Filterstorm Pro-A Very Exciting ipad Photography App

The ipad 2 has shown itself to be an incredible, magical device that can do so many things, the mind boggles.  But in the area of photography, it has especially shown its truly outstanding ability as an editing, creating and viewing tool.  Its seems like every day a new photo app arrives at the app store and one can be overwhelmed by the sheer numbers to chose from.  However, in my opinion, there is one editing tool that stands head and shoulders above the rest.  That would be Filterstorm Pro.  

   Filterstorm Pro, by designer Tai Shimizu, has arguably been called "photoshop for iOS".  And that it is to be sure.  But in the ipad, it is so much more.  Because of the special properties of the ipad-the ability to pinch and expand by a simple finger movement, the ability to enlarge to reveal minute details in a picture, and the vivid screen display, the editing capabilities of this deep app shine through like no other format.  

   I use FP in conjunction with iphone 4 which enables me to take a picture with a pretty good pixel camera and using icloud, that photo automatically shows up in my ipad's photo stream via wifi.  From there it is a simple thing to copy it, open the app, and paste it into the clipboard.  It then shows up in a 'collection'.  It is this collection/folder that is the starting point for your editing, and lets you store multiple versions of one image.    

   And now is when the magic begins.

   When the image is loaded into the editing window, it appears in vivid display on the right, and to the left there is a series of options on a panel- crop, scale to fit, rotate, straighten.  That is the canvas tab.  There are 2 others, history and filter.  Selecting the 'filter' tab reveals an inclusive array of editing filters.  These are brightness/contrast, curves, hue/saturation, white balance, sharpening, blur, black & white, clone, to name a few.  You can also add text to your photo as well as put a vignette around it and posterize to give it that 'painted by Monet' look.  

   One of the coolest attributes of these filters is that you can apply any effect selectively as in a mask, applying the effect to a portion only of your photograph.  And you can blend this in as well.  

   One filter I especially like is 'curves'.  You are presented with a small window showing a color graph and a line across it with a dot in the middle.  You pull the dot around with your finger and see the exposure and color changes in real time on the image.  This works real well for right brain types like me who sometimes operate by shooting from the hip and feeling with the gut.  I'll pull the dot around until it 'feels right'.  Unscientific yes, but totally sensible for an artist.  You also have the option of seeing the editing on either side of the image, viewing the effect on one side and the original on the other, or going full screen.  You may also 'batch edit' a collection of images, applying whatever effect/enhancement you like to an entire collection and then upload them to whatever medium you desire-Facebook, Photobucket etc.  

   Filterstorm's export features are very impressive.  You can export back to your photo library, send images to DropBox, or upload straight to Flickr.  

   I have barely scratched the surface of this incredible app.  It is designed for the photo-journalist and/or professional, however, for anyone who wants to create art out of their photographs, share their pictures and make something 'stand out' I highly recommend this app.  It does have a bit of a learning curve however it is very forgiving and after a few go's, anyone who is familiar with iphone photo apps or has a desire to learn can be up and running in no time.  

   Filterstorm Pro can be purchased in the App store for $14.99.  A pittance for such a great tool!