LightBomber is FREE Forever!

How do you like the sound of FREE?! When it comes to apps that's good news, right?

As of January 7th, LightBomber is forever FREE so here's your chance to get creative and try your hand at light painting. You can also use LightBomber as a slow shutter camera. There's a whole creative community on LightBomber that you can share with, but that's optional.

Description (from The App Store)

LightBomber is a lightpainting/long exposure app. The only one created by professional lightpainters. The camera, the lights, the instruction and the community are all there. The only thing missing: You.

The Streets Are Dark, Light 'Em Up!

If you have questions and you are on twitter, hit us up directly @lightbomber. Or, just email us directly at ryan@mrilightpainting.com. We'll be happy to help you out.

Tadaa SLR Currently FREE!

Tadaa SLR has a really smart masking tool that allows you to create the look of depth of field similar to what you could get using a DSLR camera. This tool allows you to zoom in very close to mask even the tiniest details. And it's currently FREE! I'm not sure if this is temporary and how widely available it is for FREE, but as of this post, it is FREE in the U.S. App Store.

Edited with Tadaa SLR © Geri Centonze

Created by the team behind the popular photo editing and sharing apps tadaa & tadaa 3D, tadaa SLR lets users add breathtaking SLR-like effects to their photos

Key features

• Create realistic depth of field and SLR-like Bokeh – works with any photo
• “Tap-to-Focus” feature let’s you focus on background or foreground AFTER you’ve taken the photo
• Breathtaking image quality of up to 16 megapixels
• Incredible level of detail - perfect round aperture blade simulation for beautiful results
• Make use of the app’s editing suite to choose from over 20 different filters or add a final touch with the cropping & adjustment tools

Preparing a Photo with Inspire Pro

I recently posted this image on Instagram.

Part of the editing process involved readying the photo before I added the shattered effect using iColorama. I liked the profile of a woman that I had captured but wanted to even out her skin, block out the background and enhance the lips and eyes. Below is a quick video of the editing process using Inspire Pro which I recently downloaded for FREE (regular price $4.99)! Inspire Pro includes a video playback feature showing your brushstrokes, so I'm able to share it with you in under 15 seconds!




After I painted over the photo with Inspire Pro, I used Luminance to filter the image to black and white. Then I used a Shatter brush in iColorama to distort the black and white image and combined that with the "unshattered" image using Sketch Club. Final adjustments and cropping were done in Snapseed.

CameraBag 2 Temporarily FREE

To celebrate the release of CameraBag 2.5 for Mac, Nevercenter Ltd. Co. is offering CameraBag 2 for FREE!

From the App Store listing:

CameraBag 2 is the world’s first hi-fi photo app, featuring a massive number of the highest-quality styles and adjustments in an elegant, minimal interface. Apply styles quickly and adjust infinitely. Download free new styles to your heart’s content from the online Style Library, with new styles added regularly. 

Unlike all those lo-fi photo apps, CameraBag 2 is hi-fi, because it’s built on the same 32-bits-per-channel Analog Engine that powers CameraBag 2 for Mac/PC, designed for professional photographers. This means your photos retain their smooth color gradations even when they’re heavily edited. 

Once you’ve CameraBagged your photo just how you like it, it’s quick and painless to save your shot or share via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 

Features- Elegant, minimalist interface that supports both one-click styles and fine-tuned adjustments- Powerful new hi-fi Analog Engine straight from CameraBag 2 for Mac/PC, for unparalleled image quality- Dozens of free add-on styles available from within the app via the always-growing online Style Library- Save your own style variations within the app, or load styles custom-made in CameraBag 2 for Mac/PC - Remix button infinitely changes styles randomly for even more variations (try it on the Lolo style, for example, to get a completely unique light leak)- A large array of borders and aspect ratios, as well as freehand cropping- Easy sharing to Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and more 

Note: CameraBag 2 is recommended for iPhone 4 and up.

Get These While They're Free - MonoPix and ColorPix

Normally when apps are offered for FREE, I've already purchased them, so I miss out on the deal, but today there are two that are NEW to me AND they are currently FREE!

