Here is a before and after photo of myself using the "Snapseed" iPhone/iPad app. With one click and one in-app filter called "grunge", I have a mystified the photo. This app is a personal favorite for general use in the photo apps category. It is pretty amazing what a filter can do for a face and its surroundings.

This photo was taken and manipulated 71 weeks ago according to my Instagram feed. Snapseed was bought out by Google shortly after that initial posting. Those big guys can't keep their paws off of the little guys hard work, right? Then again, for a few million bucks I would sign over my app and both of my kidneys to Google.

Why do I share this post? I get asked A LOT about what I use or do to my photos and avatars. Well, it is really pretty simple. Everything I do, from taking the photo to the finished manipulated product, is done on my iPhone using filters, filters, filters!

Originally, long ago, I paid for this app, but now it is free with "in-app purchases" for filters packs.

You can get Snapseed here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/snapseed/id439438619?mt=8

"BENEFITS: 
• Easily adjust your photos with a single tap using Auto Correct 
• Tweak your photo to perfection with Tune Image 
• Use Selective Adjust to enhance specific objects or areas in your photos 
• Experiment with fun & innovative filters like Retrolux, Drama, Vintage, Grunge, and Tilt-Shift 
• Add one of the many high quality frames for a finishing touch 
• Share your creations via email, Google+, and other built-in sharing methods

SUPPORTS: 
• 6.25 MP images for iPad, iPhone 3GS, and iPod Touch (3rd & 4th Gen), 16 MP images for iPad 2 and iPhone 4, 4S, 20.25 MP images for iPad 3rd Gen and iPhone 5 (larger images will be automatically down sampled by iOS) 
• JPEG and TIFF photos 
• RAW photos (requires iPad, iPad2, or iPad 3rd Gen) transferred using the Camera Connector Kit (if files show up as a small thumbnail, go to Settings > Location Services and turn this setting to On for Snapseed. This is required to allow Snapseed to use the iOS RAW processing) 
• Language support: English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Brazilian Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese (Traditional and Simplified), and Arabic"

On a side note, I am still working on moving my 100s of posts to this new location. Time is a rare luxury for me these days, and so is functional wifi or 3G/4G/LTE. I do have numerous posts about other photo apps that are going to be moved here soon enough. I know what is good, bad and what crashes your phone and crunches your photos! Get Snapseed for iPhone and iPad!

Until then, LL&P!

What can I say about iPad 2? It has set my LOL-OCD-ADD into full rage mode. I've literally forgotten about my laptop and netbook. Yes, I'm blogging from the iPad right now. Go Posterous app!

I am a long time fan and a long time member of the "AT&T Rapes My Wallet Monthly" crew. After much debate and research, I opted for the Verizon iPad. They have more data plans available at better pricing and they have better service in rural areas. Did my research pay off? Only time will tell. I am 100% satisfied with the service they have offered and provided thus far.

In other news:

Where have I been? You can always find me on Twitter being a geeky numbskull (@TrekJen). Or you can also find me with a bloody nose from walking into walls from my newest gadget anywhere there is wifi and 3G. *Coming to a town near you this summer

I've jumped back into the world of XBox. After weeks of going without online competition from the hacking of Playstation/Sony, I broke down. If I didn't just get Mortal Kombat for PS3 and get denied my online skull smashing of little boys, I would have held out longer.

What I've occupied my time with:
-Book I'm reading: Darkness Under the Sun by Dean Koontz
-Album I'm playing the most: Hot Sauce Committee Part Two by the Beastie Boys
-Games I'm playing the most: Force Unleashed 2 (Xbox, just started the game)
Minecraft (PC)
Socom (PSP)
Mortal Kombat offline mode (Playstation 3)
Battlefield Bad Company 2 (iPad)
Star Trek Online (PC) (barely playing because it needs so much time)
-TV show I'm watching: Lost (Yes, again, and I'm behind on everything else)
-New comics I'm reading this month: All the Star Trek elder TOS spin off series by IDW (finally) and this doesn't include my weekly pick ups at the store.
-Best movie I've seen this month: Thor
-Worst movie I've seen this month: Green Hornet
-What I'm eating the most: Red Vines
-My beverage addiction of the month: Snapple Green and Black Raspberry Tea
-What I've ordered online the most this month: Ript Teeshirts (I'm horribly addicted)
-Times have I taken my longboards apart: 23 (since I can't ride right now, it's only logical)

If you are a good photographer, your photo should speak for itself. Photos tell a small story for the person looking at it to interpret for themselves. Periodically, you want people to know exactly what you were thinking at that moment. Or maybe you just want to make some funny captions, like me. LabelBox app for iPhone is FREE and it does just what it says, it labels photos. It has a very easy interface, swipe motion, tap type and several options for something so simple.

