The Prisma Picture
Everyone's going a little crazy over a free app called Prisma. It's an iPhone app though you can force-use it on the iPad. Android users will have to cool their heels.
Prisma is a one-touch photo filter app — and there are many of them. But this one has completely unusual artistic looks that mimic famous artists. You either shoot a photo or pick one from your camera roll. Then go through the train of filters and stop at the one you absolutely love. You have a slider to adjust the intensity of the effect, and nothing stops you from saving an effected photo and putting a second filter on top of that. It makes amusing work of selfies. If you've missed out on this enjoyable app, try it out, not just with your own photo but of things around. But make sure you don't download a fake Prisma.
Lost In Dreamscope
Like prisma, dreamscope is based on Google's Deep Dream visualisation. Somewhere, neural networks and artificial intelligence are involved. The transformations you get are stunning and again, based on patterns from famous painters. Dreamscope is a free app on the Apple App Store but you can also access it on the web at dreamscopeapp.com.
Dreamscope is more than Prisma because it is also a social network like Instagram. But only for results from the Dreamscope technology. You can choose to 'paint' and post publicly, or just have a look privately.
As you browse through thousands of artworks from others, you can try a filter on your own uploaded image. It takes a while, but just watch the transformation when it's done. I didn't have much luck with my face, but people seem to look pretty good.
Watercolour Wonder
An app that doesn't really go into complex science to artify your image is Waterlogue, also on the App Store. Sadly, the best art and photo apps are on iOS and some never make it to Android.
Waterlogue has a set of filters for you to apply to your images. It works better on objects and scenes rather than on people. Give the app a moment and it creates a watercolour painting. There are some images given with the app that you can use. Most of all, Waterlogue will make lovely work of holiday photos with lots of landscapes.
There are twelve filters to use and you can adjust the intensity and brightness to some extent. You can also choose to use a border, but there are no choice of borders. Despite its limitations, the results are enjoyable.
BW Reporters
Mala Bhargava has been writing on technology well before the advent of internet in Indians and before CDs made their way into computers. Mala writes on technology, social media, startups and fitness. A trained psychologist, she claims that her understanding of psychology helps her understand the human side of technology.