MonoPix

ColorPix

PixHole - A Unique Interactive Game to Enjoy Instagram

I'm always on the hunt for new apps - I'm not sure why since I have some pretty amazing ones already and haven't even tapped into their capabilities.  Not all of the apps I download are photo editing apps. Some of my favorites that have nothing to do with photo editing are Mailbox, MyFitnessPal, Launch Center Pro, W.E.L.D.E.R. 

A new discovery is one that allows me to view my Instagram feed while also challenging myself with the unique puzzle feature of PixHole.  I have to admit it is addictive!

I had a chance to interview the developer to find out more about PixHole.






G:  What is your name and where do you live?

S:  My name is Stefano Figurelli and I live in Italy, with my wife and our two kids, 4 and 2, in a small town called Savona near the sea.

G:  What is PixHole?

S:  PixHole is a photographic game for iPhone based on Instagram.

G:  How did you come up with the idea?

S:  I'm a software engineer so I try to stay updated with latest technologies and, since mobile is now overtaking desktop development, I decided to try to build a mobile application in order to put into practice what I was learning.  I chose to build a game since it's technically simpler than a utility app and you have complete freedom to do what you like.

At the same time I was discovering Instagram. Usually I don't like social networks, but I like photography and I realized how interesting this network is - a great place for people to share their photos and also to get inspired!

I decided to put this all together and build an app to play with Instagram photos that would provide an endless flow of great images and a way to enjoy Instagram in a different, fun way.  I approached the idea for gameplay by devising a puzzle that was completed by filling the holes drilled in the photos with their missing pieces.  To make it more challenging, some of the pieces may rotate.  There are also bonus levels, objectives to reach to increase the score multiplier.

I then decided on the app name, PixHole, for obvious reasons.  I'm not a huge fan of games, but when I do play on my iPhone, I prefer simple games that are quick and addictive.  I really enjoy Tiny Wings and Letterpress for example.  I couldn't come close to these great games, but I decided to try and make it simple and as elegant as those.

I wanted users to also be able to play offline, but that would mean I would need to insert some photos directly into the app.  I contacted 80 of my favorite Instagram users, explained my project and asked permission to use two photos inside the app.  Some said yes and others never replied.  In the end, PixHole now has 120 photos by 55 great photographers from Instagram. Several of them have over 100,000 followers (brahmino, brenton_clarke, croyable, hirozzzz, jeera, laurenepbath, puanindya, craighowes1, herbertschroer, kevinruss, to name few of them) so even being able to convince them was a success for me.

All photos have been lent to me for free for the app and everyone can play with them for free too.
Along with offline playing, PixHole offers the option to play connected to Instagram with the user's own photos, his likes, his feed, by searching photos for a particular tag or with the popular photos.

I'm offering PixHole as freemium with most features for free but there is also an in-app purchase to enable extra features. 

G:  Is this the first app you have worked on?

S:  Yes.

G:  What has been the response from people who have used PixHole?

S:  I receive a lot of messages from people saying that PixHole is really fun and addictive (and that's the most important thing).  Others are happy that they are discovering new users by playing with my selection of photographs.  All of the user reviews around the world have been very good.  I'm quite happy at the moment but obviously PixHole is a new app and it will take months to see if it is successful or not.

G:  Do you have a photography or art background?

S:  No art background.  I have always liked photography since I was a teenager (in the film era).  I even set up a darkroom in the basement where I used to make my own black and white prints using an old enlarger my parents bought in the 60's.

G:  I can see an app like this geared to children as well - have you explored that area?

S:  Yes, I think I could make an iPad version with images for children - that would be interesting.

G:  Do you have any other apps in the works?

S:  No...sorry!

G:  Is there anything else you'd like to add?

S:  I hope people will give PixHole a chance by downloading and playing with it once. That's the best way to understand its potential.  It is free to download so there's nothing to lose!  This is a small personal project developed in my spare time over a 10-month period.  I'm not a company and I'm not doing this for a living, so I can't really promote the app in the standard aggressive way.  I hope that word of mouth helps me to spread the app along with some exposure like this on blogs about iphoneography and gaming.

Download Pixhole

Find Stefano:  Instagram / Twitter / Facebook / Website 

Slow Shutter! app price drop – temporarily FREE (from $1.99)

Click on the image below to get it while it’s FREE!

Get These Apps While They’re Free!

Lo-Mob 

 

 

 

 

Polatax

 

 

 

 

Color Thief

 

 

 

 

WiFi Camera

 

 

 

 

Luminance

 

 

 

FREE Trio of Apps!

