Showing posts with label FREE Apps. Show all posts
Showing posts with label FREE Apps. Show all posts
Sunday, November 29, 2015
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
Read more »
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.
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
Thursday, November 26, 2015
Create Time Lapse Videos with Hyperlapse from Instagram
Instagram just released a new app, Hyperlapse from Instagram that lets you create time lapse videos easily without a tripod or any expensive equipment. I can't wait to take this hiking with me and see how it all turns out. There are all sorts of possibilities. I'll be at a wedding next month too and would love to shoot some footage there as well. The hyperlapse can be adjusted to 1x, 2x, 4x, 6x, 8x, 10x and 12x. There is automatic stabilizations that works well to prevent bumpiness in the video.
* Shoot handheld time lapse videos in motion— while you're walking, running, jumping or falling.
* Smooth out your video for cinematic quality with automatic stabilization.
* Speed up your hyperlapse to be up to 12 times the speed.
* Share your videos seamlessly on Instagram and Facebook or save them to your camera roll to share anywhere, anytime.
* Start filming immediately with a simple design that gets out of the way of your creativity
* Download and start capturing. No sign up or account required.
Here's a video which shows the app in action - Instagram has a winner here!
Add to Flipboard Magazine.
Saturday, November 21, 2015
Camu - Creators of Repix Launch Photo Editing and Messaging App
From the team behind Repix comes Camu for iPhone - the fastest way to take great photos or videos and send them to the people you care about.
Here's my first photo shot and edit with Camu.
Press Release:
Helsinki, Finland, 21st August 2014 – Launched globally for the iPhone today is a sophisticated yet incredibly simple new camera app - Camu. With the best real-time editing tools available, Camu allows people to capture stunning photos and videos in seconds. These can then be sent privately to selected friends and family using the app’s built-in messaging functionality or shared to social networks. Available to download for free, Camu has been created by the team behind Repix, a photo-editing app downloaded over 12M times and named as one of Apple’s ‘Apps of 2013’.
Add to Flipboard Magazine.
Read more »
Here's my first photo shot and edit with Camu.
Press Release:
Key features
- STUNNING CAMERA - Camu has all the essential tools in a simple package to capture great photos and videos, create collages as well as adding stylish typography
- REAL-TIME EFFECTS – Just swipe the subtle, real-time filters before or after shooting, apply the Super Focus and get perfect photos and videos in seconds
- FAST – With a powerful built-in messaging function, Camu let you send photos privately directly from the Camera or share to your social networks
Helsinki, Finland, 21st August 2014 – Launched globally for the iPhone today is a sophisticated yet incredibly simple new camera app - Camu. With the best real-time editing tools available, Camu allows people to capture stunning photos and videos in seconds. These can then be sent privately to selected friends and family using the app’s built-in messaging functionality or shared to social networks. Available to download for free, Camu has been created by the team behind Repix, a photo-editing app downloaded over 12M times and named as one of Apple’s ‘Apps of 2013’.
“Taking and sharing photos has become part of everyday life and it’s only going to increase. We wanted to cut away the need for people to flick between different apps to take, edit and send photos and videos privately. We wanted to make their lives easier,” said Ilkka Teppo, the CEO of Sumoing.
Camu comes with a selection of sophisticated, yet simple tools that enable users to take photos and videos that really stand out. Just swipe between the beautifully designed, subtle filters, shoot awesome selfies with the smart auto-shooting mode or have fun with real-time collage and caption tools.
“We’ve designed Camu with simplicity at is core and built in the features that people love”, continued Teppo. “Camu has all the essential tools in one simple package to capture great shots and share those experiences with the people they care about. We believe Camu is the mobile camera done right.”
See Camu in action
The key features of Camu include:
- SWIPE BETWEEN REAL-TIME FILTERS - Swipe between the amazing and subtle filters to get stunning effects in seconds. Apply the filters before or after shooting to suit. Adjust the filter strength by swiping up and down.
- JUST PRESS AND HOLD TO SHOOT VIDEO - Just press and hold the shutter button to shoot video. Set the real-time filters to get the right mood for your video.
- AMAZING SUPER FOCUS - Use the amazing super-focus, to create depth of field effect with quality previously unattainable on the iPhone.
