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iPhone Photography Hacks: 7 Tricks to Take Your Photos to the Next Level

As an iPhone photographer, you’re likely no stranger to the challenges of capturing stunning images with a camera that’s stuck in your pocket. But fear not! With these 7 iPhone photography hacks, you’ll be able to take your photos to the next level and impress even the most discerning eye.

Use Reflections to Add Depth

One of the most effective ways to add depth and interest to your iPhone photos is by incorporating reflections. Whether it’s a mirror, window, or puddle, use the reflective surface to create a sense of symmetry and dimensionality in your shot.

To do this, simply position yourself at an angle to the reflection and adjust your composition accordingly. You can also experiment with different angles and perspectives to create more dynamic shots.

2. Play with Perspective

Perspective is everything when it comes to iPhone photography. By experimenting with different vantage points and compositions, you can add depth, interest, and even a sense of storytelling to your photos.

Try shooting from low or high angles, using staircases, archways, or other structures to create unique perspectives, or experimenting with forced perspective (where two objects appear to be the same size) for added visual interest.

Churches are ideal for architectural photography as the tall spires with intricate stone work contrast with the brick work of the lateral walls against the tapestry of the blue skies. Architectural photographers love capturing the unique details and textures that make each church unique, from the ornate carvings to the intricate patterns and designs. The play of light on the stone and brickwork can create stunning effects, highlighting the craftsmanship and beauty of these historic structures.

The adjacent photo sums up this.

3. Use Lighting to Create Mood

Lighting is one of the most powerful tools in your iPhone photography arsenal. By using natural light, artificial light, or a combination of both, you can create mood, atmosphere, and even tell stories through your photos.

Experiment with different lighting conditions, such as golden hour, blue hour, or even nighttime shots lit by streetlights or neon signs. You can also use the built-in iPhone flashlight to add some creative flair to your low-light shots.

4. Create Compositions That Tell a Story

One of the most effective ways to make your iPhone photos stand out is by creating compositions that tell a story. Whether it’s capturing a moment, documenting a scene, or simply showcasing an interesting subject, use your composition to draw the viewer in and keep them engaged.

Try using leading lines, framing devices, or even simple gestures to create visual interest and guide the viewer’s eye through your photo. You can also experiment with different angles, perspectives, and vantage points to add more depth and storytelling potential to your shots.

5. Experiment with Motion Blur

Motion blur is a powerful technique that can add energy, movement, and dynamism to your iPhone photos. By panning or following your subject as it moves, you can create beautiful blurs that convey the sense of motion and action.

Try capturing speeding cars, running animals, or even blurred waterfalls for added visual interest. You can also experiment with slower speeds, such as blurred people walking or trees swaying in the wind, to add more texture and depth to your shots.

6. Use Your iPhone’s Built-In Features

One of the best things about iPhone photography is the sheer range of built-in features at your disposal. From the HDR mode to the built-in filters and editing tools, there are plenty of ways to enhance and transform your photos without needing any additional apps or equipment.

The iPhone camera offers various modes to help you capture great photos, including Burst Mode for fast-moving subjects, Long Exposure for motion blur effects, Portrait Mode for blurred backgrounds, and HDR (High Dynamic Range) for better color and detail. You can also customize photographic styles with tone and warmth sliders. Convenience features include quick access to the camera, using volume buttons as a shutter, and a grid for composition. For more control, you can lock focus and exposure settings or make manual adjustments. Video features include Cinematic Mode on iPhone 13 and newer, which automates focus transitions, and Optical Image Stabilization to reduce shakes during recording.

Experiment with different modes, such as Burst Mode for capturing fast-moving subjects or Time-Lapse for creating stunning sequences, and don’t be afraid to get creative with the editing tools to add more flair and personality to your shots.

7. Shoot in RAW

Finally, one of the most effective ways to take your iPhone photography to the next level is by shooting in RAW format. This allows you to capture images with greater dynamic range, color accuracy, and detail than JPEGs, making it ideal for landscapes, portraits, or any shot where you want maximum flexibility when editing.

A RAW image format is an uncompressed and unprocessed file captured directly from a camera’s sensor. It contains all the image data without compression or adjustments like white balance, exposure, or sharpness. Usually professional cameras would offer the option to save it RAW format. Before we set up the iPhone to save in RAW format, we will see what that means:

Key Features of RAW Format

Uncompressed Data – Retains full sensor details without loss.
Higher Dynamic Range – Preserves shadows and highlights better.
Editable Without Quality Loss – Allows adjustments without degrading image quality.
Larger File Size – RAW files are much bigger than JPEGs due to the lack of compression.

