By Meredith Birkett and Jim Seida, NBC News

"I drove by that tree for 19 years and never took a single frame of it,” photographer Mark Hirsch told NBC News.  The tree, a massive oak, is on his way home, along a country road in southwest Wisconsin.

Mark Hirsch

L to R: Jan. 20, Hirsch's first photo of the tree; March 14, still ten days before the official start of the project; Day 19, April 11

But one day when a friend challenged Hirsch to try out the camera on his new iPhone 4S, he stopped his truck and trudged 500 yards through the snow to make his first picture of the tree (left frame, above). Surprised by the image quality - despite being used to professional gear – he showed the pictures to another friend who told him it could be a cool project if he did more.

Mark Hirsch

Day 184, Sept. 23

Hirsch committed to taking a picture of the tree every day for a year and posted the images on Instagram and Facebook. Fast forward 190+ days and Mark Hirsch has captured seemingly every angle and every kind of light that could hit this tree which stands out from the surrounding cornfield. Doing so is not without effort, though. He’s woken his wife with the alarm clock to be ready for dawn light at 4:30 in the morning. On another day when the light just never seemed to get good, he jumped up mid-salad during dinner to take a picture when the sun finally broke through the clouds.

Mark Hirsch

Day 101, July 2

As much as Hirsch depends upon good light to make beautiful images, he's not afraid of the dark. From Hirsch's Instagram feed: "During dusk one evening the lightning bugs were coming out and I wanted to capture their sporadic bursts of light. The iPhone camera really doesn't allow for times exposures so I utilized another app, SlowShutter, which essentially stacks video frames into a single image.  The resulting photo (above) doesn't have the sharp resolution of a still frame image but I think it produces an interesting effect regardless.

There are days when Hirsch struggles to come up with something fresh. On those days, he tries a few tricks, like taking a different path toward the tree, or taking a closer look, which helped him discover a moth almost perfectly camouflaged against the bark. Or he'll lay down on his back and get a new perspective looking straight up. (below)

Mark Hirsch

Day 119, July 20

Mark Hirsch

Day 123, July 24

“It’s kind of funny," Hirsch says, "If someone was off in a corner watching me they’d think I was some crazy guy because I’m all alone. It’s kind of my one on one time with this silly tree.”

Hirsch is a professional photographer, doing both commercial and editorial work. Despite the occasionally stressful sprints home from his assignments to get a shot done before day’s end he says, “Those expeditions are actually some of the most relaxing and rewarding moments in my day.” Hirsch's German Wirehaired Pointer 'Magnum' (below) frequently and enthusiastically joins him on his photographic expeditions to the tree.

Mark Hirsch

Day 137, Aug. 7

The social networking of Hirsch's project has fostered other connections as well.  Childhood friend Lora Kohnlein, who now lives in Henderson, Colo.,  found his project on Facebook and decided to pay a visit to the tree when she was visiting her hometown. From Hirsch's Instagram feed:  "...I had a fun time early this morning introducing Lora Kohnlein and her sons Duggan and Patrick to that tree. The boys and I climbed the tree, examined dozens of bugs and discussed the finer points of the video game angry birds. Thanks boys for inspiring me to see things like a kid again!"

Mark Hirsch

Day 111, July 2

The massive tree, whose trunk Hirsch says is more than two grown men’s arm lengths around, is not as fixed as it might appear. Arable land in the area is in high demand because the price of corn is so high.  A bulldozer operator was working to expand some farmland nearby and asked the farm’s owner if he’d like the giant oak taken down too. The farmer, Tim Clare, replied, “That tree’s been there for over two hundred years.  I’m not the guy that’s gonna push it over.”

Through the project, Hirsch has gained a new environmental awareness.“ I would not label myself an environmentalist, but I have always had a grand appreciation for the environment. My relationship with “that tree” has awakened a new-found vision, and appreciation for the fragility of our world and our need to embrace a more sustainable use of our resources.”

Mark Hirsch

Day 149, Aug. 19

Mark Hirsch

Day 71, June 2

Hirsch has been surprised by the public appreciation of what is at its core, a simple idea. He has an exhibit currently showing in Dubuque. He hopes to publish a book. You can get near-daily updates on the “That Tree” Facebook page or by following @blockhouseroller on Instagram (both iPhone and Android).

