Tag: iphone 5

Travel Theme: Illuminated

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illuminated

colour therapy

Long winter evenings of late have been spent in some rather trivial (but always constructive) pursuits – Across the Bored likes to multitask when faced with sitting through a less than riveting televised programme, so we do little repairs, hand sewing long neglected (we tried needlepoint but counting stitches was problematic), trash useless emails or clean the phone. It was while busy with this last task that we discovered over 300 apps all nicely tucked into categories on 4 home screens…. What? Perhaps this was the reason for our poor phone’s weakened state, rapidly draining battery and dwindling memory: that and the over 2000 photos we just can’t seem to part with.

6 hours later with a good number of lame apps gone and the camera roll reduced by half (it’s a start and yes, they are backed up in 2 different places), we had made a lovely reacquaintance with some of the nifty photo-editors that had been dormant for awhile.

We have been illuminated.

💡

See the light in the entries of Where’s my backpack?’s Travel Theme: Illuminated.

Two Cents Tuesday Challenge: Wonder – Week 2

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wonder2

there be dragons in tom’s garden – an iphoneography collaboration

Once upon a time, we stated rather emphatically that we didn’t see what the big deal was with fancy cel phones. As long as reception wasn’t tinny and the numbers on the keypad were large enough to see without changing glasses, everything was about as good as it could get. Texting was for kids who didn’t care about the nuances of conversation – we needed the very clear and easily decipherable tone of voice to let us know whether the response to our being late was fine or fine. The no-frills phone did its duty, suffered being dropped, stolen by the dog and left overnight in a -20C car but it eventually outlived its usefulness. Said device was unceremoniously passed to our elderly mother-in-law (who was more than pleased that she could now ring us from the aisles of her favourite grocery store) and replaced, much to Miss Z’s chagrin, with the then-latest iPhone. We were doubtful about the hype but soon smitten by its charms.

We now tell anyone who’ll listen that this phone is the best ever. Not because of the quality of pictures it takes or the fabulous editing apps, instant access to alarm clocks and weather reports, messages and colour-pickers, translators and maps or even the built-in dog whistle. It has let us become connected in ways we would never have thought possible, made us more productive in a spontaneous way, given us the tools to create every single day and most importantly, to share our vision with people all over the globe in a fraction of a second. We even use it to call home once in a while – such is the miracle of modern technology. Like this fortnight’s Two Cents Tuesday Challenge theme, every time we swipe onto the homepage we – Wonder – where our little portable universe will take us.

Last week, Across the Bored enquired – ““What shape does wonder come to you in?” – Swirling leaves and sunlit skies, the grasp of a hand or babies’ sighs, lions that play as cats or cats who would be lions, fireworks, roller coasters, neon signs … We would love to see your vision.

For all those who are new readers to Across the Bored, some great entries and the guidelines for this fortnight’s challenge can be found here. Need more info or want to browse past themes? Have a look at HOW DOES THIS WORK.

Travel Theme: Relaxing

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relaxing

once upon a year
it seemed calming
to rip out pages
sort and file away
all manner of beauty
those bits that made us laugh
told us something of ourselves
the places we had been
or wanted to run to
in dreams that seemed
to stretch on forever
Now
like some archivist forsaken
there does not seem much use
for such a Paper burden
relevant to few
for desire has changed
the face
of what we wish to save
and rest comes
only in the moment
that we let go

✄

Take a minute to appreciate the entries of
Where’s my backpack?’s Travel Theme: Relaxing.

Everything is Peachy

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nem painterly 6

Across the Bored was diagnosed as myopic quite early in life – not because we were unable or unwilling to act prudently or exhibited that nasty trait of lacking tolerance and understanding but rather in the opthalmological sense  – we were a small, curious child with the distinct inability to see distant objects clearly. Anyone who wore glasses in school in the 1960s clearly remembers the agony of choosing one of four available frame shapes in either black or brown and the horror of knowing the coke bottle lenses placed therein would bring taunts, cruel rhymes or worse. Like most things, we suffered through it and to this day are still plagued by less than perfect vision.