To shoot in RAW on your iPhone (Pro models only), simply open the Camera app, select “ProRAW” as your file format, and start snapping. The file size of a ProRAW image at 12MP resolution is approximately 25 MB, and the file size at 48MP is approximately 75 MB.If you have iPhone 11 or later, you can use Camera + app to select this RAW option.

You can then edit your photos using third-party apps like Adobe Lightroom or Capture One, which offer more advanced RAW processing capabilities than the built-in Photos app.

There you have it – 7 iPhone photography hacks to help you take your photos to the next level. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just starting out with mobile photography, these tips and tricks are sure to help you capture stunning images that will leave everyone wanting more. So go ahead, get creative, and see where your iPhone photography journey takes you!

Master Ollama: A Step-by-Step Guide to Optimizing Your Computer with AI

Ollama is a tool for running large language models (LLMs) locally on personal computers. It’s designed to make it easy for users to download, run, and interact with various open-source language models. Ollama is a powerful and user-friendly platform for running large language models (LLMs) on local machines. This means that anyone can utilize the power of advanced AI language processing without relying on cloud-based services or expensive infrastructure. The project’s name, Ollama, comes from the phrase “Open Language Models for All,” reflecting its mission to democratize access to AI-driven language tools.

Unleash the power of AI

What can Ollama do for you ?

Easy access to Artificial Intelligence (AI) models:

Ollama allows you to run various AI language models on your personal computer. This means you can interact with AI assistants similar to ChatGPT, but privately on your own machine.

Personal AI assistant:

You can use Ollama to have conversations, ask questions, or get help with various tasks. It’s like having a knowledgeable helper available at any time.

Writing aid:

Ollama can help with writing tasks, such as drafting emails, creating content, or proofreading.

Learning tool:

You can use it to explain concepts, learn about new topics, or get summaries of complex information.

I show excerpt of a typical legal document coached in legalese (long winded language preferred by Lawyers) here:

WHEREAS, the Party of the First Part (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Grantor’), for and in consideration of the sum and other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and sufficiency of which is hereby acknowledged, does hereby remise, release, alienate, convey, and confirm unto the Party of the Second Part (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Grantee’), its heirs, successors, and assigns, all right, title, interest, claim, and demand whatsoever of the Grantor, either in law or in equity, in, to, or out of that certain parcel of real property situated in the County of [Insert County Name], State of [Insert State Name], more particularly described in Exhibit A attached hereto and incorporated herein by this reference, together with all the tenements, hereditaments, and appurtenances thereto belonging or in anywise appertaining, to have and to hold the same unto the Grantee, its heirs, successors, and assigns forever, subject to the covenants, conditions, restrictions, and easements of record.

And the same paraphrased into plain English with the prompt – ‘Give a summary in plain English of the above’:

Unleash the power of AI

The person who is selling (the “Grantor”) gives up all their rights and ownership of a specific piece of property (described in Exhibit A) to the buyer (the “Grantee”). The Grantor does this because they received a certain amount of money or other valuable things, which they acknowledge as enough payment. The Grantee gets to own the property forever, along with any buildings, fences, or other things that come with it. However, the sale is subject to any agreements or rules that are already recorded (like easements or restrictions) and apply to the property.

Now you know how useful is ollama. It can read your documents, papers and articles and summarize them into a format you can understand easily. But the whole thing is done inside your computer and this way – you don’t share your personal files with anyone outside.

Creative partner:

It can assist with brainstorming ideas for projects, stories, or problem-solving.

Simple setup:

While it does require some basic installation, the process is designed to be straightforward.

Privacy:

Unlike cloud-based AI services, Ollama runs locally, which means your data stays on your computer.

What is Ollama ?
Ollama is an open-source platform that empowers researchers and developers to deploy large language models (LLMs) on their own machines, sans the need for cloud-based infrastructure. Founded by Michael Chiang and Jeffrey Morgan in Palo Alto, California, Ollama is an independent startup that simplifies the process of running models like Meta AI’s Llama, it is crucial to note that Ollama itself is not a product of Meta or any other major tech company. Instead, Ollama serves as a community-driven project that democratizes access to powerful LLMs developed by various organizations.

Now that we know the basics of Ollama, we will explore its salient features here and at the end of this page, we will set up ollama in our laptop/desk top computers to help us in our daily life – writing mails, reports, research information and use ollama along with its well known models as a local repository of knowledge.

