Hi Jan,

I am sort of in a learning curve myself with the Photo Stream as I feel many are. There is not much data out there from what I can find on how this works. Now Apple does have some information posted here: http://www.apple.com/icloud/features/photo-stream.html which may answer some of your questions.

From what I understand this Photo Stream is up and above your allocated space (5GB). I could be wrong on this but that is the way I understand it.

Now I have been fooling with the iPhone 4S taking some images. I have it setup that all photos taken with the iPhone end up in Aperture 3 and on the iPad. The first time I did it Aperture setup a Project on its own with the current month (Oct 2011 Photo Stream). Photos also ended up in a Library called “Photo Stream”. Waiting to see what happens in the next couple of days when the month changes to November. I assume it will start a new Project and name it “Nov 2011 Photo Stream”.

Now one thing I did find out is if you import to your library from a camera or SD card (CompactFlash) are automatically uploaded to your Photo Stream. Meaning if you do a lot of shooting like I do, you could hit the 1000 fairly fast. Now you are able to turn this Photo Stream off within Aperture.

One item of this Photo Stream I do not like is you are unable to delete images you do not want in the Stream. I like many have taken a shot by mistake with the iPhone and they end up in the Stream. The only way I found to delete was to reset your Photo Stream via the iCloud. That removes all imagers from the Photo Stream. So be careful if you use that option. Maybe in the further you will be able to delete single images.

But anyway maybe others will post on there working with Apple’s iCloud Photo Stream.

Best,

Stu

The Photo Stream container (with the yellow flower) in the top left of the Aperture library inspector I believe shows ALL of the photos in your cloud/ stream. You cannot delete them one by one, although you can likely delete them all*.

Aperture also creates Projects (named ‘Mmm YYYY Photo Stream’), and imports photos from the cloud/ stream into them, based on an images exif create date (I assume). Open the activity window in Aperture before it starts a Photo Stream update … it seems to do heaps of stuff.

I believe that the photos in the Aperture Projects are (‘managed’) copies of what’s in your cloud/ stream, and as such you can manage these as you please (including making them ‘referenced’, using File/ Relocate Master).

It would also make sense then - an assumption - that if and when one hits their 30 day/ 1,000 image limit, the cloud/ stream will be updated (assume a first in/ first out deletion by Apple’s servers?), BUT THAT THE IMAGES IN THE APERTURE PROJECTS WILL NOT BE TOUCHED … they’re ours, not Apples.

So, as I write this, there are 51 photos in my Photo Stream container in Aperture (I’ve got UPload from Aperture turned off but DOWNload turned on … so the Photo Stream only contains photos from my iPhone, not my other cameras). There are 44 images in my ‘Oct 2011 Photo Stream’, and 1 in my ‘Nov 2011 Photo Stream’. Thus I’m short 6 photos compared to my Photo Stream container because I’ve deleted these from the projects.

* On “you can likely delete them all”, another assumption is that if you reset your Photo Steam, your Photo Stream collection of images will no longer exist - the cloud/ stream will be empty. Assuming the images are still on your iPhone (less any that you wanted to delete!!!!), on recreation of your Photo Stream all will be uploaded again. Then you would have a Photo Stream that contains only the photos you want there … will a lot of faffing and internet usage to get it that way. It will be much better when Apple gives us the ability to delete individual photos.

My two cents worth anyway …

Steve

Jan & Steve

Just a follow-up as I was wondering what would happen when the month changes when taking photos with the iPhone 4S. This morning I took some photos with the iPhone 4S. Checking Aperture 3 I found that a new Project was created (Nov 2011 Photo Stream). Really cool as I did not have to do anything. So now I know each month Photo Stream creates a new Project.

Now like Steve I also have Upload turned off. I do not feel I need to have all images that I take on an assignment show up in the iCloud when uplaoding from the card reader. Of course if I ever need to use this feature for an assignment I could always turn it on. Also hoping a feature will be added where you will be able to delete individual photos from the iCloud.

