So why is it so hard to make, store and share animated gifs from your camera phone? And since I have an iPhone 4, specifically the iPhone.

Here’s a brief review of the apps I tried in my hunt for the perfect animated gif app along with the moment that re-inspired it all. Chris dunking his head in Falls Creek.

Chris dunks his head in Falls Creek Falls – GifMill

• GifMill – Free. While it touts some great features like ability to use existing photos, tweak speed, size and quality – it had some sharing quirks that made it usable but difficult for me to post directly to Tumblr or my self-hosted WordPress blog. After my brief round of tests for today, this came out the winner.
  • Albums – Saving to albums kills the animation, so I’m not sure why this is offered.
  • Email & MMS Message – Works as advertised (tested from iPhone to iPhone)
  • Tumblr – Uses the web interface, so requires you to login separately even if you’re logged into your phone’s Tumblr app. This is typically a deal breaker for me, but I had my external keyboard all bluetooth-sync’d to my phone so having to enter login credentials wasn’t a barrier.
  • Twitter – There was a problem uploading the image. I had low res, small size selected so if it was rejected for size reasons then no GifMill settings would work. I really didn’t want to keep trying, however, so inconclusive.
• GifBoom – Free. While the features sound great, the “social media” sharing is GifBoom’s own community overflowing with narcissistic teenagers showing their duck faces and grills. Sigh. (Or at least I hope they’re teenagers … most of them look so young I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a lure for underage sex trafficking offenders.)
• GIF SHOP – $0.99 Once I realized that I couldn’t use this for existing photos, this was a no go for me for today’s project. It only allows you to create gifs from pictures you take within the app. Still, I’ll keep it around for future gif play.
• Flixel – Free. I used this one last year and had fun making Julie playing the accordion come alive. The challenge then, as it was today, is getting the image off of my phone. While I use my phone’s WordPress app to draft my blogs, I wasn’t able to upload “my flixel” since there was no way to save the animated gif to my phone’s albums. Seeing as how I had the same

Julie plays the accordion – Flixel

(There were others I don’t feel like taking the time to detail.) Ultimately, I’ve learned that the best animated gif app is one that allows you to email the photo. Simply email it to yourself and you now have it in an easy-to-access place where you can then post on the blog or site of your choice or load onto an electronic frame for some real Harry Potterlike fun.

Extra: Today is Day 8 of my 30 day blog challenge. Click ‘Follow’ at the bottom of the page to receive weekly updates in your inbox or follow me on Tumblr if that’s your scene.

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It took me a few hours to disassemble and tinker with my Canon 2ti to fix the card reader. The problem? Anytime I inserted a memory card into my Canon 2ti, it would say that the card was locked. I tried a variety of cards, always confirmed that they were NOT locked and my Nikon would read them just fine. 

I took a look into the card reader itself since a memory card had recently jammed and I figured it was something mechanical. It’s a small space, so I spent some time lining up some bright lights and sure enough, when I got a good peek in there, I spotted what I presumed to be the metal arm used to detect whether a card is in the locked position or not. It seemed to me that it was simply bent, though due to the small space, it was difficult to know how it was bent- or how to bend it back.

So I went through the fun process of taking the camera apart so that I could get better access to the card reader space and tinker with that arm. From some googling, I found that a few people had also had this problem and reportedly were told it would be a few hundred dollars to fix with a certified Canon technician. I did not take video of myself taking it apart, though I will recommend using tape to keep track of screws as you disassemble. I like to arrange mine in groups that mimic their placement to aid in a quick reassemble process.

Once I got inside? Turns out that the circuitry is arranged in a way that I still had limited access to the card reader. To take the reader out completely, I’d have to detach some ribbons and I wasn’t fully prepared to do that, so I simply used my trusty paperclip to fiddle with what I was calling “the arm” and after many tests including one in which the camera wouldn’t boot at all – I finally got it to read the card as unlocked! My camera was once again ready for action.

For more exciting info on what I found inside, check out my Instagram post.