The following paragraph explains in simple terms about its key features. Then we get down to the brass tacks of how to install the Ollama right into your laptop.

Key points about Ollama:

Local deployment: It allows users to run LLMs on their own hardware, which can provide more privacy and control compared to cloud-based solutions.
Ease of use: Ollama aims to simplify the process of setting up and running LLMs, making it accessible to a wider range of users.
Model support: It supports various open-source models, including different versions of Llama, GPT-J, and others.
Command-line interface: Users can interact with models through a command-line interface, which can be integrated into various workflows.
API: Ollama provides an API that allows developers to integrate these local LLMs into their applications.
Cross-platform: It’s available for multiple operating systems, including macOS, Linux, and Windows.
Resource management: Ollama is designed to work efficiently on consumer-grade hardware, though performance can vary depending on the model and the user’s system specifications. What sets these models apart is their relatively modest computational requirements compared to other LLMs, making them an attractive option for researchers and developers seeking to harness the power of language models without breaking the bank.
Open-source: The Ollama project itself is open-source, allowing for community contributions and transparency.

Ollama allows users to run LLMs on their local machines, eliminating the need for cloud-based services or expensive infrastructure. This is achieved through a simple and intuitive interface that enables users to easily integrate LLMs into their own applications. The platform supports various programming languages, including Python, Java, and C++, making it accessible to developers from diverse backgrounds.

Setting up Ollama locally:
I have tried ollama in about a dozen computers with varying degree of success. We have used Linux – Centos 7, Windows 10 , Windows 11 and MacOS. We used computers running on Intel 3, Intel 5, Intel 7 CPUs. If your computer has anything less than 4 Cores, you would be better of with Cloud AI. You need at least 16 GB to run many models.

While Ollama generally offers good performance, users with very high performance requirements or those working with the largest models might still need more powerful hardware or specialized solutions. For most users running common models on typical consumer hardware, Ollama provides a good balance of performance and accessibility.

If you are on Windows: Run the following setup file:
https://ollama.com/download/OllamaSetup.exe

If you are on Linux: Initiate the following:
curl -fsSL https://ollama.com/install.sh | sh

After you are done installing, take a look at the following link for the available models:
https://ollama.com/library

Select the model as per your hardware.
We found Phi3 from Microsoft as the easiest model to run on most computers as it has 2.2 GB size. But it has serious limitation : Hallucinates a lot and has poor English skills (makes many spelling mistakes).
The best is Lllama3.1 from Meta. Its size is 4.7 GB and runs well in I5 and above even without a GPU.

Once it is done, it is easy to invoke it from your command prompt by Clicking on START in Windows and type Windows PowerShell.

Then type:

ollama run llama3

The above will start the Ollama with Llama 3 model. You can enter your prompts ( requests) and it will spew out answers to your questions.

You will be surprised how such a powerful tool escaped your attention all these days.

Search Engines VS ChatGPT

From the time ChatGPT appeared on the scene, many industries – especially the Information technology and computer science, amongst others have changed drastically. For more than 2 decades people used search engines to find the information they needed. Google became the Number 1 in search engines and served billions of search results pages for every conceivable query on the planet.

Google displays search results based on its complex search algorithm with over 200 factors . It keeps churning the top search results pages every time it makes changes to the algorithm. Results can be quite unpredictable and in its efforts to weed out low quality ranked pages, ‘it throws the baby along with the bath water ‘ manner it also lowers the position of some high quality sites.

This has resulted, sometimes in poor quality search results and forced us to dig deep into the search results pages. But like a breath of fresh air, ChatGPT showed us precise information directly on its page. What is more, it accepts Natural language and you can ask questions for which it replies in clear meaningful, well written responses. Sometimes it also throws false answers – Hallucination – in a way difficult to decipher whether it is genuine or false.

To give a real life example, I was hunting for information about the pest damaging a lime tree in my garden. Google couldn’t help me within the first 200 search results pages. ChatGPT quickly identified the pest as Citrus Gall and went a step further in providing solutions to eradicate the pest.

This is a snippet from ChatGPT -“The citrus gall midges lay their eggs in the tender shoots and branches of the tree. The larvae then feed on the plant tissue, causing galls or abnormal growths to form around the affected area. These galls can disrupt the flow of nutrients and water within the branch, leading to weakening or eventual death of the affected branch.”

What are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Google Search Engine and ChatGPT ?

How does the ChatGPT stake against the traditional search engines like Google ? Here is a detailed analysis of ChatGPT compared with search engines search results.

