Running Ronin

Taking a Walk through Bressanone

noreply@blogger.com (R*) — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 16:16:00 +0000

Took these photos without a tripod and directly in Jpeg format. Worked them a bit by tonemapping them (yes the jpegs!) in Photomatix and then some detailing or denoising in Topaz.

As for Bressanone (which I now know is Brixen in English), if you are around the Dolomites skiing, you should go visit this ancient town - being able to visit towns that are more than a century old are one of the reasons why skiing in Italy is so much better than in the rest of the world! :)

From Wikipedia:

The third largest city and oldest town in the province (first mentioned in 901), the artistic and cultural capital of the valley. It is located at the confluence of the Eisack/Isarco and Rienz/Rienza rivers, 40 km north of Bolzano and 45 km south of the Brenner Pass, on the Italy-Austrian border. It is flanked on the eastern side by the Plose and Telegraph (Monte Telegrafo) mountains (2,504 m) and on the western side by the Königsanger (Monte Pascolo) (2,436 m) mountain.
Brixen is especially known as a major skiing resort (the Plose). Other activities include hydroelectric power, orchards and vineyards.

iPhone 4S in New York

noreply@blogger.com (R*) — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 20:18:00 +0000

The above shot was taken with an iPhone from inside the Apple store next to Central Park :). Next time you are there just look up to have this view...

I've been using a long list of iPhone Apps around the world ever since I got my iPhone 4S. Been instragamming them quite a bit too :) (find me @runningronin on instragr.am). One of my recent trips had me in New York, where I mainly used the following apps to take photos:
1) Stock camera app to capture single photos - that is what the iPhone comes loaded in with.,
2) Bracketmode to take to quick HDR shots. I use bracketmode as it is faster than other HDR programs in understanding the lighting and taking the shots.
3) HDR Pro to put together bracketed shots.
4) Snapspeed to play with the photos, increase detail and drama where needed.

Below are a set of potos taken between Midtown and Central Park in New York this winter :)
Keep in mind, these photos are in "instagram" version of what shot with the iPhone - hence their file size is around 100K rather than 1 Meg :)

How to Use a GoPro with a Ski Pole

noreply@blogger.com (R*) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 23:48:00 +0000

This winter I had so much fun with my new GoPro Hero, the water and shock resistant camera you can stick on to pretty much anything.

The usual attire I saw for those using the GoPro was to stick it on top of their helmet, but I had a much better time and (I think) better shots attaching it to my ski pole.

As said in the video, you can either use the GoPro pole mount (paying the extra dollars) to attach the camera to your ski pole, or you can use the helmet strap that comes in your basic set. Below is a good video I found on youtube on how to latch on your GoPro Hero to a pole by using the strap.

Ortisei Snow

noreply@blogger.com (R*) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 21:18:00 +0000

News flash - its finally snowing again in Ortisei - one of the best places on the planet to go skiing. Here are some photos from last year!
And for those who dont remember, here are the 5 reasons skiing in Italy is better than in the rest of the

Fluid vs Frozen time in Shibuya

noreply@blogger.com (R*) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 17:49:00 +0000

Mixing into HDR the long exposure of people walking cross the road, with the couple frozen as they look at their map... gives this photo an odd time travel feel :)

The following instead has more of a time "freeze" to it.

How do you prefer it? Like more photos that capture the fluidity of time, or those that freeze it in place?

iPhone Tokyo Video Sample

noreply@blogger.com (R*) — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 02:04:00 +0000

A video portfolio I quickly made using entirely my iPhone 4S and apps on it. For the videos, see my timelapse post, for more iPhone photos - follow me with #runningronin on istragr.am.
For my regular DSLR photos - just hit some of my location links to the right :)

Tokyo Timelapse

noreply@blogger.com (R*) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 17:14:00 +0000

Recently bough an awesome app for my iPhone 4s for $1.99 - its called "Timelapse."
Such app - has one simple use - make timelapse videos... (as the very "original" name implies).

The video above and those below have all ben made with such app (for more on the apps I use for iPhone photography visit my guide). If you end up buying the app, here are a few suggestions:

put the app in airplane mode while its cranking on making the timelapse - a call will interrupt the process.
do not select music for the video - even if its a feature it is a bit buggy and has made a lot of my trials crash.
buy an iPhone tripod.

