Amazing Results With Photo-editing, Snapseed

For the longest time, I totally avoided and looked down on "extreme" photo-editing. I was raised in the film photography world and was always warned by my parents that it was a waste of money to develop and print bad shots. I had one chance, and one chance only, to click and produce a perfect photo.

So, as you can imagine, it's rather traumatic to accept the digital photography reality in which people may take dozens or more shots of the same scene. Trying to choose the best, after three or four, my eyes go foggy and I just can't see what's better or worse. I'm not a visual perfectionist. The truth is that I'm just not a perfectionist at all!

Now I must admit that even though I highly doubt that I'll be taking more than a handful of photos of the same scene, I have not only discovered the fun and art of photo-editing, but sometimes I fear that I'm addicted.

This week's 52Frames challenge was to use our phone as a camera. To be honest, I've been using my phone pretty much every week for months. Its pictures are far superior to what my cheap camera can produce. That created a bit of a dilemma. I needed to submit a photograph that would be a superior one, davka, because of my phone.

Here is the photo I submitted:

"Flower"
I used two new techniques here. Negative color and a new application recommended by a framer. Thanks

This is the story:
I decided to use a photography option that my Samsung J7 offers. I photographed this pretty flower in the negative. It looked pretty unusual, but just not special enough.

I'm also in a small 52Frames group which is to help each other out with ideas. One of the members of that group suggested that I use Snapseed, a free photo-editing application. So, that's what I did. It lightened the photograph just enough to give more detail and contrast between the flower and the leaves. What do you think?

Trying to Use My Low-Level Phone and Camera to the Mostest

Yesterday, without checking out prices, I bought myself a new memory card for my phone. For ages, and considering that I've only had the Samsung Galaxy II for about a year and a half, I can't edit pictures, because the memory doesn't suffice. Twice I took it to the store where I bought it and got settings wiped out so I could take photos again. But I don't take videos nor use their editing options.

Like many newbies to smartphones I got a simple one. I didn't know about memory and all that.

I had heard that it's possible to add memory, so totally spontaneously popped into one of those phone places on Jaffa Street, Jerusalem, which had all sorts of Galaxy accessories, like extra batteries on display and asked about extra memory for my phone.

OK, actually it was not so simple. I walked in with my hands over my ears because of the loud music, but the guy immediately turned off the volume. If he hadn't I would have considered it a sign from G-d to leave.

Well, he opened my phone and looked at the memory. It was a stingy 2 whatever. The salesman recommended a 16  whatever.  Since a friend had told me that he had ordered a 32 whatever I asked about that. I was told that considering the primitive operating system in my phone, the 32 whatever isn't recommended. Well, 16 is 8 times more than 2, so it sounded good enough. The salesman said that it won't improve "applications," those magivcal programs that make a smartphone such a good "friend," but I'll have lots more room for pictures and music. Well, I don't use it for music, just photos.

I took a couple of pre-edited (played with color) photos this morning, and the camera mechanism didn't freeze like it had previously.

And re: my camera, Canon IXUS 145 which I'm pretty disappointed with, It doesn't have the "delete all" in the menu. So, I finally used my computer to delete the photos. You can look at the photos on the computer, so from that I deleted them. That is how I delete on my "listening device."

Next time, I'll be a wiser consumer and buy more sophisticated devices. I'll know what questions to ask.

Camera Dilemma!

My old trusty, antique of a digital camera, the Canon 620 is falling apart. I must replace it. Even though prices are cheaper in the states, I've enjoyed the life long service I get from the store in which I bought it. When I got the camera, the store was Photo Nissim on Jaffa Street, Jerusalem across from the "Davidka." Since then the store has moved to the nearby Clal Building and has a very informative internet business, http://camera.co.il/  and branches.

The Canon IXUS 133 seems to be the best deal with 36 month guarantee.

Any advice, input? Thanks

My Favorite Types of Photos

This train must have had been scrubbed just before I snapped the picture.

I don't know exactly when, but sometime after first getting my digital camera I discovered reflection photos. In the days of film, it seemed too risky, and if I could have gotten a dollar for every time someone would tell me to stop, because the picture wouldn't come out...

