Craig says that tree branches, with or without leaves, monuments, modern architecture and even bowls of fruit make great subjects for kaleidoscopes. Let us know which image is your favorite.

You can follow Craig’s work on Facebook and Twitter.

The post Creative Wallpaper for Your HTC appeared first on HTC Blog.

The post Stay Connected Using Your HTC – Tell Us How appeared first on HTC Blog.

Here’s how it works:

What would you save and share with variable speed video on your HTC One?

The post Creating Variable Speed Videos with HTC One appeared first on HTC Blog.

Cuddy Bridge, Scotland (view on map)

Machu Picchu, Peru (view on map)

Seattle from the Space Needle (view on map)

The post Around the World with HTC One appeared first on HTC Blog.

You can use “Always Smile” on any HTC Zoe or continuous shot photo. After taking the shot, go to Edit > Retouch and select “Always Smile.” You will see circles around people’s faces. Select one face at a time and swipe sideways on the screen to choose a better expression. It’s that simple.

Have you used “Always Smile” on your HTC One yet?

The post Capture the Perfect Shot with HTC Zoe appeared first on HTC Blog.

Laura Kimball (LK): Tell me about the Brick Mason, what does it represent and where did your inspiration come from?
Jason Markow (JM): This mural, which I call Brick Mason, features a nameless brick mason hunched over, hard at work creating a vibrant wall, one brick at a time. The mason represents both the artists and the philanthropic efforts of those who are funding these public projects like this one. New Village Arts and the Carlsbad Charitable Foundation commissioned it and it’s really a reflection of the growing creative community of Carlsbad.

The words that make up the piece are the words that represent Carlsbad to me and several other locals. They are, for the most part, the most common words supplied by the community. The wall itself, eternally a “work in progress,” represents Carlsbad in its current state – growing, vibrant, and unique.

LK: Whenever I think of TEKSTartist, I always think of your ‘making of’ videos. Why did you first decide to record yourself creating art?
JM: I like to think of my work as a form of “manual kinetic typography.” The long and short of it is I try to combine iconic imagery with thought provoking quotes, smash it all together, and see what happens. A few years ago, kinetic typography videos such as the “Shop Vac” and “Entreprenuers” videos were all the rage. I saw how powerful a simple quote becomes when animated, but I didn’t have the chops (or patience) to animate a video in that way. So it hit me—if I wrote it out by hand, and synced it to match the audio, I *might* be able to achieve a similar impact. The result was what I call a sort of “manual kinetic typography.”

On the surface, my art looks like striking, graphic designs, but as you look closer, you see that each piece is composed entirely out of text. What first appears as a brush stroke reveals itself as a letter to form a word that’s part of a quote, song lyric, book passage, or movie line that’s relevant to the design. Then when I film the making-of, it really brings the artwork to life.

LK: Why did you decide to use the new HTC One to record this project?
JM: The idea to film the making of a piece using nothing but a phone actually came from my friend and mobile blogger, Michael Myers. Last year I recorded every single video using a simple Kodak Play Touch camera. It was duck taped (I’m not kidding) to a desk lamp with an adjustable arm. As soon as I got my hands on the new HTC One, I knew that I had a device that was up to the challenge. I decided to use the One to help show everyone just how amazing this device is.

LK: How does your HTC help you capture design and inspiration?
JM: My HTC One is my second brain, my mobile office, my time machine. I use Evernote to jot down amazing quotes I come across. I use the camera to snag any stand out color palates or imagery I find. I use Zoes to capture movements like the way someone’s hair blows or light passing through a moving train, basically anything where a photo doesn’t quite do it justice that I might use in a piece in the future.

LK: For someone interested in becoming an artist, what’s the best advice you have for them?
JM: My advice to anyone interested in becoming an artist comes in two parts:

• Make art. Make lots of art. Make good art. Make bad art. Don’t make excuses. MAKE ART.
• Spend as much time “building your brand as an artist” as you do creating the art itself.

+++

Jason’s work can be seen on cars, in music videos, and even tattooed on several fans. His art has been purchased by the leading architects of the social web, New York Times bestselling authors, a Grammy winning singer/songwriter, and by fans across 33 states and eight countries.

His current project is the Five Spot Derby, where he releases one limited edition design each week and sells it for that week only. You can keep track of this rising artist on Facebook, Twitter: @TEKSTartist, and Instagram.

The post TEKSTartist Jason Markow: In His Own Words appeared first on HTC Blog.