My example photo:

(Note: I used other apps over the photo for visual effects, which takes away from the crisp labels)

There are numerous labels to choose from and a optional In-App purchase for another bundle.

If you try this app for FREE, give the makers a great rating in the App Store. They work hard and give us hours of fun for free after all.

To get the LabelBox App go here: 
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/labelbox/id417694704?mt=8

StepCase Offical Website: 
http://www.stepcase.com/

Halftone: I love this app! Want to make something fun and creative with your iPhone photos? There are several options available within the app. I love the optional text box in the bottom that you can place your own amusing captions in.

Features:

• Nine paper styles, from crisp and clean to distressed and aged
• Two different caption styles, including one with a large initial character and a gradient background
• Nine unique layouts, including layouts without any captions or borders
• The ability to use any installed font at Small, Medium, and Large sizes
• An additional licensed and embedded font called Digital Strip
• Support for front-facing camera
• Support for flash modes
• Support for camera zoom
• Support for tap to focus
• Photos are captured with the built-in camera, selected from the photo album, or pasted from the pasteboard
• Final Halftone images are saved to the photo album, sent via e-mail, and shared directly with friends on Facebook
• Settings screen for more customization
• Ability to work with full size images
• Ability to automatically save camera images to the photo album
• Option to enable/disable blending of the original image
• Option to enable/disable pre-processing of the original image
• Control of halftone dot size, including the ability to turn them off

I ran across a fun gem in the App Store call Polarize. It takes photos directly from the app or you can choose from your library. 

It gives photos that old shake Polaroid effect. It is fun and free, so give the makers a great review in the App store! 

More info: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/polarize/id301027161?mt=8

Samples (Truck and Potato heads were taken from my photo roll library).

By the way, the app does not take blurry pictures, I do. :-)

The App called TouchRetouch for iPhone is not only brilliant, but it works!  It uses pinch zoom, lasso, has a sizing option and it will literally match it surroundings. What does it do? It will make unwanted objects from your photos disappear. This is a must have tool for the iPhoneograher! 

Find more information here:

http://iphotomania.com/applications.html

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/touchretouch/id373311252?mt=8

Follow the screenshots. Simple. 

There is a "free" version and the full app without ads for .99. I use the paid version. 
You can choose to take a picture direct from the App or pick a photo in your photo roll. 

It also includes a sizing feature. It is great because most will make your photos too small automatically. This will be my example photo. There is a crystal beside the feet of Q (standing figure) I will remove. I pinched to stretch the photo to get in closer. I pick the size of brush and used my finger to cover the object which will be a red blur over the photos object. Once you are secure in your coverage, you simply click Go at the bottom. I did this in about 3 seconds but trust me, it can be very clean. I went back in and retouched the hand with the Clone Tool. Final Photo!
Keep in mind that this is not Photoshop. It is an App for a cellphone. It does what it claims and if you get good at it, no one will be the wiser to those unwanted objects. 

Make sure you test the free version if you are not that interested, then buy the paid version once you see how great it really is. Other options include: brush size, a Clone Stamp, an eraser to remove your mistakes and Email or posting to popular websites like FaceBook and Twitter direct from App. 

Free or paid, give a great review to the makers of this App.  

I spent much of my time Christmas night tracking Santa using the generic Maps app that comes with the iPhone. It was fun and addicting.

NORAD, as usual, had their main website track Santa and this information was passed to the Maps app.

Here is extent of my decorations, a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree. I gift from someone I don't talk to anymore. :(

My Christmas was sparse. The highlight of the evening was Irish coffee followed up with a short licking of my screen for @Starfleetmom and @Grimagination on Twitter.

I hope everyone had a safe and fun day!

I must share this. I discovered it today on Twitter and now I must have one. Go to http://phoneballs.com/ and look at the other photos.

"10% of all proceeds will go to the 
Sean Kimerling Testicular Cancer Foudation
We are here to support ‘em!
(our balls, that is!)"