Over all it is pretty cool how this iCloud with Photo Stream works with the iPhone 4S, iPad 2 and MacBook Pro (Aperture 3).

Best,

Stu

Hey guys.
I am currently working with Joseph to provide extra features to the Photo Stream via AppleScript. As of now I’ve written an app that runs in the background and detects when new images are downloaded from the stream. When a new photo arrives, it automatically selects and displays that image in Aperture.

Would any of you guys be interested in something like this? A lot more is possible, including but not limited to copying photos to custom folders/projects, applying presets and such. I wrote the app for myself because I thought it would be cool to shoot a picture on my iPhone and have it automatically displayed in full screen in Aperture a few seconds later.

Anyway, let me know if you think this worth releasing as it is or if you have ideas for further improvements.

Morten

Morton & Joseph,

This AppleScript sounds interesting. I could see this leading into something worth wild. If I understand you correctly the image would show up in full screen via aperture? I do like the idea that you could setup Project in advance on where your images go weather then a date Project. Now if only the DSLR could work the same way the iPhone does with the iCloud along with Photo Stream. I am sure it may happen somewhere in the future.

Now since many here are using the iPhone 4S, Derrick Story of the Digital Story Website had a link to a free App call: Gorilla Cam http://joby.com/gorillacam
It is pretty cool as it allows you to take a 3-Shot Burst along with Anti-shake and many more features. I tested this free App today and I found it to work well. I tested the Burst mode and almost as fast as I shot the images they showed up in Aperture 3 (MacBook Pro) and on my iPad via Photo Stream. You can also do a Time-lapse using this App. Of course if you want to do some of these Time-lapse you would most likely need something like a Gymbi tripod: http://www.youbiq.com/site/gymbl/

There are becoming so many possibilities with this new iPhone 4S with iCloud and Photo Stream it is amazing.

Best,

Stu

Hi Everyone,

What a great thread!

My problem with Photostream has already been mentioned - that is, the uploading of shots from your iPhone that you don’t want there - blurred etc.

As a workaround, I am shooting on my phone with a third party app such as “Camera+”, which holds all images in it’s own lightbox until you actually “save” the photo - at that point it is sent to the Camera Roll, which will be uploaded to Photostream. So, I review images in Camera+, touch up any I like then save, and only those which are saved, end up on the camera roll and photo stream.

Cheers

Darryn

Hey I like your idea Joseph “However that doesn’t mean you can’t add a single or a handful of photos to your Photo Stream. You can just drag photos into the Photo Stream “album”, or select the photo(s) and click the Photo Stream button on the menu bar” … I’d missed that option.

Here’s something clever. If you rename the Monthly Stream Project that Apple creates in your library, say from ‘Oct 2011 Photo Stream’ to ‘2011-11 Photo Stream’, new photos sync’d from iCloud are still correctly added to the renamed Project. I was guessing when I tested it that it would create a new Project with the ‘Oct 2011 …’ name, but it was smart enough not to.

I also note that images from iCloud are automatically tagged with keyword ‘Photo Stream’, so Joseph, that could be useful with your smart album discussed above, oui?

Steve

I used borderFX to add a text box to some photos, and I noticed Photostream won’t upload them, saying it’s an unsupported format or too large.

Joseph,

From what I understand the iCloud (Photo Stream) can’t handle PSD or TIF format. It will only handle JPG format. I think the reason could be the file size with PSD or TIF could be very large. Most iPhone 4S images are only about 2 to 3MB from what I have ended up with my testing. I think it has to do with how much information it gets when you take the shot with the iPhone 4S.

Stu

Hey Guys,

very interesting thread. Just one more observation: when importing via USB (I usually don’t use USB any more because of the WiFi sync) in order to get your movies into Aperture 3, it will tell you, that it only imported pictures, that haven’t been previously synced via photo stream. I thought it was a nice touch.

Adrian

Joseph,

Well it looks like iCloud (Photo Stream) supports JPEG, TIFF, PNG, and most RAW photo formats. After doing a number of searches I found the following via the Apple Website: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4486 (Updated: Oct. 22, 2011)

Below is just part of what is posted there:

What resolution are my Photo Stream photos?

