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How to create special photo effects with a light stencil

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Find out how a light stencil can put Bambi -- or anything else you can dream up -- in your photos.
Find out how a light stencil can put Bambi -- or anything else you can dream up -- in your pictures. Photo: Janelle Pietrzak

Photography is all about light, and photographers are all about light painting. There are many tricks to try, from isolating objects with incandescence outside the frame to shining light directly at the camera as in Janelle Pietrzak’s Bambi series, created using light stencils.

Creating this interesting analog photo effect doesn’t require any special equipment, just a detachable flash, some craft materials and a lot of imagination.

Analog photo technique brings Bambi to life

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Always up to no good!
Always up to no good!

Splicing a cute little animal into a photograph doesn’t take more than a few seconds for anybody with a copy of Photoshop.

But Colorado artist Janelle Pietrzak spends hours cutting light stencils with a razor blade, then uses a shoebox and long-exposure photography to bring Bambi and other cuddly creatures to life inside her home.

“If you look at my photographs there is fantasy world full of mythical creatures, floating orbs, ghosts and goddesses, all created by manipulating light,” Pietrzak tells Cult of Mac. “The catch is that I hardly use any Adobe Photoshop. What you see in the images is basically what I saw on the back of my camera.”

Apple and old archrival IBM “fit like a puzzle,” says Tim Cook

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IBM and Apple used to be sworn enemies, but a lot has changed since the early days of the Macintosh and the PC race. Both companies have committed to making Apple software and hardware a one-stop shop for businesses in what some consider one of the “most important and powerful tech partnerships” ever.

In an interview with CNBC, Tim Cook and IBM CEO Virginia Rometty discussed their mutual excitement about the “landmark” partnership.

Apple’s new partnership with IBM will put iOS in the enterprise like never before

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Tim Cook with IBM CEO Ginni Rometty
Tim Cook with IBM CEO Ginni Rometty

Today Apple announced that it’s partnering with IBM to “transform enterprise mobility through a new class of business apps.” The relationship will combine IBM’s enterprise data specialties with Apple’s iOS hardware and software.

“iPhone and iPad are the best mobile devices in the world and have transformed the way people work with over 98 percent of the Fortune 500 and over 92 percent of the Global 500 using iOS devices in their business today,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook in a statement. “For the first time ever we’re putting IBM’s renowned big data analytics at iOS users’ fingertips, which opens up a large market opportunity for Apple. This is a radical step for enterprise and something that only Apple and IBM can deliver.”

There are four key areas that Apple will be working on with IBM:

Kim Kardashian’s stupid iOS game could make $200 million this year

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iOS users have proven they have an uncanny ability to waste obscene amount of coin on silly in-app purchases, and the latest tech-titan to cash in on all that spending is none other than reality star Kim Kardashian.

Kim launched her first iOS game at the end of June to surprisingly great reviews, but the bigger surprise is the mountain of cash Kardashian and developers Glu Mobile are about to make off of all the fans flocking to download a piece of Kim’s Hollywood life.

Apple finds new suppliers to solve battery issues with the iPhone 6

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The iPhone 6 isn’t expected to feature radical improvements in battery life, but that doesn’t mean Apple hasn’t had trouble making new batteries for the device. Since the next iPhone will be thinner than the current design, its battery needs to be thinner as well.

Apple has been having trouble with battery makers overseas meeting its specifications, but now it’s being reported that new suppliers have been brought on to solve the issues. The news highlights how diversifying its partners in the Asian supply chain continues to be Apple’s strategy moving forward.

iWatch could come in 3 sizes, but only 1 will have sapphire glass

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We’re still waiting to get our first glimpse of Apple’s upcoming smartwatch, but according to a new report, Apple is planning to release not one, not two, but three different models of the iWatch this fall.

Citing supply chain sources in China, the Economic Daily claims Apple will make the iWatch available by the end of 2014 with three different sizes to choose from, but you’ll probably want the fatty 1.8-inch unit, as it will supposedly be the most durable of the bunch.

