Here’s an HDRI taken with my iPhone of all things. The app in question is TrueHDR by Pictional which is availible now on the app store.

Pretty good app in terms of ease of use and does a very good job aligning images. However, it only takes 2 photos for the HDRI which can still leave out certain ranges of light. I’d like to see an automated process as well with a 3 second count down timer so you can just focus on holding the phone still and not having to deal with the jitter caused by tapping the screen.

Also, it may be a limitation of the camera API however, I’d really like to see some sort of automated bracketing where the user can tap to focus and pick a neutral exposure or maybe even just an on-screen slider and then tap once, wait two or three seconds and 3 shots taken at maximum bracket would then be taken.

It’s nice to see a proper HDRI app on the iPhone but compared to desktop applications like Photomatix or Photoshop there are limitations.

It should be noted that you have the ability to merge two images from the camera roll together. So I suppose in a serious pinch you could use the iPhone and this app as a remote HDRI engine for the field.

Verdict: If you love HDR photogaphy and want to be able to shoot like this anywhere, anytime, then this app is for you.

So I’m going to start posting more from my mobile in an attempt to gainfully employ my trust iPhone and capture images to share with you all. Here is one such set of images. Leaving work today and getting to the 7th floor of my garage. Looking up at the buildings the fog was obscuring the tops. It was a very ominous sight as you weren’t able to tell how high the buildings were. Sort of like the dystopian future from 80s sci-fi.

Here I am, blogging with Wordpress 2.0 for the iPhone. Let’s see how this works out.

In keeping with continuing business relations with participants from the fall Belly Dance promotion, I recently had a studio session with Carey who is absolutely glowing and charismatic in front of my glass.  Here are some of the shots from that session.

Ashta is an absolute joy to work with in the studio and I look forward to the coming sessions with her in the near future.

March is here and with it comes the Spring promotion for Automotive Photography. With that comes some very exciting packages priced right for the spring time.

First thing first, in order to participate, you need to register for the promotion. Registration is free but necessary. Registration gets you a number of advantages as follows.

• Modified personal license to any photos of your car(whether from a booked session or a local meet).
• Special package pricing for automotive shoots.
• Other discounts on products and services for participation.

Automotive Open Houses

Open house dates will be trickled out as the season moves on. There will be several along the mid-eastern US ranging possibly as far north as New York City, NY and as far south as Charlotte, NC depending on demand. Stay tuned and be sure to check the major tuner forums for more information as well.

Portrait Open Houses

There will also be a number of Portrait Open Houses at various Belly Dance and other cultural events throughout the summer. Get in contact with me if you’re hosting or planning an event for co-sponsorship opportunities.

Dear friends, my humble apologies for not keeping up with the blog!  I am very busy with the fall promotion as those of you who’ve received the newsletters(after I stopped sending garbled emails) have noted.  I just wanted to let you all know that I’m not letting this blog project get away and I’m going to be picking it back up and keep better track of everything.  Stay tuned!!!

So this being my first live music gig, I really didn’t know what to expect.  It all started a number of month ago when I was stumbling around and found his Hip Hop Violin video on YouTube.  Being a violinist myself, albeit rusty, I was insanely impressed by Paul’s versatility and his passion for his music.  So months later, Paul had an online concert which I of course attended and tried my best to interact with.  Couple of months later, I get an email from Paul’s manager and the rest is in the gallery.  Definitely one of my most awesome gigs.  It hasn’t really hit Paul yet, but he’s definitely a celebrity.  I got to spend the evening with him, his manager and friends and family and it was one of the nicest times I’ve had in a very long time.  Additionally, building professional and personal relationships with all involved was pretty amazing.

The other kicker of the evening was the fact that Paul Dateh was performing with DJ Johnny Juice.  For those playing the home game, that’s DJ Johnny Juice of Public Enemy fame.  I didn’t realize this until the end of the night and it hit me like a ton of bricks as I’ve been a fair Public Enemy fan for some time now.  He was introduced to me early in the evening as just “Juice”.  It totally didn’t dawn on me until the end of the evening that it was DJ Johnny Juice.  I was a huge fan, I’ve taken his Sonar tutorials and the like.  Amazing producer and absolutely astounding on the tables.  He was one of the coolest guys I’ve met, very down to earth and absolutely hilarious.

Meeting the bunch was definitely a high point of my career as a photographer and I am very much looking forward to hanging out with them as well as working with them all professionally in the future.  Thanks to Paul Dateh for his music and charisma.  Thanks to Adam Wallenta for having me and inviting me to dinner.  Thanks to Juice for being a funny mojo with some sick skills on the decks.  Also thanks to We Know City for putting on such a great event and thanks to Home(the club we were at) for helping to produce this event.

Until next time, friends!

Well the open house could have been better, but the day and the cars cooperated with me a great deal.  I thought that everyone that came out put a lot of effort into making their cars look as good as possible for the shoot.  Here is a sample of the day’s shots.