Now, we’re excited to offer HTC fans and admirers alike a new experience on what we think is the best hardware available today. Starting June 26, Google will offer a special edition of the HTC One with a “Nexus user experience” through the Google Play store.

This special edition device, priced at $599, will be available in the United States (initially) and supported on GSM networks. Out of the box, this special edition HTC One will run Android 4.2.2 with subsequent software updates provided by Google.

We will continue to offer the SIM unlocked and Developer Edition phones direct from HTC.

See below for how each version stacks up:

* The SIM Unlocked HTC One 32 GB version Bootloader can be Unlocked via HTCdev.com
**The HTC One Developer Edition ships Bootloader Unlocked
***The HTC One special edition bootloader can be unlocked by standard method for “Nexus experience” devices

The post HTC One with Nexus User Experience appeared first on HTC Blog.

Video Highlights appears as the top tile in an events album (where your photos and videos are grouped according to time and location), and creates a short clip based on the photos and videos from that event. You can also change the Video Highlights’ content or background music/theme. When you’re satisfied with the video, upload it to HTC Share*, an online service that’s perfect for quickly sharing Video Highlights and photo collages.

Aside from Video Highlights, you can also choose up to ten items (such as HTC Zoe photos) from the same event to create a collage. Give your collage a title and a description, then complete the upload process. When done, you can share the link to your social networks and email it to friends, who can then view the Video Highlights and collage as well as download photos from the collection.

* An HTC account is required to use the HTC Share service.

The post Create & Share Video Highlights with HTC Share appeared first on HTC Blog.

In partnership with renowned fashion and design magazine, Wallpaper*, HTC is proud to announce the Global Design Tours app, available now on the Google Play Store.

Highlighting the design meccas of Milan, Hong Kong, and NYC (with more being added), the Global Design Tours app offers an insider’s look at the hot spots, locales and tips for those traveling to Salone del Mobile, ICFF and Art Basel.

As Wallpaper* says: “To help global exhibition travellers optimize their busy, city-hopping agenda, Wallpaper* has teamed up with the very elegant smartphone outfit HTC to create an exclusive Wallpaper HTC Global Design Tours app, providing up-to-date information on the latest hotspots of the world’s most prestigious design capitals.”

Learn more about the Global Design partnership or download the app.

The post Global Design Tours appeared first on HTC Blog.

Find a neutral tone to focus on. Just like a DSLR camera, your phone’s camera is going to decide how to best expose a photo based on the light metering it reads just before you press the shutter button. In this sweep panorama photo I took with my HTC One in Austin, Texas, I tapped the screen to focus on the gray road on the bridge and the camera balanced the exposure between the highlights in the sky and the shadows in the trees and the river. Had I focused on the sky, the clouds would have looked great, but anything below the horizon would have been extremely dark. Had I focused on the trees, then the sky would have been completely blown out.

Use your camera’s grid function and shoot in the “rule of thirds.” People much smarter than I am studied and determined that we as humans are more receptive to photos where the main subject isn’t positioned right in the middle of photo. Shooting in the “rule of thirds” positions the main subject off-center in the image and gives the viewer a more balanced shot of your subject and the environment they are in. This is especially true when shooting subjects outdoors. Notice in this picture of my son how he is positioned in the upper left of the photo. This would be a completely different picture if I had him smack in the center of the photo. To help, turn on the grid function in your camera settings to easily line up your subjects according to the rule of thirds and your photos will immediately take on new life.

Create a perspective that gives your viewer all the details. In this shot of my daughter walking along the stone ledge I give you, the viewer, a much more robust understanding of the environment we are in. By dropping down and placing the phone just above the stone patio, I create a depth of field gives so much more to the photo then if I took the photo from my normal standing position. In line with steps one and two, I focused on the neutral-colored stone in front of me to create an even exposure from the ground to the sky and positioned her in the upper left third of the photo.

Look beyond the obvious. Daylight gives you a lot to work with when it comes to photography. Technical tips are great, but taking great photos is about being creative. Look for shadows, reflections, silhouettes, sun flares, and so much more. Sometimes, it is the imperfections of a photo that makes it so perfect.

Other Quick Tips

• I always shoot at ISO 100 when shooting outdoors during daylight hours.
• Reduce your contrast settings when shooting on a sunny day to help balance out the highlights and shadows.
• If your subject is steady, try out HDR mode to balance your outdoor photographs.

The post Tips & Tricks for Outdoor Photography appeared first on HTC Blog.