Stories
Dealing with Wood #PAT
[Windows Phone Tutorial] Dealing With Wood #PAT by Mike Hill
Using the Windows phone has been an interesting challenge for me. I went into this with an open mind, the same way as I would going from one camera to the next back in my film photography days. After all, that’s what it was to me more than a phone, a camera. I feel that the Lumia 920 had no previous plans to be a device used for mobile photography, and instead they are testing the waters to see what works.
For this tutorial, I decided to shoot a place I was familiar with and have already done about a year ago to see if I could match the vision I already knew I wanted to produce with a completely different device from what I was used to, and trust me it is a completely different device! I had a few doubts at first, but I had an idea of what I wanted to do, a vision, and a idea is like a really nasty disease that grows until you conquer it. So I had to push myself. After all, within limits the master is revealed. Last time I was using an iPhone 4s and it was during high tide on a cloudy day. This was at a very low tide on a bright, sunny day and that combined with using a new device for capturing and editing my photo has given me a totally different perspective on this place.
I thank Microsoft for presenting me with this opportunity and challenge, and look forward to learning more on photography with a Windows Phone.
Apps used: ProShot, Fotor, PhotoPatcher (reduces resolution), fhotoroom
Step 1 ) For me the editing process starts when I see the subject I want to photograph, and is the most important part followed by taking the picture, and that IS step 1. If you take a bad photo then you’ll edit a bad photo. For this shot I used the camera app ProShot with the ratio set to 4:3 and saturation at -1.
But sometimes no matter how well you compose a shot there’s still some things that need to be fixed and removed like the stump on the right and a few of the pieces out of the center, which aren’t that bad but I know it would look better without it. And so the process begins…
Step 2 ) Removing that stump on the right is easy, just crop it out. I was considering making this photo square anyway, and while I don’t always agree with the played out over use of square format photos sometimes it works, It creates a good center for your photo so that your eyes can move from each corner and border at the same pace to the deepest place right in the middle. Plus there would be an excessive amount of empty space on each side if not and my subject would get lost. So I just used Fotor for the crop.
Step 3 ) This is where it gets difficult, and your patience will be tested using this app, but PhotoPatcher is the smoothest one I’ve used so far on Windows phone to clone out all the unwanted areas. Please note that this app will also lower the resolution of the photo that you save, and if you get frustrated easily it’s probably best just to stay away from this one. But if you have an idea you just can’t shake, like I usually have, this is what you do:
Using the clone stamp find an area that matches the spot you want to cover as far as texture, color and tones. I’m planing on making this monochrome so they don’t have to match 100% but it’s important to get as close as you can. Luckily for me the sand was a pretty smooth, consistent tone and the sun was at an angle that didn’t cause a lot shadows. Zoom in as much as you can and slowly start brushing out the spot with your finger like I did in numbers 1 and 2 below, the cloning target will move with you so be careful not to do it for long without resetting the target or you’ll start cloning things INTO the photo you don’t want, in my case here the branches on the right.
The shore line here was the most difficult. PhotoPatcher has no way to adjust the brush size or opacity so sometimes you have to clone one area and then add another clone over it on the sides or bottom to reduce the bigger one, like I did in numbers 3 and 4 above. This can get tedious and is where the frustration was starting to set in, if you look close you can see in number 6 below a part of the shore line was barely off just to the left of that middle branch sticking up. Eventually I was able to get it right enough in number 7 and 8 to move on.
Step 4 ) After I conquered that agonizing feat I opened up Fotor again and used the tilt shift effect, I chose the center tab with it dialed at 75% just enough to barely touch the tips of each part of the tree and blur every corner of the square to give the photo more depth and add a moody vibe to it.
Step 5 ) Under paint effects, I chose the B/W category and used the “Glow Grayscale” filter and saved it.
Step 6 ) Next I opened up the fhotoroom app. Tap basic edit and then vignette. I chose the vignette called “portrait 1″ set at 65% which is heavy on the top left and lower right corners and added part of the framing I wanted for this without overdoing it. Saved and then opened the vignette folder again, this time using the one called “blend” and I set it at 75%. Now it has a nice frame that’s just slightly heavier in diagonal corners.
Step 7 ) I wanted to give the sky a more surreal look and smooth out the vignettes so everything kinda flowed into one another so I opened up the tilt shift in fhotoroom and positioned it like in the photo below. This combined with the one from step 4 made a nice subtle transition into the blur and helped the dark borders merge with the rest of the photo, drawing your attention to the subject and adding a nice ambiance outside of it, while keeping the subject itself untouched and sharper. It has much more dimension and structure now.
And that’s it!
Appreciate ya stopping by!
The Fantasy of Krapoz
So in going through the many photos in the 1000 Words We Are Juxt Flickr gallery, I ran into this photo called Krapoz The Secret Life of Eugenius Katze PHd. It totally blew my mind. A bobcat in a trenchcoat painted onto this canvas titled ending with PHd…seriously, it blew my mind. I had to learn more and asked if we could put the image into our first showcase. In getting to know the artist more, I continually was amazed by how he was envisioning his work. What goes on in the mind of someone when they choose to place a Great White shark above a beach? This was my next image from this artist that dumbfounded me. It was enough for me to show to my son as I skim through the many images on Flickr. My son at the time, was totally enamored by sharks. He could tell you the type of shark, the depths at which they swim, how dangerous they are to humans, etc. He was really into sharks. When I showed him this photo, he totally got it. “That’s one of the most dangerous sharks in the world, daddy. He probably isn’t so mean since he’s out of water. I like that painting a lot daddy!” So…like a good father would do, I let the artist know.
Giuseppe Capozzo is his name. He is one of the nicest, humblest, and most amazing mobile artist out there. He responded to my comment on his image and asked for my email. I provided, he then sent me the highest resolution of the image. My son and I went to Costco and printed it up. To this day, it still is up and he adores it.
This is a long time coming. I have wanted to interview Giuseppe for quite a while now. I am proud and honored to introduce you all (in case you don’t know him yet) to Krapoz. My friend, Giuseppe Capozzo!
Tell us about yourself. Your work life, your family life, artist influences in your family and who and what they are?
Hi everyone! Even though I’m mostly known as krapoz even outside the mobile photography scene, my real name is Giuseppe Capozzo and I’m a 36-years-old music-digger app-junkie psycho-sensitive family-man.
I got a PhD in Human-Computer Interaction and worked so far as a Creative Technologist for some of the biggest Digital Advertising Agencies here in Italy. In the very recent times I’ve started refocusing my career and, as you can easily imagine, “mobile” is one of the keywords I chose for my professional development.
I have never approved the usual separation between letters and numbers, heart and reason, poetry and mathematics: rather, in my studies as well as in my work and in my interests, I always tried to find the intimate relationship between the two parties, as two opposites that attract and find support from each other.
I’ve been lucky enough to be born and grown up into a family with a good amount of members involved – both for work and passion – in the visual arts, including painting and illustration; for this reason it was easy for me to have a natural inclination towards such beautiful things.
Where are you from? Where have you lived prior?
I spent the first half of my life in the glorious sunshine of Southern Italy before relocating near Milan where I actually live together with my insanely lovely wife and daughter.
At the time when I decided to leave my parents’ house to experience the madness of the college life, I was chasing the dream of being part of an active alternative music scene: Milan was not Seattle but I’m happy to have come in contact with a lot of interesting people and situations all over these years – between concerts, records and dreams that have come and gone but, somehow, are still here.
How does your answers above influence your work in mobile photography and mobile arts?
Being in the end a tech-guy, I love to experiment with apps first of all because I’m interested in their functional aspects. In the last 5 years I downloaded about 1000 apps (of any kind even if the highest number of occurrences is from photo/video and music genres) and several times I intentionally integrated one app into my workflow with the only aim to “benchmark” its capabilities. And I’m not just speaking of editing power or special effects: I’m also referring to user-experience and usability, the key factors which in my opinion often make the difference between a good and a bad app.
On the other side, a lot of photographs at the base of my compositions have been taken when I was around with my family or during the short periods in my homeland at the seaside. Outside of work I try to spend a rather quiet life so, when the occasion arises, I love to invest a good part of my (very little) free time in the creation of small visual stories as a way to release my thoughts and relax before going to bed.
Who are your main draws for inspirations in art in general – fine art, music etc? Do you have 1-2 photographs or art that you feel are main source/s of inspiration in your work currently?
As said, music has always played a huge part on the creative side of my life: that’s why I’m very happy when people say that my images could be album covers. Well, I don’t pretend to be good at creating album covers (that still represent a great source of inspiration!) but every single image I create is definitely the cover of one of the imaginary records that continuously take shape inside my head. So we could go on for hours talking about musical references but, in brief, I really love bands/authors whose music manages to be imaginative, courageous, free and at the same time emotional.
In general, I like artistic expressions that can be enjoyed at multiple levels. And I’m strongly convinced that effective communication, in the arts as in all fields and especially when “speaking” to different audiences, is one of the hardest things to achieve; thus, being able to communicate this way is a gift and a priceless talent that ennobles the heart of both those who offer that those who receive.
On a more strictly visual side I can’t help but mention – as object of devotion before of inspiration – the work of the “classical”Surrealists (Dalì and Magritte above all); moreover in recent times I filled my shelves with a series of releases from Gestalten, a wonderful publishing house located in Berlin strongly focused on contemporary arts. Last but not least some months ago I finally had the immense pleasure of putting my hands on “Generative Design: Visualize, Program, and Create with Processing”, the book I was waiting for a lifetime: pure eye-candy.
When did you start in mobile photography/mobile artistry?
Ever since I got my first iPhone in 2008 (the good old 3G!), I’ve always tried to explore the creative potential of this amazing device. As for photography, things got “serious” when, back to 2010, I downloaded Hipstamatic. Suddenly my camera roll began to fill with nice retro-looking pictures – they looked so pretty despite the very limited capabilities of that tiny fuzzy camera – so I quickly changed my mind on the real possibilities of creating images with a phone.
But soon I was needing some more: a lot of image editing apps were popping up in the App Store and I was constantly tempted to try each one seemed to be able to offer something more or different than the others. At the same time, driven by curiosity I began to discover the first blogs and the first groups on Flickr dedicated to iPhoneography: I would have never imagined that so many people –regardless of age, culture and origins – were creating beautiful images and sharing them directly from their smartphones. I was immediately hooked and stimulated to create and share the results of my efforts; and after almost three years I’m here and it still feels great to discover and learn from the work of mobile photographers/artists from all over the world.
Can you tell us more about the stories you portray in your images? When you start your post process, what would you say sparks your ideas?
As you can see, in most of my images I like to stay on the edge between reality and hallucination; and to reach my goal I use to place fantastic characters within ordinary scenarios or, conversely, real-world elements inside abstract dreamscapes, depicting in this way situations that, depending on the occasion, may be evocative, ironic, surreal or simply weird.
Since much of my work consists of montages, my creative approach is rather meditated to such a point that the production of a new image can last for several days. Usually it all begins with a simple vision: this can happen on the way between home and work, during the exploration of a new app or just going backwards between photos taken more or less recently. Thus, feeling inspired, I start thinking about how to combine the material (pictures) and tools (apps) available to me in order to give life to the idea that flashed in my head.
Certainly every time I’m going to create a new image I feel excited and within a few minutes I am completely absorbed in the manipulation process, just as if I had stepped into a parallel dimension where I can finally free my imagination in search of a new way to blend reality and dream; therefore, besides a self-interpretation of my own oneiric world, this is definitely a fun way to rework the mundane experience in a more creative and dreamy way – also because each image and each title brings with it at least a reference to something that actually happened in my everyday life.
It’s so interesting the imagery you portray. It’s almost like a children’s book. Have you thought of text that may accompany your images in the form of a short story or even a children’s story?
I must say that you’re not the first telling me this and not only I’m really happy and flattered but at the same time I admit that it’s something I’d really like to do, if only I had a little more free time. The challenge in this case would be, however, to retain the original spirit of the visual storytelling: in some ways, I do not want my words to limit or constrain the free interpretation of the image that each viewer can give according to its sensitivity.
Anyway, being a father myself, I am rather trained on conceiving little bedtime stories and apparently my beloved daughter appreciates my efforts; on the other hand I’m a big fan of many of her picture books: in many cases these are truly works of art that should receive greater recognition.
This said, anything related to children is great: I hold in high regard their opinion and feelings because, in addition to be pure and not afraid to express their own emotions, they also have a fantasy that inspires and always leaves me in awe.
My kid absolutely loves the image with the shark! So much so, it inspired me to tell you how much it impacted him, in turn me. Without hesitation, you provided the file so I may print it out for him. To this day, he has it hanging up in his room. You’re heart is big man. It totally shows how inspired and inspiring you are. Can you name some of your inspiring mobile photographers/artists and why?
First of all, your kid is really, really cool and has – like his father –very good taste, ha! But seriously, to know that on the other side of the planet a child has enjoyed one of my works to the point of hanging it on the wall of his room is worth more than a million likes or a million followers. And it’s one of the best answers I can give to myself when I wonder why I’m up late at night to finalize my creative impulse.
About my mobile-related inspirations, I would like to avoid a flood of names since I’ve been impressed and inspired by the talent of so many wonderful guys so far. Instead I’ll just mention the unforgettable beginnings with the “app-migos” on Flickr, the really supportive and welcoming community of artists of IPA, the unbeatable purists of street photography and monochrome on EyeEm and all the tireless remixers of photography, typography and design that I love to discover on Instagram. To all of them goes my admiration and gratitude.
With the “only wanted to be nice with you” image, can you tell us your thoughts when you started this edit?
Most of the time people (myself included for sure!) are scared by someone or something they don’t even know. And just as often, even after knowledge, they get stuck to the prejudice and keep on being suspicious despite evidences of innocuity and integrity.
Look at the face of this shark: how could you be afraid? He goes to great lengths to redeem its reputation, even follow out of the water who ran away believing to be eaten shortly thereafter.
So with this image I wanted to describe the exact feeling I get every time I think about how difficult it is to prove and convince someone to be changed for the better after a lot of past mistakes; and, more sad, sometimes a lifetime is not enough to achieve such a goal.
On the other side, I’ve always liked the concept of the “fish out of water”, a kind of romantic figure who has to deal with places and situations that are not her/his own and, due to this inadequacy, ends up acting in an awkward and paradoxical way. And in this case, just to exaggerate, we have a big, really big fish. How sweet!
Can you do the same with “mind overseas / feet in the past”?
This image is all about introspection. It’s the inner struggle that we live when we are faced with decisions or changes that somehow mean giving up ideas and values that were once important to us.
It’s the search for an intimate balance with respect to our existence when we try to look at it and realize that, although it is easy to let ourselves go with projects, wishes and dreams, we always have to come to terms with our past.
In this way the image can have both a sense of hope (the dancer that follows the flight of birds with disenchantment) that one of resignation and acceptance of its limits (a human in the end can not fly due to its heavy body).
Can you walk us through the process for “The Story of Dr. Eugenius Katze”?
Sure, with pleasure! To be precise, this was one the images chosen for the first week of the 1000 Words showcase. As explained in the accompanying text, here we have “three different pics taken in three different seasons, three different sundays, three different places. Mixed together to tell one story, the story of Dr. Eugenius Katze”. Actually I did not take these pictures with the intention of creating a scene; rather, as often happens, the idea came scrolling through the items in my camera roll.
I envisioned a situation involving this strange character, half-human half-feline, caught by surprise while he was in the company of another subject (the “real” cat in the background), which presumably means a lot for him. A kind of love story, open to the imagination of the viewer, that comes from the mysterious past of a researcher who had dedicated his entire life to the study of felines and now has to hide to avoid the judgment of the common people.
As always I had great fun during the editing process: following are the primary steps of the “app-stacking” workflow that led me to the final image.
I created a raw two-pass montage in Superimpose, thus gathering the scenery and the protagonists of the story. Then, with the help of Big Lens, I added a simple DOF effect just to highlight the main character and hopefully deceive the viewer’s eye in a more convincing way.
I love the woodblock printing effect of the Moku Hanga app and I thought it would work well with the hair of the felines. So, after a bit of tweaking (this app offers a lot of parameters to control), I managed to get a satisfactory outcome; this done, I brought the resulting image into Image Blender and mixed it with its unprocessed version in order to soften the edges and reveal more natural colors.
Time to work on some details and refine the composition: first I loaded the last image in Tiffen Photo fx and enclosed the scene into a big white circle, just to enhance the overall visual impact (in fact this is an off-centered White Circle Vignette with Softness set to 0 and Amount to 100); then I added some depth in PicBoost, layering one of those beautiful gritty Film Overlays with about 50% opacity.
Finished compositing, I usually start with the color correction/manipulation. In this case I used the excellent Retro filter of PictureShow (that is one of the first apps I purchased in the far 2010): I really love those faded tones. Then I added a subtle handwritten texture in ScratchCam FX with the aim to increase the vintage look just achieved; finally, I opened the image in Photo fx again in order to finalize everything with a touch of Faux Film – no more than some grain to please the eye and bring together all the graphic elements introduced along the processing. Done!
What are your last thoughts brother for all the folks reading about you?