Thanks to all those that came out to have their cars shot and to support me and my work!  We’ll see you again for the next open house!

Greetings all!

I wanted to let you in on a small event that I have schedule. Here is the critical information.

WHAT: Photography open house/meet. Come out and get your car shot, get a poster(30×20″ gloss or matte) and a digital download(10+ MP) all while you hang out with other tuners.

WHERE: Meadowlark Botanical Gardens -=- 9750 Meadowlark Gardens Court, Vienna, Virginia 22182

WHEN: Saturday August 16th, and Sunday August 17th from Noon until 6pm both days.

WHAT’S IT COST?: The cost for shooting is $65 dollars for the shoot session, the poster print and a high res digital download(lightly watermarked).

THE DETAILS: To register, simply send me an email at joe@dev-inspire.com . I need the following information included in the email. Please do not omit any of this info as my spots are limited. If you do not include all of the info I cannot confirm your slot. Do not assume your slot is confirmed until you’ve received a confirmation email from me personally.

Needed:

• First and Last Name
• GOOD contact phone number
• Make, Model, and Color of your vehicle
• Tag number and state of the vehicle you wish to have photographed.
• Day preference, Saturday or Sunday as well as early or later.(This does not imply that slots are guaranteed to each day. They are first come, first serve.)

SLOT DETAILS!!

Shooting starts sharply at 12:00PM on Saturday, you will be assigned an exact time(such as 12:15/12:45, etc). Your slot is only 15 minutes long so you should not risk being late. If you are unable to make your assigned slot, please call or txt me immediately that day and let me know so I can bump you to the end of the line.

I have 48 slots available at this time, 24 for each day. I cannot rightly go beyond that, however, if at the end of the day there is still time, I will take adhoc sessions, but I prefer that folks register ahead of time.

What to bring on the day-of:

• Identification, preferably your driver’s license
• Cash or money order, no personal checks please.(If you wish to use paypal, please email me to make arrangements)
• Proper tools to remove front plates from your car(if any) while on the shoot. I will clone out holes and other uglies (removing back plates are optional).
• Tire shine, California dusters, or any other touch up stuff you might need to make your ride as clean as possible.

The way it’ll work

Essentially it’ll be like any other meet except we have certain areas roped off for photography. Each car will be given a 15 minute block and I will shoot each car as extensively as possible. As most of you know I touch each photo individually and I don’t just blanket everything. Different cars will have different effects and feelings making your photograph an individual piece, even if I may use the same angles as other cars.

I can put text or logo on your poster as well(think of race posters you’d get at a car show). I will do those types of designs at no extra cost, just work it out with me when we choose your print.

All the photos will be available online for viewing in a gallery similar to the galleries I’ve had for previous events. Every picture that I shoot will be available there. The photos you choose for your print and your digital download do not necessarily have to be the same photo. You will have a number of photos to choose from for each car. You can consult with me on an individual basis either here on the forum or via email/text(I’d prefer the latter due to pm limitations here on the site). You are more than welcome to hotlink to any photos in any gallery on my site. Doing so is quite easily accomplished by clicking the “share” button in the gallery above the photo you are currently viewing. Your digital download will be lightly watermarked as with the rest of my photos. The difference will be that on the day of you will be granted a license to use the photo elsewhere other than on my site(i.e. sponsorship promotion, myspace, facebook, etc… places where you have to upload and cannot hotlink) You will read and sign the license agreement on the day of your shoot.

Some things to remember… We will be at a garden, but we will not be the only ones there. We need to remain relatively quiet. This means no tomfoolery whatsoever. There are police everywhere in the area so no burnouts, revving, or loud stereos while at the gardens. You’re on your own once you leave the property. Any tomfoolery or jackassery and you’ll be asked to leave. No warnings!

Examples:

In addition to the galleries from The June 22nd Meet at Keith’s Shop, The 2nd Annual Toys R Us meet, and the AAM Nissan/Infiniti Meet here are some examples of my style and the gardens.

Extreme “otherworldly” vs. Normal Processing

Deep Angles

Artistic and “over the top”

Candy and Gloss:

FYI, you won’t get stuck with HDR or normal processing, I will dual-process each photo and you can choose your style. I know some folk don’t like HDR styling.

I had the wonderful opportunity to be the official photographer for the College Park Tuning Spring Meet 2008 event.  It was an absolutely HUGE even with probably around 3000 cars showing up and even more folks just coming to see the cars.  There were dyno pulls and a DJ and food and drink.  All in all I thought it was an absolute success.  CPT was able to raise 3500 dollars and 1500lbs of canned food donations for charity and I honestly couldn’t be more proud to have been a part of a charitable event such as this.  Special thanks to Jeff Perez from JPerez Imagery for his assistance on this shoot.

You can see the full gallery on my site by clicking here.