Available Now: ExoLens® PRO with Optics by ZEISS Wide-Angle and Telephoto Lenses for the iPhone® 7

Itasca, IL – December 7, 2016 – ExoLens®, a leading mobile photography accessory brand, announces the availability of the ExoLens PRO with Optics by ZEISS Wide-Angle and Telephoto Kits for the iPhone® 6 family and the iPhone® 7. The kits are exclusively available at Apple retail stores in the US and Canada and Apple.com. ExoLens has partnered with ZEISS, a market leading brand in professional lenses, to launch these two ExoLens® PRO Kits. With more than 170 years of experience engineering professional optics, ZEISS has gained a loyal following among professional photographers and cinematographers in the industry. Both the Wide-Angle and Telephoto PRO Kits are compatible with the iPhone 6, 6s, 6 Plus, 6s Plus and 7 and feature the same aspherical lens design previously reserved for high-end DSLR lenses. These kits also include the new machined aluminum ExoLens Edge mount, which features an integrated cold shoe accessory mount (compatible with accessories such as external vi deo lights) and a key ring loop for convenient carrying when not in use.

"Our quality lenses represent the highest level of innovation in the mobile photography category," commented John Fellowes, Chief Executive Officer of Fellowes Brands, which acquired ExoLens in 2014. "We're pleased to be a part of Apple retail stores and Apple.com this holiday season to reach Apple's growing community of iPhone photographers and videographers."

The ExoLens PRO with Optics by ZEISS Wide-Angle Kit features a ZEISS Mutar™ 0.6x Asph T* Wide-Angle lens, which provides virtually no distortion and exceptional edge-to-edge contrast, resulting in an image quality that is unmatched by any other iPhone accessory lens. This kit helps professionals capture expansive scenery and immerse viewers with frame filling detail, while expanding the frame of the iPhone to see the world in a beautiful new perspective. The ExoLens PRO with Optics by ZEISS Wide-Angle Kit is available for the iPhone 6/6s/6 Plus/6s Plus/7 at Apple retail stores and Apple.com for $199.95.

The ExoLens PRO with Optics by ZEISS Telephoto Kit with Optics by ZEISS features a ZEISS Mutar™ 2.0x Asph T* Telephoto lens. The kit offers photographers a shallow depth of field to add a beautiful bokeh to the background while focusing attention on the subject. The telephoto allows the contours of the face to appear more natural and closer to real life, and is ideal for portraits, street photography or capturing events. The Telephoto Kit is available for the iPhone 6/6s/6 Plus/6s Plus/7 at Apple retail stores andApple.com for $249.95.

ExoLens is also announcing an update to the machined aluminum bracket.  This new bracket will work with the iPhone 6, 6s and 7.  It features a standard tripod mount (1/4"-20) as well as a cold shoe for mounting accessories such as microphones and lighting systems. This will be available at Exolens.com and select camera specialty dealers globally, retailing for $59.95.

Media members interested in more information can contact Jen Squilla atjensquilla@maxborgesagency.com.

###

About ExoLens®

ExoLens® expands mobile phone camera capabilities with a wide range of premium grade lenses, offering superior image quality in a simple, easy to use solution. Every lens opens up a new world of possibilities to users, increasing the quality and expanding the capabilities of mobile phone photography. ExoLens has its origins in the development of lenses and protective cases for mobile phones and is owned by Fellowes Brands. Fellowes Brands provide home, workplace and mobile technology solutions for a world with an ever-changing need for innovation.

About ZEISS

ZEISS is an internationally leading technology enterprise operating in the optics and optoelectronics industries. ZEISS develops and distributes lithography optics, measuring technology, microscopes, medical technology, eyeglass lenses, camera and cine lenses, binoculars and planetarium technology. With its solutions, the company constantly advances the world of optics and helps shape technological progress. The company is divided up into the six business groups Industrial Metrology, Microscopy, Medical Technology, Vision Care, Consumer Optics and Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology. ZEISS is represented in over 40 countries – with around 30 production sites, over 50 sales and service locations and about 25 research and development facilities. In fiscal year 2013/14 the company generated revenue approximating 4.3 billion euros with just under 25,000 employees. Founded in 1846 in Jena, the company is headquartered in Oberkochen, Germany. Carl Zeiss AG is the strategic manageme nt holding company that manages the ZEISS Group. The company is wholly owned by the Carl Zeiss Stiftung (Carl Zeiss Foundation). Further information at www.zeiss.com

Source: Available Now: ExoLens® PRO with Optics by ZEISS Wide-Angle and Telephoto Lenses for the iPhone® 7

Mobile Photography App Giveaway – Procreate – worth $5.99/£4.49 each and Free Procreate Artists’ Handbook

Two days ago I published news (here) regarding a huge update with massive improvements Savage Interactive had made to their already phenomenal app, Procreate. I am not the only one to highly rate Procreate, it is beyond question one of the very best apps for mobile artists. If I was an American, I would use the term "[Procreate], knocks it out of the ballpark" – I am not sure it works so well with an English accent but nevertheless, believe me, this is an app you must have in your mobile artistry arsenal.