On your Mac or PC, your photos are downloaded and stored in full resolution. On your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and Apple TV, your Photo Stream photos are delivered in a device-optimized resolution that speeds downloads and saves storage space. While actual dimensions will vary, an optimized version of a photo taken by a standard point-and-shoot camera will have a 2048 x 1536 pixel resolution when pushed to your devices.

What photo formats does Photo Stream support?

Photo Stream supports JPEG, TIFF, PNG, and most RAW photo formats.

If you view http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4486 a number of your questions should be answered about iCloud (Photo Stream).

Best,

Stu

One simple thing I think Apple overlooked with the functionality of Photostream in Aperture is… creating new projects. All I simply want to do is: select a series of photos in my Photostream, right click “create New Project”, name thus project and move on.

I guess I could split the auto projects that Aperture can create with Photostream “November 2011,” etc, but I’d rather just skip the step of importing photos I don’t want to begin with.

This link from TUAW may be helpful.

Deep Dive: Aperture and Photo Stream How Do They Work?

Maxim’s post prompted me to conduct this experiment: I rebuilt my Aperture database (hold option+command while doubleclicking on the Aperture library icon, and then select the middle option).

The lost pictures were there when Aperture opened! Not in their original locations, but in a newly created folder called “Recovered Folder.” This is better than nothing….so thanks, Maxim! This is one workaround I can live with until Apple hopefully discovers the issue and fixes it.

Version 3.2.2 out. The release notes declare this problem to be fixed :)

Yep, can confirm that -> bug fixed! :)

This might be slightly off-topic, but has anyone figured out how to keep some photos from actually getting into the photostream?

I do want most photos in the photostream so they get into aperture effortlessly, however, some photos are for purposes like sending a paper receipt to a place like onereceipt. I just want to shoot, and send it as an email, and NOT have it go to the photostream.

Ideally I’d also like to keep it on the phone until I know that the email has been received and processed.

Any ideas on this?

Rick,

Use a third party app to take photos you don’t want in photostream. My favorite is Camera+. The app can store photos outside the camera role until you save to the roll. They then stay out of photostream until/unless you save.

Something I’ve notice and like is when I via USB my iPhone or iPad to download (I do this mainly for the unsupported videos in Photostream) it will import what I want and where I want but I get a notice asking me if I want to delete the photos that have already been added via Photostream from my device. This is great as it removes and frees up space on the device and stops duplicates of photos in both the camera roll and photostream.

Only issue is I do like to keep some downloaded videos. Short work around is I created an album of video I want and sync the device via iTunes.

Once Photostream allowed the addition of video problem solved.

Joseph –

Thank you for the in-depth look. I feel I am either experiencing an unfortunate bug, or I am misunderstanding how Photostream fundamentally works with Aperture.

I’ve been using Photostream since it came out for both my iPhone photos and for my DSLR photos that I import onto my iPad via USB (which then uploads those photos to Photostream). My understanding was that as these photos are uploaded to Photostream, once I open Aperture (and once I ensure that the “Automatic Import” option is checked), it will download the photographs so they reside, locally, in my Aperture library.

This does not seem to be happening, though.

Photostream is creating the default projects in my library and seems to download the photos to them (“Oct 2011 Photo Stream”, “Nov 2011 Photo Stream”). But, when these same photos are bumped out of my iCloud Photostream due to the 1000-image limit, they <u>are also being removed from my Aperture library</u>, whether they are in those default monthly photostream projects, or whether I have moved them to another project. From everything I can tell, they have been imported – and reside – in my library… until they are unceremoniously yanked.

Thankfully, I realized behavior before I deleted any masters from my card or iDevice. But, as I am having difficulty finding other people with the same issue (even on Apple’s on forums), I figured I’d ask for help from the experts – namely, you.

Am I doing something wrong? Is there something I’m missing?

Thanks for the help.

