing me on my daily walks. When I take my daily walks, stopping to admire the colors, scents, and shade near an urban garden is a welcome resting point for me and my children--and my dogs!

More garden photos on the following link: