The Retrica app offers a variety of filters to capture in pictures countless experience and senses that we feel moment to moment. I have used filters that express a diversity of color impressions, and I could figure out what differentiates a filter from the others the moment I use it. If this is the case, then Retrica must have filters that express light in plenty of ways as it is devoted to studying shades, colors and lights. I couldn’t easily tell which filters do the job best. Maybe I have been using such filters all the time, but I have been indifferent to the subtle changes of light.
Left – regular camera photo, right – tick-tock filter applied from the Phonetic pack
Among Retrica’s many filters, Silver, Phonetic and Superb packages place a focus on light. The Silver package contains 10 black-and-white filters. They are all black and white but can make the tone of a picture softer or sharper through light adjustment. You will figure out the characteristics of the pack immediately when you use the filters in this package. So, today, I will introduce the Phonetic and Superb packages with which you can enjoy mysterious changes brought about by varying combinations of lights and colors.
Superb – fantastic mixes of lights and colors
Filters allow you to change colors or adjust lighting to complete pictures in ways that catch your fancy. Then wouldn’t I be able to make a picture feel more natural but richer in feeling if I use a filter that changes both light and color at the same time? Superb, one of Retrica’s filter packs, allows you to soften the tone of a picture by changing its colors and also changing light to suit the color changes.
Above – regular camera photo, below – Fridge filter applied from the Superb pack
Let me explain it in more detail. Suppose you put a filter on a picture and it changes only the colors. It may happen that a few colors are covered in achromatic colors or changed to completely different ones. The Superb filters apply certain colors and adjust light to suit the colors. Consequently, the filter upgrades all the colors and characteristics in the photo instead of burying some of the colors. Red colors get combined with a light that makes red redder and more beautiful, while green colors become fresher and more appealing.
Left – regular camera photo, middle – Gainsboro filter from the Superb pack applied.
The intensity was adjusted as shown on the right side.
This is why the Superb filters are most effective when you take pictures of scenery, sunsets or sunrises. I visited the Seoul Arts Center (SAC) a few days ago. It rained into the morning, so it was heavily overcast, with dark clouds not clearing yet. I applied the Gainsboro filter from the Superb pack on the picture I took on that day. A subtle light permeated the picture, which was covered in a light gray color. Gainsboro was perfect for creating a picture suffused with melancholy.
Left – regular camera photo, right – Verdial filter from the Superb pack applied.
After visiting an exhibition at the SAC, I moved to a nearby tea room. The entrance to this tea room combined with a theater was filled with plants, which looked neat and fresh from the morning rain. To bring out the freshness of the lush green plants on the red brick building, I used the Verdial filter of the Superb pack. I could see that the filter spiced up the mood created by the antique building and wet plants.
Phonetic, a package of soft and vintage filters, is my ultimate bias.
Phonetic has seven filters in total, each of which is unique and attractive, and it is my favorite filter pack. The Phonetic filters give a warm and tranquil feel that you would only get from a typical Japanese movie. None of the seven filters is less appealing, so I use all of them frequently. The Phonetic filters go well with diverse types of pictures, including your pets, food, travels, selfies and records of daily life, as they emphasize delicate color impressions and vintage feels.
Above – regular camera photo, below – Ahoy filter from the Phonetic pack applied.
I took a picture of cranberrybush viburnum (Viburnum sargentii) flowers blooming here and there in downtown Seoul in the summer and put the Ahoy filter from the Phonetic pack. Unlike the realistic but dull original, the Ahoy-filtered flowers express the delicate and moist early summer vividly. A faint and dim mood, as in a movie scene where your favorite characters recollect old memories, is another feature of the Phonetic pack.
Left – regular camera photo, right – Yeehaw filter from the Phonetic pack applied.
Lately, I took a picture of my dog that was nice and clean after her first grooming. For this picture, I used Yeehaw, another Phonetic filter. It instantly gave a warm and lovely feel to the picture. I usually take many pictures of my dog, and I use the filters contained in the Phonetic package often because they make the rather dull pictures of my dog into softer and gentler ones.
Left – regular camera photo, right – Flutter filter from the Phonetic pack applied.
I used Phonetic filters also at the tea room that I visited after watching the exhibition. I shot the afternoon tea combo that I ordered, but the photo did not turn out as good as seen with the naked eyes, because the café was located in the basement that did not let in natural light. But using the Flutter filter from the Phonetic pack, I could record a tea time with an antique and classic feel. I cannot help but love the Phonetic filters as they allow me to correct various types of photos with diverse combinations of delicate color impressions and gentle lights!
The filters I introduced today affect the overall tone of a picture and create a special mood with a focus on light. The more often you use them, the more you will appreciate their appeals. I believe that you will get life-defining pictures someday – so great that you would let out a wow! As you use the Retrica filters, you can find your own style. So I open up Retrica again today to capture precious moments of my life.
Retrica Insight 