Sunday, August 28, 2011

In which I use my iPhone for something other than looking up directions

When it comes to my iPhone, I operate on a very basic level.  I know how to use the 10 apps I use for travel and work, and that's about it.  Recently we needed to connect my phone to a computer to do an update (something I apparently should have been doing frequently, though I'd never heard of the concept), and my computer wasn't around.  Travis was worried that hooking the phone up to his computer would clear the phone's memory, since it wasn't the computer the phone had been hooked up to before.  I guaranteed Travis that I had never once connected my phone to any computer, so the point was moot.  Ten minutes later Travis came into the room to tell me that the updates worked, but that everything was wiped from my phone, just as he had feared.  I took the phone and scrolled through my apps, my contacts, my pictures, expecting to find everything gone.  It turns out, though, that the phone was intact . . . I just had so little on it in the first place that Travis thought it had been returned to factory settings.  (The words "these are ALL the apps you have?!" come to mind).  
Anyway, I recently resolved to take make more use of my iPhone (since I really do need it for work, so down-grading is not an option).  I wanted to avoid games (I have this slightly irrational fear of living my life in a virtual world and missing the beauty of reality), and anything that requires money (I also have a slightly irrational fear of spending money on anything, unless it's food).  
I decided to download Instagram, a free app that lets you do quick little edits to the pictures you've taken on your phone.  Turns out it is awesome.  Many of the mediocre pictures I've taken this year were actually hidden gems, just waiting to be mined with hip filters and a blurred background.  I love picking out a photo and then trying all the filters to see which one will look best. 
Results:
This is how Sassy wakes me up if I try to snooze (there is usually licking involved)

Karaoke at Noree's Bachelorette party a few weeks ago


Our niece Mia at the beach last month.  I'm pretty sure that's Bowser on her shirt.  Way to show the hipsters how it's done, Mia. 

My dad with a pig at Greenbluff last weekend!

Part one of the Marco Polo series, a tribute to Noree on her wedding day

This one is wedding-themed!

Flowers from another wedding of two of our good friends.  Travis was in this one!  (And by "one" I mean wedding, not photo).

Travis did a little putting practice last night, so I took a picture of my feet.

Then I realized that the putting green was beautiful, so I took a photo of that too!

I'm pretty sure this was on the side of the road in Indianola.  Is it a poppy?

This is our nephew Ethan from the same day at the beach.


For about a month this summer, the tree in our yard was filled with thousands of these flowers, and they weighed it down so much that the branches touched the ground.

Our niece Angelina at the beach.

Sasquatch on our last big road trip to Colorado.  She is a road trip pro!

The same flowers from the tree in our yard.  This is edited from the same photo as above.

Travis on our way back to Indianola from a Rangers/Mariners game.  We went to two in one weekend in July, and the Rangers won both games (which is probably why Travis is agreeing to have his picture taken).

We went to Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs (before wedding #3 of 5 this summer).  Mom and dad, you would love it!

The view from Red Bud Isle, an amazing off-leash dog park/island oasis in Austin.  We took Sasquatch swimming there on our last Austin trip in March.

Fresh snow on our garage.  Please note Travis shoveling the driveway.  Also, that tree is the very same tree with the pink flowers from the photos above!

This swing hangs from the other tree in our backyard.  The tree has actually grown around the chain, the seat is too small for almost anyone, and it swings crooked.  This is a swing with character.

3 comments:

mom said...

Oh my goodness! Those photos are ART!
I can't tell you how much money my dad used to spend on filters and lenses to get photos like the ones you took with your phone. You've got a good eye for composition and color and a knack for taking simple things and turning them into something to stop and contemplate.

Jeannie said...

Thanks mom. I can't imagine actually taking photos like this with a camera.

bbonnema10 said...

You might enjoy the ap "Sleep Cycle." You put your iPhone near your pillow and it tracks what stage of sleep you're in during the night (based on your movements). Then, within 30 minutes of your alarm, it wakes you up when you're in the lightest sleep stage, so you feel refreshed. I find it pretty awesome - and it's only a dollar!