Speed: Results are delivered quickly, usually within seconds, making it efficient for finding information on-the-go.
Simple Interface: Google or any other contemporary search engines are based on indexes based on keywords.

Google Search Engine:

Vast Information: Google indexes billions of web pages, providing access to an enormous amount of information on almost any topic imaginable – if you have the patience and time to delve through hundreds of pages.

Search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo and others use an indexing system that is primarily based on keywords. When a search engine crawls the web, it collects information from web pages and creates an index of words and their locations on those pages. This index allows the search engine to quickly find relevant pages when a user enters a search query containing specific keywords.

When a user searches for something on Google, for example, the search engine matches the keywords in the search query to the indexed words, returning a list of web pages that are deemed relevant based on those keywords. The more closely a webpage’s content matches the keywords and the more authoritative the webpage is (based on factors like links from other reputable sites), the higher it will typically appear in the search results.

However, modern search engines also use various other factors besides keywords to rank search results, such as:

Relevance: The search engine analyzes the context of the search, synonyms, related terms, and the user's search history to provide more relevant results.

Quality of Content: Search engines evaluate the quality of the content on web pages, considering factors like readability, depth, originality, and usefulness.

User Engagement: Metrics such as click-through rates, time spent on page, and bounce rates help search engines determine how users interact with search results.

Authority and Trustworthiness: Links from reputable and authoritative sites are considered signals of a page's trustworthiness and influence its ranking.

Freshness: For certain queries, search engines prioritize recent or updated content.

While keywords are a foundational aspect of search engine indexing and ranking, contemporary search engines have evolved to consider a wide range of factors to deliver the most relevant and high-quality results to users.

The clean and straightforward design makes it easy for users to input queries and navigate search results. 

Customization: Google offers personalized search results based on user behavior, location, and preferences, tailoring the experience to individual needs.

Advanced Search Tools: Users can utilize filters, such as time range, file type, and reading level, to refine their searches for more relevant results.

Maps and Local Information: Integrated with Google Maps, users can find local businesses, directions, and reviews easily.

Constantly Updated Algorithms: Google continuously refines its search algorithms, in its quest to improving the relevance and accuracy of search results. But it does not always result in relevance and accuracy.

Disadvantages:

Overwhelming Results: Sometimes, the sheer volume of search results can be overwhelming, making it challenging to find the most relevant information.

Quality Varies: Not all websites are reliable or accurate, so users must discern credible sources from misinformation.

Privacy Concerns: Google collects user data to personalize results and show targeted ads, raising privacy concerns for some users.

Filter Bubbles: Personalized search results may create a "filter bubble," where users are only exposed to information that aligns with their existing views, limiting exposure to diverse perspectives.

Ads and Sponsored Content: Paid advertisements and sponsored content can sometimes be difficult to distinguish from organic search results, potentially leading to confusion.

Language Model like ChatGPT:

Advantages:

Versatility: Language models like ChatGPT can assist with a wide range of tasks, from answering questions to generating text, coding, and more.


No Human Bias: They do not have personal biases, offering unbiased information and responses at least in theory. But many Large Language Models (LLM) still display racial bias and odd tendencies to hallucinate based on the data they had been trained with.

Learning and Adaptation: Continuously trained on vast datasets, they improve over time and adapt to new information and trends.
 Google doesn't parse books and sometimes this can result in shallow information as some times the contents of books may not be published in web pages. Large Language Models (LLM) may be trained on books to expand the scope of its knowledge.

Natural Language Understanding: Capable of understanding and generating human-like responses, making interactions more conversational and intuitive.

Educational Tool: Can be used for learning purposes, providing explanations, definitions, and explanations on various topics.

Disadvantages:

Lack of Emotional Intelligence: While language models can generate human-like responses, they lack emotional understanding and empathy, which can be important in certain interactions.

Misinformation: If not guided correctly, language models can generate or propagate misinformation, especially when trained on biased or inaccurate data.

Limited Context Understanding: They might struggle with complex contexts or nuanced understanding, leading to inaccurate or irrelevant responses.

Privacy Concerns: Like any online service, concerns about data privacy and security can arise, especially when sensitive information is shared.

Dependency Concerns: Over-reliance on language models for information or decision-making can reduce critical thinking and research skills in users.

Not Always Accurate: While generally reliable, language models can still produce errors, especially with ambiguous or complex queries.

Both Google Search Engine and language models like ChatGPT offer incredible advantages in accessing information and providing assistance. The choice between them often depends on the specific task, context, and user preferences regarding speed, depth of information, interactivity, and other factors.