Panorama Mode with iOS 6 Update on iPhones

If you're not an adventuresome iPhone user, you may not have discovered that with the iOS 6 software update on the iPhone 4s and iPhone 5, you now have a new camera mode with the iPhone Camera app. Under "Options" at the top of the screen, there is a "Panorama" choice. The camera operates by taking numerous photographs and automatically stitching them together.

Clicking on this will bring up a screen which directs you to pan the camera from left-to-right and provides an arrow that assists you in keeping the camera level. As can be seen in the photo to the right the Panorama mode opens with a prescribed length, though that can be shortened by tapping the camera icon at the bottom of the screen for a second time. Using the Panorama mode will create an image that is approximately 8" x 30" at 240 dpi, which is a good large size for printing.

Below is a photograph I took the Alabama-Ole Miss football game on Saturday night. The Million Dollar Band was on the field at half-time. They were more-or-less stationary during this sequence, which was good because moving subjects do not yield positive results in Panorama mode.

Panorama Mode on iPhone 4s :: Alabama-Ole Miss and Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa

In Memoriam of the April 27 Tornadoes in Alabama

It's been a year since tornadoes tore across the state of Alabama in several waves of storms, on April 27, 2011, uprooting trees, homes, and lives. More than two hundred were killed, tens of thousands were left homeless, but none of us were unaffected. Memories of that day are no less vivid now than in the days immediately thereafter. 

I got a call from my tenants in Warrior around 8:30am that a tornado had ripped through that town, damaging my house, but leaving everyone healthy; almost every large tree on the block was downed leaving that landscape forever altered. That afternoon, I watched live footage of a large tornado as it tracked directly toward downtown Cullman, eventually ripping through that city and devastating it.

But those events were only precursors fore what was to come. A couple of hours later, multiple tornadoes touched down in western Alabama and began making their way east. One particular tornado stayed on the ground for more than 120 miles, at times more than a mile wide, and ravaging the likes of Tuscaloosa, Phil Campbell, Pleasant Grove, Pratt City, Fultondale, and on east to Anniston.

What left an equally strong impression as the storms themselves was the outpouring of love, compassion, giving, and humanity from neighbors and strangers across the street, state, and nation, that began in the moments immediately following the devastation and has continued to date. And while the landscape is still scarred, the long road to recovery is well under way.

Earlier posts regarding these tornadoes: Warrior and Fultondale, Fultondale, Tuscaloosa, Pratt City.

Needtobreathe at the Alabama Theatre in Birmingham

"We're Needtobreathe, and we're a rock-and-roll band from Possum Kingdom, South Carolina."

My friends and I have been following Needtobreathe for about six years now, and make a point to go see them every time they're in Birmingham or Tuscaloosa, which fortunately for us, has been pretty regularly. The first couple of times we saw them at Workplay in Birmingham, and there were a couple hundred people; we stood right at the stage; and my wife got a set list from one of the shows. But since then a whole lot more folks have discovered what we have known, Needtobreathe is incredible. Their soulful, Southern rock-a-billy sound, which often includes harmonicas and banjos is creative and unique. And their shows are even better than their albums, of which their most recent is 'The Reckoning,' so do yourself a favor and treat yourself to it; but don't stop there, go ahead and buy the other albums as well; you were going to eventually, now you'll just be saving yourself the trouble. And I don't mind saying that Monday night's President's Day show was easily their best yet.

The two photos here are a bit of a departure from my normal efforts; I allowed myself a little more creative license than normal. Rather than attempting to render the show as it actually was, I wanted to present photos that suggested the excitement and joy of the concert. The top photograph above is actually a collage of about a dozen different photographs, taken during different points in the show when various lighting was being employed.

Technorati Tags: alabama, alabama theatre, birmingham, iphone 4, needtobreathe,

My Weekend, in Photos and Emoticons

Well, first we went to see Needtobreathe at the BAMA Theatre in Tuscaloosa...

...and that made me feel like this:

Then I had to get up the next morning and go take the MPRE...

...but that made me feel like this:

After the exam, we left for Tuscaloosa to watch the Alabama-LSU game...

...and the end of that game left me feeling like this:

Tornado Stricken :: Tuscaloosa

Exactly four weeks after the fact, I visited Tuscaloosa for the first time since it was devastated by at least one tornado. Rebuilding has not yet begun. Reparations have commenced on those dwellings and buildings which can be restored. Some empty lots can now be found, which in recent days contained the remnants of buildings. But mostly, things lie as they had fallen... 

The former residence of some friends in the Forest Lake neighborhood

...some with messages to loved ones, like the house which bore the message: "We love you Mamaw and Papaw." Still others warn off potential looters with clever messages reading: "If you loot, we will shoot!" But many contain notes regarding family pets, and on that front, at least, there seems to be good news.

Signs declaring hope and the soon returns of neighbors and businesses proclaim the resounding pride or fortitude of Tuscaloosa's residents, even in the face of constant devastation, from which there can be expected no soon relief.

The Remains of the Forest Lake District