OMG I’m happier than a school girl on a snow day. Took a few hours, but I finally managed to fix my Canon 2Ti that stopped working due to a card reader error (my diagnosis). While I’m not confident my fix will last forever, I sure hope it lasts long enough to sell it. Anyone know anyone looking for a used camera?

Jk! This one’s my baby now.

So… The toshiba chip got me googling and I read about toshiba and canon’s joint efforts in 2005 to make SED displays, before LCDs became the prominent technology, despite some claims of superior display and lower power requirements. Seems those efforts dissolved in 99 so I’m left to wonder if there’s any toshiba-canon connection left. Anyone know, care or interested to #geekout?

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The Teams:

• The Fogs – On foot, this adventurous crew had us all riled up with a valiant (and on-time) start. Despite a small phone failure, they forged forward building fairy house after fairy house. Luckily, I had *just* received a solar phone charger for my birthday so they were able to recharge after the finish line & get their photos in.
• SBF – They put in a valiant effort to cross the finish line first, but forgot to go for the EXTRAs. Their commitment to the bonus mile gave them a fighting chance, however, and some sweet picts at my favorite Hydro Park.
• Team Won – Spent their time well crafting the Most Creative shots, sending them home with bragging rights. See: tire swing & scene from “Rubber” … I see a theme …
• Cross Knitters – They may have started late, but they made up for it with their fearless attitude approaching strangers and tracking down some of our favorite shots. (Hello, strangers making out!). Since they didn’t know they had already won by the time we started tallying (a little shy of 7), they racked in a few final extras just for fun … to go along w/all that beer.

The Hunt:

• The clue list for Jewel & Meliss’a Find Summer Scavenger Hunt of 2012

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Stranger in a Strange Land, a science fiction novel from 1961, explores the idea of a Fair Witness, or one who looks out without passing judgment. As we wake in the same spaces, work in the same spaces and play in the same spaces every day it can be challenging to see our spaces as an outsider and to see our fellow friends as strangers—to see the common as unique with curiosity.

More information @ http://pdxphotosalon.tumblr.com

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to find myself, or a place for myself, in this world that is a billion realities

where do i already exist? where am i missing? what’s new. what’s familiar. and what’s in between. the nuances in relationships between times, space and people. where i can disappear and what’s ultimately mine. studying the laws of the universe around me so i can both adapt and take form, and try on the infinity of rules so i can feel comfortable existing.

I don’t know that I’ll ever be comfortable, for as soon as I master a new realm (be it a social circle or new activity) I’m already thirsting for something new. This insatiable hunger for experiential learning (I’m not someone to sandbag on your trivia team) propels me so long as I don’t hide in my fears.

And that’s me: Photographer as a healing, mental and spiritual practice. A social confidante.

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A horse hair falls into the water and grows into an eel.
     Even Aristotle believed that frogs
                                formed from mud,
that mice sprouted like seedlings in the damp hay.

     I used to believe the world spoke
                           in code. I lay awake
and tried to parse the flashes of the streetlight—
       obscured, revealed,
                    obscured by the wind-sprung tree.
Stranded with you at the Ferris wheel's apogee
       I learned the physics
                    of desire—fixed at the center,
it spins and goes nowhere.

       Pliny described eight-foot lobsters
                         sunning themselves
on the banks of the Ganges. The cuckoo devouring
       its foster mother. Bees alighting
                         on Plato's young lips.

In the Andes, a lake disappears overnight, sucked
       through cracks in the earth.
                         How can I explain
the sunlight stippling your face in the early morning?

Why not believe that the eye throws its own light,
       that seeing illuminates
                    the world?
                         On the moon,
astronaut David Scott drops a hammer and a falcon feather,
     and we learn nothing
                    we didn't already know.

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So I decide to join “Mission 24” on Flickr. Someone sends out a topic and everyone has 24 hours to submit 2 NEW photos on their interpretation of the word. I join in with 2 hrs left in the current assignment. It’s on “CHANGE”.

Here’s my first submission:

Interesting and appropriate topic. I desperately both fear and hunger for change. There’s a pain in getting stuck in the same ruts and a risk in venturing out into the unknown. So here’s to joining a new group and trying something new.

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