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Courtesy of Hannah Dorsey

Instagram filters were used to process this image, taken by an iPhone.

Texans were active on a variety of social networks today, tracking and commenting on the tornadoes ripping through the Dallas area. On Instagram, the photography social network for iPhone, iPad and just released for Android, the hashtag #tornado was busy with pictures of tornado damage, funnel clouds, TV screens and self portraits ranging from goofy "oh no!" faces to genuine concern as they braced for the worst.

Several users posted pictures from schools where students and faculty gathered in hallways, locker rooms and maybe even a bathroom to try and stay safe from the storms. Hannah Dorsey's image, above, and her "Tornado lockdown..." caption caught my attention, so we asked her about the experience of having tornadoes near her school, Bishop Lynch High School, located in Dallas, Texas.

Hannah writes to msnbc.com:

"I was in third period doing assignments online for my class when the Dean of Students came over the intercom, issuing a tornado warning. He instructed us to quietly evacuate the classrooms to the nearest hallway or safe place and assume the safety procedures that we had practiced just yesterday.

My teacher followed us into the hallway and shut the door behind us. All the students sat along the walls with their faces turned towards the lockers, with hands over their heads. We were told to remain quiet and to listen for instructions. I was nervous but I knew we were safe. Our other Dean of Students entered my hallway and announced that the weather conditions were becoming increasingly worse and that the power will most likely go out. As he walked away murmurs arose and the teachers began to hush everyone, saying it would be fine. We sat there for about an hour after that. The lights flickered a few times but never went out and we did a few fun things to pass the time and keep everyone calm.

At one point we could see the rain through the window at the end of the hall and the rain was being blown hard enough to make it seem the rain was falling horizontally. We were given an update on the weather about every twenty minutes and were told that the tornado was very close, only a block or two over. We remained there until we were given the all-clear. Our principal told us to return to our third period class until we would be dismissed for fourth period.

Throughout the day we had a total of two evacuations, the second being very similar to the first. At the end of the day we were not allowed to leave the building unless our parents signed us out in the main office. Those who were driving themselves had to wait until the weather conditions were better. I was on lockdown until about 4:15."

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Photojournalists use Instagram and other photography apps on the campaign trail

Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

In this diptych, TOP: Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney appears on a television monitor while conducting a Google+ "hangout" town hall at the Google Chicago headquarters March 20, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. BOTTOM: During Romney's "hangout," the traveling pool of journalists who follow Romney were sequestered in a meeting room called "Adventures in Babysitting," where handwriting on the wall told people to turn off an Xbox game when finished.

When Getty Images' Chip Somodevilla embarked on a four day assignment photographing the Mitt Romney campaign in northern and central Illinois, he found it a perfect opportunity to explore his new found photographic hobby: Instagram.

He had just started using the iPhone 4G in January and became intrigued with the camera’s instant gratification, its many shortcomings, and the social media network enjoyed by millions of other iPhone photographers (reportedly coming soon to Android).

“Instagram is just pure joy,” said Somodevilla. “Shooting photos for Getty is fun, that’s my job and I love it, but Instagram is a different kind of fun.”

“You have to be so much more careful when taking pictures with your iPhone,” said Somodevilla. “You have to really concentrate on taking the actual picture, and take time to learn the camera’s limitations.”

And the limitations are many, especially compared to the pair of Canon 5D Mark IIs he carries on assignment. According to Somodevilla, working around the limitations is where the fun begins. His editor, Pancho Bernasconi, Senior Director of Photography News & Sports at Getty Images, couldn't agree more.

“A change of format makes a photographer see things differently; it allows them to stay alert.” Bernasconi said. “If it makes them stop and think about the frame, breathe different air, then that’s good.”

As a staff photographer for Getty Images in Washington D.C. speed and accuracy is of the essence. “My number one responsibility is to deliver the best image first, especially when it matters, and that's a job I take very seriously,” said Somodevilla. That’s why you’ll never see him reaching for his iPhone when the picture really matters.

“If I don't post to my Instagram, no big whoop, I won't lose any sleep over that,” said Somodevilla.  “Miss getting the picture I was assigned to shoot, you better believe that I will definitely lose sleep over that.”

