JULY 25, 2023 UPDATE: A year long reshuffle, redesign and relaunch brings all Shot on iPhone content together under a new media asset umbrella and site icon.
The launch of Shot on iPhone Gallery in May of last year inspired a reimagined Drop Top Road Trips. A brand evolution that created two content streams: road trip posts and shooting on iPhone posts.
An idea that evolved into Shot on iPhone Toolbox the home for shooting on iPhone how to guides and idea galleries. And into Drop Top Media and the d: site icon, the new umbrella for all Drop Top Road Trips digital assets.
Plus a navigation update with a new Menu (click on the menu icon in the upper right corner to preview) and site-wide footer with links for easier navigation.
WRITTEN & PHOTOGRAPHED BY: Steve Holloway
Shooting on iPhone is one of my favorite subjects to write about. So much so that iPhone stories showed up pretty much everywhere throughout the Toolbox parent page, Drop Top Road Trips.
Shot on iPhone Toolbox, the new platform for all Shot on iPhone content, organizes all those stories, plus new posts, in an accessible format.
From personal work shooters to everyday shooters to business or blog owners who want to use images to develop a strong visual brand.
Toolbox is packed with how-to posts, galleries and ideas to use when you visualize and shoot portraits, landscapes, scenics, live action, still lifes, architectural, abstractions and assemblages.
From reference images to skill building guides that take a step by step, deep dive into involved processes. Plus Quick Read posts with insights into the process and tech data behind a single image.
Toolbox isn’t an iPhone “photography school”.
Those already exist.
Toolbox is an online home for images I create. And for posts written from a singular point of view. Posts that offer a perspective on shooting in today’s digital workflow. Posts you can use to decide if iPhone has a place in your camera kit or to add to your own ideas to change, improve, clarify or expand your work.
I hope you enjoy the Toolbox Quick Reads, deep dive how to guides and image idea galleries.
Drop Top Media and the d: site icon form the content umbrella for all Road Trip assets including our flagship, parent page Drop Top Road Trips with images and stories from the road, Shot on iPhone Toolbox the platform for all iPhone photography content with 27 skill building, process deep dive, how to guides and the image idea files Road Portraits with a focus on iPhone portraiture, one of my favorite disciplines and Shot on iPhone Gallery featuring iPhone landscapes, portraits, abstractions, assemblages and details.
May 17, 2022 UPDATE: New feature length section, Shot on iPhone Gallery.
FLAGSHIP POST: Stories include 30 images from the road, how an image shot 4 years before the first iPhone existed can be Shot on iPhone and a deep dive into making the case for Shooting on iPhone.
Shot on iPhone Gallery. Landscapes, portraits, abstractions, assemblages and details. Some are from past posts. Most are posted here for the first time. READ MORE
March 30, 2022 UPDATE: What we’re working on.
IN PROGRESS. Five stories featuring images from the road, authentic Texas barbecue, a track day for any driver in any car, easy fixes to keep your car looking great and resources that help keep you on the road.
February 28, 2022 UPDATE: New in Road Portraits, the definitive (we hope) Devil’s Backbone route.
NEW POST: The Devil’s Backbone run via River, Hugo and Purgatory Roads including a turn-by-turn map, a stop by the Wildflour Artisan Bakery & Grill and a bonus ending. READ MORE
Cookies and Cream Cheesecake from the Wildflour Bakery & Grill.
January 2, 2022. Happy New Year! After a short absence, we’re back with our first Blog Post of 2022.
So where have we been since November? Laptop hunting! After years of daily use, my 3rd GEN Lenovo ThinkPad needed a driver update that isn’t being made (current technology is 11th GEN so, understandably, 3rd GEN is no longer supported). Without this new driver my laptop was unable to find/connect to Wi-Fi. Some software wouldn’t run without a login handshake and I couldn’t download/upload images or logon to edit the blog site.
This started the process of finding a new laptop.
I wanted a Lenovo again since my 3rd GEN had performed so well for so long. I thought this would be an easy process since I new what I wanted and I’ve done this a few times before. I looked at refurbished laptop sellers first since I had found nice units this way in the past. Not now. Everything I found was 5th or 6th GEN, just a year or two newer and very likely to have the same problems my 3rd GEN had in the next year or two.
It took 3 weeks of looking at refurbished units to decide to spend just a little more and buy new.
It took another 2 weeks to find a supplier with the right combination of operating system and features to run Photoshop without having to do upgrades straight out of the box.
I got a Lenovo IdeaPad 11th GEN and started attaching accessories, loading software and getting used to a whole new muscle/touch memory.
Now we’re back. Back online and back with a new post, one I’ve been looking forward to writing and posting since October.