- REAL-TIME COLLAGES - Take real-time photo collages! Great for selfies and having fun with friends.
- AUTO-SHOOTING - Get yourself in the picture, by using the auto-shooting mode. It automatically takes the perfect shot, when there is no movement in the picture.
- SAY MORE WITH TEXT - Add text to your photo with a choice of styles. You can easily adjust the position of the text with your fingers.
- SEND WITH ONE TAP - With just one tap you can send photo or video privately to a friend (or a group of friends) in Camu or share to Instagram, Facebook, Whatsapp, Twitter etc.
Friday, November 20, 2015
Steller for Storytelling Gets a Major Update
When Steller was first released in March 2014, it was named Editor's Choice and Best New App on the Apple App Store! And with this latest update, it's bound to only keep growing in popularity.
I'd like to send out a thank you to Jay and Jordan who kindly gave me featured spots under the CREATIVE category with my painterly tutorial "California Dreaming" and under DIY with my Do it Yourself Macro Lens tutorial.
Now...on to the news!
The Popular Mobile Storytelling App for iPhone Announces Major Update,
Expanding on its Discovery and Social Features
Everyone has a story to tell. Tell yours with photos, videos, and text, all right from your iPhone.
Woodside, CA - August 21, 2014 - Mombo Labs, Inc. today announced a major update to its popular mobile storytelling app, Steller, for iPhone and iPod touch. Originally released in March, Steller makes it easy to design and share beautiful visual stories from the iPhone and iPod Touch. The engineering team behind Steller includes ex-Google, ex-Vmware, and ex-Microsoft veterans Mark Lucovsky, Vadim Spivak, and Richard McAniff.
The updated version of Steller makes it easier to search stories and connect with other users. “We’re really excited by our growth and momentum, and with so many new users and stories being added everyday, we knew we needed to improve Steller’s search and discovery features," said Karen Poole, Co-Founder and Head of Product Design. “We’ve added comments, notifications on mentions, and search by keyword and hashtag, just to name a few. We’ve also added an all new Explore section, which will bring a whole new dimension to the user experience."
One of Steller’s featured authors, accomplished fashion illustrator Katie Rodgers started using the app early on as a beta tester. “Steller has been a beautiful platform to tell the story of my work, and has inspired me to create in a new way. The community on Steller is so vibrant and diverse, and I’m thrilled that this new release will make it even easier to connect and discover,” she said.
Visit Steller online for featured stories, blog and more. Steller is FREE on the Apple App Store for iPhone and iPod Touch. Follow Steller on Twitter and Facebook.Add to Flipboard Magazine.
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
iPhone Photography Resources Temporarily FREE!
To commemorate the 25th year of Marcolina Design, they are giving away all of their Mobile Photography eBooks for one week, ending July 25, 2015.
Read more »
TO GET THEM TAP HERE
Sunday, November 15, 2015
Steller is a Stellar Storytelling App!
I recently created a profile using the Steller app and published my first story. The Steller format allows for combining your story to include text, imagery and videos using various layouts and fonts. Once you create your first story you can curate it to a Collection. Collections can include your own work or you can republish other works on Steller into a Collection (kind of like you do with a Pinterest Board). I've started one called Healthy Eats because I love the recipes I"m finding on Steller.
For my first story I decided to introduce myself and my love of creating painterly mobile art. Click on the image below to read the story on the web version of Steller.
Once you sign-up for Steller through the app (free on The App Store) you can start creating your own stories and collections. Be sure to look for me (just search Geri Centonze) and follow and I will be happy to follow back to see your stories!
Continuing on with my theme of The Painterly Way, I published a full tutorial for creating "California Dreaming". Click on it to view the tutorial in Steller. You'll see how I turned a very ordinal image into this painterly one.
Steller is about to release the latest version next week. Stay tuned because I'll be back with a press release on that soon! Are you using Steller? If so, please let me know how you're liking it so far in the comments below.
Add to Flipboard Magazine.
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
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.
Read more »
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.
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.
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
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.
Sunday, November 8, 2015
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
Read more »
MonoPix
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ColorPix
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Friday, November 6, 2015
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.
Read more »
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| 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
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