PayPal’s iOS client now supports loyalty cards

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PayPal

Earlier today we reported on how Apple’s new iTunes Pass feature hints at Apple’s interest in mobile payments. However, Apple’s not the only company interested in this area.

Last night, PayPal updated its iOS client with one important new feature, allowing it to support loyalty cards. That means that PayPal’s app can become your one-stop-shop for payments and checkins for some of your favorite stores, including Starbucks, CVS, and others.

iTunes Pass offers sneak peek at Apple’s mobile payment service

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Apple has launched a new service called iTunes Pass in several countries, including Japan, Brazil and China.

The service lets customers buy iTunes Store credit from brick-and-mortar Apple retail stores — only using Passbook, rather than the physical gift cards most commonly used. The service appears to work by letting users add a new iTunes Pass inside the Passbook app, which they can then present at their local Apple Store. The user then states how much money they would like to turn into iTunes Store credit, and this is instantly transferred to their account.

A massive 90 percent of iOS devices now run iOS 7

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iOS 8 is just around the corner and, if the iOS 7 figures are any indicator, it’s likely to find near-total adoption.

Apple just released the latest figures for its current-generation operating system, saying iOS 7 is running on a massive 90 percent of devices. iOS 6, meanwhile, stands at just 9 percent, while earlier versions of iOS represent a minuscule 2 percent combined. iOS 7 was launched 10 months ago in September 2013, making it the fastest-adopted mobile OS in history.

New frontier for the sharing economy: attics and basements

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Jonathan Gillon, Co-Founder/CEO, of Roost
Jonathan Gillon, co-founder and CEO of Roost, wants to help you stash your stuff. Photo: Jim Merithew/Cult of Mac

SAN FRANCISCO — The latest innovation of the so-called sharing economy seems perfect for this city’s hypercompetitive rental market, where tiny apartments go for outrageous sums and space is at a premium.

Sort of like Airbnb for storage, new startup Roost connects people who need to stow some stuff — furniture, boxes of books, whatever — with individuals with room to spare in an attic or garage.

The company was founded by Jon Gillon, who came up with the idea after his older brother moved here from Texas with a Subaru full of stuff.

“We improvised,” Gillon told Cult of Mac. “I made room in my apartment in exchange for drinks and dinner. When his place was ready we were like, ‘This is a great idea.’ The light bulb went on.”

Goooooold! Beats rewards World Cup winners with 24-karat headphones

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Naomi Campbell rocks a pair of 24-carat Beats Pro headphones.
Naomi Campbell rocks a pair of 24-karat gold Beats Pros headphones.

The German champions may only get one World Cup trophy, but thanks to Beats Electronics, the team members will each get a complimentary pair of 24-karat gold Beats Pro headphones.

Having previously become the hit advertiser of the World Cup with its “Game Before the Game” ad (despite being banned from press events), Beats’ follow-up is a great marketing stunt. It also adds supermodel Naomi Campbell, who was photographed with the gold-dipped headphones and a similarly shiny soccer ball, to the list of high-end celebrities associated with Beats.

Ultratext is the easiest way to create and share fun GIFs on the iPhone

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Ultratext gif

I only recently got into the world of animated GIF memes, and that’s mainly thanks to a group of friends that like to inundate my iMessage with random stuff 24/7. Like any good millennial, I have some of my favorite GIFs saved in my Camera Roll to whip out at an appropriate time in a conversation.

Then there’s the world of making my own GIFs, which I have never had the slightest inclination to dabble in until I stumbled onto Ultratext, a relatively new app for the iPhone. After showing it to my techie and non-techie friends alike, it’s safe to say that Ultratext is the easiest and most fun way to create GIFs and share them in a matter of seconds.

iPhone 5s is world’s top smartphone, but phablets are on the rise

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Apple's 5.5-inch
Apple's 5.5-inch "phablet" iPhone 6 may start mass production in September.

The iPhone 5s is the number one smartphone in 35 countries around the world, according to new research conducted by Counterpoint Technology Market Research.

