I love black and white films that have small, bright splashes of individual colors. There is something so compelling about islands of dazzling color in a sea of gray. ColorSplash ($1.99) is an iPhone app that allows you to create that effect in your photographs.
The app works by converting any image in your photo library (or one that you snap on the fly through the app) to black and white and then allowing you to selectively add color back to key areas. My first attempt was to edit a close-up picture of my youngest child. She has blue eyes that I thought would pop right out of the picture. Unfortunately, her eyes were just a wee bit too light to really pop.
My second try was a picture of the girls with Santa. As you can see, Santa's red suit jumps right out of the sea of gray. I think I would be happier with the shot if there was a tiny splash of red somewhere else in the photo, but all in all, it's a good picture considering it was done with a camera phone.
The user interface is easy to pick up. Zooming and moving around the picture works as you would expect. There are two buttons - one to convert to black and white - one to restore the color. Click the desired button, and then paint the area with your finger. Color appears or disappears as desired. It brings to mind the paint with water books from my childhood.
With the right photographs, this application can produce some stunning effects. I believe it was $2 well spent, and I look forward to playing with it some more.
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