It’s impossible not to notice that We Are Juxt is a work of love and passion and this is exactly the thing that in my opinion leaves a strong mark in the soul and overcomes the passing of time. For this reason today I am truly honored to have had the opportunity to share my thoughts and showcase some of my work here. Thanks a million, Brad, I can feel from overseas your dedication to our community and I greatly appreciate your precious support and encouragement; and thank you kindly, reader, I really hope this will be another way to shorten the distance and – if not already happened – have the pleasure of crossing our paths soon.
Visit Giuseppe:
Flickr // EyeEm // Instagram // Twitter
We Are Juxt x The Windows Phone Challenge
In the past, photos were about preserving a memory. Today, they are equally about sharing that moment. More people are taking photos with their phones, and more of those photos are posted to social networks and shared online in other ways. According to Pew Internet, 82% of mobile phone owners use their cell phone to take a picture – making it the most popular mobile phone activity! If you are carrying a mobile phone, you are ready to capture great photos, enjoy them, and share them with others.
Mobile photography is taking the world by storm. The beauty of mobile photography is not just in the ability to take an image and post-process. It’s also about sharing and building community.
We Are Juxt is proud to officially announce our participation in the Windows Phone Challenge, using Microsoft’s flagship Nokia Lumia series (920) – voted Smartphone of the Year in 2012 by Engadget Readers.
Through this program, Juxt(er)s will be putting their iPhones down and shooting exclusively with the 920 and providing tips and techniques for Windows Phone users to achieve added value in the photographs they take. Juxt(er)s will also be playing around with the apps available in the Windows Phone Store and sharing their thoughts with the community. It’s a great challenge and we look forward to sharing our results with you.
Meet the Juxt(er)s involved with the project and see a photo they’ve taken with the 920 thus far. Click here.
These photos will be tagged #wearejuxt #wpphoto on Twitter, Flickr, Facebook, and other various social networks.
Below is the We Are Juxt Windows Phone gallery showcasing works from not only Juxt(er)s, but also mobile photographers who use Windows Phones from around the world.
Please note: WELCOME all Windows Phone mobile photographers! We are honored to have you in the community! We look forward to your expertise, engagement, and collaboration!
Come on in, the water’s fine!
![WP_20130512_081[1] • <a style="font-size:0.8em;" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/73704443@N06/8739371717/" target="_blank">View on Flickr</a>](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7287/8739371717_5c64554fa5_b.jpg)
![WP_20130513_032[1] • <a style="font-size:0.8em;" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/73704443@N06/8740483178/" target="_blank">View on Flickr</a>](http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7285/8740483178_f354c23e04_b.jpg)
Beauty in Decay – My Mother’s Day
Beauty in Decay – My Mother’s Day
When my kids asked me what I wanted to do on this sunny Mother’s Day, it was easy: Family Photowalk! I didn’t want flowers or candy, I wanted to go out and shoot. I took advantage of the fact that this is one of the few days of the year when I can make them do what I want and had everyone grab their iPods and cameras. Despite a few groans, we hopped in the car and headed to Mare Island. I’ve been there a few times before and wanted to come back and try my new Oggl by Hipstamatic. I was fortunate enough to be a beta tester of this app and I’m in love. I am already a hipsta-addict, and the ability to switch lenses and films post-shoot is great. I’ve learned so much about what combos work in what situations, and more about what doesn’t.
So, a little bit about our destination: Mare Island is an abandoned Naval shipyard in the San Francisco Bay Area. It isn’t really an island, it’s a 23-mile-wide peninsula in the San Pablo Bay. In 1850 President Fillmore reserved Mare Island for government use. Construction began in 1872 and was completed in 1941. At one time Mare Island employed 18,500 workers and had a hospital, a chapel, several dry docks, a train station, classrooms and accomodations for employees and Navy men. In 1995, Mare Island Naval Base was deactivated as part of the cycle of U.S. Base closures. There has been talk of revitalization, repurposing, rebuilding, but for now it sits and rots, a graveyard of huge buildings, cranes, and barracks, now occupied by hundreds of homeless people.
I am impressed by the immensity of the abandoned buildings from a distance. They are imposing and beautiful. I find it hard to capture their grandiosity with a camera. They look a bit surreal and cartoonish.
Being with my kids in this place was the best day I can remember in a long time. They loved it too. Here are some of my favorite of the over 200 pictures I took last Sunday. For me, as with most things, the beauty is in the details.
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100 Million
100 Million by Fabs G
Fabs Introduction
I was a crawling babe on IG when I got in touch with Crispin Giles’ (aka @100million) feed. I got amazed by the free spirit I’ve found there; scratches, juxtapositions, strong body language, street photography, all mixed to create an extreme narrative full of originality and energy. Immediately he became an inspiration, and because of that I was planning this interview since I join JUXT on December 2011. But we all know, life happens and there is a time for everything; during this time, Crispin became the creator and one of the minds behind Tiny Collective; a group of talented people around the world who do a really great work when it comes to push mobile/social photography to its limits. On this interview we talk about Tiny, its initiatives and the partnership with Impossible Project, Backspaces and of course, his creative process. Please have a sit and meet this awesome artist. Enjoy it.
“It feels like we’re in a kind of a mobile renaissance now and I think we’re going to continue to see the things grow and mature with mobile photography becoming an accepted stream in photography, and I mean accepted into the mainstream.”
F: Fabs C: Crispin
F: To begin with: tell us about the early days of Tiny. Who came out with the idea and how did you work the concept?
C: In the summer of 2011 I was looking to start a group and I asked my friend Roni if she’d want to start something. We ended up doing a group collab with our mutual friend Instatone, we called it #tinycollab and it kind of went viral. I mean kind of. Not in a way that had millions of people involved, but in a way that showed us there were people out there into working on stuff collaboratively, in a group setting, so things kind of gained some momentum after that. I remember calling the group Tiny Mobile Collective for awhile, and I set up a really lame tumblr with that name. It wasn’t long before we shortened it to Tiny Collective and asked more of our friends to join and built a way more focused portfolio at tinycollective.com
But when I was first going around asking people if they wanted to start a group, there was kind of this question like – “what’s this all about?” “What does it mean and why would I want to do this?” And I mean, yeah – fair questions for sure. So it just took getting the right people together, finding the right fit with personalities and styles and interest levels etc. It’s not an easy exercise bringing a bunch of people together (many of whom have never actually met in person) and trying to pull off even the most humble of projects together. But when it works it’s awesome.
F: Talking about Tiny’s mission, what does it mean, in practical terms, to ” propel and explore the new social area of digital arts”?
C: In creative terms this means pushing ourselves and each other to do new work, to try new things, not rely on easy patterns and familiar ways doing things. To be engaged and present and plugged into what we’re doing – as a group, as individuals.
During a group meeting, it was Koci who came up with the concept of “social photography”. Replacing “mobile” with “social” as a way to really focus and underline the human connectivity behind the mobile community. That there is this very tangible, and genuine social component at play here. Not only with what we’re engaging in together on sites like IG etc. but how this community has helped bring like-minded people together to work on projects outside of these sites (of course I’m talking specifically about Tiny here), and I think it just helped remind us how the larger community has really become an important aspect of it all.
“Mobile photography is probably the most democratic an art form I can think of, besides finger-painting or something.”
F: Where do you see Mobile Photography and Mobile Arts going? You have been there since the very beginning. What role do you expect Tiny to play and how can groups like Tiny support photographers and artists?
C: It feels like we’re in a kind of a mobile renaissance now and I think we’re going to continue to see the things grow and mature with mobile photography becoming an accepted stream in photography, and I mean accepted into the mainstream. I feel like there’s going be more events specific to mobile photography and with innovations by cool companies like Impossible leading the way and pushing the boundaries between old and new ways of doing things, we’ll continue to see more engagement and crossover from mobile to different forms of photography.
In general terms I think Tiny Collective will continue to generate ideas, and explore new ways in which we can animate ourselves in the community. Ways we can continue to develop our thing as a group, as well as remain active in our personal artistic pursuits too. That’s the cool thing about Tiny; we’re together but also apart so there’s this push and pull that keeps the work fresh. I think groups, if handled with care and run well, can be awesome. Kind of like a home base where members can draw energy and bounce ideas around and kind of just feel part of something bigger than themselves. We’re all human and for the most part require interaction and communication with other humans. For the most part.
F: I see more and more, a great distance between what is a community play (Instagram, EyeEm) and what is a real artistic movement/behavior. But we must agree that these communities helped a lot to develop the creativity inside this new “darkroom”. Do you see them more apart in the future or is there any chance yet?
C: Well, I think there’s bound to be creative shifts and movements within any community at any given time. I mean we’ve seen that with various groups and projects maybe starting to take things more seriously, maybe deciding to become more organized, others maybe parring back a bit and becoming more lean and flexible. I’ve definitely seen more people take a greater interest in mobile photography, and that comes in all kinds of shapes and sizes. I find it really exciting watching this happen, and I’m totally seeing a kind of collective confidence emerge as well. People seem to be taking things into their own hands and empowering themselves, choosing to showcase in different ways, on different sites and I think this illustrates how far things have come in such a short time.
But I think there’s always going to be a place for the uninitiated, the casual, or the curious. You know, room to investigate things, to become involved by starting at zero, by learning what they can do and what they can say with mobile. And of course there as many avenues as there are those involved in this pursuit, this all really speaks to the democracy of the medium.
F: How do you guys decide the creative direction of the group?
C: Because there’s a lot going on and so much to deal with, responding to everything as a group can be impractical. We’ve figured out ways of working within the group context, and found what works, what doesn’t. With the core members, everything is put to vote. Things like membership and invitations are all done by nomination and then invites are sent to perspective members based on this elective process. We’ve recently started identifying a lot of specific roles and responsibilities within the group and had to organize things a bit more officially lately as well, just to stay on top of everything. Bringing together a group of people to work on creative things requires a lot of structure to get projects done. But it’s surprisingly easy to come to consensus on stuff when you’re working with the calibre of great people we currently have in Tiny.
F: Can you tell us what is next for Tiny Collective? Besides the site, where else are you going to spread the word?
C: Well, at the end of June we’re involved in this very cool partnership with Impossible Project where we’re gonna open 9 shows in 9 consecutive days in in 9 different cities in 5 different countries. Will be something like 900 unique images in all. It’s crazy. Every show will be printed live, on opening night, exclusively using Impossible Instant Lab. It’s a really forward thinking device that processes Impossible prints directly from the iPhone. Very cool, It basically bridges the worlds of instant and mobile photography. We’re all really excited about it. You can check it out here.
F: IMO you are one of the thinkers from this so called “mobile photography community”. I see it very clearly when it comes to Tiny. When it comes to 100million, I see an intuitive, flammable and sometimes meditative artist behind the image making you do. Can you say something about this? Is there a Crispin, that is a thinker, and then 100million who is the image maker?
C: I think there’s a ton of people doing really incredible things in the mobile community now. Every day I’m blown away by the talent and creativity I see out there. I can learn so much, you know, just be exposed to so many cool ideas just watching stuff scroll past me on my phone. It’s kind of incredible. But I think I’m like everyone, you know, my work shows different sides of myself at different times. For sure there’s a pensive side, and a moodiness to me as a person but there’s also carefree and playful sides to me as well. I mean, I believe we’re all multi-faceted and we are revealing variations of ourselves at any given time. I think subconsciously it all comes through in what we shoot.
F: On your profile you say : “I am not concerned with purity, technique or the reverence of past movements and their tired conventions.” On the other hand I really believe that this quote by Ansel Adams applies to you: “You don’t make a photograph just with a camera. You bring to the act of photography all the pictures you have seen, the books you have read, the music you have heard, the people you have loved.” Am I right? If so, how these two worlds play inside you?
C: I did say that didn’t I? Sounds a bit precious. I think what I was sort of trying to assert my own place, and also kind of make no apologies for having an uneducated hand at photography. Maybe some self-inflicted pressure about legitimacy or something. “I’m here and I’m doing my thing and I don’t need to know what I’m doing…” Sounds ridiculous actually. But of course, none of it matters. Mobile photography is probably the most democratic an art form I can think of, besides finger-painting or something. I like some of the pictures I make, and if others do too, then that’s cool. I don’t have anything to prove. If I did I’d probably use something other than a phone to take pictures.
But yeah, I totally agree. We bring all that we’ve absorbed into everything we do, and influences can be something outside the sphere for sure. We experience things we don’t even know we’re letting in and in turn we push it back out again. I mean, this is totally how we learn. Everything is fluid.
F: I believe that style is more about what someone chooses to capture as a human being than the way someone edits an image. I do believe that if I take off all the noise from some of your images, the 100million’s seed will still be there. The eye of the hurricane. Can you describe your creative process? Why and how you make the choices behind your images? Did you ever had some kind of turning point where you found a verve which you don’t have realized yet?
C: That’s interesting. I think style is just another version or facsimile of something. Something you design, something you seek out maybe. I mean I believe this is totally connected to our subconscious, to the choices we make as people in the world and the parts we want to expose about ourselves to other people in the world. First impressions, ego, self image, all of that. But in the end, I think it’s all the same thing. If I can have an honest reaction to a picture, then I don’t see the difference between a raw shot and an app-stacked piece. For me it’s all about feeling something. I just don’t believe there’s a pure and not pure, a true and false at play here. I don’t like to make that distinction.
So yeah.. I have no idea why I take one picture and not the next, and on a good day there’s no conscious choice being made. I am not in control. It’s all impulse, and everything seems like it’s on auto when I’m really really focused on what I’m doing. And I LOVE that. I think there’s a strange irony in such a focus equalling impulse. It’s a state of mind, and this is where plateaus are broken, where personal limitations are explored and I think ultimately where we grow as artists by pushing these lines out to the maximum.
F: You said Backspaces is a game changer and I do agree with you; can you give us more thoughts about it?
C: I just think there’s always so many different ways of saying something, of expressing yourself creatively. On IG it’s very much a static, kind of ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ kinda environment – and that’s awesome. And with Backspaces it opens up this whole other space, I mean not only with the ability to add multiple images to a post, but the ability to add text I think really just widens the field of possibilities. It pushes the narrative. That said, I rarely add text to my BS posts… So there you go. But yeah, it’s a very happening app and the guys behind it are equally as happening. Super good people.
F: When it comes to music; what’s your soundtrack now? Do you listen to something while shooting? I barely do that to keep me alert 
C: I actually don’t listen to music when I’m out shooting. Most of my day is centred around music, in my job, so it’s kinda like a reprieve to go out and walk without listening to music. I will definitely wear headphones when I’m on the street taking pictures, but rarely is there any music playing. Right this second, as I write this, I’m riding a streetcar west on Dundas St. listening to Mikal Cronin’s new record MCII. Highly recommended listen. So good…
F: Give me your TOP 5 anything. =)
C: Great question!
1. My beautiful wife Priya
2. My confusing, and often frustrating creative experiences
3. My life in the Bush of Ghosts
4. My runner’s high
5. The freedom to communicate my confusing and often frustrating creative experiences
Meet Crispin Giles here:
Tiny Collective // Backspaces // Instagram
Art Critique and Community: Vol. 4 Landscape
“Simply look with perceptive eyes at the world about you, and trust to your own reactions and convictions. Ask yourself: “Does this subject move me to feel, think and dream? Can I visualize a print – my own personal statement of what I feel and want to convey – from the subject before me?”
-Ansel Adams
Thank you for joining us for the fourth volume of Art Critique and Community. This month we are looking at the genre of landscape and our submitters have brought beautiful, diverse work to the table. We do hope you are enjoying this series and are learning along with us.
Photo by Daniel Berman
Critique written by Senda Shallow
LAKE AND TREES This is an asymmetrical image of trees reflected in water. The photo is focused well, and the color variation effectively draws the eye into the photo. It’s very warm and has the feel of an antique photo without the wear. The reflection of the trees on the lake creates an almost abstract shape reminiscent of a sound wave close up, moving from silence to sound, a beginning point. The light is calm, warm, and peaceful, although on closest inspection some of the very tops of the deciduous trees are more blown out in the air than their reflection in the water. Simply because of the levels of the photo, my eye is consistently drawn from left to right across it — from the pale distant shore to the close, dark trees. The mist and bright levels keep the photo ethereal and idyllic. It reads as the story of a quite afternoon in the sunlight, maybe on a dock, maybe with my feet in the water watching for little fish nibbling. Because of the weight and draw of the dark right hand side, I find that there is an excess of empty space to the left, and nothing to bring me back to that side. I’d question the crop here — if the photo might not be more powerful with a little less emptiness there. There is also one splash of blue that jumps out against the warm browns of the edit in amongst the trees that distracts from the powerful cohesion and vertical symmetry. Overall there is a lot of impact in the shape and horizontal asymmetry of this picture. It jumps out and you while remaining so very still.
Critique written by Gemma Anton
When looking at the photograph we see a peaceful autumnal landscape. A river which brooklet is fulfilled with trees and cabins. The quietness of the flow allows a perfect reflection of the border line creating a strong horizontal symmetry.
The theme and composition is clearly based upon classical occidental landscape paintings, with a strong use of perspective. The focal point is placed in the center part of the rectangle and the main vanishing lines frame the trees and constructions in an acute isosceles horizontal triangle on the right part of the picture.
Symmetry is also the key for the negative space. The river being a reflection of the sky where a homogenous ochre tone provides a neutral background which highlights the scene on the right.
