Pocket Plastic

I started this blog with the intention of being completely open about the photos I take, and to always identify the apps I used, including the precise steps taken to arrive at the final results if necessary. In that spirit, I'm proud to present the first-ever Pocket Plastic Processing Pack for Nevercenter's Camerabag Desktop! These are some custom filters I created during my time with the beta software, and now that v1.5 is out, I can share them as .CBF files for anyone else to use.

Required: Camerabag Desktop (Mac/Windows versions available)
Installation instructions here: http://nevercenter.com/camerabag/filters/custom_filters

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Above: Original photo – Sensoji Temple Kaminarimon gate, Asakusa, Tokyo, Japan.

1. Family Album: Straight from an 80s time capsule, these faded, color-shifted shots toy with your perception of memory. "Was this really taken last week?"

2. Raymond Chow: Named after the grandfather of Hong Kong cinema and producer of Bruce Lee's films, this look approximates the sunburnt, slightly pink look of hastily-archived Asian cinema.

3. Salad Days: Use this warm, yet subtle, vintage look to give any moment that "Ah, Yesteryear!" ambience. Especially good for grungy city shots and confusing grandparents.

4. Supertoy: Can't afford to buy a Japanese toy camera using sensor technology not fit to appear in a Microsoft webcam? Don't sweat it, this supersaturated, supervignetted filter will turn your shots down to -11 where they belong.

5. Lomotive: Святейшее дерьмо! More Russian than a burly henchman named Ivan with a crescent-shaped scar on his cheek, the Lomotive filter gives even the most American of photo subjects the look of stone-cold Communism. Just don't blame us if black vans start showing up in your neighborhood.

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This filter pack is totally free, just give a link and credit if you decide to share it.

Download the Pocket Plastic Processing Pack #1 now! (Link now updated to cl.ly after the closure of drop.io)

We can't have a photography blog called Pocket Plastic and fail to mention that the latest update to Nevercenter's Camerabag contains a new effects filter named "Plastic". The popular iPhone application hasn't seen many changes of late; the team seems to have been busy with putting out a much-improved version of Camerabag Desktop for Mac/PC. And now comes this, an exclusive filter available only in the iPhone app.

The official announcement of Plastic is here, and the effect is described as "sweet honey tones [that] could only come from the cheapest of cameras." Personally I think the effect is just a little too pronounced and unlike what I associate with a toy camera look. Maybe I just have a thing against green tones. In the end, it's a matter of personal taste, and I'm sure Plastic will be the perfect choice when the right photo comes along.

I'm including a Camerabag Desktop filter I made myself, called "Plastic Eye 3", which I submit to you as a tamer, slightly brighter, and perhaps more realistic plastic camera effect. May you find it useful in your daily editing. The .CBF file requires a copy of Camerabag Desktop. Installation instructions can be found here, along with other custom filters from the Nevercenter team.

As its name suggests, there are two other versions of it, along with many others I've made. I'm hoping to select a few of the better ones and put them up here for download someday.

Above: Camerabag's new Plastic filter.

Above: My Plastic Eye 3 filter applied to the same photo.

Download the Plastic Eye 3 filter from drop.io.

Bonus: Here's another custom filter I've named Lomotive: It's the classic cross-processed Lomo LC-A look. Download it here.

Singapore's MRT system (a mostly subterranean train network) recently expanded with the opening of its Circle Line. Half of the new stations won't be opening until next year, but today a friend and I decided to have a look at the strange outlying neighborhoods now within reach and take a few photos. These are the ones from my iPhone.

The giant rabbit balloon is named Walter, and is a part of a new exhibit at the Singapore Art Museum.

Apps used: Hipstamatic, Camerabag, Cross Process (the playground tires), ToyCamera (green station shot)

(download)

Click here to download:

Circle_Line_photo_walk_tag_iPh.zip (20.27 MB)

App: Camerabag (Colorcross)

Taking a break from those awful* Helga vignettes now. I came across this sad table in an HDB void deck while walking home along Farrer Road after 2 a.m. This was further down from the market I posted earlier.

Apps: Cross Process + Camerabag (1974)

(download)

Click here to download:

Nobody_wants_to_play_ping-pong.zip (1.67 MB)

* Edit: I realize that was a little unfair. Cross Process adds vignetting of its own, which exaggerated them.

Oh yeah, I went there.

Apps: Cross Process (Green) + Camerabag (Helga)

The Farrer Road Hawker Center and Market at 2 a.m. Deserted except for two old guys watching the free TV that was left on.

Apps: Cross Process (Basic) + Camerabag (Helga).

This combination works best with darker photos, like #3 and #4, as it tends to blow out highlights. Still, it might be one of my new favorites.

(download)

Click here to download:

Market_after_dark_tag_iPhone_C.zip (3.79 MB)