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  • One of my photos used as a Magazine cover !!!

    A while ago, I got an email from an ex colleague Dave Gale, who I have been in contact with, about using a couple of my photo’s that I took when I went on the Moses Mabhida Stadium tour, for a magazine. I was quite stoked to say the least, and when I saw the below pictures, I was totally blown away. Here, my one of MY photo’s was being used as a magazine cover for the Disaster Management Institute of South Africa !!!! Not only that, but it was also blown up and used as an image on a banner at a recent Disaster Management conference in Durban.

    Big thanks to the chaps at Umoya Networks, for the amazing opportunity :)

    Posted via email from Between Two Lives

  • Top 5 Photography iPhone apps

    The fact that my second favorite hobby, next to my iPhone :), is my Photography, and given that the iPhone has a built in Camera, which albeit, isn’t the best, there are a couple of fantastic apps that allow you to maximise the capability of the iPhone Camera.

    If you want to see some awesome iPhone photography check out JustWhatISee.comwhich is a site by a guy who goes around taking photos with his iPhone Camera. For all iPhone Photography things also check out iphoneography.com

    I have a whole page dedicated on my iPhone to Photography apps, so I thought I would share my top 5 apps  :)

    Camera Genius (iTunes link)
    Price: $0.99

    The app adds all the missing features of the standard iPhone camera, and allows you to zoom in on your subjects, which is a big plus, and the images come out fairly clear. Another nifty feature is the anti shake, which helps you get the perfect shot. The camera will only take the shot when the camera is perfectly still,eliminating the blurry pictures we all used to. Camera Genius also has Sound Capture, so everyone can scream cheese and the pic is taken, Guides, full screen button, timer, and a few other features.

    All in all a fantastic app that is well worth the asking price. My Rating: 4/5

    ColorSplash (iTunes Link)
    Price: $1.99

    A fantastic tool to make the photos you have taken look extra cool. Color splash is a simple app, which allows you take the color of the image out, or add it back into the image. So the app makes the whole image black and white, and then you simple color out the parts you want to be color again. Something like this below

    Great app, that you can spend hours on dollying up your iPhone pics. My rating: 3.5/5

    Photogene (iTunes Link)
    Price: $2.99

    Well well worth the $2.99 you will be spending on this app. This is like Photoshop on your phone. The app is a photo editing app, that allows you to edit the photos you have taken on your iPhone, and then allows you to save them to your phone. These are just some of the awesome things you can do with Photogene

    – Crop. Fixed aspect ratios are optional.
    – Sharpen
    – Levels histogram. Manually or automatically correct color distribution, improving brightness and contrast at the same time.
    – Gamma correction (midtones)
    – Separate exposure and contrast buttons.
    – RGB balance
    – Saturation. Increase or decrease hues intensity in your picture. B/W effect can be reached.
    – Color temperature. Correct unnatural colors by adding warmth or coolness to the image.
    – Straighten for a tilted image
    – Rotate and mirror
    – Special effects, such as pencil, sepia or heat-map
    – Frame effects: Reflection and Vignette
    – Preset and customized frames in various shapes, widths and colors. Selection of shadows – outer and inner glows, gloss, drops shadow.
    – Text bubbles of different styles, colors and fonts (just drag and place them wherever you like).
    – Multiple Undo-Redo and reset buttons. You can use these features to compare between origin and result.
    – Take photos from with in the application

    Cool hey. Really an awesome app, and like I said, well worth the money. My Rating: 4.5/5

    Pano (iTunes Link)
    Price: $2.99

    This is probably one of my most favorite apps on the iPhone. I have spoken about this app before, and I would buy it 10 times over if I could. The app allows you to take a series of photos which it then stitches together. And it just works. Does a fantastic job. This is one of the photos I took recently using Pano

    If you would like to see more of the pics I have taken with Pano, check out my Pano Flickr Set. My Rating: 5/5

    Flickr (iTunes LInk)
    Price: Free

    I have also written about this fantastic app before, but it seriously a great app. Once you have taken all your pictures using the apps above, you can directly upload them to your Flickr Account. On the Go. You can also browse though your Flickr Contacts photo stream, and comment on them. All in all an essential app for your iPhone to help you store your new iPhone photos quickly and easily. My Rating 4/5

    Well that’s my 5 favorite iPhone Photography apps. If you know of some that I may have missed, please leave a comment, so we can check them out.