Derrick Story of the Digital Story Website posted an interesting podcast today “Photo Stream” - Digital Photography Podcast 299 (11/08/11) about Photo Stream. He came up with an interesting concept of using Photo Stream with iPhoto as a reservoir and Aperture 3.2.1 as a filter. It is a free 31 minute podcast audio that you may like listen to. He goes over a number of features using Photo Stream.

Stu

Joseph –

That is correct. Photos that I assumed to be imported to the “Oct 2011 Photo Stream” were disappearing as they were removed from the 1000-limit Photo Stream. I even moved images out of those projects and into new ones, with the hope that they would remain in the library (thinking, perhaps the default project and the photo stream were linked somehow), but those files too, are disappearing.

I can’t imagine why this is happening, as it seems to be working exactly opposite of the software’s intention. At first I wondered if it had something to do with the fact that I was pushing my DSLR photos up to Photo Stream through my iPad – but whether the photos were taken with my DSLR or with my iPhone, they disappear just the same.

I’d love to hear any suggestions from anyone or if anyone else has had a similar issue. Photo Stream sounded so promising, since it would save me the trouble of having to manually sync my phone and DSLR with aperture to import everything… but (for me at least), it hasn’t turned out that way.

On the subject of deleting images from the stream… I have taken to just ignoring them. I delete them from the monthly album, and after the 30/1000 limit, they take care of themselves. I do wish there was a way to import video thru the stream. They are probably excluded due to their (potential) size. The stream does not count towards the 5gb limit…

I was also a little uncomfortable not using a “backup location” when importing. i have an external drive i was using to keep offline copies of all images “just in case”.

Had to learn the same surprising behavior! But is this really intended to be like that?

Joseph,

Exactly! I can reproduce it easily: I take a picture with my iPhone in front of Aperture looking at my “Oct 2011 Photostream” and after approximately 30 seconds the new photo has been inserted into the photostream as well into the “Nov 2011 Photostream” but I have witnessed the oldest photo in the “Oct 2011 Photostream” to be deleted! It just disappeared!!
Shall I try to make a video of it?

Hello - new user here.

I also see the behavior that’s been more recently described in this thread. I hit my 1000 cap in my photo stream today. When I took picture #1001, picture #1 in my stream disappeared, AS EXPected. But, to my horror, that same picture (a picture of my newborn son, I hasten to add, that I liked) that had been sitting in “Oct 2011 Photostream” also vanished. I experimented around by moving some remaining pictures from “Oct 2011 Photostream” to other projects, and such photos started disappearing when I took more pictures with my iPhone.

I’m at a loss. This is -not- how I had come to understand how photo stream worked when interacting with Aperture. I thought that once auto-imported into “Oct 2011 Photostream” and now “Nov 2011 Photostream” those pics would be safe forever. They’re not :-/

I’ve stopped taking pics with my iPhone until I understand further. Is it something I’m doing wrong, or is there a bug in the code?

Hi there

I just finished a short video of the process, see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AQssJZjJzo

Thanks for the video. As I’ve already mentioned, this is exactly my problem.

I am a relatively recent convert to Aperture. In fact, until early November, I had been using iPhoto with photo stream. Is it possible that the fact that my October 2011 pictures were auto-imported into a project called “Oct 2011 Photo Stream” back in October (a project which no longer exists in iPhoto, which I no longer use) somehow screwing things up for me now that I’m using Aperture? I know I’m grasping at straws here.

I forgot to mention that Camera+ can directly share via email, twitter, and Facebook without using the camera roll and Photo Stream.

IOS5.1 beta 2 adds single photo deletion from photo stream. Cross your fingers and hope it makes it to the released version.

http://www.macrumors.com/2011/12/12/apple-seeds-ios-5-1-beta-2-to-develo…

Hi I was wondering how photos I did not take end up on my photostream. I looked the other day and there is one there of a strange man I have never seen before in my life! This scared me and I wonder how it got there? Any help would be gratefully received. Thank you.

I love the tangential function of this thread - it has been a great education in all aspects of the photo stream functionality. Everyone was helpful and the links were great.

The scary guy at the end was a great plot twist as well.