The edit enhances the composition. A slight foggy treatment helps to blur the horizontal borderline. The nearly monochromatic use of color accentuates this idea.
The use of classical rules of composition as symmetry and centered perspective, and the use of color gives the frame a unitarian character which reinforces the peaceful atmosphere of the photograph.
Technically the picture is remarkable, but in my opinion the question here might be if this picture says something personal, distinctive. Everything in this photograph takes us to “The pictorialism” movement, that dominated photography during the late 19th and early 20th centuries and worked photography as “paintings”. It’s been a while since and lots of research and experimentation has been done. Now that the technique is obviously in control, maybe the key is trying to take all the possible advantage of the medium.
Critique written by Shaun
Description: A gorgeous foggy shoreline, reflected over still waters. Beautifully subtle colors and warm tones, along with the sparse leaves on the trees, give an autumnal feel.
The shoreline fades as it curves into the distance and in the thickness of the fog. Trees, both deciduous and evergreen populate the shoreline, with hints of houses between the trees and small docks with chairs on the water show that this is a peaceful place and a favorite of spot to come and rest and reflect. Ambient light coming through the fog suggest a morning time.
Analysis: Both the luminance, and the white balance have been significantly boosted. I enjoy the mood it gives, but personally would tend to a more subtle hand on these. Particularly with the “curves”, or luminance brought up so high that I feel that some detail was lost, in the tops of the trees, that would have added to the beauty of the natural scenery. The line of the shore is very pleasing as it leads into the distance and vanishes in the fog. The negative space used in this crop feels a bit much. It doesn’t quite feel balanced and the beauty of the shoreline gets minimalized slightly.
I like the wide format of the frame, but to balance it I would bring it, from the left of the frame, at least 15%, and crop a little tighter to the trees and shore.
Overall, the first impression when I see the photo is that it is a lovely scene, and it is well seen by the photographer. When I spent a little more time with it, I felt a little more efficient use of the framing and lighter hand on the edit would have made it even better.
Photo by Josh Jones
Critique written by Senda Shallow
BLACK AND WHITE RAIN This is a black and white photo of rain and a lake. This photo plays with the depth of field, pulling the rain droplets into sharp focus while allowing the landscape to blur out. The view is dark, giving only a hint of the passing landscape on the top right hand side, maybe a dock and an outcropping of trees. The spread of the droplets suggests motion despite the stillness of the actual landscape. The lighter values to the right guide the eye in that direction, while the the motion lines of the droplets and the line of the dock itself bring the eye back in. This photo feels very depressed, mostly because of the dark values and the dark mysterious shapes of the landscape. It gives an impression of the world sliding past while the viewer sits still, protected but untouchable. The jagged shapes on the right are reminiscent of teeth, of a huge beast with jaws that are reaching to close. Overall this photo is extremely emotive and very effective in creating a mood.
Critique written by Gemma Anton
The background of the photograph seems to show a river which brooklet is fulfilled with trees while in the foreground we can hardly distinguish a pier. Each ground has a different perspective, breaking up any supposed unity within the image.
Here we sense more than we see. Neat raindrops turn the camera lens into a real screen that filters the information in the picture, maybe as a reminder of the inherent subjectivity of any glance. The rainy weather, the lack of reflections, the heavy sky and moved water add strength to the concept of mental landscape.
The use of the black and white and the grainy texture help to remark the idea of interrelated abstract patches of different intensities, turning the lack of negative space on a whole non-space that waits for something to happen.
Everything in the composition highlights the plain surface of the photograph as an object, stressing on an abstraction that, having to do with the oriental landscape paintings, takes us through the Greenberg’s influence in modern photography.
In my opinion, this picture makes the most of the possibilities of the medium in order to show a personal point of view, at the same time it creates tension with its search of abstraction. Against that I would say that maybe the lighting and the contrast should have been more accurately calibrated.
Critique written by Shaun
Description: A somewhat abstract landscape in stormy weather, shot from, what appears to be either a moving car, or through a window with strong wind against it. The raindrops streaked across the window are in focus and give a sense of movement and wind, as the landscape is blurred and partially obscured by the vignette. This also is looking across a shoreline that fades in the misty distance, with pilings in the foreground sitting starkly in the water. It feels very minimal in it’s composition. The dark gray and black tones with a strong vignette give a stark and bleak mood.
Analysis: The dark tones accentuate the feeling and drama of the storm. The plane of the glass, shown through the rain drops, along with the line of the shore give a sense of movement along the waterfront with a front row view to the power and magnitude of the storm. The heavily treed horizon is very familiar to me, living in the Puget Sound. I’m not sure where this was taken, but it could easily have been just down the road from me. The darkness has an almost oppressive feel to it, along with the thick layer of clouds overhead, and dense forest. I really like the contrast of the pilings against the water. They appear to be abandoned, as there is no discernable dock to be seen. The framing seems balanced between the dark and light, and the use of space in the clouds gives great context. Also the blank space of the water and the use of the shorelines to frame the pilings are very nice. It does not appear to be heavily edited, as it seems like it could have very possibly come out of the camera that way, with a simple black and white filter. The vignette could have been added, but depending on the conditions, it could have very well been natural with the use of the glass, from a dark car and with inclement weather. The little black specks streaking across the frame are a bit mysterious. I’m not sure if those are an effect of the glass, sand flying by or simply raindrops caught in mid-descent.
Regarding the subject of the photo, I would like to engage in a small discussion, as it is not entirely obvious at first, to me anyways, what the exact subject of the photo is. My suspicion is that others may have wondered this as well, so I hope this discussion can be useful. I think I felt it intuitionally, what this photo was about, first before I could articulate it. I acknowledge that sometimes the subject is not always a physical thing as it can be more of an emotion, or impression, or even a force. I’m totally fine with that personally, but I do believe it takes a special skill to be able to pull that off successfully, without going too far into mere moodiness or sentimentality. Perhaps, here, a good replacement for the word “subject” could be “story”. What’s the story here? At first I was asking myself, is the subject the raindrops? The pilings? The mood? But, when thinking in story terminology, it makes me back out a bit, and it becomes clearer, I think: it’s a story of travel. This is interesting to me to consider, as the story is not exactly what is “in” the photograph, but rather the photo gives clues through all the contextual elements to what is not photographed. It makes for a quiet, but I think skillfully made, point by the photographer. Because of its subtleties, I think this could be passed over by some as a weak photo, but I personally find it more enjoyable. The darkness of the photo can almost overshadow the story, and it’s close here to going too far. However, the emotional element is really important to me in making a photo more compelling.
Overall, I love the photo. I love when black and white photography is used to it’s potential in creating shape and form, shade and mood. I appreciated how the contextual elements were used to tell a story about what wasn’t photographed, as much as what was.
Our Panelists:
Gemma Anton. Born in Valencia, Spain, in 1974. After working for several years in Madrid, I have moved to Paris.
I am an Architect who sees public space as a “moving collage” of differences. A crossroad of endless disciplines addressed to serve as tools to understand the everyday of human existence. I understand Architecture practice as a lifelong learning process, a continuous questioning which will find its answer in social reality, as a net of different natures in progress connecting at different scales and multiple levels.
Active Iphone Photographer and collagemaker, I try to capture the glances of existence day-to-day life carries in its streets. Our epoch’s juxtaposition of heterogeneities. The contingence upon the temporary meeting points, their fugues and voids included. The disappearance of every kind of hierarchy and an the « assemblage » of inequalities. Overlapped messages which texturize ephemeral realities, only fulfilled if related with the environment. As a collage.
Senda Shallow is a mom with a mountain commute and a love of photography. She has worked for Apple and as a independent web designer, and is now in eBook distribution. She sews, reads, obsesses over perfect birthday parties for her son, takes lots of pictures, and has a newly acted upon obsession with steampunk.
\\ IG \\ Instacanvas \\
Shaun Swalley Photography is a relatively new, passionate hobby for me. I’ve always admired it and didn’t have the tools and time to pursue it before. The possibilities and ease of using the iPhone, along with inexpensive apps for editing, blew up the world of picture taking. I have been able to use style, technique and effects that were never before within reach for me. Also, the social networking aspect of Instagram helped inspire, challenge and teach me. Trees are a favorite subject of mine. I’m partial to the form of bare branches and the dramatic shapes they take. My wife and three kids make our home on Bainbridge Island, WA.
\\ Flickr \\ Facebook \\ Twitter \\ Email \\
Our Submitters:
Daniel Berman is a fine art photographer, filmmaker & digital artist. With a background as a producer of music and nature programs for television, Daniel brings a lifelong passion for rhythm and the imagery of the natural world to his art.
Just a few of the many television programs he created and produced for his company Original Spin include Rhythm & Blooms a 39 part series on great botanical gardens for Discovery Channel, SOLOS: the jazz sessions a set of 39 hours on legendary jazz musicians and a 39 part series of rock concert specials called Beautiful Noise. His programs have been broadcast in dozens of countries over a 15 year period. Some of the musicians with whom he’s worked directly include Levon Helm, Sonic Youth, Bill Frisell, Billy Bragg, Steve Earle, Mickey Hart, Feist, Brad Mehldau, and My Morning Jacket among dozens of others.
In addition to his television productions, he works works regularly as a freelance photographer and as a creative consultant to corporations and universities.
Daniel is also the founder of the Mobile Photo Awards, the world’s largest competition and open gallery call for mobile photography and art.
He was born and raised in Toronto, Canada and now lives in the scenic hills surrounding Milton, Ontario.
// Twitter // Instagram // Web //
Josh Jones Husband. Father. Entrepreneur. Author. Innovative civil engineering CADD tech. iPhoneographer. Web designer. Follower of Christ.
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Art Critique and Community is moderate by Anna Cox. If you would like to be involved please send us an email. We would love to hear from you.
The 24 Hour Project Conference
The 24 Hour Project stands alone as the largest street photography event of its kind in the world. The 24 Hour Project, a completely unique experiment in photography, is a true marathon for participants. The project pushes the limits of the photographer emotionally, physically and creatively and was envisioned by street photographers Renzo Grande and Juxt member Sam Smotherman in 2011. The 24 Hour Project is a day with 24 dead lines and no room to make up a lost opportunity. One image from every hour is chosen to represent those 60 minutes in a permanent gallery online and also select shots will be hung in actual gallery shows.
This project is unique in the way the photographs are shared during each photographers 24 hours. It utilizes the immediacy of social media platforms but the project is more than mobile photography and social media. While there are strong roots in both of these areas the project is, in the end, about the pursuit of capturing the world around us no matter the tools for capturing and sharing.
On the weekend of June 8th-9th, the 24 Hour Conference will be held in the Los Angeles area. This is a two day event spanning 24 hours and will offer an opportunity for lovers of street photographer to take in a gallery show, a workshop and panels with world renown street photographers. The latter event is graciously being hosted by local NPR station 89.3 KPCC.
The Conference will consist of three events: a gallery show and talk by photographers, a workshop, and a free public event hosted by NPR station 89.3 KPCC. The workshop which costs and the KPCC which is a free event are ticketed events with limited space.
The events will begin on June 8th and opens with the gallery show. The Space Gallery is hosting the show with doors opening at 6PM at 250 W 2nd Street, Pomona, CA 91766. The gallery show will be representing only part of the 2011 – 2012 years with work of over a hundred street photographers. The gallery contains a selection culled from two years of shots and showcases only a small percentage of the three thousand plus shots that were uploaded worldwide. During the show, participating photographers will host a panel to discuss their craft and other issues within the realm of street photography. The panel portion of the conference will include photographers who have participated in one or both years of the project, including both of the projects founders Renzo Grande and Sam Smotherman. Other notable panelists include Juxt members: Brad Puet, Koci Richard Hernandez, and Tammy George as well as photographers Robert Stacy and Tony Marquez.
On June 9th the speakers from the gallery opening will be offering the first 24 Hour Project Workshop focusing on the ins and outs for street photography. Your guides will be Renzo Grande, Sam Smotherman, Brad Puet, Koci Richard Hernandez, Tammy George, Robert Stacy, Tony Marquez along with SF street photographers Benjamin Heath and Travis Jensen. Space is limited for the workshop is to keep groups small and intimate. The walk will be held in Downtown Los Angeles and will span over three hours of on the street shooting and learning. After the work, panelists will be available to review portfolios. More information and ticket availability at www.the24hourproject.com/confrence
The 24 Hour Conference will then wrap up with a free panel discussion on street photography hosted by KPCC at the Crawford Hall. Eight photographers who lead the workshop will join us to talk about making images with everything from a mobile phone to a film camera on the streets of the cities where they live. The day will be broken up into three segments.
The Snap: Find Your Approach to Taking Pictures
The Edit: Cultivating Creativity Through Selectivity
The Share: Navigating the World of Social Photography and Beyond
If anyone wants to attend the free public event MUST RSVP on this page http://www.scpr.org/events/2013/06/09/24-hour-projectworkshop-kpcc/. This includes anyone participating in the morning workshop.
The complete portfolios of both 2012 and 2013 can be viewed at
www.the24hourproject.net
Please also visit the work of the panelists and Juxt members
Brad Puet
Koci Hernandez
Tammy George
Sam Smotherman
Cofounder of the 24 Hour Project
Renzo Grande
and
Benjamin Heath
Travis Jensen
Tony Marquez
Robert Stacy
#sundaybluesedit Sunday Selection @lillamys
Rebecca: This week I proudly give you Carina. Her work is always close to my heart. Her style and emotions are similar to mine and I love all of her beautiful creations. Although English is not her first language, her words a touching and beautiful. Happy Sunday….
Carina: Nostalgia is my main inspiration. I think I have always been fascinated by old things, especially old photographs that have a connection to my childhood and beyond that.
Hipstamatic was really love at first sight. In the beginning of
2011 I bought my iPhone just to get hold of the app. I had seen some
photos taken with it and my love for photography from earlier days was
instantly back. I had no idea then what it would mean to me, how
much I would learn from others, that I would make contact and friends
with so many wonderful people, be a part of a worldwide community like
this and that it would actually change my life.
I had no idea either at that time that my mother, so healthy and so in
love after 14 years as a widow, would soon die of cancer. At some
point, during her last six months, when I was staying with her at her
house, I found Instagram, a place to reach out, or hide
out, like a parallel room next to my world with my closest
family.
I posted my first sundaybluesedit more than a year ago and found a
place with so much art filled with emotions, and so much love between
the artists. That has inspired me and taught me how to put my
grief into something creative. I also realize now that I have had the
Sunday blues, more or less, during my whole adult life.
The sundaybluesedit tag has inspired me to try editing. Not to make a
photo look better but to try to convey an emotion. Usually it is the
editing in itself that interests me and not the result. Except for a few, I don´t
like many of my edits anymore, but all of them are
still important to me because of the process.
This specific edit started with a Hipstamatic double exposure with an
old photo of me and my mother, together with a religious icon. This
edit is the result of the strong emotions caused by Mother’s Day
approaching. The style is very much inspired by Rebecca and this is
one of my edited photos that I will continue to love.
Please visit Carina’s wonderful feed on Instagram at @lillamys
1000 Words Showcase, Week 35
This week’s showcase brings us wonderful photos from Scott A. Woodward, Benamon Tame, and Cedric Blanchon.
Big thanks for contributing to our Flickr group, 1000 Words. We hope to showcase the great diversity and beauty of the work shown to continue to inspire other mobile (connected) photographers/ artists within our community. 1000 Words is titled under the premise that “a photograph says a 1000 words.” We Are Juxt believes that mobile photographers/ artists tell stories through the photographs/ images and art that represents their families, their environment, themselves. This is important because of the level of communication that is portrayed in imaging today. We look forward to you and your art. We thank you for your contribution to the mobile photography/ arts community.
To view the 1000 Words gallery go here and feel free to add your own images.
This gallery is curated by Ryan V. To see the Showcases by week click here.
Also please visit out 1000 Words IPA monthly showcase, recently started by Mike Hill.
Juxt thanks you for your contributions!
The Crosswalk. by Scott A. Woodward
Flickr // IG // Twitter // Website // Blog
Although I have lived in Asia for nearly 17 years, it was only this past month that I had the privilege of visiting Japan for the first time. I was in Osaka for a three-week luxury hotel advertising shoot, which meant that I spent nearly all day and night inside a hotel. My reprieves from hotel living were generally measured in minutes in the mornings and afternoons and a couple of hours in the evenings. However, last Sunday I was unexpectedly given the day off by my client. My assistant and I spent more than five hours wandering the streets within the bustling Umeda district, window shopping, people watching and generally observing the world go by. It was a stunning spring day in Osaka and the streets were teeming with Japanese enjoying the sunshine and warm weather. I made dozens of street candids that day, but this one is special to me. As we stood waiting at a crosswalk late in the day, a woman with a black umbrella walked up beside us, stopping slightly in front of me at the intersection. She kept glancing over her shoulder — looking for someone perhaps? — and in each movement of her body, I was drawn to the contrast of her light face framed inside the black umbrella perched on her shoulder. I quickly pulled my iPhone from my pocket and fired off two frames. Then the light changed, the street flooded with people, and the woman melted into the crowd.
Captured with iPhone 4S camera; processed with Luminance, Big Lens and Squaready.