January 2, 2022 UPDATE: The Key To The Hills Rod Run 2021 Boerne Texas
NEW POST: The Key To The Hills Rod Run featured over 300 pre-1949 hot rods lining Boerne’s Main Street and Main Plaza. The Rod Run focuses on a pivotal time in auto history, giving us a glimpse into the American spirit of automotive ingenuity and inventiveness that was the start of car culture, Hot Rod magazine, the American Hot Rod Association and a string of very cool, very fast cars. READ MORE
1932 Deuce Coupe at The Key to the Hills Rod Run.
January 2, 2022 UPDATE: New links added speed up navigation.
Scroll to the bottom of any page and you’ll find we added a full set of links to every major section of Drop Top Road Trips to make it faster and easier to move from post to post.
We’ve also added external links making it easier to get where you want to go.
At the end of every post, look for the light blue External Links added to the hotels, restaurants and destinations we’ve visited making it easier to research and plan your next trip.
November 5, 2021 UPDATE: New feature page, Road Portraits plus architecture updates completed.
PREMIER POST: Road Portraits stories include Brance Arnold and Sonic Radio at Koozies Ice House & Grill, Fellow Traveler Walt at the Lighthouse Inn.
Portraiture is one of my favorite disciplines. With Road Portraits, I’m bringing portraits to Drop Top Road Trips. Premier Post stories feature Music From the Road and a Return to the Beach plus The Story Behind Road Portraits and Shot on iPhone (Yes, iPhone). READ MORE
We’ve also completed changes to make it easier for you to navigate our Blog Posts by going to a one-story to one-page “architecture”. READ MORE
August 27, 2021 UPDATE: New feature section, Travel News, plus site navigation architecture updates.
We’ve taken some time to write, design and launch our newest addition to Drop Top Road Trips: Travel News. We’re also in the process of changing our primary Blog posting “architecture” to make it easier for you to navigate our posts (still in-progress, more on this soon).
August 27, 2021 UPDATE: Travel News is now online featuring stories taken from what we’re reading about trends, routes and cars.
NEW POSTS: Where to see the world’s biggest convenience store (if you go soon); the Travel+Leisure top 50 destination list (guess where two of them are); the Bullitt Mustang sells at auction for a record amount; plus a look at 3 road story related books (starting with the first road trip taken before anything resembling what we call roads existed); and the Road+Track driving shoe recommendations (if you’re like me, you’ll be surprised at who made the number 2 slot. READ MORE
June 23, 2021 UPDATE: The Texaco Dr. Pepper Tioga Dublin Connection.
NEW POST: Visiting the bottling company that bottled the first Dr. Peppers I ever had to relive the childhood memories of my Grandmother’s home and my Uncle’s Texaco Station. READ MORE
May 25, 2021 UPDATE: The Palestine, Tyler, Waco blog trilogy is complete.
NEW POSTS: The third installment of Palestine, Rusk, Tyler, Waco completes this central Texas road trip. In Part 1 we rode the vintage Texas Railroad. In Part 2 we retraced a favorite motorcycle route turned road run from Palestine to Tyler. And, in this final installment, we head on to Waco to explore where to stay, where to eat and what to do in this iconic town. READ MORE
APRIL 3, 2021 UPDATE: More content, more options, major updates.
We’ve made some (ok, maybe a lot) of changes to feature stories, road trip tips, navigation, design and email alerts plus a new blog post.
To paraphrase Picasso, “the idea of finishing a work is nonsense.”
Cha-Cha-Changes.
I’ve found two things to always be true: 1) A work is never finished (Picasso was right) and 2) A work talks to you, tells you where it needs to go and what you need to do to get there.
After finishing the last pages and updates to go live with Drop Top Road Trips, I sat it aside for a couple of weeks.
When I came back to it, I found what I expected to find with a project that has so many “moving parts” (images, content, design, infographics, logos, navigation). I found it could use a little work.
I made notes (a few hundred notes) and dug in. Here are the highlights, the main changes:
I’ve added a whole new opening to the About page that discusses why I think it’s the most important page on any blog (and why you should care). READ MORE
I’ve made Road Trip Tips easier to get to, posting them here (instead of in an email newsletter) with 12 tips to get more out of your next road trip. READ MORE
I’ve also made Road Story easier to get to. Now it’s here on our main blog pages (instead being a email newsletter).
It features stories on travel trends, road trip ideas, car culture and the story behind the images and stories from the road. Our current issue includes:
Are You a Part of Car Culture? (Even if you don’t think you are, you just might be.) READ MORE
About Our Images From the Road. A cards on the table look at how I use images. READ MORE
Influences. Who has had an influence on your life? This is a look at people who’s work and working methods influenced me in the past and even through today. READ MORE
