The lost art of shaving

Over the years I have tried to make what is otherwise a laborious, oft painful event into something enjoyable, but the act of shaving my face never seemed to be something I looked forward to.  A sad fact considering the frequency with which I have to shave...

With the resurgence of wet-shaving, I now welcome each days shave and treat it as an event...a ritual of pleasure that I anticipate and savour...

Wet-Shaving has a pretty broad definition, but it's focus is on old style double edge (DE), single edge (SE) and straight razors (str8's) in tandem with creams and soaps made from more natural ingredients and don't come from a can.

I've always had a love for new things that look and feel old and old things made to look new again, so the nostalgic nature of the implements of wet-shaving are a natural attraction for me.

I have made numerous feeble attempts at shaving in this manner with the obligatory shave brush and some glycerin soap and even a few DE razors my father gave me, but I never had technique and the result was lackluster.  I always reverted back to the multi-bladed cartridge razors and canned goo.

A few months ago I was chatting with a good friend who mentioned he was using a DE which led me to a bit of research on-line and a week later, I made the jump.  My Mach III razor has sat unused since then, as my inventory of soaps, creams, brushes and razors has overwhelmed the master bath and my shaves have never been better.  Better. Closer.  More enjoyable, less expensive and at this point completely free of irritation, stubble and blood loss.

Now, this blog isn't about wet-shaving...at least it wasn't... but I have taken to documenting each days shave as a means of tracking which razor, blade, brush and balm seem to work best and as part of this I am photographing the setups...  using either my iPhone or my (new to me) Canon G9.  (I could never fully explain toting my tripod and light stands into the bathroom..)

A moment of magic with Apple...

I'm still in love with my iPhone.. it's been over a year and I doubt I have come close to tapping into more than 25% of what it can do..and it's near bullet-proof.  Sort of...

I caved in a few months ago and made the decision to jail-break my phone..  Not sure why but it seemed like a good thing to do.  But as the days past, I realized that since all I accomplished was uncovering more untapped resources, when the next OS update Apple rolled out for the 3Gs I would revert back to factory spec.

Never as easy as others tell you it will be....

Pick of the Week...DropBox

It's time to leave the house..  Cell phone goes in my jacket pocket; Laptop in my shoulder bag accompanied by a portable USB Western Digital Passport HD; USB memory stick in pants pocket; printed list of all my web user names and login info under lock and key...in my wallet.  I'm equipped for a day in this digital world.  Well, welcome to a few years ago.

Fast forward to today...

More iPhone apps to improve your photography!

I have found I am using the iPhone for imaging more and more these days..   No, it hasn't replaced my D3, nor will I use it for birding..  But is it a great tool for documenting lighting setups for future reference, for making an image of a shooting location that was or might be particularly rich in photo opportunities and even for an occassional portrait or location shoot.  Here are a few more apps I find particularly useful...

Hit the jump for more...  (that's the Read More link below...)

Maximizing the iPhone's camera with some great apps

In my eyes, Apple has hit a home run with the iPhone.  Not too long ago I would not leave home without a cell phone, a palm pilot and a USB memory stick on me.  The iPhone has rolled all these devices into one.. and.. sports a pretty good digital camera as well.

Pretty safe to say that the best camera is the one you have with you, so being able to create and edit images using the iPhone's awesome display and then instantaneously upload and share images right from the iPhone changes the way we communicate and stay in-touch.  But gone are the days of crappy thumb-nail sized camera-phone images!!  The iPhone is an awesome camera and with the addition of a few simple and inexpensive apps we can document and share moments of magic with relative ease.  Here a just a few of my current favorite iPhone apps..


Snapture from Snapture Labs 

This is a multi-function app.  It has a burst mode that allows for three images to be taken in quick succession along with a leveling aid to help you align your horizons and some decent filter effects that allow for black and white captures, sepia or creative colorizing.  But my favorite feature stacks thumbnails of the images you capture off to the side of the display so you can review them before saving.  Or just tap the Snapture logo at the top of the screen to auto save them.

Includes integration with FaceBook and Twitter
Available in the App Store for $1.99.

PhotoGene from Omer Shoor 

There has a lot of hype around the PhotoShop iphone app but I was left cold with it's lack of features.  Seemed like Adobe had to get into the app game, but did a really weak job at it.  My heart skipped a beat when I purchased PhotoGene and found a true histogram, Levels and Exposure adjustments and sharpness filters.  This is my first stop for image post processing.

It includes the most robust set of instructions and tips I have seen on any app.   Not the cheapest app for post processing of images ($2.99 in the App Store) especially when the PhotoShop app is a freebie, but it is absolutely worth the few dollars.

GorillaCam by Joby 

This app is from the makers of very useful Gorilla Pod line of portable and flexible mini-tripods.. and there is now a model that is designed specifically for the iPhone called the GorillaMobile!

This is quickly becoming one of my favorite apps! 

Like many other camera apps it has a PressAnyWhere mode that makes the entire iPhone screen a shutter release so you don't have to hunt for the tiny release button Apple includes in their camera app, but it has a host of really cool, unique and useful features..  A bubble level and grid line overlays help with keeping your images straight and the grid adheres to the compositional guide called the Rule of Thirds.  There is a Self Timer feature, the three shot burst and the continuous unlimited rapid fire capture at 1.6 frames per second.  These features work best when combined with the GorillaMobile tripod to keep the phone steady.  But my favorite feature is the Time Lapse which can be set to capture up to 200 images hands free, with an interval of from one second to two minutes between captures!

I have few more apps that I find extremely useful for capture and editing iPhone images and helping with general photography.. stop back for the next install!!