Burden of Truth by Benamon Tame
Flickr // About.me
This piece is part of an ongoing series based around the idea of an abandoned Victorian toy room where the toys have come to life. Each of the toy portraits are supported with a brief story or biography which has become part of a wider story and timeline of events. I re-imagined the Pinocchio as if he was afflicted with the compulsion to blurt out truth or lies, almost like a form of Tourette’s, and has been banished to the corner. The initial image was created using Procamera and then altered in Juxtaposer. The text was added using Phonto and then textures and final editing was done using Iris Photo Suite, Snapseed and Pictureshow. The Lost Toy Room Series and my other work can be found on my Flickr site and elsewhere.
Macadam Chroniques by Cedric Blanchon
Flickr
I made this photo on a foggy morning. I love the atmosphere in the streets and the fog was very thick this day. I saw two people, when they crossed the road, I took the picture. I would have liked to put myself in the middle of the road, but there were cars and I was on my bike at a red light. That’s why I love iphoneography, I can take my iPhone and shoot situations. I retouched the photo with the Noir, Afterlight, and Snapseed apps. I love the atmosphere of this picture and without fog that would not have been the same!
Café Series 03: Flower Girl by son3nne
Flickr
The photo is a candid shot taken in my favourite café. She was just sitting there, engrossed in a conversation and seemingly unaware of how beautiful she was. I just had to take the shot. The original ProCam shot is edited in KitCam, and as I posted I to EyeEm , I added the Vintage Filter.
“When he awoke, the dinosaur was still there.” by allophile
Flickr // Twitter
On a busy, otherwise prosaic, intersection near where I live in Tucson, a dinosaur sculpture presides over the traffic whizzing by fast food, a gas station, and an oil-change joint…The words of Guatemalan author Augusto Monterrosso come to mind when I pass this seemingly gratuitous T-Rex reproduction–in one of the shortest short-stories in any language, he wrote: “Cuando despertó, el dinosaurio todavía estaba allí.” (“When he awoke, the dinosaur was still there.”) That’s it, just that one sentence; enigmatic, allegorical, and surreal…Juxtaposition within one short sentence that illuminates the juxtaposition of a prehistoric-reptilian-statue in the middle of the automobile-centered cityscape of the American West…
I took this with my iPhone5. Initially I used the Perspective Correct app to straighten the traffic light next to the sculpture. Then I used Snapseed to crop and even out the exposure. The grid/fold overlay is from ScratchCam–but to get the ‘folds’ to line up where I wanted them to, I placed the photo in one of the options in the PicFrame app, estimating where it would line up in ScratchCam before I would crop it again. The surreal color-gradation from ‘prehistoric’ red on the right to dream-like green sky on the left is also from ScratchCam. To add a bit more texture, I used DistressedFX, and then the final vignetting was done in snapseed. (For my ‘signature’ in the bottom corner, I used iWatermark.)
Brueghel country by shonski32
Flickr
The inspiration for the photo was the stunning light. A sidelight entering by a small window gave the room a very theatrical atmosphere. Coupled with the Christian iconography on the walls, the place felt like the inner sanctum of an old church. The room is situated in an old Windmill in the outskirts of Brussels which featured in a 16th century painting by the famous Belgian painter Peter Brueghel.
My workflow: shot with the 6×6 app and exported to Snapseed – details/sharpening/structure/grunge/center focus.
Et voila.
Where’s my ride by Veevs3
Flickr // IG // Twitter // EyeEm // IPA // FB
I was waiting for a friend to arrive at Richmond Station. For once sun was shining in the UK and I saw this girl chatting on the photo and looking around so I guess she was waiting for her ride. I am not very good at taking photos of people so walked past her and took the photo with Camera+. Her skin was very white and she had bright red hair! I am trying to master the art of streetphotography and miss so many opportunities as am not bold enough, so was happy she was looking the other way when I took the photo!
I edited the image first in Snapseed where I cropped it to square format and I tuned the image with some brightness, vibrance, contrast and saturation. I then added a bit of Drama Filter to it. I didn’t want to over-edit this image so took the Snapseed saved image into Scratchcam and used the random option until I found a look that I liked – then I made a few more edits inside scratchcam and saved it. Then I opened that saved version in DistressedFX and lightly applied one of the filters. I was happy with the results and saved my image 
I’m Veevs, a Peruvian living in Old Isleworth very close to Richmond upon Thames in the UK.
Bud by 10_ya
Flickr // Backspaces // IG
I took this photo when my bud visited Tokyo from Fukuoka. I love light and shadow. Because shadows can be add a powerful image to a photograph. Shadows are most powerful when used in black and white photographs, but I have tried to express the image by a wall and colors in this photo.
Taken and edited with iPhone5. App used Snapseed, Filterstorm.
The Old Barn by anglesandexposures
Flickr
I came across this great old barn in a rural part of the Northwest USA on a road trip recently. I shot this with Hipstamatic, specifically the John S lens and the Claunch72 Monochrome film combination. I cropped the frame out in Snapseed and added a bit more vignetting for effect.
Free Couch, SE Portland by cecily123
Flickr
I have always felt some sort of affinity for pieces of furniture that have been left out on the street. There is something so fascinating and also jarring about seeing someone’s couch that has been put out on the street. It seems so personal, but there it is, right out on the curb. I drove by this last week and immediately pulled over. I just loved how the house, the garden and the couch looked like they belonged together. I took this image with Camera+, then processed it with Glaze, Snapseed, Blender, Phototoaster and then Snapseed again for some final tweaking/adjustments.
I am my own woman by Maansee
Flickr // Twitter // FB // Website
Self-portrait shot with Hipstamatic and edited in Procreate, Filterstorm, Scratchcam, ImageBlender and FlowPaper. Poetry accompanying this image here: art.mansibhatia.com/my-own-woman
Urban Musings with an Amazing Storyteller
I’m Besides Myself, Urban Muser
Urban Muser by BP
BP’s Introduction
There are so many talented photographers and artists out in mobile land. Its a beautiful thing to discover and be inspired by folks from around the world. This is one of them stories. I believe I found Christy aka Urban Muser via one of our 1000 Words Showcases. I was speechless by her image, “The Other Side.” She has been showcased on our site and I’m sure many others. Rebecca first showcased her for Sunday Blues Edit, then a few 1000 Words IPA 1/2 and Flickr (link above). Truth be told, “The Other Side” still lingers with me. I found it honest and compelling and was accompanied by text that rang for days. It truly resonated as its what I try to do with my own work, albeit our genres are different. She told a story and I watched and listened. SO…of course I asked her if we can have a dialogue and share it with you all. Through this interview, it got apparent that her artistry is brilliant and with our mutual love for music, I asked her to conceptualize an image based on one of my favorite songs, “Maybe, I’m Amazed” by Paul McCartney. Along with that, Christy also agreed to provide a techincial approach to her final image.
It’s an honor to present to you all, Christy Gibney aka Urban Muser.
B: BP C: Christy
B: Tell us about yourself.
C: I live in New York City with my husband and my dog Willow (who I am often accused of treating as if she is a human…I take it as a compliment). We also have a cat, but let’s just say I’m a dog-person and leave it at that. Our apartment is in northern Manhattan just off the Hudson River. It’s a little quieter up here and away from the hustle bustle of downtown where I used to live. Don’t get me wrong, I love the energy of the city, but it’s nice to still be in it without always being IN it.
I’m a former lawyer and a current non-profit consultant with a creative soul. My early career was spent working with victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, and for the past 12 years my focus has been on emergency management and disaster planning and recovery with human service organizations–mostly here in the city, but in other parts of the country as well. I got into this work in the wake of 9/11, which was a real turning point in both my personal and professional lives.
Looking back, I don’t think the word “artist” was ever used in my family when I was growing up but my mom was an amateur painter and drawer. Unfortunately, none of that talent passed down to me, but I remember as a child how I loved to watch her set up her easel and canvas and her paints or charcoals and go to work. She did a lot of landscapes, still-lifes and some portraits of family members. I was in awe of how she could create something so beautiful and personal and I think that had an impact on me.
sleepwalking, urban muser
I’ve got several avid amateur photographers in the family and I quickly developed a love for the camera. My parents gave me a Kodak 110 camera was I was about 10 years old and you could say I was hooked after that. I have an aunt and uncle who always had the latest camera equipment and weren’t shy about pointing that lens in everyone’s faces at all times. They shot on slide film and we’d all sit together at night and watch slide shows from our vacations. Thirty years later I still can hear the tap, tap, click and whirling sound of the carousel as it advanced to the next photo. So, I guess you could say that the beauty of the ability to capture a moment in time and hold onto it was etched into me early on.
B: Where are you from? Where have you lived prior?
C: I’m originally from a small suburban town in northern New Jersey, about 20 miles west of New York City. I lived in NJ through most of my young adult life except for my time spent away at college just outside of Philadelphia. I was fortunate to be exposed to New York City and all it has to offer at a young age–my father worked as a film and video editor for over 40 years at NBC in Rockefeller Center and my mother was a big Broadway fan and often brought me along to shows as her sidekick. I marveled at the city streets, the people, the food, the sense of excitement and freedom, and I promised myself as a child that I would live here someday.
Dark Whisper Part One, Urban Muser
B: How does your answers above influence your work in mobile photography and mobile arts?
C: In the past few years I’ve really put a lot of my energy into self-portrait work, which is deeply personal and not really influenced much by my surroundings. But I also enjoy capturing the flow of characters and life in the city–both on the streets and even more so winding through the darkness underground on the almost 700 miles of subway tracks. I am always surreptitiously snapping candid photos of riders on the trains. I love to watch people and construct a narrative in my head about where they’re going and where they’ve been. I don’t always share the results of these photos online, but sometimes if one really speaks to me I’ll post it on one of the social media platforms.
B: Who are your main draws for inspirations in art in general – fine art, music etc? Do you have 1-2 photographs or art that you feel are main source/s of inspiration in your work currently?
C: I would definitely say self-portrait work is heavily influenced by music. I like all kinds of music and the inspiration it provides can come at any stage in my creative process. What I mean by that is sometimes I hear a song lyric and I start to envision a self-portrait that I could create to encapsulate how that lyric made me feel. Other times I can be playing music during a “shoot” and it will influence me that way, and still other times it doesn’t happen until the editing or post-processing stage–I might be listening to music as I edit or just use a song lyric or song title as the title for my finished piece. Besides music, my self-portraits are also a product of my love for antique and vintage things and I’ll sometimes use an old prop or a dress I pick up in a thrift store to try to give my work a timeless or ghostly feel.
As for who inspires me, there are so many photographers…Vivian Maier, Sally Mann, Julia Margaret Cameron, Bill Cunningham (he rode past me on his bicycle wearing his signature blue jacket near Columbus Circle last year and I wanted to tackle him!), Henri Cartier-Bresson, the list goes on. I am a huge fan of Francesa Woodman, especially her self-portrait work. Her exploration of the female body, decay and sadness through the use of long exposures is incredible. I can get lost in the imagined stories behind her transient figures and her use of light, space and mirrors to create such surreal and haunting scenes. It’s unfortunate that we lost her at such a young age—I was lucky to see an exhibition of her work at the Guggenheim last year. It’s not possible for me to choose a favorite of her images, but here are a couple that I admire:
B: When did you start in mobile photography/mobile artistry? Do you have your first shot and would you share?
C: I started shooting mobile with my first iPhone (3gs) in 2010. I had no idea when I pressed that shutter button on the screen for the first time what a lasting effect this photographic medium would have on me. I had gotten away from photography for several years and the iPhone with its endless combination of apps definitely reawakened my creative side. I spent a couple of weeks playing around with Hipstamatic and I was intrigued by the randomness of the colors and light leaks, and the vintage feel to the frames and “films.”
My first mobile shot was of the George Washington Bridge in May 2010. I live close to the spot where I took this photo and the GWB is a constant muse for me (actually, I love to shoot any bridge whenever I can). This is not a very good photo but I’m sharing ’cause you asked! In my defense it was taken before the availability of the “precision” viewfinder mode in Hipstamatic so it’s certainly not a lesson in composition. I’m still a fan of Hipstamatic to this day, but I’ve moved on to many other apps since then.
B: Can you explain the concept phase for you?
C: Most of my current work is about exploring the subject of self. I don’t have a set process for how I go about creating an image–an idea for a photo can hit at any time. This often happens when I’m riding on the subway or running with my headphones on, and a song lyric might strike a chord inside me creating the desire to try to capture the words or the mood in an image. Sometimes it can be a literal depiction of a song or quote and other times it can just be a feeling that I get from listening to the song. The seedlings for a photo can also spring up when I am walking through my favorite park. I’ll see a tree, a bench or a pathway and start to visualize what I could do if I inserted myself into the scene. I keep a list of these ideas because there are usually so many rolling around inside my head.
When I get some time to shoot and edit, it hopefully starts to come together. Once I have the image, it’s all about experimentation in the apping phase. I tend to gravitate towards black & whites, or soft muted tones if I use color. The figures in my photos are often moving or blurred. I sometimes have a vague idea in my mind of the direction in which I want to go but I don’t know what it will be until I have the final image in front of me. There are usually several versions with minor variations before I choose the final one. It’s a process I really enjoy–being able to take a blip of an idea in my head, create an alternate universe, and hopefully turn it into something that tells a story.
Journey, Urban Muser
B: If I was to provide you with a song, would you be able to post process/edit to it…would love to see the emotion that the song brings to you and how it would change the end result, if not totally cool. again so intriguing to me. If you’re up for it the song I’d like for you to consider is Paul Mcartney’s Maybe Im Amazed.
C: Let me start by saying that I’ve never been asked to do something like this and it was a REALLY hard assignment Brad! I can’t say I listen to a lot of Paul McCartney but I was familiar with this song so I decided to give it a go. The first thing I did was just listen to the song in its entirety. There were a couple of lines that I immediately thought could be the basis for a new image. To be sure, I looked up the lyrics to the song so I could read them and isolate the words. In the end I decided I could shoot and edit something based on the line: “maybe I’m amazed at the way you’re with me all the time; and maybe I’m afraid of the way I leave you.”
Although this is widely heralded as a love song, in my typical fashion I was pulled towards this line which is a little sad and made me feel a certain loneliness. Right away I thought I might want to show a woman (me, since this is a self-portrait) walking away from something–the chair idea didn’t come into the picture until about halfway through the shoot. In the final edit you see the woman leaving behind an empty chair, but looking back as if she’s unsure. She’s walking away from the light into the darkness, tentatively reaching back as if she might be leaving something good behind. The birds came in during the editing process, loosely inspired by the line “maybe I’m a lonely man who’s in the middle of something that he doesn’t really understand.” I like to add a dream-like element to my images when I can, and the birds coming out of my stomach and through the border of the photo seemed to capture that feeling of bewilderment I was after. I don’t usually like to share that much of the backstory but would rather leave it up to the viewer to imagine their own story. Perhaps they can still wonder where I am going and why I am leaving?
I shot this self-portrait with the Slow Shutter app, a favorite of mine for when I want to capture blur and movement. I then took the photo into Snapseed for a little straightening and fine tuning–that’s pretty much a standard move for me. Next up, Vintage Scene, which a is great app for, well, giving photos a vintage look–no surprise there. I use this app often and just play around with the settings until I see something I like.
I added the birds using an app called Tapfx. This app has many different effects that you can add to photos but I’ve only ever used the birds. I actually have many of my own photos of birds that I usually layer into my photos for a bird effect but for this one I wanted to place the birds in somewhat of a line coming out of my body so it was easier to do this way.
Since Tapfx cropped the image square, I had to take it into Superimpose and lay the square version with the birds over the portrait version to bring it back to the right crop.
Next, a few minor edits in Retouch to fix some areas that had too much texture or a random scratch that I didn’t like.
At this point I thought it might be done but as I often do, I let it sit on my camera roll for a while. I like to take a fresh look at my images after a few days or a week, or even longer sometimes. When I came back to this one I felt that it needed more. I decided to experiment with Scratch Cam–a great app that allows you to play around with the color and apply scratches, textures, and borders–but I ended up not incorporating this version.
So I moved on to Noir Photo where you can choose different areas of the image and darken or lighten the surrounding area to create a vignette. I played around here a bit but settled on keeping the right side of the photo light and have her moving towards the darkness.
And finally, I pulled it into Square Ready, added a few more birds in Tapfx, save, and done!
B: What are some of your advice for readers who are looking to get more into mobile photography? We all started somewhere, for example your Hipstamatic bridge shot, and have gotten more comfortable…what would be your words be to someone who wants to engage and participate but are brand new to the art form or do not feel that they are “to the level” and are intimidated?
C: I think this is a great question, because to be honest I’m not sure any of us ever fully gets to the place where we are completely comfortable with our own work. Especially in this world where we all share so much through social media…with all the “likes” and favorites and comments…it can definitely be intimidating. What’s beautiful and at the same time overwhelming about mobile photography is that it is constantly evolving–there is always a new app or technique to learn, always someone else’s work to be awed and inspired by. So sure, I have some advice for the newbies to mobile photography but know that I still need to take some of this advice myself!
- Familiarize yourself with a few good apps and learn the finer points of how to use them instead of constantly jumping around from app to app. I have over 100 camera apps but honestly, I use about 6 of them on a regular basis.
- Resist the urge to over-process. It’s so fun in the beginning that sometimes it’s hard to know when enough is enough.