Samsung’s Galaxy S5 came in second followed by the S4, Note 3 phablet, and iPhone 5c at fifth place. With larger 4.7 and 5.5-inch iPhones on the horizon, Counterpoint notes that Apple will have another hit on its hands if it goes after the larger-screen smartphone market.

5 ways iCloud Drive will upgrade your life

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While iCloud has been a trusty storage companion for photos and documents, Apple’s recently announced iCloud Drive upgrades what we already know and love about the service. In today’s video, we take a look at five ways iCloud Drive will upgrade your life when Apple rolls out the enhanced service alongside iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite.

Subscribe to Cult of Mac TV on YouTube to catch all our latest videos.

Apple employees are least attractive among top tech firms

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Apple and Google may reign supreme as the top two tech companies in the U.S., but when it comes to attractiveness, Amazon and Microsoft employees are absolutely slaying them.

After crunching the numbers from its social-networking app for professionals, Hinge found that employees from Amazon are the most sought-after on network, topping both Google, Facebook and Microsoft, with Apple’s young professionals coming in dead last.

Sex Tape’s porn fiasco could never happen with iCloud, says Apple

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Apple appears in more movies each year than Samuel L. Jackson.

The latest flick to feature the company’s products is the new comedy, Sex Tape, in which Cameron Diaz and Jason Segal record an “adult home movie” on their iPad, only to accidentally upload it to the iCloud, so that all their friends and family get to see it. (Yep, it’s basically the American Pie joke, only stretched to fill an entire movie.)

While Apple’s inclusion in the film means that Cupertino is presumably happy with the script (the trailer even features an added reference to Siri), when GQ magazine contacted AppleCare to find out whether the described scenario could actually happen it was told that it is pretty much flat-out science-fiction.

You can win a lunch meeting with Apple’s Eddie Cue for only $10k

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Apple's Eddy Cue and Beats co-founder Jimmy Iovine sit in Walt Mossberg's famous red chairs to dish on Apple's Beats acquisition.
Apple's Eddie Cue and Beats cofounder Jimmy Iovine in Walt's famous red chairs to dish on Beats acquisition
Photo: Pete Mall, Re/code
Photo: Pete Mall/Re/code

 

Ever want to sit down with the guy at Apple who has basically been tasked to fix every disaster of the last five years? If you got more than ten grand to spare and love basketball this may be your lucky day, as CharityBuzz just opened a new auction lot that includes a one-hour paid lunch at Apple HQ with you, your friend, and Mr. Fixit Eddie Cue.

Apple wants Jimmy Iovine to reignite its marketing magic

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Jimmy Iovine, Tim Cook, Andre Young, and Eddie Cue. Photo: Apple
Jimmy Iovine, Tim Cook, Andre Young, and Eddie Cue. Photo: Apple
Photo: Apple

If there’s one thing we learned during the World Cup (other than ze Germans are relentlessly brilliant machines), it’s that Beats has some of the best damn marketing on the planet, and Apple really, really needs its help.

After getting tossed around by Samsung in the marketing ring the past few years,  the NYPost reports that Apple is looking to Beats co-founder Jimmy Iovine to help it reignite its marketing magic, even if it means cutting ties on its 30-year partnership with TBWA.

There’s more than one way to (allegedly) bribe a Libyan — think Apple laptop

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You might not think an Apple laptop is on the same level as a Cartier watch or an all-expenses-paid blowout in Morocco, but some authorities think different.

The laptop was mentioned in an international corruption investigation into whether brokers Tradition Financial Services ponied up big bucks to win the hearts (and the business accounts) of Libyan officials for investments that netted the firm millions.

Secret Apple partnership could give your iPhone weeklong battery life

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Toss out the li-ion and get ready for fuel-cell batteries.

The iPhone 6 isn’t expected to get a huge battery upgrade, but in just a few years your next iPhone might be able to go weeks on a single charge.

Apple and British fuel-cell firm Intelligent Energy have supposedly been working on a secret partnership, according to The Daily Mail, that might bring embedded fuel cells with weeks of battery life to Apple’s armada of MacBooks, iPhones and iPads.