With digital photography, the photos cost nothing, and it's rare to print them. So of course we can experiment.

I took these photos a couple of weeks ago in Jerusalem. I think it was on Jerusalem Day.

I've loved photography ever since I was a little girl. Of course that was in the day of film, which made it a very expensive hobby. Now it cost less, but since we rarely print photos, they sort of disappear in the wind. It's all an illusion. They are more like memories than real.

Don't Replace it 'Till It's "Dead," But...

I've had my digital camera, the old and trusty Canon PowerShot A620 for years and years.  It's the only digital camera I've owned.  When I bought it, it was still pretty easy to get film developed and then, if you wanted you could get the film converted to a CD for your computer along with the negatives.  I did that quite a few times.

Half a year after I bought my camera, it was rated as the best digital camera on the market by Yahoo and some other sites. I felt pretty lucky that my sons steered me to buy it when their friend had gotten one. One of the things I really liked was that it looked and felt like an old-fashioned film camera with a viewfinder and all.  It took me a long time to even glance at the screen.  Actually, I had it flipped shut for ages.

A few months ago the shutter began giving a lot of problems, refusing to open fully, and I brought it back to the store.  One of the workers spent a long time on it, and now it opens on command.  I asked him if I should replace the camera already, and he said "no."  He told me that the camera may probably continue working, shooting great photos for a long time.

I'm starting to get tired of schlepping it around.  It's heavy, but it has been loyal and still takes better photos in many ways/settings than my Samsung GalaxyII smartphone.

I've already chosen a replacement, but I can't afford to just buy it when the 620 still functions.

I'd love one of those bright red Canon PowerShot A2500 .  It's more than double the megapixels and a fraction of the weight. The price is also great; Amazon has it with case and memory card for less than the official price.  And for some strange reason the red is less than the black one.

Things have changed in the digital camera market since I bought my 620.  I wonder when I'll really need a new camera. It doesn't pay to buy one when my old one still works, but like I did a number of years with my refrigerator, I'll keep tabs on the market so when the time comes, I'll be ready.  But who knows... the A2500 may be an antique by the time my 620 dies.  Then I'll have to choose a newer model!

Learning How To Use A Smartphone

Yes, yesterday I bought a smartphone.  Of course I came up with a very basic problem.  My fingers are just too fat to hit the right letters.  I've been watching everyone else (except my husband, but he'll get one in a few weeks) both older and younger than me tapping and swiping like pros.  It's a Galaxy II Plus.  In the end I bought it at Bug, which is a computer whatever chain.  There are branches all over, and they also have reps signing people up for Golan cellphone service, which we have, too.

The same son who taught me how to use my digital camera, the old, trusty Canon 620, helped me get started on my smartphone. He didn't like my choice in rings, but I tried to explain that it must be loud an annoying for me to hear it.  He has promised, or was it threatened, to download a nice Beatles song.  The problem with that will be that I'll sing along instead of answering.

And talking about answering the phone... that he didn't show me.  I figured out how to make calls without any real problem and even guessed what to press to activate the number I had just dialed and then to end the call.  But when I told my husband I needed to find out if it really rings and call me I couldn't' figure out how to answer it.  I kept tapping of course, which is wrong.  When I got home I tried to unwind on the computer a bit and asked my facebook friends and followers.  Luckily one managed to give me enough hints which helped.

Since the guys in the store hadn't hours to send all the numbers to my phone via bluetooth or whatever, now I need everyone to call me so I can add their numbers easily.  If you have my number, then I need you to call and identify yourself, ok?  Thanks!

Some Recent Jerusalem Pictures

I don't play tourist, unlike Adventures in Aliyaland who had a real adventure taking her sister around on a whirlwind tour of Israel recently.  It's just that when I go to Jerusalem I frequently see a lot of it and often by foot and lightrail, too.

I need to exercise more, and just plain "fitness walking" is a bore, so when I'm in the big city I do walk.  It's just that I don't get there often.  Most of the time I'm only there once a week.  Well armed with my trusty Canon 620 (rather an ancient artifact by digital camera standards) I end up taking lots of pictures.  And also being well-trained by my parents "not to waste film," I rarely shoot more than one of two of a scene.