- Check out about mobile photography on blogs and websites like We Are Juxt, iPhoneArt, The App Whisperer and others. There’s so much out there; you can immerse yourself in the mobile arts–learn about apps, the latest gear and accessories, find inspiration in interviews and articles showcasing other artists’ work, it’s endless.
- Start slow and work your way into it. You’re not going to love every photo right off the bat and not every app is the most user-friendly. Be kind to yourself during the learning curve.
- Don’t delete every photo that you don’t like on the first pass. Sometimes I’ll go back through my camera roll months later, see an image in a whole new light, and turn it into something I love!
- You are the ultimate critic of your own work—–shoot for yourself and no one else.
- Photography is personal—–look around at other people’s work and see what you like, but then develop your own style.
Breathe, Urban Muser
B: Urban Muser – Can you please give the background on this name?
C: The name was randomly chosen when I started a now-dormant blog back in 2010. I live in NYC and the blog was just going to be a random collection of my thoughts and musings so wanted to call the blog “Urban Musings” but that name was taken so I went with “Urban Muser”. Then I started sharing images on flickr, IPA and other places, still using my alter ego Urban Muser instead of my real name and it kind of stuck. I’m incredibly shy about sharing my work with people I know; in fact, other than my husband, very few of my “real life” friends or family have ever seen any of my self-portraits (and the ones who have seen my work were just brought into the loop recently). I know that sounds crazy but when I started getting more serious about the photography hobby I didn’t expect it to become such a big part of my life. This year I promised myself I’d slowly start working to bring my two worlds together and let the cat out of the bag! In the last few months I’ve shown my work to a few friends and my brother…they’ve been shocked that I’ve been keeping this a secret for so long, but very encouraging.
Meet Christy below:
Tumblr // Twitter // Instagram // EyeEm // Flickr // Websites: Mortal Muses – Me & You: 52
The Sargent and the Muse
It took me some time to track down the Sargent; he was just as elusive as he was talked about. I’d been working my way through South East Asia for six months; chasing trails that promised to be the ones that would finally deliver him to me before they turned cold and left me no closer than I started. In the end it was almost an accident that I found him. I was sitting in a bar in Bangkok thinking to myself that it was time to return to my dead end job back in Melbourne Australia, when I overheard a conversation on the table next to me. An elderly gentleman with a distinct northern England accent was talking loudly to another man – who also appeared to be English – about how he had recently come across Sargent laFletcher in a small village about two hours drive from here. Of course I jumped straight up and went over to their table and introduced myself. I told this gentleman of my plight and that he had to tell me how to find this village.
Well I won’t bore you with the details, but believe me it took quite a lot of convincing – and the remainder of my savings – before he would divulge to me the location of this village that the Sargent was apparently holed up in.
When I found the Sargent it was obvious that he didn’t want to be found. He eyed me with suspicion when I told him what I was there for, but then on the third day something happened, his defenses seemed to come down or grow weary and I spotted the crack that I had been looking for. I didn’t have much time, and my tape recorder was playing up due to the intense humidity of the jungle. But the following is what I managed to get from him…
Confronting History: Exploring the Mills of Ilchester, Maryland
AS THE SUN reached its highest peak on a beautiful spring day, my wife, Cat, and I drove up MD-295 N toward Ellicott City, Maryland. The city itself was not our destination, but what rests in its shadow — the small hidden town of Ilchester. After many years of exploring the various areas in and outside Washington, DC, my imagination inevitably wanted to expand into other areas. The desire to go outside my comfort zone enticed me. With my iPhone fully charged and my hat brim low, we were prepared to venture into the neglected buildings that sat on the outskirts of town — an eyesore for many, but for me, an irresistible chance to confront and photograph the past in its current state.
“The past is not dead, it is not even past yet.” - Faulkner
Although the purpose and function of a building may end, the place itself does not die. It may wither, decay, and rot, but it lives on in a manner that allows you to remember it in a different light. There are no wasted grounds. Each space has its own authentic feel that leads to an emotionally charged discovery. Our guide in Ilchester was a kindred spirit. Kevin led us to the entrance of the former Thistle Mill. After inspecting the various boarded up doors and windows, we had to figure out the proper entry point. I could feel the adrenaline just by standing on the grounds of the property. “No Trespassing” signs were noticeable amidst the graffiti that flooded the walls.
ALEXANDER FRIDGE and William Morris originally purchased in 1823 the land that would one day become the site of the Thistle Mill. The two Baltimore businessmen bought the property from the Ellicott family, hoping to capitalize on the Industrial Revolution that had made nearby Baltimore such a significant city during the 19th century. Fridge and Morris turned the site into a mill that wove cotton fabric, seeking to find a profitable textile to provide the nearby booming cities. By 1928, the facility, which had been sold to another company, contributed to the thriving automobile industry, manufacturing fabric for automobile tires. At its peak, the small community maintained thirty to forty houses with as many as five hundred workers [and their families].
And it stood. Against time, against numerous floods, against a shifting and out-sourcing economy, the mill and its workers fought to maintain relevance. It did so until a fire ravaged the property. More than 100 firefighters from across the region were called on to tackle this blistering force. The first emergency call came at 8:40 p.m. Minutes before the call, the propane tanks blew and the exclamation point to a mill that functioned for more than a century arrived. There were no fire hydrants on the property, and the roads were very narrow, with sharp turns and slight hills, with the Patapsco River conquering the opposite side. Finally, by 2003, after a history of flooding, fires, and economic pressure, the mill was left for dead. Or so it seemed.
“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” – Robert Frost
“WATCH OUT FOR THE POISON IVY,” Cat whispered as I pushed my way through the untamed brush to the side of the “No Trespassing” sign. She pointed out the three-leaved, glossy plants that stood as sentries along the outskirts of the structure. By the time I made it down the broken and cracked steps, flooded by shrubs and low-hanging tree branches overhead, I noticed that Cat and Kevin had found an easier route. As we regrouped, I observed the entrance, which was covered in graffiti. A portion of the wall had crumbled, creating a new passage into the facility. It was hard to imagine that this once great hall had at some point been filled with the voices of five hundred men and the sights and smells that complement a fully functioning factory. The concrete flooring had given way to fresh shoots of grass that crept through its cracks, and littering the ground were shards of sparkling glass that had, I’m sure, come from carousers who drank many a night away. There was a haunting memory everywhere.
Experiencing this architecture as it wanes into the past, as nature reclaims it, resonated with each of us an on a physical level. A buzz of adrenaline and adventure overshadowed our apprehension as we explored each vacant room; there were vast holes in the ground where the floors had collapsed, falling pieces of the ceiling and razor sharp metal that threatened us from above, and a myriad of dark corners from which any lurker or wild animal could surprise us. But any trepidation we might have felt was compartmentalized as we attempted to document with our iPhones every twist and turn of the warehouse. Kevin captured the subtleties of broken windows and the shadows and shapes created by the debris, and Cat snapped away at little plants that grew in the most inhospitable nooks and crannies. Meanwhile I searched for structure amidst the chaos wrought by time. Exploration of this type requires a significant amount of effort — a deep commitment to engage rooms and spaces that you cannot ignore or look away from. These locations have no reason to lie or mislead.
There is no agenda. They just are, rotting and decaying.
Are we more interested in the aesthetics? The photograph? Or is it the sense of history one feels while standing inside of the location? For me it proved to be all of the above. As we left hours later, I quickly unlocked my iPhone and opened my camera roll, with my battery on its last legs, and began to see what I saw, to remember although it was still fresh in my mind. I could see the possible edits and the possible crops. I thought the photos could potentially be good, but they could not supersede the experience.
• Kevin and his shots of Ilchester, Maryland can be found on EyeEm (at) kevmoore and Instagram (at) onekevmoore.
• Cat and her shots of Ilchester, Maryland can be found on Instagram (at) caluja.
• John and his shots of Ilchester, Maryland can be found on EyeEm (at) lujan and Instagram (at) jlujan.
All photos below are by John, unless otherwise noted.
Take Us to Montevideo
“Take Us To… ” is an ongoing travel series around the world which features several photographers in a given location. The goal is to give you an inside look as to what the city is like day by day.
Last month we flew you to Chicago, and today, Flight #2 takes you to Montevideo – the capital city of Uruguay.
On this trip photographers, Ana, Denny, Federico R., Federico S., and Fernanda show us their favorite areas of Montevideo. After viewing the video, please take a moment to read more about each photographer and see what they love most about their city.
Sit back, relax and enjoy the ride…
MEET THE PHOTOGRAPHERS
Ana Paula Rondán
Bio: My name is Ana Paula Rondán, I am 24 years old. I work as a model for many years and currently am a fashion producer as well. I was born in a small village, of 900 habitants in the center of the Oriental Republic in Uruguay. I had a beautiful childhood surrounded by nature and pure air.
About the photo set:
Photo1: Feria de Villa Biarritz/Villa Biarritz market. In this type of business we can buy cheeses, grains, olive oil of artisanal and organic origin.
Photo2: Feria de Parque Rodo/Parque Rodo market. Typical business of cold meat and cheeses. They use little packaging and many others are recyclable. For example: the eggs are wrapped in everyday paper. You can also bring your own jars and they will fill with cream cheese, sweets, etc. It is normal one asks to have a taste before buying.
Photo3: Feria vecinal/Neighborhood market. The neighborhood markets are very popular in Uruguay. It is an ecological way to consume. Fortunately many Uruguayan families prefer the markets rather than the large supermarkets.
Photo4: Parada de ómnibus/Bus stop. I take this bus everyday and it stops at the door of my house. It’s route.
Photo5: La señora/The woman. Also went to the market.
Photo6: Typical street of my neighborhood in Parque Rodo. In my neighborhood the houses aren’t high and old. Have plenty of “platanus” and “Jacarandá”.
Photo7: Castillo del Parque Rodó – Library María Stagnero de Munar. Located in the center of the park 100meters from the beach.
Photo8: I really like boat trips. This man works everyday in the park.
Photo9: Parque Rodo/Rodo Park. There are many businesses that make “churros” in my neighborhood but his one in particular stands out for serving “churros” with cheese.
Photo 10: Parque Rodo. My neighborhood also has games with views of the beach. Every weekend people come from all parts of Montevideo to enjoy the park and the games.
Bio: My name is Ana Paula Rondán, am 24 years old. I work as a model for many years and am now a fashion producer as well. I was born in a very small village, of 900 habitants in the center of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay. I had a beautiful childhood surrounded by nature and pure air.
Contact: Twitter // Instagram // Facebook
1. Are you originally from Montevideo? What is your line of profession? And how does it influence your photography?
I was born in Cardona in the department of Soriano, Uruguay.
I work as a professional model for more than 10 years. I also directed a fashion magazine for two years and nowadays work as a fashion producer, besides working as a model. In taking part in all of these productions, along my career, I started to feel a certain attraction for photography and the truth is I began to experiment when Instagram entered my life last year.
2. What do you feel makes Montevideo unique?
Montevideo is a very calm city, with a very big coastline which plays a significant part in the mood of the Uruguayans In appearance, it is a city of the past. Its architecture is very old, and so are the automobiles. Something that makes Uruguayans unique is that everyone drinks “mate” all the time and everywhere, this calls much attention to the people who visit from other countries.
Es una casa de herramientas en el bosque de Lussich en Portezuelo, Maldonado, Uruguay.
3. What is your favorite typical dish? Is there a local restaurant which you recommend that serves it just the way you like it?
My favorite food is the “chivito” of Bar Sporting. It is a bar en Parque Rodo managed by its owners.
4. Is there a place which you classify as a “hidden gem”?
Twice a week in every neighborhood of Montevideo we have large markets of fresh fruits and vegetables, cheap and many of them are organic.
5. What tip would you give to someone traveling to Montevideo for the first time?
Personally I recommend not looking for big parties and bars.
6. How would you describe the people of Montevideo?
The people of Uruguay are very kind, charming and very relaxed. The big river greatly influences the Uruguayan’s personality.
Las Toscas.
Este balneario queda a 30 minutos de Montevideo, en el kilómetro 47.5.
Es una de mis playas favoritas. Hay un ambiente muy familiar y tranquilo.
7. Have you had any professional training in photography?
No, I am not a photographer. I take pictures for pleasure.
8. Are you involved with any collaborations or projects you’d like to share?
No.
9. If you’re not taking photographs, you are…
These days I am making frames with flowers that I have collected, dehydrated and have kept throughout the summer.
——————–
Denny Brechner
About the photo set: Day and night by the sea.
Bio: Born in Montevideo in 1983, lived in Uruguay, Israel, London and Shanghai. Studied Film in College where I directed the documentary, “The Big Trip”, about Israeli soldiers travelling after finishing the army. After school I worked in several film projects. Now am established in Montevideo, working as a freelance photographer.
1. Are you originally from Montevideo? What is your line of profession? And how does it influence your photography?
I’m from Montevideo. I am working with a software company in the chinese market. My photography was influenced by all the travels, making street photography one of my favorite areas.
2. What do you feel makes Montevideo unique?
I feel Montevideo is unique for its rhythm, being very peaceful for a capital.
Untitled
3. What is your favorite typical dish? Is there a local restaurant which you recommend that serves it just the way you like it?
Chivito and Milanesa. La pasiva is a good place for local food
4. Is there a place which you classify as a “hidden gem”?
Not really.
5. What tip would you give to someone traveling to Montevideo for the first time?
Montevideo doesn’t have super famous spots, it is generally the vibe what makes it unique. You need a few days to see it.
6. How would you describe the people of Montevideo?
Well educated, humble, peaceful.
Untitled
7. Have you had any professional training in photography?
I started as a professional last year working with some magazines.
8. Are you involved with any collaborations or projects you’d like to share?
Not yet.
9. If you’re not taking photographs, you are…
Playing soccer, diving and cooking.
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Federico Racchi
About the photo set: Montevideo is a small port city which lives and looks to the sea. As a lucky “montevideano”, I grew up living one block from the “Rambla” of “Punta Carretas”, then moved to “Buceo” and finally to “Pocitos”, living always only a couple of blocks from the sea. This place is like our backyard. We have experienced many things there, first football shoots, swimming, fishing, kissing, drinking “mates”, beer or having our first cigarette and more… A magical place from which to observe calm and feel relaxed.
Bio: I work and live in Montevideo as a graphic designer and freelance photographer. I have lived a few years away from my hometown, first in Dominican Republic and then in New York. In 2009 I came into photography and started going out to the streets looking for emotions, lifestyle and anthropological shapes of the city and citizens.
Contact: Instagram // Twitter // Flickr // Website
1. Are you originally from Montevideo? What is your line of profession? And how does it influence your photography?
I live and work in Montevideo as a graphic designer. My career has taken me to the visual art field and experiment with all kind of cameras, film, lomo, dslr, mostly while on vacation or other travel experiences. Besides, I have lived a few years in Dominican Republic and New York.
2. What do you feel makes Montevideo unique?
The city which looks at the sea, the mild climate and the people which I think have a taste, education and creativity in all art levels, like music and poetry for example making Montevideo, with its 1.5 million people, unique.
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3. What is your favorite typical dish? Is there a local restaurant which you recommend that serves it just the way you like it?
The typical dish here is the ‘asado’ (meat ribs), you can have it at any ‘parrillada’, but for me the best in town is called ‘La Otra’ in Pocitos neighborhood. Also you can have the most tourist experience, going down town to ‘El Mercado del Puerto’.
Besides, you can find fresh fish everywhere
4. Is there a place which you classify as a “hidden gem”?
There is a dock in the Buceo’s bay thats is a gem and another one in ‘Punta Brava’ .
5. What tip would you give to someone traveling to Montevideo for the first time?
Well I think like in most other cities, it is in food workers where you will find the real answers about the city. However one tip I can give is to don’t miss the ‘Tambores’ experience (F. Sardi will tell you for sure). Because like my friend @pendehooo tattoo says “Music is the answer” and Films too!!!
Some Uruguayan films you must see are: “25watts”, “Whisky”, “El Baño del Papa”.
6. How would you describe the people of Montevideo?
I think we are simple middle class people, with stronger values in social justice and compromise in politics. We are very extreme in our beliefs as well as very passionate for soccer….hehehe.
We are quite conservative in our way of dressing but very forward thinking in topics like equal same sex marriage and legal abortion rights. Besides our country has innovated education by the “one laptop per child” program, from which we feel really proud.
7. Have you had any professional training in photography?
Not in depth, but during my graphic designer graduate degree we had a couple of courses to introduce us to the photography field, which we then experienced for most of our projects.
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8. Are you involved with any collaborations or projects you’d like to share?
I took part in the 24 hour project in March. It was an amazing experience which you can check in the post by @Koci, which was published in here. Besides, I’m about to start the 100strangers on flickr group to improve the streets conversations. On the other hand, I also have a food project in progress, together with my chef and designer friends.
9. If you’re not taking photographs, you are…
While taking photos and or not I spend the time with my love @marusilva and my dog #edmalab. We enjoy walking by the beach everyday. And I have an obsession with auteur cinema, like watching 7 to 10 films a week.
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Federico Sardi
About the photo set: My passion with mobile photography began almost accidentally. As an orchestra musician I travel a lot to study and perform abroad. As I’m always carrying my instrument, accesories, music stand and lots of scores, the only camera I can carry with me is my iPhone. I started documenting all my travels with that little device and found that its camera could get in many places where a “real camera” could not. That’s where my passion for street photography started.
