Google's Doodles have always been a wonderful diversion from the plain search page on their site. Today, the GoogleDoodle really shined as Google paid homage to the great Saul Bass, the 93 year-old title sequence designer for several of the most memorable films of the 20th century.

The #GoogleDoodle sequence references the following films; Psycho, The Man with the Golden Arm, Spartacus, West Side Story, Vertigo,North by Northwest, Anatomy of a Murder, Ocean's 11, and Around the World in Eighty Days.

Click HERE to check it out, and let me know what you think!

I posted a new page titled MY CAMERA BAG. It lists my favorite gear for phoneography and links to the retailers I purchased them from. On the left side of the new page will be a description of each item, which is still under development, but should be completed next week.

I wanted to release this page today because of the number of inquiries I received after Photo Video West. I will be launching the MY APP ROOM page next week as well. Right now you can check out my TOP 10 Favorite APPS in my APP ROOM.

Please stay in touch and let me know about your favorite gear and apps!

I want to thank everyone that attended my seminar at Photo Video West. You made my presentation on mobile photography enjoyable for me and I know my passion for the platform really came through. I have received wonderful feedback and I can't thank you enough.

So this was the run-line for the interview this morning... If you dream of getting backstage at your favorite concerts, we’ve got your backstage pass. Photographer John Toma shares secrets on how to snap pictures of your favorite rockers and also preview an event in town where you can meet the industry pros. The event, Photo Video West, takes place this weekend at O’Brien Hall at the Del Mar Fairgrounds.

...Interestingly enough, that segment bumber was supposed to be for Hernan Rodriguez, another photographer to be interviewed during the segment. Hernan is from Los Angeles and could not make it this morning. Fortunately, I have photographed concerts, but I was briefed by my handler to get right back to PhotoVideoWest this weekend. My seminar is on Mobile Photography, so, in a way, the conversation transitioned into that area nicely. 

Raoul  Marinez was wonderful (though I think I was originally supposed to be interviewed by Leslie Marcus - she made me take off my tie! lol) and I got to see my favorite meteorologist and Krav Maga practitioner, Chrissy Russo!!

I’m excited to be a featured speaker at this year’s Photo Video West.  Photo Video West is the largest educational photo and video show on the West Coast. The event takes place Saturday, April 27th and Sunday, April 28th in Del Mar, CA. The event features professional photographers, over 30 seminars, live interactive demos, product specials, photo contests, portfolio reviews, door and raffle prizes and more.

Cell phones and tablets are changing the way we take and share photography through Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc. Bring your cell phone with you April 27th and 28th to the Tamron Theater for my seminar “Shooting From the Hip: When All You’ve Got is a Cell Phone.” I’ll be covering virtually every aspect of mobile photography. I can give you the tips and tricks of the trade including how to use advanced features built into your device, post-processing apps, and how to produce high-quality prints using just your cell phone.

Be sure to come see me at Photo Video West. For more information about the event and a complete schedule of seminars, check out Photo Video West’s website at www.photovideowest.com. To receive real-time updates of information on the event, subscribe to Photo Video West’s Twitter channel @PhotoExpoWest and like Photo Video West’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/PhotoVideoWest.

Photo Video West Hours
April 27th 10:00am - 5:00pm
April 28th 10:00am - 4:00pm
Del Mar Fairgrounds, Del Mar, CA 
www.photovideowest.com

Last weekend I conducted a workshop with Pacific Photographic Society members focused on Action-Figure and Product Photography. One of the items on the agenda was mobile photography. I showcased the use of an iPad as a soft-box and integrating a mobile phone as a primary tool to achieve a final exposure. Additionally, I highlighted some of my favorite Apps that I use to post-process images on my iPhone.
Check out the image below and let me know what you think.
For details about how I achieved this look, please read the section below the image.

I photographed this image using Hueless, a black and white photography App. Hueless allows me to snap a photograph in black and white rather than in color. It saves me a step during post-processing.
After capturing the image I imported the photo into Snapseed and increased the contrast and saturation using the "tune-image" feature.
Once I had the look I needed, I went into the "Grunge" feature in Snapseed and applied Filter 2. I saved the image and opened it up in "Retro-Lux" feature and used Filter 7. After selecting the filter I adjusted the texture strength and added a mild vignette (all inside Snapseed). Finally, I added a frame in order to complete the image.

Just a little over 45 minutes ago Instagram released a statement on their blog regarding their future Terms of Service (TOS). This is in response to the outcry from users who saw one of their favorite mobile Apps nearly commit virtual harakiri today.

Read my article below for events leading up to this announcement by Instagram.

On January 16, 2013 Instagram will roll out its new terms and conditions.  Here are some bullet-points that you need to be aware of:

- ...you hereby grant to Instagram a non-exclusive, fully paid and royalty-free, transferable, sub-licensable, worldwide license to use the Content that you post on or through the Service...

- To help us deliver interesting paid or sponsored content or promotions, you agree that a business or other entity may pay us to display your username, likeness, photos (along with any associated metadata), and/or actions you take, in connection with paid or sponsored content or promotions, without any compensation to you.

- You acknowledge that we may not always identify paid services, sponsored content, or commercial communications as such.

- ...any Content will be non-confidential and non-proprietary and we will not be liable for any use or disclosure of Content.

- You (and also any third party for whom you operate an account or activity on the Service) agree to defend (at Instagram's request), indemnify and hold the Instagram Parties harmless from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses, including without limitation, reasonable attorney's fees and costs, arising out of or in any way connected with any of the following (including as a result of your direct activities on the Service or those conducted on your behalf)

* If you cancel your account before January 16, 2013 Instagram rules don't effect you.

The bottom line is that Instagram can now operate as a clearing-house for photos similar to iStockPhoto. It has the potential to become the largest stock-photo agency in the world without having to crack open its wallet.

I've seen this before with other services. They release a bloated Terms and Conditions drafted by an overpaid attorney only to retract their Terms less than a week later due to the public outcry. Will that happen? Who knows. Facebook could also be up to its old tricks - Light a fire, let people scream, garner media attention for free, then, fix things. No harm, no foul.

To think, this morning I was going to post a photograph on Instagram and say hello to followers, and now I don't even feel like going on. I'll let the things settle for a day or two before I make the decision to pull the plug on what used to be a great App and social network.

I can't say I didn't see the dark-side coming around the bend as soon as Facebook purchased Instagram. I, like most others, just hoped that Facebook would not break something beautiful.

- John Toma