  • Moses Mabhida Stadium Tour

    UPDATE: To see more information about tours in and around the Moses Mabhida Stadium click here- https://www.marcforrest.com/2009/12/08/moses-mabhida-stadium-tours/

    I had a fantastic opportunity on Friday to go on a tour round the new stadium that is being built in Durban for the 2010 FIFA world cup. It really is an eye opener, and I think will become a major stadium round the world. The sheer enormity of it, as well as the spaced out seats really makes it. A couple of things that I personally noticed while we were on the tour

    • The ABSA stadium, home to the Sharks next door,  is a very “tall”stadium, in the sense those top seats at ABSA are high up and you will battle if you suffer from vertigo. Seating at MM is more “level”. When you walk in to the stadium you go 2 levels down, and then you have your seating. So you will effectively be “in line” with the players
    • The players change rooms sound awesome. We couldn’t get in, but it sounds like they are huge, and have jacuzzis
    • Peoples park on the South side sounds like it will be a great area for families. Big open spaces with restaurants. I think I can see myself going there for family picnics once it is open
    • The whole stadium can be evacuated in 8 minutes !!! that is going to be a HUGE selling point

    I managed to take a couple of photos, and managed to get 1 awesome pano shot together. Unfortunately I didn’t have my tripod with me, so I had to crop out a bit of it. The original is 12788 x 2892, but have attached a resized 3704 x 838. For the full size image check out (http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcforrest/3873506175/)
    Moses Mabhida Stadium Panoramic

    I have a couple more pics, taken from my phone as well as on the DSL. The iPhone pics are up, and am busy uploading the others. You can check them out on my Flickr -> http://www.flickr.com/photos/marcforrest/sets/72157622069322251/

    I have also replied with a huge post on the SkyScraperCity Forums, with some of the questions asked by the guys on the forum.

    Overall, I really think Durban is the potential winner in the stadium contest. I’m really looking forward to settling down in one of those chairs next year, and watching Bafana Bafana win the World Cup :)

  • New Durban Airport

    UPDATE: To see a couple of Photos from the opening on the 1st of May, click check out King Shaka International Airport Opens post

    I recieved some awesome aerial shots of the new Airport, called King Shaka International Airport, currentley being built just outside La Mercy just North of Durbs.

    The first plane will land at the new airport on the 1st May 2010, just in time for the 2010 FIFA world cup. They are really moving along with the construction as you can see below. For more info on the Airport and what it will be offer check out this Wikipedia link

    Click on the images below to view a larger version

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  • Worldwide PhotoWalk Durban

    Durban City Pano

    Yesterday we went down to the 2nd Annual Scott Kelby Worldwide photowalk at the Durban Harbour. It really was loads of fun, with around 50 photographers, with some even coming as far away as Pietermartizburg. This was our first photowalk, and I will definitely be signing up for next years one, when it comes around again.
    We had a rather early 5:30 am start, which meant we needed to be up at 4 to get the show on the road. The walk was led by Durban photographer  Jone Mackay.
    The weather was perfect, and the harbour in Durban is a real treat at that time of the morning. We managed to get a couple of cool sunrise shots, as well as a couple of the boats in the harbour. At the end of the day, we all gathered around for some well deserved coffee and muffins. A big big thank you to Jone for organising a fantastic day out.

    These are some of the photos I took on the day, for more, check out my Photowalk set on Flickr, and if you would like to see a couple other South African’s shots, be sure to check out the South African Photowalk Flickr Group here

    Shadowed Reflections

    Ulundi

    Yachts in the Harbour