Some recommend laser surgery which seems like a fate worse than death due to the underlying fear of having needles and sharp scalpels placed anywhere in the vicinity of our eyes. So we stick to a regular prescription for just being able to get about, reading glasses for computer work and contact lens for vanity’s sake. All those people you notice taking their glasses off in the grocery store to read the fine print on the label? We are now one of them…

An odd realization struck recently, that being nearsighted had coloured the way we view the world – that we tend to see the beauty of things up close, focusing on the small details and often breaking down the larger picture into components that stand alone on their own merit. Across the Bored has written previously of the multitude of photographers and artists to be found on EyeEm – a fast scroll through our own gallery proved that indeed there were quite a few close-ups of our favourite subjects, including the one below.

peaches

Photo notes: iPhone 5 native camera, snapseed, camera awesome, glazed, and distressed fx

It was selected to appear in NEM Painterly – Featured Art 6 curated by MaryJane Sarvis – NEM, the New ERA Museum, “takes shape mainly to spread the concept of pristine Art, affordable and available to everyone by potentially forging new artists to new techniques of digital mobile processing.” What a thrill to be included among this group of talented and groundbreaking photographers.

If you would like to see more in our gallery, click on the EyEm icon in the sidebar. The bounty of autumn’s harvest only begins…

Becoming a Painter again

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NEM Painterly

Across the Bored has written previously of the inspiration to be found on EyeEm, the global photosharing community where one can find a wide range of styles and genres by artists and photographers of all levels. It gives people a chance to get more exposure for their work and also gets one interested in playing around with some of the nifty apps that are available for smartphones. Many offer filters and effects that, if executed by traditional means on canvas with paint and brush, would take considerably longer. Applied to photography, their application is relatively fast, the possibilities for correction forgiving and the creative permutations endless.

That said, we uploaded the photo below.

tomatoe series IIPhoto notes: iPhone 5 native camera, snapseed, camera awesome, glazed, and distressed fx

It was selected to appear in NEM Painterly – Featured Art 4 curated by MaryJane Sarvis – NEM, the New ERA Museum, “takes shape mainly to spread the concept of pristine Art, affordable and available to everyone by potentially forging new artists to new techniques of digital mobile processing.” We are truly honoured to be included amongst this group of talented and groundbreaking photographers.

If you would like to see more in our gallery, click on the EyEm icon in the sidebar. The fruit of summer is sweet indeed…

Two Cents Tuesday Challenge: Toys – Week 2

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toys 2still making us smile

We always swore to never repeat those awful catch-phrases our mothers (and fathers) would fling out at opportune parenting moments but every once in a while we catch ourselves with very similar words on the tips of our tongues.  The platitude that sprung to mind today was “things were simpler when I was a kid”. It doesn’t take a degree to deduce how this can’t, in fact, be anything other than historically accurate as we grew up pre-electronic diversions, pre-colour television, pre-headphones, pre-pretty much everything.

Entertainment was basic but there was no lack of it. Inside or out, alone or with friends, our choices were limited by the little available on the market or what we could scavenge and throw together in a pinch. We certainly didn’t have as much stuff as children today and some of it has survived the long haul of adolescence, leaving home and starting our own families to sit in their own place of honour amongst our prized possessions.  Our own bears have seen alot of action, now they watch us compose and create, revise and revisit, like talismans of permanence in a rapidly changing daily life.

This fortnight’s Two Cents Tuesday Challenge theme – Toys – suggests that everybody’s got their something… 

Last week, Across the Bored was curious –  “What form do toys take for you?” –  That fuzzy bear, a game of solitaire, pick-up sticks or camera clicks, beads and baubles, stereos sweet, nail polish for toes on pretty feet, shiny cars, long telescopes to see the stars or best of all – a cardboard box and simple ball… We would love to see your vision.

