When I take my mountain bike out on the trails, besides getting a good workout, it relaxes me. For me it's a mindful experience being out in nature with only me, the bike, and the trail.

However, because I live in Colorado, when the snow starts falling my bike finds residence in my garage until the sun starts shining again, I can shed my North Face coat, and the trails start drying out.

During the winter, I usually find myself hanging out on the couch instead of getting the exercise I need. I absolutely hate going to the gym. 

So, that's why I was happy to hear about a fellow Colorado resident who developed an app designed to quiet the mind and make working out at the gym like being outdoors.

For our family vacation next year, we've decided to take a trip to Costa Rica. I know it's still 10 months away, but I'm already dreaming of gorgeous beaches and zip lining through the jungles.

The problem is, most of our vacations have been to English-speaking destinations. So I've decided to learn Spanish.

Besides a one-year course in high school (which was a long time ago) and words I've picked up here and there by living in the Southwestern United States, I am not even close to communicating with someone whose only language is Spanish.

Before you invest in a fancy macro lens for your iPhone, you may want to try this do-it-yourself project first.  

Here's what you'll need:

1. An old point-and-shoot camera (to harvest a lens);

2. Kneaded Rubber Eraser (from stationery or art supply store);

3. Super Glue.

Here's the camera I purchased at a local thrift store ($1.99).

This article is intended for advanced photographers and, of course, programmers.

As an imaging and iOS programming pro (see my latest Nokia Lumia 1020-specific article), people often ask me about the photo and video capabilities of iOS. While I'm currently working on no less than four major tutorials & roundups (panorama, HDR, low-light, and action shooting) I'll publish in the near future, I've decided to dedicate a “quick” separate article to a forum question HERE. Note that my HDR (High Dynamic Range) shooting article will build on the information in this article so that advanced users know how exposure compensation can be done in the best way on iOS.

Note that I'm discussing both bracketing and, generically, exposure compensation. The former is based on the latter—you generally shoot more than one exposure-compensated shot to get a bracketed series of shots, typically, for future (HDR etc.) processing. This also means that, as long as you understand what exposure compensation is, you'll also easily understand what bracketing is.