Some FREE Apps to grab while you can!

Camera Bag 2 HD

 

 

 

 

Veensta Camera

 

 

 

 

iColorama S 

 

 

 

Free Today! Real Bokeh

Real Bokeh is FREE Today!

Features
- 21 beautiful bokeh shapes
- Draw multiple bokehs with finger touch
- Apply multiple bokeh shapes to one photo
- Change bokeh size (large, medium and small)
- Change opacity
- Multiple bokeh colors with easy color picker (28 colors)
- Easy undo and clear all
- Save as full resolution
- Share to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Flickr and other apps

HDR–Temporarily FREE!

HDR – temporarily FREE!  It shouldn’t be too hard to remember the name of this HDR app – it’s simply “HDR”. 

From the description on iTunes:  Capture High-Dynamic-Range photographs with HDR. By combining twice the image data of a standard photograph HDR is able to mix an over-exposed and under-exposed photo with incredible results. Includes 4 different mix options, plus the ability to import raw images all in one incredibly fast app.

Featuring:
- Automatic and manual modes (To set exposure manually: drag exposure loupes to dark and light area of photo, double tap to return to automatic mode)
- Import from Photos: Select light and dark photos from library to mix in HDR.
- 4 different HDR mixes: Auto, Optimized, Vivid, Contrast
- Alignment: Photos are automatically aligned for the sharpest possible results.
- Native device camera resolution support
- Save in photos
- Speed: Fastest possible capture and merge of HDR results

Friday Favorites No. 23

Continuing with my Distortion Series – Distorted Family #1 (above)
App Recipe:  ProCamera, Salvador Dali Camera, ShockMyPic, Laminar Pro, Pixlr Express, Snapseed

An homage to the wonderful work of Cathy Ross, I created my own fairytale cottage (above)

App Recipe:  ProCamera, PhotoWizard, Sketch Club, TouchRetouch, Vidage, Photo FX, Pixlr Express, TwistCam, Select Effect, ShockMyPic, Filtermania 2, Lenslight, iColorama, Snapseed, PS Express 

Rusty Goodness (above)

App Recipe:  Camera Awesome, Snapseed, Tangled FX

Captive (above)
App Recipe:  ProCamera, Fracture, Infinicam, Picture Effect Magic, ShockMyPic, PS Express, Snapseed

Gulliver’s Travels (above)
For this one I combined original art with my photo to create a composite piece.
App Recipe:  ProCamera, Wasabi Paint, Image Blender, Sketch Club, PhotoWizard, iColorama, Snapseed

Distorted Self #3 (above)
App Recipe:  Leme Camera, Sketch Club, Distressed FX

The Infant Queen (above)
App Recipe:  ProCamera, Salvador Dali Camera, Procreate, Mirrorgram, InstaEffect FX HD, Twistcam, Paint FX, Sketch Club, iColorama, Snapseed

Portrait of a Man (above)
App Recipe:  Camera Awesome, Snapseed, iColorama, Portray, XNSketch, Sketch Club, Filterstorm

Fotor–Photo Effect Studio

Photo Effect Studio is now powered by Fotor and is currently FREE (I’m not sure if this is a permanent price or temporary one).  Compatible with iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.  Optimized for iPhone 5.  Requires iOS 5.0 or later.

 

What’s new in this version?

• Increased responsiveness
• Simplified photo importing/capturing process
• Streamlined coding
• Added animations
• Support for 8MP photo processing

Bokeh Lens–FREE for a limited time!

Formerly Bokehlicious, Bokeh Lens has been updated and is temporarily free. Compatible with iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad.  Optimized for iPhone 5.  Requires iOS 5.0 or later.

 

 

Free Apps and Free Photos!

You can download Phoster and Simply B&W for free.  I use Simply B&W for a lot of my edits but Phoster is new to me, but for FREE I’ll give it a try!

Another app I found out about today is Groovebook – pay shipping only ($2.99) and you get a 100 photos free each month bound in a book and perforated for removal. 

Apps Temporarily FREE!

The following apps are temporarily FREE!

TtV Photo Studio 

 

 

NightCap

 

 

Camera Boost

 

 

Etchings

 

 

Momentsia