What Hotel to go to in Disneyland

noreply@blogger.com (R*) — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 17:04:00 +0000

One answer - go to the Paradise Pier Hotel if you want the benefits of the Grand California with half the expense. Plus you get a great view of the fireworks and of World of Color! :)

Benefits:

Walking distance to the Park
2 miniutes to downtown Disney
Easy parking
Early access to parks

Tokyo Osaka Tokyo in Under 90 seconds

noreply@blogger.com (R*) — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 16:52:00 +0000

All photos were taken with the 50MM 1.4 f/stop lense on my Nikon D90.

Triangles in NY

noreply@blogger.com (R*) — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 21:19:00 +0000

You get the gist of it :)

Didnt use the usual tonemapping process through detail enhancing... guess what Photomatix preset I used?

More HDR and DSLR New York photos here.

Blizzcon 2011

noreply@blogger.com (R*) — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 19:12:00 +0000

This weekend Blizzcon was going on at the Anaheim convention center, in Los Angeles. I took some time to check out the show and used my new iPhone 4S and the ton of photo apps I loaded onto it to take some pictures of people doing World of Warcraft cosplay and playing with them.

If you have instagr.am - follow me at #runningronin.

The below photo is a combo of stock camera - then Photostudio (for comic "shade cell" effect) then Halftone (for border, paper, and comic copy and boxes/clouds).

No border on the below, but same process as above.

Dont you hate all those looting rules? Dont you wish you could just give in and ninja everyting with no consequences...?

When there are no monsters available to kill, you need to buy your water.

A slightly romantic moment...maybe.

The below is the same photo, after the "comic effect" touches in Photostudio, but before using Halftone.

The below is not a statue, there is actually a girl inside carrying som 90 pounds of costume and wires.... amazing!

Great Troll cosplay - apart from the massive hammer and the whole outfit, she was also doing a perfect voice rendition...complete with all its hoarseness.

She resurrects people all the time... give her a break!

I personally hate dailys.

Just photostudio, no halftone.

The rock-blood elf was a recurring theme at the show, saw quite a few - but I liked this guy cause he made me think of the elven version of John Lennon.

Here is a undead rogue for you... (I think)

And below is the process to get to the final photo... stock camera original to the left, comic effect in photostudio to the top right... final in halftone at the bottom right.

Played with the Tyrael photo from the show floor win Wordphoto. As you can see... I cant wait for Diablo III :)

All these photos were taken with the iPhone 4S stock camera, then reworked with a variety of apps. Find their names and review here.

Secret Garden in Midtown

noreply@blogger.com (R*) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 17:41:00 +0000

Found this secret garden walking around Midtown (I guess) in Manhattan - but have no clue what is its exact location... anybody know it?

Adidas Alley in Shibuya?

noreply@blogger.com (R*) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 00:43:00 +0000

When you leave Mark City, you can take the escalator that takes you to Shibuya square. Take a right and you will be heading towards the Cerulean Tower. The photo above is the first alley you cross... anybody have an idea why there is an Adidas symbol on the top?

An evening stroll in Osaka

noreply@blogger.com (R*) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 20:30:00 +0000

Walked to the river in Osaka and took a stroll on an island park out there. Took a few pictures with my Nikon D90.

Have no clue what was the name of the park, but it was right on the river and quite beautiful...

Tokyo Teleport

noreply@blogger.com (R*) — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 10:20:00 +0000

Tokyo Teleport is the actual name of a train station in Tokyo that stops at Odaiba. As I'm traveling back and forth to Tokyo lately, I wish the name of the station was actually what you would expect from a Sci-Fi movie...

A nice teleportation center that could get me anywhere in a second... and not the 12 hours it took in my last flight in Economy.

Sugar Plum Doggy

noreply@blogger.com (R*) — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 15:46:00 +0000

Made with my point and shoot Casio and Animoto :)

Shibuya Morning Noon Evening and Night

noreply@blogger.com (R*) — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 02:57:00 +0000

I took these photos over several days from my room at the Shibuya Hotel Excel Tokyu - great view btw. Unfortunately the cleaning crew moved my tripod a bit between photos :)

The Tokyu in Shibuya has the BEST location of any hotel in Shibuya - just to be clear. The rooms arent as plush as those of the Cerulean Tower, but still quite good.

9 Days in Tokyo in 1 Minute

noreply@blogger.com (R*) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 13:57:00 +0000

I need to use a better movie editor than Picasa... but here is my last trip to Tokyo in under a minute (the better movie effects were done with Animoto).

The music is from a great royalty free music website called Incompetech.

This is not the Statue of Liberty

noreply@blogger.com (R*) — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 18:33:00 +0000

And what you see in the background below is not Manhattan.