For all those who are new readers to Across the Bored, some great entries and the guidelines for this fortnight’s challenge can be found here. Need more info or want to browse past themes? Have a look at HOW DOES THIS WORK.

Truly a New Era

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NEM scifi

A huge thanks go out to OhmSweetOhm who not so very long ago directed Across the Bored to one of the newer (free) photosharing apps available for iPhone and Android. As an iphoneographer concerned with IP, and not having the desire or time to wade through the #selfies mire of some other sites around, this one in particular stood out –  EyeEm is a global community of photographers and artists posting their work in a wide variety of categories. Whether you download the app to your phone or cruise through the galleries online, it offers a glimpse into how and what the rest of the world is seeing.

That said, we uploaded the photo below.

NEM scifi thing

Photo notes: iPhone 5 native camera, no edits or filters – pure and untouched

It was selected to appear in the NEM scifi -selection 02 curated by Fabio D’Andrea – NEM, the New ERA Museum, “takes shape mainly to spread the concept of pristine Art, affordable and available to everyone by potentially forging new artists to new techniques of digital mobile processing.” We are truly honoured to be included amongst this group of talented and groundbreaking photographers.

If you would like to see more, click on the EyEm icon in the sidebar. It has finally stopped raining – things look just that little bit better today…

Two Cents Tuesday Challenge: Clean – Week 2

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clean 2

not since and probably never again

Once upon a time, and it was a very, very long time ago, there was a young woman who had received a gift of more tomatoes than she could possibly ever eat in one sitting – or even four.  Being somewhat frugal and hoping to earn some brownie points in the domestic arena, the maiden (against her better judgement it must be said) consulted “she who is never wrong” for the best way to preserve the quickly-ripening fruit for the long, cold winter ahead. Complex instructions were dictated, interspersed with anecdotes of how “she of the bad temper’s” recipe was not up to snuff and why “she who never listens” methodology was questionable, amongst other digressions.

The process was supposed to be an easy one but like so many culinary endeavours that masquerade themselves as “a pleasant afternoon” spent in the quest for the authentic flavours of yesteryear, it wasn’t. It was tedious and messy, labour-intensive and messy, dangerous and messy. From knife blades sharp enough to slice a single hair lengthwise     to industrial-sized pots of boiling water threatening to erupt at a moment’s provocation, it was not fun. The young lady was not pleased but completed the task, placing the many precious jars in a very high, very dark cupboard.

Three months down the road and well before the first snow, the hint of an odd odour in the kitchen began to tease the maiden’s nostrils. She was told it was all in her head, that she had an over-active olfactory system, that it was the age of the building, the damp weather or, heaven forbid, the possibility that something had reached an unforeseen demise between the walls. The last option was not to be tolerated and so “she who always persevered” crawled up to the top rung of a very tall ladder, gingerly opened the cupboard door and discovered the unthinkable – no rotting gypsum, no black and creeping fungus, not even a nightmarish rodent corpse – worse. 42 jars of fermenting tomatoes oozing a slick and noxious liquid out from under once-tight metal caps and down their sides to corrode eighty years of paint off the shelf in perfect circles. A crucial step had obviously been omitted – or not transmitted…

Conserving a summer’s harvest is much like this fortnight’s Two Cents Tuesday Challenge theme – it doesn’t hurt to make sure that everything is really – Clean. 

Last week, Across the Bored put forward an age-old question –  “How does clean appear to you?” –  The lines of a Countach or curve of her back, fresh laundry on the line or graphics of a sign, raindrops, old-fashioned string mops, even spinning tops, is it sudsy or soapy, stringent or strange, glossy and glassy, fancy or plain… We would love to see your vision.

For all those who are new readers to Across the Bored, some great entries and the guidelines for this fortnight’s challenge can be found here. Need more info or want to browse past themes? Have a look at HOW DOES THIS WORK.