We are extremely grateful to Savage Interactive's generosity because they have given us some codes so that we may share them with you, our readers. If you have not purchased this app yet and really want to try it, we would like you to share this post within your social media channels and also scratch out a comment at the end of this post (on our website) – this will give us your email address and we will then enter your entry into our magical hat and and if you're selected, you will receive a promotional code to your email address.

If you already have Procreate and want to learn everything you need to know about this award winning app, then please click here to download the Procreate Artists' Handbook free of charge via iBooks.

Donating = Loving = TheAppWhisperer.com

Bringing you (ad-free) TheAppWhisperer.com takes hundreds of hours each month and hundreds of pounds to sustain. If you find any joy and stimulation here, please consider becoming a Supporting Member with a recurring monthly donation of your choosing, or possibly making a one-time donation. This is a not for profit website and one that can only grow with your support.

Tweet
Source: Mobile Photography App Giveaway – Procreate – worth $5.99/£4.49 each and Free Procreate Artists' Handbook

Double the Fun: Double Exposure Tips for Mobile

Double exposures have been around since the early ages of film. Originally, double exposures were a happy accident that would occur when film wasn't wound completely to the next frame. Exposing another image on top of the last would thus merge the two images. In the later years of film, sometime between the 70s and 80s, camera companies took note of the style's popularity and began incorporating it as a camera setting. Today, with endless technological options, you can create your own double exposures without ever picking up a film camera.

Sachin has used this advancement in mobile photography to capture stunning images and create double exposures right on his phone. Sachin downloaded Instagram more than three years ago, and though he never labeled himself a portrait photographer, he loved the concept of incorporating landscape and portraiture into one piece.

Here are some of his tips for creating awesome mobile double exposures:

#1 – Keep a backlog of interesting photos

If you are planning to shoot a double exposure, try having a dedicated folder in your phone of photos you can pull for background or foreground images. They can be landscapes, images with interesting light, architecture, or anything else you find compelling.

#2 – Shoot your portraits on a plain background

Portraits have to be very high in contrast and preferably on plain background, otherwise the double exposure won't look right when you merge the images. You'll have a very tough time editing the errors. Try capturing an image without any other elements except the photo subject. You can use a white wall, frame the subject in the sky, or create a high-contrast silhouette.

#3 – Try to stick to one app for editing

Using a multitude of apps that allow for double exposures or masking can deteriorate the quality of the image. I like to personally use Union and Pixelmator. They allow me to fine tune all the details in my photos.

#4 – Post-process after overlaying your images

First, I merge the landscape and the portrait together. Then, I save the image and upload it into a post-processing app like VSCO or Mextures to edit the tones. If you try editing tones before merging, you might have an inconsistency in coloring between the portrait and landscape.

#5 – Incorporate your own style

Figure out what looks good to you or what theme you want to go with. Maybe your style is outdoor scenery or cityscape. Add elements that excite you — specific shapes, textures (like stones), objects (maybe birds?), or lens flares — to give your double exposure a unique and interesting appeal.

Source: Double the Fun: Double Exposure Tips for Mobile

Mobile Photography Tutorial: Editing Curves in Hipstamatic

Image shot in a different app than Hipstamatic; You have to touch the three circles to get into the editor.

After you've tapped the photo you want to edit, depending on your settings, you might see an overlay that asks you which version you wish to edit:

Editing choices…

If you choose "Edit From Original" you will open a "clean" image and when you are finished with your edits and save out, Hipstamatic will make a new version with the Hipstamatic edits.

If you edit a Hipstamatic original shot.

In a case where I've made edits in Hipstamatic already and I just want to tweak further, I will choose "Edit Existing" and pick up editing where I left off.

After you choose, the dialog sheet will fade and the first edit screen will give you an option to pick from presets, adjust a large slider that mixes between the starting point and the edits/preset. To the right there is a graphic of three sliders. Touch the sliders icon on the right side to open up the advanced editing options tabs:

Touch the sliders icon to get to more advanced editing options

The next screen will give you a row of icons to choose advanced editing options:

Drag to the left to get to the curves tab.

Swipe left on the tabs bar until you get to the curves tab:

The curves tab is a box with an "S" curve in it. Touch it to edit the curves.

The RGB aggregate curve is the first curve shown. You can adjust the points on this curve by touching and dragging on a point; dragging down will darken the selected tonal range and moving the point upward will lighten the selected tonal range. In the above example, you can see that the RGB curve shows a diagonal gray line with three small points. Those are reference points to the default. Should you want to quickly see where you started, just drag a large point over the small dot.