It's actually Odaiba, a shopping area in the bay of Tokyo, with many touristy attractions. Including a miniature Statue of Liberty...

I used to think that the real Statue of Liberty was smaller than I expected it to be from the movies. Wait till you see the Tokyo one... I think it qualifies actually a lot more as a "statue" than a "monument." Love however how there is one in Tokyo, wonder what's the reason the people of Japan placed one in Odaiba :)

How to Travel in Economy Class

noreply@blogger.com (R*) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 16:18:00 +0000

Crossing the ocean (any ocean) in Economy can be tough. Long trip, full flight, babies screaming, old flight attendant that drops a bag of ice on your leg by mistake and then says "dont worry, its just water."

Personally, when I'm on a flight, I dont really want to interact with anybody. I especially dont want to do the classic elbow interaction with my neighbor. I also want to minimize the chances of things going wrong... hence, here are the few rules I follow to make my (frequent) flights as stress free as possible.

Make a special effort to have ONLY carry on bags. Airlines lose your luggage more often than not, even when you have elite status (like I do). Travel light and try to pack everything into your (small) luggage and carry on.
Reserve an AISLE seat. I reserve it in the central area of the plane if there are only 3 seats per row. If more than 3 in the center area, get it on the side, but only if there are only 2 seats on the side.

The logic here is that:

a) you don't share 2 armrests and can extend your body towards the aisle,
b) you can get up, stretch and go to the restroom whenever you want,
c) when your neighbors need to go to the restroom they can bother the other aisle gentleman/lady in case you are in the central area.

Also use Seatguru to figure out your best seating options for the kind of plan you will be getting.
My basic strategy is laid out in the two below images:

Best seats when you're central area has 3 seats

Best seats when you're central area has more than 3 seats:

Have the best noise cancelling headphones your money can buy. Kids on the flight, coughers and snifflers (yeah, the sick guy next to you pulling up his nose so much you want to throw a pack of kleenex in his face) and other noise makers can drive you insane over 12 hours. I personally use earbud noise cancelling headsets (like my Sony MDR-NC300D Headphones), but most prefer over-ear ones (primarily Bose and Beats). It depends on the way you sleep, I guess, but the earbuds I can wear under my hat (see photo above) and rest on the side of my head without dislodging them.
Go to your Zen place. In the photo above you can see how I cover up to ensure maximum: a) protection from cold (as the plane can be a very cold place after a few hours); b) maximum protection from audio disturbances; c) maximum protection from light changes (as there is always the weirdo next to you that is on his first flight and needs to look out the window every five seconds - while that is fine on night flights, it can be a pain when you are trying to sleep through a long flight that follows the sun).
Drink Water and possibly avoid alcohol. It will make recovery a lot easier once you are on the ground.

For those who travel Delta internationally, I suggest also buying the "economy comfort" upgrade. It's fairly cheap and totally worth the price.

Finally, just to set the record straight, I'm not a big fan of Delta, but then again, I'm not a big fan of any US airline. If I could always travel New Zealand or Virgin, I would. Use the awesome chart below to help you form an opinion of who to fly with (source, here).

The photos below and above were taken while I was going to Tokyo with my Nikon D90.

Tokyo Skyline from Shibuya

noreply@blogger.com (R*) — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 22:50:00 +0000

From the top of some of the Shibuya highrise hotels you have an unfettered view of the Tokyo Skyline into Yoyogi Park and Shinjuku. In the photo above I've detailed all the various buildings you can see.

The most interesting buildings are probably the Park Hyatt (most of the movie Lost in Translation was shot there) and the Gakuen Cocoon Tower, which reminds me of a index finger.

The original photo I shot is (in high rez) below.

And below a funny spoof on LOTR and the Park Hyatt (thanks Masson) :)

Why Thunderstorms are kewl in Tokyo

noreply@blogger.com (R*) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 22:52:00 +0000

Typically, when I check the weather for my next travel destination - I find more and more that I prefer partly cloudy, to almost anything. In Tokyo, specificlly, instead what you really want is scattered thunderstorms. Especially if you are going during the summer or early autumn timeframe.