After coming back to Uruguay I started looking at it with “tourist eyes”. I started discovering new details every day, just like if I was visiting a new country. From that moment on I’ve been photographing Montevideo daily, getting to know its architecture, its people, its little secrets from a completely different perspective. Through candids I’m capturing slices of life, I’m documenting life from an artistic point of view.
Thanks to my camera-phone, I discovered a new passion I couldn’t live without; photography. I think these pictures are a good sample of what I want to portray; fractions of a second of the life of ordinary people, doing ordinary things, that turn into magic… into an honest (but nonetheless artistic) documentation of life, here and now, as seen through my eyes.
Bio: Federico Sardi is a bassoonist of the Montevideo Philarmonic and OSSODRE orchestras, a passionate iPhoneographer and a MPA Honorable Mention (Performing Arts 2013)
EyeEm ambassador: @federicosardi, Instagramers Uruguay‘s manager, Instagram Artistry moderator, Mobile Artistry contributor & AMPt member
Contact: Instagram: @federicosardi & @estopasaya // Backspaces: @federicosardi // Twitter: @SardiFederico // Blog: http://iPhoneografiaBN.tumblr.com
1. Are you originally from Montevideo? What is your line of profession? And how does it influence your photography?
I was born in Montevideo, in November 1990, and I’m a professional musician. I’m a bassoonist of the Montevideo Philharmonic and OSSODRE (National Symphony) orchestras.
Music is one way of expressing myself, photography is just another one. It is something that I need to do almost as much as make music. When my job gets too demanding and stressful or when I feel I’m not having enough “artistic freedom” (as an orchestra musician is more or less a soldier under the conductor’s command), I tend to shoot even more, as a way to find a balance over my “artistic needs”.
I’d rather learn from one bird how to sing than to teach ten thousand stars how not to dance – - E. E. Cummings
2. What do you feel makes Montevideo unique?
The beautiful “rambla” (promenade) by the Río de la Plata and the Ciudad Vieja (Old City) neighborhood are emblems of the city.
The Ciudad Vieja keeps all Montevideo’s oldest secrets in its ancient buildings, narrow streets and beautiful plazas. It has a huge concentration of offices and government buildings and its also always full of turists what makes that part of the city a gem for street photographers.
Tango (as many other “urban music styles”) was born in the outskirts of Ciudad Vieja, close to the docks where the poor people found a way to express their pain and nostalgia through dance and music. It still has some “dark” areas that I think contribute to its magic.
La Rambla which frames the southern part of our city is a beautiful place to take a walk or just enjoy the view of the Rio de la Plata and the beautiful summer sunsets over the water.
I’ve put up a Foursquare list with must-see places of Montevideo (historical, turistic, bars and restaurants) that won the Foursquare Cities contest. If you use Foursquare and have the chance to visit our city you can even get the Mateína badge by checking on 5 of those places too!
3. What is your favorite typical dish? Is there a local restaurant which you recommend that serves it just the way you like it?
There are many typical dishes. I should say that “asado“ is the principal. My personal favourite is Chivito. If you want to know what a Chivito is, you’ll definetly have to see what Anthony Bourdain has to say about it.
If you want to eat asado you’ll definetly have to go to Mercado del Puerto on Ciudad Vieja (listed on the Foursquare list), that is a huge old food “market” that has many “parrilladas”, the places where asado is best made. About chivitos, I’d recommend you to try chivitos in every bar and restaurant until you find the one that you like the best. Every place has some disctintive way of preparing chivitos. My favourite chivito will most likely be the next to come!
4. Is there a place which you classify as a “hidden gem”?
I think Montevideo is full of “hidden gems”, it’s just a matter of being adventurous and looking for those gems. If you saw the full Anthony Bourdain episode on Uruguay you’ll surelly know what I’m talking about.
If you come to visit Montevideo you’ll have to visit Palermo and Barrio Sur neighborhoods to hear some candombe (a beautiful rhythm legacy of the slaves, that used to call eachother with the sound of the drums), and visit the Feria de Tristán Narvaja (Sunday mornings), a traditional flea market in which you can find anything from old wrecked cameras and used clothes, from fine antiques and first editions of old books that may worht thousands but be misslabeled at just a few dollars. Great place for street photography too!
5. What tip would you give to someone traveling to Montevideo for the first time?
If you’re adventurous, go off the “prestablished tourist route”. Learn the codes of the city, dress like a local, go out and explore! Most distances in Montevideo are short so grab a map (traveler tip: take screenshots of the places you’re planning on visiting on the map application and use that. Don’t rely on wifi networks! You wont’ find many) and go explore!
There are a few more tourist tips on the interview I gave to the romanian site TukTuk.
6. How would you describe the people of Montevideo?
I always describe and “judge” the people of a city when I’m there as a tourist. Can’t say the same about Montevideo, but I’d like to think that people is gentle and always willing to help a lost tourist!
I believe that the best way to get to know the people of Montevideo without actually visiting the city is through candid portraits. You can take a look at my feed on Instagram or EyeEm and Federico Racchi’s feed on Instagram to see candid portraits of our people from two different perspectives.
7. Have you had any professional training in photography?
No, my passion for photography began with my iPhone. Since I discovered the world of mobile and iPhone photography (iPhoneography, coining Glyn Evans therminology) I’ve been self teaching myself by constantly shooting and reading all I can find, exploiting all the resources that internet provides.
I’m actively involved on the iPhoneography world, beta testing apps, taking pictures (literally) every day and diving in many many projects. I found a new passion and I’m serious about it. I’m putting as much effort on it as I do on music.
Going back to what was asked, I attended one of the excellent online Mobile Photo Workshops (the one on street photography) by Anton Kawasaki and Sion Fullana. I must say I absolutely loved it. It was also a great thing to be able to have them following closely your work, interacting with you and making full use of what technollogy has to offer. Most of the “action” regarding mobile and iPhone photography is happening in the US and on Europe in a smaller degree. It’s very hard to us, south americans, to be a part of it so I celebrate Anton and Sion’s decision to make the workshops online. They’re planning on bringing back the workshops soon, so stay tuned!
Pity the country that needs heroes – - Bertold Brecht
8. Are you involved with any collaborations or projects you’d like to share?
I’m managing Instagramers Uruguay, the local igers network and that allows me to enlarge the mobile community by encouraging igers to use their mobile phones. That is a huge satisfaction, but it also takes a huge amount of work and effort. One of the main short term goals with@igersuruguay is to make a first mobile photography exhibition. On Instagram I’m also moderating the Instagram Artistry account (@ig_artistry) and contributing to Mobile Artistry (@mobileartistry).
I’m also an EyeEm ambassador but haven’t started anything in Uruguay yet, because I may be moving to Düsseldorf, Germany for a while, so that will be a great opportunity to start something there (although the language barrier would make things hard, I think it would be a great experience). I have to confess that I’d really love to work with the guys at EyeEm, the potential of the platform is amazing, and I found that there is a great team behind it. Can’t wait to meet them in person. I’m also on the process of becoming a Juxter (that’s supposed to be a secret…right?). I love what the community is doing and I’d love to collaborate with some bilingual content (spanish and english) to make everything mobile accesible to even more people around the globe. I also discovered recently that I really enjoy writing, so I’ll definetly be doing that more often!
9. If you’re not taking photographs, you are…
If I’m not taking photographs, I’m listening or making music (not only classical!) or I’m working endless hours on all my Apple devices (yes, I use a MacBook Pro, an iPad and two) iPhones to manage, moderate and contribute to the different communities I’m into, besides processing and uploading my own images. I used to read a lot but now I barely have time to keep up with everything that’s going on on my life. On Sundays (every two weeks) I meet a group of crazy music lovers to play a music game that has a history of 60 plus years on Uruguay. In this meetings a host plays a carefully curated selection of classical pieces for the attendance to guess who composed them. Almost non of them are musicians, but their level of knowledge is absolutely unveliavable. Now I’m starting to think that interviewing and photographing them could actually be a great project to get involved into!
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Fermontoro
About the photo set: I lived abroad for many years, and each time I would come to visit my home city I was surprised to see its cars. Montevideo remains a treasure of the past and, within it, a treasure of cars ‘with character’. So I started to work on a series of photos taken with the iPhone, based on those cars and the portraits behind them. This is a selection of the ongoing series.
Bio: Fernanda Montoro was born in Montevideo, Uruguay. During the process of making documentaries, Fernanda discovered her passion for photography. Today she lives and works as a photographer between London and Montevideo, using mainly vintage Polaroid cameras. Her limited edition prints and original polaroid work have been exhibited in galleries around the world and published in numerous magazines and books.
Contact: Website // Facebook // Twitter // Instagram
1. Are you originally from Montevideo? What is your line of profession? And how does it influence your photography?
I was born and raised in Montevideo but I lived most of my adult life abroad. I am a photographer and I work mainly with Polaroid and analogue cameras. Photography is an important part of my life.
2. What do you feel makes Montevideo unique?
I think Montevideo combines the buzz of a capital city with the feel of a small town. Add to that mix long stretches of coastline, architectonic treasures and very laid back people.
Rosas Rojas
3. What is your favorite typical dish? Is there a local restaurant which you recommend that serves it just the way you like it?
I’m vegetarian and Uruguay is a famous meat- eating country. In the past there haven’t been many options for me to eat-out! But luckily things are rapidly changing now. No fave veggie place yet, but more options than before, especially in the old city.
4. Is there a place which you classify as a “hidden gem”?
I often go to “El Faro” de Punta Carretas to watch the sunset. It’s a good vantage point, and usually there are only a few fishermen and lots of stray cats at that time of the day.
5. What tip would you give to someone traveling to Montevideo for the first time?
Watch your bag, cameras and walk. It’s a beautiful city to discover by foot.
6. How would you describe the people of Montevideo?
I think in general people are friendly and open to conversation. Not very used to foreigners though.
7. Have you had any professional training in photography?
No, I’m a Self-Taught Photographer. I had professional training in film making.
Ana Paula
8. Are you involved with any collaborations or projects you’d like to share?
I am currently working with my partner Agustin Ferrando on a video series about Uruguay, which broadcasts on YouTube on Mondays: Tiranos Temblad. It reflects Uruguay idiosyncrasy, so I would recommend it to people who want to know more about our culture. Photography-wise I am working on two new series of photographs and also on a book, a collaboration with my writer friend Fernanda Trias. It’s taking us long but we are enjoying the process.
9. If you’re not taking photographs, you are…
I’m enjoying being back home, spending time with Agustin, making and watching videos with him, cooking, playing videogames or reading.
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I’d like to thank the photographers for showing us their wonderful city and for being a part of this series. Hopefully one day I’ll get to visit – Bridgette
Seattle Supersonics: Last Shout to the NBA
Video: Windows Phone, Nokia Lumia 920 (View in HD)
A little over one year later, I have had the opportunity to witness two major events demanding the return of an NBA team, wait, the return of our beloved Supersonics to the Emerald City.
The City of Seattle has been without an NBA team since 2008.
Sonicsgate, which is one of the strongest forces in the city, brought together the community one last time in 2013 before the NBA Board of Governors votes on the relocation back to Seattle on Wednesday, May 15, 2013.
This is the city’s last rallying call until we find out their decision. Chris Hansen and his band of millionaire superheroes have been lobbying and putting up millions of dollars to show the NBA how serious they are, we are, in having our beloved 41 year legacy return. A night hosted by Shawn Kemp and Tilson with music from some of the city’s best hip hop, cameos from major politicians, and even more importantly, hundreds of Sonics fans came together to celebrate the accomplishments of Sonicsgate, Chris Hansen, and the voices of our city.
I had the opportunity to ask Geo aka Prometheus Brown from the Blue Scholars and Adam Brown, one of the directors of Sonicsgate about the Sonics and let you all hear through their voices why its so important for the Sonics to return.
This is important to not only the fans who have been here but more importantly for the future fans of a cultural icon in the Pacific Northwest – Bring Back Our Sonics.
BIG THANKS Geo, Adam and Jason of Sonicsgate, Neumos, and Alive & Well Seattle.
Chris Hansen group – We believe in you.
*Apologies for the terrible editing skills. First time playing with the video of the Nokia and post-process.
Jakarta: On the Streets
On the Street with Arry Ramadhan by Fahmi R
Many people said street is a place for where big things happen. I love seeing and observing the abstractions, patterns, interactions, mimics, and the environment while I sit at the corner of any street. Moments are everything in street photography, waiting for the decisive moment where the most interesting thing may happen while observation. Becoming invisible and blending with the crowd or the people along the street, always watching like an eagle and seeking for the best moment, imagine the theater of life, about what people do and what people think, because of that I think street photography is so great. Many people has attracted me with their work on the street. One of them is my fellow Street Banditos team member, Arry Ramadhan (@arryrama). His approach using mobile devices is very impressive and helps me imagine what actually happened in the frames of photographs that Arry has taken on the street.
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Meet Arry Ramadhan
My name is Arry Ramadhan, born as an Indonesian on May 10, 1987. I work as a full-time Graphic Designer. I like music and photography. My devotion to photography took me to unnatural conditions. At first, I learned how to use analog cameras while I sit still in college (IKJ), so I learned the basic of photography from there. In early 2011, I bought Samsung Galaxy Gio as my first smartphone. From there I became more interested in photography and I joined one of the mobile photography communities in Indonesia. At some point I saw some works from street photography genre and I immediately fell in love with street photography. Then I bought a camera to complete my devotion to photography. It was in mid-2012, I bought Fujifilm Finepix X100 and using it until now. I’m very satisfied with the results, and me and my camera became a perfect couple.
Currently I’m a member of the street photography group, the StreetBanditos , Indonesia Street Mobile Photography (ISTRIE) community & member at myx100 blog.
And this is my interview with Arry Ramadhan.
F: Me A: Arry
F: Hi Arry, can you tell us your short story about your photography journey until now, and why finally you decided to work with a mobile device?
A: My devotion to photography took me to the unnatural conditions. Start from college, I learn basic photography from analog camera, but I wasn’t really interested. In early 2011, I brought my first smartphone Samsung Galaxy Gio with 3.2 MP and since then I fell in love as I took candids of people. At one point I saw and learned from some of the great works from within the street photography genre. That was the time when I truly fell in love with (street) photography. Now, I use Motorola Razr for (mobile) street photography and documentary and upload it to Instagram.
F: What is the style that fit you the most? I mean what style in photography that really represent you? Tell me man..
A: I just like street photography and documentary. I like to walk and see everything around me. Observe about social conditions, culture, and talking with strangers. Those things make me know how to be a good person and know much great stories from another persons life.
F: What stories do you wanna tell in your photographs? Is it representing something such as your own mood or you just snap away without thinking anything when you see the objects or subjects?
A: I had different styles when I use my mobile camera (Razr) and the camera (Fuji x100). I used my mobile camera for telling the stories of Jakarta. I try to show stories about people, society, culture, place, and other subjects that I find in Jakarta. When I use mobile camera I usually just capture anything that I see on the streets, make it all fit together into a frame. It’s fun to explore without thinking and sometimes I get some amazing pictures that I don’t realize how can I got those pictures. Less editing is my style, it might make the audience feel that its a simple picture, a picture that tells the truth about Jakarta. The other style is when I use my camera (Fuji x100) for street portrait and those stories are different as they are about loneliness and the dark side of the people in Jakarta.
F: Now tell me about your goal for yourself in the mobile photography world. What did you want and what did you wanna show to the world? And did you think mobile photography can compete side by side with the photography using the big gun?
A: I thought for now I was satisfied enough with mobile photography, but I hope one day I can see people documenting their cities, their neighborhood, their environment, and their daily life from their own perspective. Like what I do to see Jakarta using my own perspective. It is fun and interesting when we see the photographs of other cities such Paris, Tokyo, Berlin, or any other cities using the different perspective from other people.
For the competition between mobile and non-mobile photography I thought that was the same thing. I thought people had their own opinion on the context of purposes, for me I like to use the mobile camera for instant photographs and quickly shared it to my friends using the social media, with the big gun I was usually used it for my personal projects or do any photographs that really need the best quality of sharpness, lights, and pixels. So I guess everyone has their own purposes on using mobile or the big guns while their doing their own photographs.
F: The last thing, what’s your favorite application that you usually use on your mobile device? And tell us why?
A: My Motorola Razr was running on Android OS, I was choose the FV-5 Camera as my favorite camera application for my Razr. With FV-5 camera I can do control the exposure and I thought this is the application that had much feature on Android. About the editing application I just using only the snapseed, it was pretty simple and easy to use. Beside that I don’t do much editing for every picture that I take using my Razr, I just need to do some adjustment about the light, colors, and composition. Less edit is great for me.
F: Ok, thanks bro for your time. Keep up the good work!
A: Your welcome Dijeh! Cipok basah lengket!
What Arry does with his mobile phone is absolutely great. He chooses to concentrate on mobile photography to do his street journey in Jakarta. And like what he said, why don’t we share the stories of our cities with our own perspective? It is great to see the different points of view from cities around the world. Street is the real theater of life, a place that can show any drama of our real life. We just need to observe and seek those moments patiently. Rare things happen and why we don’t freeze it into a frame? Why not?
