Aug 21, 2013

Take Photos of Lightning with Your iPhone

Taking a photo of lightning is difficult because of the whole timing thing: You don't know when it's coming or exactly where. Photographers typically use a DSLR camera on a tripod with a slow shutter speed. However, if you have your iPhone, and no tripod, how do you get a picture of lightning?

Enter iLightningCam, an app that will take a picture of lighning when it strikes. You simply open the app and point your iPhone's camera to the sky. When the app "sees" lightning, it takes a picture. It will work with either bolts of lightning or sheet lightning. I used it to capture the sheet lighning in the above photo, which happened to be behind a tree and create a nice silhouette. I hope to capture a lightning bolt at some point.

Here are a couple of tips if you decide to use it:

  • Be careful. Don't go out if lighning is all around you.
  • Even though you don't need a tripod, try to brace your arms on something as you point your camera. This will help prevent a blurry photo. I brace my elbows against my abdomin.

 

Aug 6, 2013

Managing a Busy Life

I haven't blogged in a while because things have been crazy-busy. This doesn't mean I haven't been using my iPhone and iPad, however. In fact, they've been critical tools in managing all that I have to do. One of the most critical apps that helps me manage it all is Appigo Todo.

To keep up with the crazy schedule, I use the built-in calendar on my iPhone and iPad. My iOS calendar is synced with Google Calendar so that I can enter calendar entries anywhere that I have access to a browser, such as at work. It's good have your calendar always with you on your iPhone, but sometimes it's nice to use a full keyboard for quick entry.

For quick, temporary notes, things I need to remember for a short time I use Write on both my iPhone and iPad. It's simple and focuses on entry, not organization and the notes sync between my two devices. If I want to keep a note long-term and organize it, I export it to Evernote by tapping Save in Evernote within Write, which is far more convenient than copying the text and pasting it in a new Evernote note.

All of these are essential to me because I know I can't trust my memory. If I don't write it down, I forget what to do, where to be, or some other important fact. What do you use to manage your busy life?