Since I'll soon be getting myself a smartphone, does anyone have recommendations of those with decent easy to use cameras or in the negative, what not to buy?  Price is important.  Less money is certainly better for me.

PS as you can see, there was still snow in many places.

"Window Shopping" From Home

Ironically, although my blogs host ads, I've never purchased anything online. I'm a kinesthetic shopper and "people person." I have to touch, feel, see up close whatever I'm buying. I don't trust the pictures. I'm too suspicious. Nothing is the same f2f. In addition, I like getting to know the salespeople and pop in to my favorite stores, just to say "Hello."

There were times when I worked in sales, as an advertising agent, wandering from place to place trying to close a deal. I even sold bagel sandwiches, pastries, salads and drinks from coolers on trays I wheeled from office to office in Jerusalem's Har Chotzvim, high tech industrial zone over twelve years ago. And I also worked in a couple of stores as a saleswoman. The personal connection has always been important to me.

I'm not your primary potential customer when it comes to internet shopping.

But last night, a neighbor's daughter came over, because I had promised to help her pick out a digital camera. At first I thought that I'd just go with her to Jerusalem, but then I realized that all the preparation is best done online.

She had already gone to CAMERA (formerly Photo Nissim,) where I had purchased mine almost three years ago. I decided that the most efficient and effective way of camera pre-shopping was online, as my sons had told me. But now, after close to three years of experience using a digital camera, I actually understand something about them.

So we went onto the CAMERA site, which is in Hebrew (there are pictures and model names/numbers in English,) and parallel to that, then we went into the international English customer reviews for the cameras which suited her budget.

I like the CAMERA store, because it has a repair lab on the spot, and the staff has been extremely helpful and courteous each time I've gone in for questions and "repairs." I put the word, "repairs," in quotation marks, because in the end, nothing has ever been broken. I just didn't know and still don't know how to adjust all the menu/function options. I doubt if I ever will.

Some of the cameras we checked out had reviewers complain bitterly that the cameras needed constant battery changes or took much too long between shots. And the store offers different lengths of time for the guarantees, from one to five years. I explained to the young teen what points to look for and the importance of the service contract.

It was great to be able to switch from "window to window" checking it all out from the comfort of my own home. That is the way to prepare for purchasing a camera and other sorts of appliances.

I admit that I've never before done it, but now I understand the how and why's (wise) of it.

Sorry For The Politics

When I "invited" my different blogging identities to blog on the "other blogs," I knew that I'd be complicating things a bit. Now I have to check which blog I'm blogging on, and I didn't this morning. I was sure that I was writing on Shiloh Musings, not here on me-ander.

I should have gotten the hint when I discovered that there weren't the right "labels" in the blog "memory," but I was so intent and intense on writing my post, that I just ignored it. So, if you're among the readers who don't want politics, I apologize.

G-d willing, a bit later in the morning, I'll be putting the hundreds of photos and videos, three whatever worth of digital memory, onto cd's, and then I'll try to post some. Now that I'm taking videos on my Canon 620, I'll have to get something stronger than my "one" or "two."

And tomorrow, I'll weigh myself, if my friend is home, and see if my "sort of" following my Start Fresh kosher weight loss diet kept my weight from increasing. It's not easy to diet in an "all you can eat" Eilat hotel setting, even "half-board." At least this is Israel, where salads are more than plentiful.

Advantages of Walking

This isn't a health article.

If I hadn't decided to take a walk the other day at dusk, I wouldn't have been outside in order to see and photograph the magnifcent sunset.




There's an added bonus to getting out of the house and it's the beauty of G-d's world. I don't "play" with my photos. I don't "photoshop" or any of those photo-graphic programs. On the rarest of rare occassions I may crop a picture. I do use the zoom lens, but that's it.

I learned my photography skills on simple Kodak "brownies."

• "Point"
• "Make sure only what's important is in the viewfinder"
• "Stand stiller than still"
• "Shoot"

And oy v'voy if you wasted film.

"Do you realize how much it costs to develop and print every picture?!?"

So that's why, even now, almost two years after buying my digital camera, I rarely take more than a couple of shots of any scene. And that's why cropping is so rare for me. And of course, living in Shiloh gives me some of the most gorgeous photo material.