Contact Arry Ramadhan
Instagram / Personal Blog / 500px / EyeEm
Passion for Portraiture? Tips To Get You Started
Passion for Portraiture? Tips To Get You Started by Geri C.
What a pleasure to join the ranks of the JUXT(ers). As a former sketch card and portrait artist, I am drawn to portrait photography and wanted some tips from a few of my favorite mobile photographers for producing beautiful portraits using a smartphone. I’ve gathered their advice along with some stunning samples of their work. Photographers featured are both hobbyists and professionals from around the globe.
Anthony Ginns
Sydney, Australia–Graphic designer/Art Director/iPhoneographer/Avid collector. I’ve spent a lifetime tinkering with photography. Though I am a qualified graphic designer, photography has always been my passion. Recently I chose to take that passion to another level and I am currently studying photography, so that I have both the technical know how and formal qualifications. It took me a while to get used to the notion that an iPhone could be such a potent and creative tool. iPhoneography now consumes my life and a day doesn’t pass without me using my iPhone & iPad to create. iPhoneography will always be a life-force.
Anthony’s Tips (There are absolutely no hard and fast rules when it comes to portrait photography. There are two approaches I use and are demonstrated by the two examples I have submitted. The first is random or candid photos of people I encounter while I am out and about. These photos are a record of a brief encounter with someone I find interesting in the street. I often enhance or embellish the photos later using one of many apps. The second is taking a portrait that is preconceived and planned. Ideas or concepts have been considered so you have a clear understanding as to what it is you want to achieve. Location, time of day, subject attire, lighting effect and props, if used, are all considered before the shoot is commenced).
- Develop your interpersonal skills. Connect or engage with your subject. Talking to your subject enables you to build a rapport quicker. Find out what they are passionate about, what makes them tick? When they talk about their passions they relax and you then capture the best results. It’s all about capturing expressions and portraying real character!
- Be confident when taking portraits of people in the streets. As a rule I always ask strangers if I can photograph them first so as to avoid the potential of a negative or unpleasant reaction! Interesting people make for more interesting portraits. Look for people that have more character. I strongly suggest if at all possible to show the end result to the person you have photographed. Either email a copy of the photo or as I do offer people a small print of the portrait as a way of saying thank you.
- Look for a fresh perspective or point of view. Try different angles and experiment. Try shooting your subject from different distances from a close up of the face, to a full body pose. A good portrait isn’t just a head and shoulder shot.
- Use available or natural light in preference to the flash on your device. The flash on an iPhone is harsh when used as the only light source and is pretty much uncontrollable. For a more dramatic and controlled effect, use natural light from a window or move your subject closer to an incandescent light source in an interior scenario. Natural lighting will be ‘kinder’ to your subject.
- Try shooting in interesting or unusual locations. Look for interesting backdrops or props that will enhance the subject and tell the viewer more about the subject. However don’t let the background or props in a portrait dominate the subject as they may detract from the outcome.
Find Anthony: EyeEm
Bret Pemelton
Recovering Musician. Writer. Breeder (six kids) iPhoneographer. Native Californian who fled Los Angeles in 1994 for the big city lights of Nashville. 2 record deals, 4 albums, 6 sold, message received! Photography became the transition drug that helped me get over myself and get on with my life. I have an affinity for the past with an appetite for the future (oh paleeease!) Big fan of 30′s, 40′s and 50′s black and white imagery. Particularly Life Magazine’s from those periods, Dorothea Lange. George Hurrell. Vivian Maier. A lfred Hitchcock freak. Once followed a woman who looked like Grace Kelly for 5 city blocks before realizing that I’d stumbled into a “Gay Pride” parade.
Bret’s Tips:
- Location! Location! Location! Look for an interesting spot to use for your pallet. Old house, huge tree whatever. Then build your image around that.
- Narrow your visual subject. Be aware of any distracting things creeping into your shot. I hate telephone lines!! Even a bright piece of material popping out of your models clothing or a misplaced hair. You want the eye drawn towards the correct spot on your shot. Avoid a cluttered frame.
- Time of day. I prefer to shoot in the late afternoon/early evening when the sun is setting. It makes my subjects and even backgrounds have an almost surreal image. Early morning is good as well. If it’s noon, then just put your phone in your pocket and finish your sandwich.
- Try to make your subjects comfortable to be around you. Ask them questions about themselves, make them laugh. (with you, not at you!) I want to bring out their beauty and/or their unique quality. I’m what the Native Americans and Amish fear most, I want my iPhone to capture their soul.
- Be careful how much you edit. I just learned a very valuable lesson. Your original picture that started out at 2MB can quickly shrink to under 100KB if you run it through too many apps. If you’re going to transfer to your iPad, then use an app like Dropbox. It will maintain the integrity of the file. NEVER email the shot to transfer. However, this is only important if you ever plan to enlarge the shot beyond the size of your phones screen.
Find Bret: Blog / Facebook / Flickr / Twitter / Instagram / EyeEm
Little Women by Bret Pemelton
Patrick St-Hilaire
Born March 14 1968. iPhoneographer since August 2012 – Rookie. I do portraits. Did fashion, dance and artistic photos in another life, twenty years ago. Learned in a darkroom when taking picture was a long process. Now I enjoy editing at any moment of the day. Like now…
Patrick’s Tips:
- Work in perfect light (natural). The iPhone performs best on cloudy days. If you want details in your portraits like I do, this helps because the iPhone doesn’t like bright light – it doesn’t read it well. For studio work, make yourself a soft box. Google it to find instructions or a soft light from a portable lamp can do it.
- The editing is key. Visualize the final result. Don’t over do it. Know your apps, study them, push it to the limit.
- Make your subject comfortable. Listen to them and if you’re like me you will do what you want anyway, ha! Be calm and confident which will help your subject to be comfortable.
- The eyes have it! Eyes and light are the most important things for me in a portrait. The eyes of your subject will tell you their secrets and that is what you want to catch…their secrets.
- Did I talk about the light ?
Find Patrick: Instagram / EyeEm / iPhoneArt
Being Rasta by Patrick St-Hilaire (Natural Light)Joel Adam
I’m originally from Illinois, but now reside in Louisiana with my wife and son. By day I’m a logistics coordinator for the US Army, and a mobile arts enthusiast the rest of the time. I’ve always been in touch with the arts in one form or another, mostly culinary and music, but it wasn’t until I purchased an iPhone that I really developed a passion for mobile artistry.
Joel’s Tips:
- Subject matter: Find a subject that speaks and really resonates. In your final composition you’ll find it will resonate with the viewers as well.
- Focus: Using a vignette or blurring feature for your background makes the subject portrait really “pop”.
- Color vs. Black and White: (This is strictly my personal opinion) When a portrait is B&W, it strips away the distraction of color and really sets focus on the subject.
- Avoid direct sunlight: Like a vampire, this can be harmful to your portrait. Overcast seems to work well for me.
- Experiment: Shoot from different angles. Try wide lens shots. Take random street shots.
Find Joel: Flickr / iPhoneArt / AMPt / Backspaces / Twitter
Abel…by Joel AdamCrystal F. Spellman
Currently I am an oncology nurse and graduate student, however my initial training was in mixed media and painting. There are two very different parts to my brain and I think it is through mobile photography that I have finally been able to reconcile them. To do either I must be totally present, and committed to my observations. In the last year, using my iPhone to make pictures has become one of the most cherished parts of my day. I consider myself to be much more of a portrait dabbler, but here are a few things I’ve found that help.
Crystal’s Tips:
- Take a bazillion photos. This cannot be underestimated enough. Even if I can get someone to cooperate long enough for me to get a million takes, sometimes I still end up dumping them all. But that’s totally OK. I’m just that many steps closer to the next decent shot.
- Practice on yourself. Sometimes you’re the only one you got (for me, that’s most of the time). When there’s nothing at stake, and no one to accuse you of making them look fat, you are free to shoot away to your heart’s content.
- Look at other portrait photographers work. Find ones you like on your social media platforms, and from history, and from your community. Study their work. Figure out how they are framing their subjects, or using light, or conveying emotion. Learn all their rules, then break them and make them your own.
- Experiment with different apps. I’m pretty sure the Hipstamatic camera app has set my soul on fire. I am an enormous fan of the Tinto 1884 lens and its crazy blur combined with anything. I end up starting out with a much more interesting image before editing than I would if I had shot with the native camera. Speaking of editing, Snapseed remains a favorite for a Photoshop flunkie like myself.
- Make your models comfortable. I kinda suck at this. Clearly when I feel weird about taking their picture, they feel weird about me taking their picture. To compensate I talk until I bore them to death, and the nervous smiles and giggles stop. Although, those can be pretty nice too…
Find Crystal: Instagram / EyeEm / Backspaces / Flickr
Photo by Crystal SpellmanLouise Fryer
Mobile Photographer – ”I’m enjoying what I love to do the most… I love to be free to wander and take photos of whatever interests me. I love to have time to create…to escape into another world.” I have chosen my 5 tips because they are essential to me as an artist. They are chosen relating to ‘self’ portraits, not generalized portrait work.
Louise’s Tips:
- Planning Have an idea of what you want to do, think about what you want to convey in your portrait and how you are going to achieve it. Choose a day or time without any distractions, have the time to be free to try new ideas.
- Lighting is so important, particularly with mobile photography, try and choose a day where there is great natural light, or maybe create your own using various methods, lots of interesting effects can be created by using directional light.
- Perspective can make or break a portrait, be creative, invest in a tripod for your mobile device. You can be far more adventurous if you’re not having to hold your phone and unusual angles always create interest.
- Break the rules! Try not to be guided by the many rules of photography when creating self portraits, be original and free, express yourself, the more creatively the better!
- Titles I’m not a fan of titles generally but I use them for self portraits, it helps to create the mood and gives the viewer an idea of the expression you had in mind. Many people feel that titles influence the viewer or that it may affect how the photo feels but it doesn’t have to be a descriptive one, it could just be a thought or lyric that fits the image.
Find Louise: Website / Instagram / EyeEm / iPhoneArt / Flickr / Facebook
My Heart and I by Louise FryerPaula Gardener
I am a wife, a mother to four wonderful children. I studied photography and fine art at various colleges in London, which enabled me to harness the creative soul within me. I am currently based in London, however photography has made it possible for me to ‘visually’ travel on a global scale. My own photography business was launched in 2010, alongside my blog as a creative writer. Through mobile photography, my creativity has evolved, my interpretation of life has been revolutionized. I am a visual storyteller with a passion for telling stories.
Paula’s Tips:
- When thinking about shooting a portrait whether it is a self portrait or of a model, lighting is the first thing I think about – it has to be perfect. I prefer natural lighting, so finding a soft natural light source is key – maybe next to a window or patio, perfect if it’s outside. Be careful not to overexpose when shooting outdoors. I find a natural light source inside, creates lovely soft shadows.
- The perfect backdrop. Now obviously we can’t all have a studio set up when we shoot. However, just be mindful of the background and foreground, you don’t want them distracting the viewer from the subject, I tend to use a plain wall or drape a cloth behind my subject, if all else fails there are wonderful apps out there that can improve on any imperfections within the background or foreground.
- Composition, think about how you want the portrait to be received. The way you position your subject is very important. You can create a dramatic or elegant feel to the portrait just by the positioning. If you’re like me and shoot very active children or maybe you didn’t realize you’ve caught something distracting in the background, then post editing is always a savior, plus with apps like AntiCrop and Snapseed, composition issues are a thing of the past.
- What I love about shooting with the iPhone is the countless apps. You can turn an image that hasn’t been shot within perfect circumstance, into the perfect image. I have done this with many of my portraits. Find your staple application the one you can use to edit an image with ease and efficiency, to make your portrait stand out. I use Snapseed 99% of the time for most of my post editing work on all my portraits.
- Continuous shooting, I use this mode on my Nikon. So why not on the iPhone, just keep snapping, especially when working with children or self portraits. Most of my self portraits I’ve usually shoot about 20-30 frames, then I pick a few to work from. This way you can slightly, move change expressions etc. to ensure you got the perfect shot. Enjoy it, it’s fun!
Find Paula: Flickr / Tumblr / iPhoneArt / EyeEm / Twitter
His Seventh Year by Paula GardenerNei Cruz
“It wasn’t until I got my first iPhone, that I started to take pictures and discovered the possibilities of this new amazing art form. The future of mobile photography is a bright one!”~Nei Cruz, iPhoneographer
Nei’s passion for photography dates back to the time he was a boy. Having worked as an art director, Nei has had the privilege of working with many world renowned photographers and important fashion publications such as Vogue, Elle, Bazar, Allure, W and many others. Nei Cruz resides in Manhattan, New York City and continues to work in the fashion industry.
Nei’s Tips:
- Make sure your subject is comfortable and relaxed. Trust is key.
- The surroundings are as important as the subject. Make sure it enhances the subject and expresses what you are trying to convey in the photo.
- Stabilize your camera as well as you can. A tripod helps, even though I never used one yet.
- Like any other photo, light is important to express the mood and feel of the photo.
- Don’ hesitate to try different things. Experiment!
Find Nei: Instagram / EyeEM / Google+ / Ampt / Facebook
A big thank you to all who contributed their tips. Do you have any of your own advice for capturing a perfect portrait? Please leave your tips in the comments below. I look forward to learning from you!
1000 Words Showcase, Week 34
This week’s showcase brings us wonderful photos from …storrao…, mohsen_ch and suzanz.
Big thanks for contributing to our Flickr group, 1000 Words. We hope to showcase the great diversity and beauty of the work shown to continue to inspire other mobile (connected) photographers/ artists within our community. 1000 Words is titled under the premise that “a photograph says a 1000 words.” We Are Juxt believes that mobile photographers/ artists tell stories through the photographs/ images and art that represents their families, their environment, themselves. This is important because of the level of communication that is portrayed in imaging today. We look forward to you and your art. We thank you for your contribution to the mobile photography/ arts community.
To view the 1000 Words gallery go here and feel free to add your own images.
This gallery is curated by Ryan V. To see the Showcases by week click here.
Also please visit out 1000 Words IPA monthly showcase, recently started by Mike Hill.
Juxt thanks you for your contributions!
Untitled by …storrao…
Flickr // IG // Twitter // FB // Serralves
As a friend of the Serralves Museum of Contemporary Art I was invited for a exclusive guided visit last May 2nd by the head of the museum, Suzanne Cotter. This photo was taken almost of the end of the tour when we reached the Serralves collection and in the room was this big cube in the middle. It is really fabulous! It is made of stainless steel, painted, and it reflects everything around just like the author — Damián Ortega —wanted to suggest a critical reflection on modernist architecture.
I took some photos of it… it was impossible to resist.
The room, as almost all of the museum, is white and has lots of light… I used Camera+ to take the photos and controlled focus and exposure separately so I could make a high key and isolate the cube…
Cotter was presenting another sculpture near the wall and everyone (almost everyone) was paying attention… I walked around the cube and took the photo, selecting the exposure to the darkest part of the cube… after that just I converted to black and white using fx effects on camera + …
The result was almost like the photo you see here but i reframed it to square format so i could lose the guard that was standing on the left and to publish to instagram. Since the framing was too tight I used blender with a square white background and then a top layer with the photo so i could position it with more “white breading space” around, and that’s it…
Untitled by mohsen_ch
Flickr // FB // EyeEm // IG // Backspaces
On the streets, I’m always looking for an opportunity to capture that special moment which lives in my mind. When I reach at a spot which feels right to tell my story, I stay there and try not only to capture a moment of everyday life but also add something of myself to it. Time-worn walls, rough textures, graffitis, elements of urban life and shadows, along with subtle framing and composition, are the essential materials for my work. And the most important part which is the main subject for me is the person. Women wearing Chador (a kind of long black veil as you see in this shot) are among my most preferred subjects. I mostly use Hipstamatic on my iPhone 5. It allows me to share my photos with less edit. In most cases I just correct the brightness and contrast using Snapseed.
And who by fire…Leonard Cohen by suzanz
Flickr // IG // EyeEm // Backspaces
This image is the direct result of being invited by Roberto (@rboassa) to contribute an image to the ShowMeYourDarkSide album on EyeEm. It would not exist had Roberto not invited me to participate. When the invitation came, I looked through my camera roll to some selflies I had taken a couple of days earlier.
There was one I had started to play with that might have potential. It was shot with Hipstamatic, LuciferVI + BlackKeys Super. I had been fooling around trying to figure out how to take a selfie without having the iPhone in front of my face. In this shot the phone is in my left hand and I just happened to be wearing a hat. It wasn’t the photo itself I was interested but the shooting technique.
I cropped the photo in Snapseed and played with brightness, contrast and probably ambiance. But it wasn’t until I went to the relatively new Retrolux set of filters that I began to get anywhere. It tried a bunch of them until I hit on Style 9 which gave it a blue cast. Then I played with light leaks. It was pure luck that the fiery leaks fell onto my hands.
When I posted it to Instagram I named it “And who by fire,” from the Leonard Cohen tune. It seemed to express the what the image was about. Through the editing process I feel the image evolved from a photo I took of myself to something symbolic and completely outside myself. Friends have asked me who is that in the photo.