BUT, along comes an assignment like following a candidate on the campaign trail…

Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

In this diptych, TOP: The empty stage after Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's Illinois GOP primary victory party at the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel March 20, 2012 in Schaumburg, Illinois. BOTTOM: European Pressphoto Photographer Tannen Maury (L) and AP photographer Steven Senne file photographs from their laptops on the Romney press bus.

“When you cover a campaign, you go inside the bubble,” said Somodevilla. “You’re thrown in the press bus for hours with TV and newspaper reporters, photographers and bloggers, and you go where the candidate goes.” Days can be long, and there is a lot of waiting. For instance, on one of the four days with Romney, Somodevilla spent ten hours on the bus for two press events.

With this extra time, Somodevilla thought he would develop his own Instagram style. He saw inspiration in the work of New York Times great, Stephen Crowley, and decided to explore the thousand-year-old art form of diptychs. A diptych is a set of images that work as a pair, where their association gives them more meaning than being displayed alone. 

For Somodevilla, they're like little visual columns.

“He is a sophisticated story teller, and these add another layer,” said Bernasconi. “Chip, in a way is acting like his own art director, telling little stories with a point of view."

Somodevilla admits there are no rules when he creates his diptychs, but they all have certain themes. Each diptych shares the same geography or moment in time, and they're usually shot at the same event. Often, a diptych doesn’t mean anything. They’re just a pairing of images that look good together.

Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

In this diptych, TOP: Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney delivers an economic speech at the International House at the University of Chicago March 19, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. BOTTOM: Members of the Romney traveling news media pool cover an economic speech from the press riser in the back of the auditorium at the university.

Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

In this diptych, TOP: Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (C) is surrounded by a wall of Secret Service agents during a pancake brunch at American Legion Post 246 March 18, 2012 in Moline, Illinois. BOTTOM: Romney supporters eat free pancakes while waiting for the arrival of the candidate.

"Pancake breakfast with Romney" was one of Somodevilla’s first campaign diptych creations. The inspiration was simple. He was waiting for Romney and so were the members of American Legion Post 246.

“When you’re covering the campaign trail, you're dropped out of the sky in a foreign land and people stare at you like an alien,” said Somodevilla. “You walk around, start talking to people and scour the room looking for real moments.”

It’s what he calls shooting around the frame. If there is an important image to be made, he’ll always reach for his DSLR first, and when he is sure he’s got the frame, then he might take a photo for Instagram.

"We (photojournalists) are a hard group to contain. We're always looking for something real," he said.

On another assignment, he made one of his more intriguing pair of images. "Romney at Google Chicago HQ," according to Somodevilla has been interpreted by his Instagram followers several different ways.

The pair of photographs was taken at Google headquarters in Chicago, while the press was kept in the affectionately named, "Adventures in Baby Sitting" room. The only access to Romney was watching him on a screen participating in a Google "hangout." The sign in the lower half of the diptych refers to the XBox that was in the room to occupy the journalists. Somodevilla states that the pairing has nothing to do with Romney, but everything to do with campaigning as a whole.

"The whole thing was so intangible," Somodevilla said. "And I thought this isn't real. If you want you can turn it on or you can turn it off." 

Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

In this diptych, TOP: A television remote control and HBO program guide sit on the shelf of a hotel room March 17, 2012 in Moline, Illinois. BOTTOM: A large, table-top diorama of Moline International Airport includes a tiny scale model of Air Force One, the plane that ferries the president of the United States across the country and around the world.

He doesn’t always know the outcome of his diptychs. Often Somodevilla will shoot one image and find its mate later in the assignment, and that’s why he never uses the Instagram app to shoot his photos.  

To create a diptych, Somodevilla always starts with the iPhone camera. First of all, it’s easier to access when the phone is in standby, and secondly it allows him to edit his images with a little more thoughtfulness.

Second he takes the selected photos into his post production app of choice, snapseed, and adds selective focus and filters.

After the images are selected and the adjustments to the images have been made, he uses framemagic to create the diptych. Only then does he distribute the images on Instagram.

Somodevilla created his Romney campaign diptychs for fun, and had no plans to distribute the images through the Getty wire. The use of filters and effects goes against his definition of traditional news photography, even though Getty has made the images available to clients on their website.

If Somodevilla has any advice for novice mobile phone photographers it would be to take lots of pictures and push every button, “Pushing all the buttons is how we learn.”

Be sure to follow Somodevilla at somophoto on Instagram.

Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

In this diptych, In this diptych, TOP: A television news producer keeps track of exit poll numbers on a whiteboard during Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's Illinois GOP primary victory party at the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel March 20, 2012 in Schaumburg, Illinois. BOTTOM: A Rhythm and Blues band performs for the Romney supporters during the primary night party.

Associated Press photojournalist Evan Vucci has been on the road with the Newt Gingrich campaign for a month, where the pace can go from completely hectic to total boredom in the space of minutes. While waiting for the doors to open at an event, or in the hours spent on buses and planes traveling to 11 states, he's documenting the edges of the campaign -- the times where the "Wizard of Oz" curtain slides back a bit and reveals the levers and mechanisms of a campaign at work.

Evan Vucci / AP

Left: Newtmobile in action, Rome, Ga., Feb. 28. Right: They're handing out Newt socks, Nashville, Tenn, Feb. 27.

Even though -- or maybe because -- he's carrying four professional camera bodies, seven lenses and a laptop, Vucci reaches for a fifth much smaller camera to capture the "edges" -- his iPhone. He's not cracking open a laptop to process and transmit the images like he does for the wire. Instead, he's filtering, commenting and uploading them via Instagram, instantly.

Evan Vucci / AP

Left: Newt press bus, Dayton, Ohio, Feb. 7. Right: A few hours of downtime on the road. I'm surrounded by girls that went to get their nails done, in Suwannee, Ga., Feb. 26.

Admittedly, he's a little late to the iPhone bandwagon having only gotten the fourth-generation device this year. Check out our coverage of how other photographers use smart phones and apps like Hipstamatic to photograph stories, including war.

On the campaign trail this year, app-based photography particularly using Instagram is going mainstream, with feeds from news organizations to the incumbent himself.

Vucci sheds light on why he was attracted to the tool. "When the campaign comes around, everyone tries to up their game a little bit. You'll see Leicas, medium format, 4x5 cameras, Polaroids...anything to make all the stuff that looks the same be a little different. Instead of looking back at older formats, I wanted to experiment with some of the new tools people are using and basically have some fun."

Evan Vucci / AP

Left: Newt bus, Gainesville, Ga., Feb. 29. Right: Campaign stop in a box, Covington, Ga., Feb. 29.

The point-and-shoot quality of the camera and the instant upload to a network of friends is inspiring a different kind of creativity. "It's like being back in photojournalism school where I'm not really worried about the result. There's no boundary."

It also helps him connect with other photographers and journalists on the campaign trail, seeing instantly how they're documenting other candidates in different places.

Evan Vucci / AP

Left: Praying during Newt visit, Miner, Ga., Feb. 26. Right: Newt supporters- HELP, Feb. 28.

But mostly, it's personal. This is the kind of assignment he dreamed about when he decided to be a photojournalist -- traveling the country and taking pictures. "It's like my scrapbook for the campaign. I think these pictures will jog my memories about the campaign more than the stuff I'm uploading to the wire."

Evan Vucci / AP

Left: Reserved for Washington Post photographer, First Redemer Church, Cumming, Ga., Feb. 26. Right: Newt security holding the door for the candidate, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, Feb. 24.

The creators of Instagram were inspired by old Polaroid cameras – both their look and how they could be shared immediately. Users can follow, comment and like images. They offer 17 different filters to achieve different looks from hyper-saturated and edgy to painterly and antique. Vucci points out that this heavier filtering is not appropriate for the photojournalism he sends to the wire from his digital SLRs to feed  websites, newspapers and magazines around the world. But for this personal work, the filters are fun. For the non-professional, they can gloss up an image that is technically questionable or a little mundane.

Evan Vucci / AP

Left: I know how you feel kid, Dalton, Ga., Feb. 28. Right: Gingrich visits Rock Springs Baptist Church in Miner, Ga., Feb. 26.

Earlier this week, there was a another example of a pro dipping into Instagram for a different look, when Nick Laham of Getty Images photographed New York Yankees players with an iPhone. See the "glamorous" location next to some urinals where he captured the images, and the result after he Instagrammed them on his blog.

Some Instagram feeds from the campaign trail to check out:

@evanvucci, Associated Press.

@philiprucker, Washington Post.

@JamieNBCNews and @AlexNBCNews, #Decision2012, NBC News.