Tokyo is broiling hot, but with some scattered showers it can cool off a bit (even if the humidity will drive you insane). Also, the clouds will really pain the skies if you want to take some photos :)

Great clouds always make me a happy photo camper. Call me shallow :)

The Photo was:

Shot with my Nikon D90
HDRed with Photomatix Pro from a set of 3 photos.
Detail Enhanced in Topaz Adjust (Mild Detail Settings)
Straightened in ShiftN

Crown and Bull

noreply@blogger.com (R*) — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 18:09:00 +0000

"Crown and Bull" - NY, NY
I don't normally say I love my own photos... but I love this photo... and I took it! Hurra! :)

I think I like it so much cause it reminds me of a game series called Kingdom Hearts which I totally love.
The non-blurred "bull" is below... and farther down some Kingdom Hearts images I think are great.

New York Labor Day

noreply@blogger.com (R*) — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 16:12:00 +0000

A stroll around Midtown in New York during Labor Day weekend. It was hot, humid and awesome as only New York can be.

iPhone Photo Apps Review

noreply@blogger.com (R*) — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 22:56:00 +0000

This post was largely (99% pretty much) created by iPhone photo Jedi Master @olearydj. The photo above is also one of his.

I follow his awesome work on instagr.am and have asked him for his advice on what tools he uses on his iPhone 4 to create the wonders he posts. His wisdom is now laid out for your (on top of my) benefit below:

Capture:

The stock camera app is pretty good for most users, but there are much better options.
qbro - the go-to camera app. Loads quickly, shows a square (good for instagram) rule of thirds frame that outlines the actual sensor boundaries of the phone, buffers shots in memory so you don't have to wait for one to save before you take the next... only downside is that if you close it before it finishes saving it won't finish in the background, you have to go back and save it again, also has a built in photo service that just gets in the way.
photo synth - amazing automatic pano taker / stitcher.
bracketmode - quickly analyzes a scene and snaps a high and low exposure frame for creating HDRs later (requires another app); much faster and better than the HDR programs for this specific task.
truehdr - great for combining exposures already captured with bracketmode; be sure to turn on enhanced mode in prefs - much better blending than the current competition
quickpix - optimized for max shutter speed and min start up time, claims 4 fps on iphone4 IIRC, but it feels more like 2... Simple, uncluttered and fast.
Note: Both quickpix and qbro (along with most other 3rd party camera apps like Camera+) allow you to set focus and exposure points separately. Quickpix also lets you take movies and grab still frames while you are filming.

Image Prep:

photoClip - The best app out there for fixing horizon lines and clipping your images. A one trick pony but it's so good at this essential task.
diptic - not the greatest app, but the best at what it does, creating 2-4 image compositions with a simple frame
labelbox - add label printer style text to your images
tweegram - type a message in, get an image out with a variety of cute backgrounds
touch retouch - context aware fill from PS in iphone form, quickly and easily remove distractions (sign, power line, etc.) from your image; works so well it feels like magic, possibly better than the photoshop equivalent

Additional Toys:

Kooleido - make kaleidoscope images, I am fascinated by this app
wordfoto - image + word set = cool pop art
halftone - create a comic panel from your image
percolator - another pop art tool, this time with "bubbles"
colorsplash / colorblast - create selective color images (black and white except where color is desired) with ease
noir - create monotone images with dramatic vignette effects, poorly designed app but good for its purpose
rays - add cool light rays to your photo for dramatic effect (use sparingly!)
colorsplash - cool one-trick-pony app that greys out so you can then add color back in to a specific area

Processing:
These are the heavy lifting filter tools:

photoforge2 - does all the basic color correction, etc. well, not as strong in creative filters
snapspeed - by Nik, excellent results, great interface, $5
pixlromatic - lots of great creative filtering and framing capabilities, simple but limited controls
phototoaster - great creative filter presets plus all the knobs if you want them, along with great framing options... if you want just one filtering tool, this is a good one to try
magichour - another great filtering tool with lots of presets plus an online "filter market" where you can share / download presets that others have shared, allows good control of curves, exposure / brightness / contrast, vignetting, texture overlays and framing
dynamic light - add HDR type effects to your images, along with effects
others to consider: filter storm, picfx, king camera, psexpress, photofx, pictureshow

Browsing:

Instagallery - iOS client for browsing instagram, universal app, great for surfing IG on an iPad!
MyInstaAlbum - downloads your IG catalog for offline viewing, cross posting to FB/twitter/email/dropbox etc. Also allows you to browse by date, tag, filter and location

Other:

postagram - pic a photo from your IG account, camera roll or Facebook, add a caption and mail a high quality postcard of the result to anyone (can pull in the address from contacts) for $0.99 - print and mail it for a buck!

Web Stuff:

statigr.am - check out all kinds of cool stats about your IG posts

Follow @olearydj's photos on instagr.am - or just click below to see his latest photos.