We are now at Week 6, the mid-way point, of the ongoing 12 week photo challenge being hosted by We Live in a Flat and Firebonnet.  We Live in a Flat gives a good description of this week’s new challenge, color filters.

One of the easiest things to do with a photo app is to apply a colour filter. Tap to apply and there you have it, a boring photo given a little extra zing. Minimal effort.

I have to agree that applying a color filter, or other types of artistic filters, is one of the easiest things to do with all the new photography apps for phones and notepads.  In fact, it’s almost too easy to get carried away with all the options out there.  Sometimes the hardest decision to make is choosing which readily available photo technique to apply to your photo, or knowing when to put the proverbial paintbrush down and leave well enough alone.

100 Cameras in 1

This is a fun little app that I have explored before.  See my review from March 2013 here.  This app lets you apply those color filters with an easy tap of the finger.  The neat thing is that you can apply filter on top of filter, for almost unlimited choices and final look to your photo.  It is straightforward and simple to use, developed by world renowned photographer Trey Ratcliff.  If you have never had a chance to visit his site, you should do so.  He offers great photography tips & tutorials.  Since I have reviewed this app previously, I won’t review it again here, but as we are discovering color filter apps this week, I thought you might be interested in this one.

Mextures

This is my latest discovery, happened upon quite by happy accident this week while cruising through instagram and reviewing comments there.

Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, I discover this!  An app that lets you create your OWN filters.  The Mextures app has more than 80 original high resolution textures made specifically for photographers by photographers.  You can choose from pack selections such as Radiance, Grit & Grain, Light Leaks, Emulsion, Grunge, Landscape Enhance, and Vintage.  Within each of these packs are numerous filters that you can apply to your photo.  And with each individual application, you can adjust the opacity of the filter.  But here’s the best part…rather than the old method of deleting a filter if you don’t like it, your filters are applied in true layers the way they are in Photoshop, so that you can rotate, hide and adjust the opacity of them as needed, seeing results in real-time  (via the eye symbol, again as in Photoshop).  Isn’t that so very cool?

And if all this isn’t enough, you can also choose to capture your favorite filter combinations and save them for later application on another photo.  Or not. Also within the formulas screen there are “guest” formulas that you can apply with a quick tap of your finger to your photo.  Want to explore them more?  Simply open the layers tab on any given one and you can see how many/which packs/opacity level the guest used to create the unique filter.

This is the app for anyone who wants ultimate control over their photo filter!

Here is my entry for the week.  Original photo (the same one used for the 100 Cameras in 1 sample).

Original App Challenge Image
A Break in the Clouds

Mobile Device: iPhone 4s
App Used:  Snapseed, Mextures

And here is my final photo, altered with the advanced filters from Mextures.  Let me know what you think!

Final App Challenge Image

Want to have fun and participate in the photo challenge, or just visit the other entries?  Just click on the Snappy H’appy Logo at the top of this post!