The white line represents an aggregate of all three channels; red, green and blue and is helpful for adjusting overall contrast, white and black points as well as boosting or reducing image brightness. You can make overall curve edits by touching the points on the white line:

Overall tone curve editing: quick shadows, mids and highlights edits in real-time

In the case above, I've boosted the shadows a bit as well as the mids, while reducing the highlights.

You can also choose to edit each of the three color channels–red, green and/or blue individually:

Curve editor tab with the red curve selected for editing.

This is useful for fixing color cast problems or tweaking for a specific look. Just as with the overall tone curve, each of the red, green and blue curves have three points per curve.

In the example below, I've made radical changes to all the curves:

Dramatic curve manipulation can yield surprising results. Or destroy the image.

You can use the individual channels to fix color problems or create unique looks.

When finished editing an individual curve or the overall RGB curve, touch "Done" or you can touch the three overlapping circles to get back to the overall tone curve:

If you want to get back to the overall curve, just touch the Venn diagram looking three circles

Once done, touch "Done" (upper right) and then touch "Save" (also upper right) once you are completely done editing the image.

The beauty of editing curves is that you can edit exposure/brightness, shadows, highlights, white point, black point, contrast, color tones and fix color cast all in a single editing tab.

Curves can be scary to edit, but you can always cancel out of the edits by tapping "Done" until you land on the advanced editing start tab. Then tap "Cancel" to remove all the edits you just made.

The starting point (image on the left) compared to the final edit (right):

Source: Mobile Photography Tutorial: Editing Curves in Hipstamatic

LAST CHANCE: To enter the Mobile Photography Awards 2016

DEADLINE: SUNDAY DEC 4th

If it's true what Henri Cartier-Bresson says, that our first 10,000 photos will be our worst, then it's safe to say that mobile photography has given people an historic opportunity to get past 10,001. The MPA is a showcase for photographers and artists who have embraced this decisive moment.This is your last chance to enter the world's premiere Mobile Phone Photography competition 2016!!

NOTE: As long as you purchase your entries prior to the deadline, you will have until December 18th to upload your photos.

 ENTER THE MPA TODAY!

The MPA remains the world's longest running international competition and gallery show exclusively for images shot and edited on mobile devices.http://mobilephotoawards.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/mpa-1024×379.jpg

"…Photography is a reality so subtle that it becomes more real than reality."

― Alfred Stieglitz

Every photo in the MPA is entered into one of 18 photo categories – check out the MPA Photo Categories page to see a complete list.

Don't miss this chance to enter this fantastic competition. Click here or on the image below to enter now!

2016 MPA

Source: LAST CHANCE: To enter the Mobile Photography Awards 2016

olloclip hosts #ImagesSpeakLouder Gallery & Pop-Up Shop in LA

This coming December 9 through 13, olloclip is celebrating all things mobile photography as it hosts #ImagesSpeakLouder gallery and pop-up shop at Seventh Letter Gallery in Los Angeles. The exhibit will show images captured by mobile photographs using olloclip lenses will shot taken by everyday users as well as professionals like Jamie Thomas. There will even be free workshops and presentations on things like "Unlocking Creativity in Mobile Photography," "3D Spatial Photography," Skateboarding Quick Clips demo with pro skateboarder Joey Brezinski, and a one-on-one chat with olloclip Founder and Chief Design Officer Patrick O'Neill.

Aside from hosting the gallery and workshops, olloclip also has a pop-up store there that'll showcase the latest accessories for the iPhone 7, 6, and SE. There are even lens options for the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus that can add fields-of-view shots to the iPhone. You can find out more about the event in this link.

Source: olloclip hosts #ImagesSpeakLouder Gallery & Pop-Up Shop in LA

Snapseed update brings better UI for image editing

When Google acquired Snapseed, some were afraid that the growth of the app would be stunted. But actually, users actually enjoyed constant improvements with the photo-editing app and it became even more popular for the mobile photography crowd. The latest update to the app, which is now on Version 2.13, builds on these improvements and makes editing images even easier for both newbies and experts. The update brings a new UI for selecting and changing parameters and also more accurate colors when uploading and editing RAW photos.

If you're new to Snapseed, the controls for the various parameters takes some getting used to, although once you master it, it should be as easy as pie. With this new version, you can now tap on the adjust icon on the bottom bar, and then the parameter selector is tap-enabled. Previously, you could swipe up and down to select the parameters, but now you have another option. The selected parameter is a slider at the top of the screen and you can just swipe left and right to adjust, just like before.

They've also made some changes with the colors in the RAW images. Previously, if you took a picture in that format and used "creative" settings, the embedded color profiles would show up, making editing them a bit difficult. But now it will show the default RAW colors so your editing will not be limited anymore.

The update has started to roll out for the Snapseed app, so go and check the Google Play page. Happy photo editing!

SOURCE: Snapseed

Source: Snapseed update brings better UI for image editing