Abandoned by Geri_Centonze
Flickr // EyeEm // iART CHRONICLES // IG // Twitter // Juxt
I live in the suburbs and my biggest complaint is that there’s not enough to shoot near my house. People don’t walk the streets, there are no skyscrapers for interesting geometric shapes, every house in my neighborhood looks similar to the one next door – in short it’s kind of boring in the suburbs! I made it a point on the day I shot this image to go out and explore within a few miles of my house. It had just rained and was still overcast – perfect lighting to get some great photos! I hit the road and headed toward the dairy farms nearby. Along the way, I passed an unpaved road and spotted what looked like abandoned horse stables. I ventured down the road, a little uneasy because it was kind of creepy being there with the building falling down and no one in sight. No sooner had I exited my car when a truck slowly approached. I got a little freaked out and almost jumped back into my car to hightail it out of there! I think I’ve been watching too much Dexter and The Walking Dead! The truck stopped and the driver rolled down his window. I nervously asked him if he was the owner of the building and he told me he leased it from the local airport. When I asked if I could take some photos he said it was fine and then he instructed me, “Just don’t take any wood. People are always asking me if they can take some wood!.” He went along his way and I started shooting. (I still can’t figure out why someone would lease an old abandoned building, but maybe that’s a story for another day). I was driving away when I saw the overgrown shrub against the building and jumped back out to get another shot. I took three from this perspective and for this one I got down a bit lower to include more of the grass in the foreground. There were quite a few images from this location that I liked and I do plan to revisit the site to shoot the side of the building that has collapsed and get some interior shots as well. My town isn’t so boring after all!
The image was shot with ProCamera. I edited in Snapseed where I cropped, adjusted Brightness, Ambiance and Contrast. I also used the Selective Adjust mode to bring out the contrast on the side of the stable and the sky. Still in Snapseed, I used the Details function and increased the Structure setting. Next on to Filterstorm to finish up with a bit of Noise Reduction.
Shipwrecked by ikebana_jen
Flickr // Backspaces
The title of this image is Shipwrecked which is rather tongue in cheek as these people are neither shipwrecked or in any distress. In fact, they are picnicking on a very windy English beach in the seaside town of Aldeburgh in Suffolk. The beach itself is terribly pebbly and the wind was quite blustery last weekend. Each boat “moored” on the beach became a fabulous wind break and people were enjoying the brief spell of sunny weather by eating fish and chips on the rocks!
I shot this image with the hipstamatic app using my old favourite johns lens and inas 1969 film. Ive just discovered distressedfx app and that added a lovely painterly feel to the image with the texture. The vignette and contrast were added in another old favourite, Pictureshow app and there you have it!
This story is now part of a featured story titled “A day at the beach” over on the Backspaces app.
Modern dance on ancient grounds by E. Caves
Flickr // Backspaces // IG // Twitter
As a kid from States I’ve had the pleasure to travel all over my parent’s motherland of Mexico. A few places that still stick with me to this day are the ancient ruins of Teotihuacan (Aztec) and Chichen Itza (Mayan). Teotihuacan is a special place to me, mostly because I’ve visited the grounds over 10 times throughout my life and every time I notice something new. On my last visit to Teotihuacan, summer of 2012, I was told about events that take place here such as concerts and raves. I found that fascinating, to be surrounded by ancient marvels and modern performances. Photos of these pyramids have sat in my camera roll for quite some time until I went to an outdoor dance performance and decided these two elements could work well together. From their the idea was born, I would have my own event in Teotihuacan. So this particular image is a composite image of two photos coming together to make one. I wanted to keep the image as close to reality as possible so as to look like the dancers where actually there. As the title suggests the image depicts two modern dancers and ancient Aztec surroundings serving as their grand stage. To render the image I used a few apps, Juxtaposer, VSCO Cam and Wood Camera.
Laneway Congestion by anthony1973
The inspiration for this photo is ultimately the result of a 365 challenge which was set for me by my good friend Mark T Simmons at the end of last year. Using only the iPhone, I’ve been posting a photo a day to Flickr since January 1st. Initially I would be taking photos of anything and everything, but since I made a decision about 5 or 6 weeks ago to concentrate on capturing Melbourne and what it is like to live in Melbourne and the things that I see everyday by being a resident of Melbourne, I feel a lot more inspired to document the place where I live, and this structure and direction has certainly made me more focused in what I want to achieve from doing the process of a 365 project.
This is an image of one of Melbourne’s iconic laneways with it’s myriad of coffee shops, restaurants, bars and quirky stores and captures the hustle and bustle of these laneways which are feature of the centre of Melbourne. It was shot using Hipstamatic combination of the Jane lens and Blanko Freedom 13 film, Alt Photo’s Tri-X B&W filter was applied and then further processed using Snapseed for a slight crop and an adjustment to the brightness and contrast levels.
VIA VENTIQUATTRO MAGGIO by thestreepher
Flickr // About
Taken in Rome during a photo walk with my wonderful girlfriend. What inspired me is the loneliness that emerges from the scene. It was shot with ProCamera and edited with Filterstorm (just contrast and brightness adjustments).
1000 Words IPA May 2013 Part 1
We Are Juxt believes that a picture is worth a thousand words, we tell stories through our photos, and sometimes a photo can say more than a whole book ever could. These folks I’ve picked to showcase today are from the site iPhoneArt.com ( IPA ) which has some of the most fascinating and beautiful galleries of work I’ve ever seen in one place. It is a small community, but everyone there is a true artist in every way. These are a few that submitted to the 1000 words group, we will try and do this on a once or twice a month bases, it all depends on the number of submissions we get. Please visit the site and these artists galleries, there’s plenty more where they came from. To see more from this beautiful gallery go here.
Curated by Mike H.
To see previous 1000 Words from IPA.
Portrait by Ivetta Salomon
IPA // IG
Maybe it was just a dream,
dream in which we go through veil of illusion,
go from small helpless personality to the great infinite image.
Small man forgot his roots,
who lost memory of himself,
walking in the dark to his dream.
Who am I?
A cold mind or a kind heart?
Maybe it is just a dream of a great wanderer from the land of dreams?
This image happened as easy as the changes happen in nature, when the sunny day falls into the dark night.
At one time something marvelous and deep was born.
Apps -Slowshutter, Snapseed, Afterglow and the best time….
Didi by Emanuel Faria
IPA
This is my youngest son, and Didi is his nick name.
I try to keep it simple, just dramatizing the expression, and his big eyes.
I simple crop to get the most from the image.
Basically I just have used Laminar for editing, a special image I took from a wood texture to be blended and a rusty filter.
The placement of the strong wood ribbing was intentional, to create a tear effect.
The black background helped me to improve and create this dramatically and beautiful effect.
Stalking The Lady In The Hat by Cindy Patrick
IPA // Flickr // Website // Facebook // Twitter // IG
I shot this image in January when I was in San Francisco giving my iPhoneography presentation at MacWorld. I was returning to my hotel after meeting a friend for dinner, and this woman in the pink coat and straw hat seemed to appear out of nowhere and began walking ahead of me on the street. I immediately grabbed my iPhone and literally began to “stalk” her! I was afraid she would disappear as suddenly as she appeared and I didn’t want to fumble around with which camera app to use, so I just used the native iPhone5 camera app. It was nighttime, but the lights from the shop windows really helped brighten the scene. I followed her for a couple of blocks, snapping a few frames every time she entered the light from a shop window, but I wasn’t really satisfied with anything. Then a man wearing a hat appeared on my left. As soon as he entered the frame, I knew I had the picture I was looking for. I snapped this a moment before she disappeared into one of the shops. I love street photography, but I don’t practice it in the traditional sense. I can never resist putting my spin on it!I processed this image in a style that I use often. I first created a blurred version of the image using BlurFX. I created a second version using ShockMyPic and then layered the two images in Iris Photo Suite. I altered the color a bit by using the various filters in Iris. I believe this was the Retro filter.
Being Rasta by Pat St-Hilaire
IPA // Flickr // Eye’Em // IG // Twitter
That is my beautiful nephew Kiki. All proud of his Rasta hat.
I just couldn’t resist taking my iPhone and snap that moment.
He played the game like a pro. And the light was just perfect, cloudy winter day in Quebec, we were inside….
I generally shoot with the native camera, then Snapseed it, I love Details in snapseed,
it just gives that dimension in the picture .
then I Grunge it, always in Snapseed, ScratchCam after then Glaze for the paint effect,
dip it in Blender to liberate the face of that painterly effect.
I also used DistressedFX, beautiful apps for textures.
To Be Alone… by Delta Martin
IPA // Flickr // Pixels
I am always looking for what could be in an image ” To be alone” began as a hand resting on a mop bucket in an elevator. After using Touch Retouch to move the bucket I realized the hand was positioned in a very interesting off center placement. I then used VintageFx to create the vignette background. The blur tool in Procreate to smooth the hand. Several layers of Glaze filters to add texture and Image Blender to combine the layers which were flatten. Paintfx was used for lightening and contrast adjustment. PSexpress for sharpening and cropping. I believe that images name themselves hence, ” to be alone is to live without a shadow.”
Emotions 2 by Françoise Teissier
IPA // IG
I am a fan of dance and I had the chance to see a dance contemporaneity. The scene was small, I could take pictures near enough.
It is not easy to take pictures with difficult lighting conditions. All my pictures are taken with my iphone 4S. I used the native camera to shoot. For the post treatment I used photowizard (crop), snapseed to adjust the brightness and the saturation. The “retrolux” effect gives an impression of fog. I used decim8 with the beamrider effect.
Redemption by John Sidiropoulos
IPA // Flickr // Prints
This is a blend of three pics, two portraits of friends of Instagram, the two women and one random pic with a hand holding the mask … I made the black background with filterstorm, then the mix to blender adding to the main pic, the portrait inside the mirror and then another one to blend this pic with the hand pic. Then I fixed the image contrast to snapseed and that’s it … a 5 minute edit and one of my favorites.
Abandonment Issues: Vol. 3 Nick Larsen
Abandonment Issues: Vol. 3 Nick Larsen by Anna C
A: Anna N: Nick
A: Tell me a little about you away from social networks.
N: My name is Nick Larsen and I was born and raised in Fargo, North Dakota. I’m 21 years young soon to be 22. I recently moved back to Fargo after attending college in Minneapolis, MN at the Institute of Production and Recording. During my three years in Minneapolis, I studied audio production and engineering, music business, sound design for visual media, and photography.
Aside from taking photos with my iPhone, I also shoot with my Canon 7D, my Poloroid Big Spinner 3000, and occasionally my Yashica Mat 100, although I only post iPhone shots on IG. Recently, I started shooting for a local newspaper in Fargo and I am currently working on setting up a gallery showing of my work. After purchasing my 7D, I also started doing some video projects as well. I post my Canon shots on harvymoon.tumblr.com.
When I’m not taking photographs, I am a cook at the Fargo Country Club and have been there on and off for almost seven years now. I also rap in a band called “fargon.e.” which consists of me and my good friend and cohort Marc Colbert. We do all of our own production as well as recording and you can find our most recent project at soundcloud.com/fargone/sets/
A: Give us the history on when you began shooting abandons.
N: I started shooting abandoned buildings and houses in December of 2011. I was back in Fargo for Christmas Break and while on my way to a friends lake cabin, I noticed an abandoned house just off the main road. I returned a few days later with my camera and fell in love with it’s beauty. I found two more houses on the same road before returning to Minneapolis for school. When I got back to Minneapolis, I discovered that there is an entire community of people who explore abandoned buildings and I became very intrigued by them. I explored a few different abandoned warehouses not far from my apartment as well as an underground network of tunnels near the University of Minnesota. The rest is history.
A: What keeps you coming back to them?
N: What draws me to them is simple: they’re beautiful. I have always had a dark idea of what beautiful is to me and abandoned houses and buildings seemed to fit my definition quite well. I am also intrigued and extremely curious by the history of the house or building, as well as it’s reason for being abandoned. Sometimes I find houses that are still completely full of stuff that the people simply left behind and the mystery of why they did is what interests me and draws me to them.
A: Do you have an all time favorite shot?
N: I can’t even begin to try and choose a favorite photograph. If I were somehow able to pick one today, I can assure you that it would change as soon as tomorrow, if not sooner.
A: Have you ever found an interesting back story to any of the properties you have explored?
N: Some abandoned houses are not as easy to get into as most. The houses we find are not always decrepit or dilapidated, sometimes they are still almost livable. In some cases, the doors are locked and the houses are still filled with things from the previous tenants. If there isn’t a way into the house that doesn’t involve breaking something to gain entrance, then we won’t go in.
There was one house that we found in rural Minnesota that as soon as we pulled up, gave me and my buddy Devin a weird feeling. The house still had a satellite dish which we take as a small indication that the house is not abandoned. The house was however, overgrown by vegetation and after a look through the windows, we decided to try the door. The first door we tried was open but it only got us as far as the screened in porch. The door into the house was locked. We then tried the side door which was also locked so we decided to go around back. In the back of the house, we noticed a small window that was covered up by a board. The board was just leaning on the house so we moved it and crawled into the basement through the tiny window.
Once inside, we were overwhelmed by the plethora of shit that was still in this house. These people left everything. When we got into the kitchen, I noticed a sword that was hanging on the wall. I took it down to check it out and noticed some writing and a few symbols on the blade. I took some pictures of the sword on my phone and sent them to by buddy Will who happens to be a marine. He said that the sword looked to be from the military and that he would look into it.
We kept exploring the house and we stumbled upon one of the oddest finds to date in my opinion. We found a box of what appeared to be the hair of a little ginger girl, still tied in bows. After looking around the house some more, and seeing the previous tenants’ family portrait, we decided to get the hell out of there.
We crawled out of the basement window and headed back to Fargo. On our way back, my buddy Will texted me and said that the sword was from an old military cult that existed in the 60s. Apparently they were rumored to leave human skulls in their closets when they would move out. Now I don’t know how much of this is true because I didn’t do much research myself, but combined with the weird feeling and the box of hair, we were creeped out.
When we got back to Fargo, I couldn’t find the car keys that I had in my sweatshirt pouch earlier that day. I looked high and low and couldn’t find them. I concluded that I must have dropped them at the house. At this point, it was dark outside. I had to work in the morning so I needed my car. I talked my buddy into driving back out there to look for them and we were freaking out the whole way there. When we got there, I had a bat in my hand and my buddy Devin had this sketchy tire iron. We had a flashlight and so we prepared ourselves, then sprinted to the back window. I immediately saw my keys sitting on the ground right outside of the window. I snatched them up and we got the hell out of there as fast as we could.
A: What is your favorite kind of find? I always love finding old curtains or books.
N: My favorite kind of find is old furniture. I love the tones of furniture from the 70s and it contrasts well with the peeling walls and deteriorating floors. I am also a big fan of old audio equipment. I’ve found some very cool instruments and microphones in houses. But don’t get it twisted, we don’t steal.
A: Any advice for new explorers out there?
N: Be respectful. When we explore abandoned houses, we very rarely run into any people. Every once in a while, the owner of the property might live nearby and see us pull up. If they approach you, let them know what you’re doing and if they ask you to leave, you leave. Most of the time people are cool about it, but not always.
When I lived in Minneapolis, I would explore abandoned warehouses for the most part and I would sometimes run into squatters or bums. Whether you agree with their reasoning for living in the building or not, this is their home for the time being. You are in their home, so treat them with respect as if you are a guest in their home.
Oh, and don’t steal shit.
The Other Side of Eden [Tutorial]
With roots busting thru it becomes clear it is about self destruction. Not
allowing our foundation to develop and on weak ground we grow
old. As we are slowly dying, like the tree on the hill, the planet starts to
crumble and break into parts of non recognizable pieces of
oneself.
“The Other Side of Eden” by Craig C
Before getting started I like to say hello to all and I hope everyone is doing well. This will be my first tutorial so I hope I have done it in a way that you will get something out of it. This article is not as much as a technical piece as it is a piece on how to challenge yourself and explore unfamiliar applications to inspire a concept and your creativity.
I would like to list the apps first that was used in this lesson before we get into the digging.
So here is the list pretty much in the order I used them..
1.Tiny Planet
2.Superimpose
3. Noir
4.OldPhotoPro
5.ArtStudio
5. Photoforge2
6. Snapseed
I photographed with the 4s and edited on the iPad Retina.
Looking to spend sometime playing with some new apps and seeing what I could accomplish with them, and also creating a self challenge to a different workflow even if it is this once, I embarked on my app collection of the unused. First the app “Tiny Planet”. I normally stay away from any app or software program that creates the piece for me. For instance apps that might create special effects like lightning, rain or other effects that with time and patience I can photograph or create myself. There is something to be said about doing all your photography and staying away from stock images and effects. Yes it requires more work or even a change in direction sometimes to get what you want but to me it’s just more gratifying knowing a piece is 100% you.That’s just my take on it.
So with that in mind I opened up “Tiny Planet”. I used it like twice before just goofing off and I have to admit watching it take an image that you took and creating a small roundish and odd form was exciting. It reminded me of maybe what it would be like going into a carnie show and playing some strange game that altered your world. The key for me is not just letting the program alter my image but let it be a starting point to stir my imagination and build upon what the program offered me. Like a wood carver finding a abandoned tree stump in the woods and looking at it to stimulate there imagination into seeing what could be made out of it.
So with “Tiny Planet” ready to go I knew I was also going to use an app to collage elements onto the planet and perhaps it’s surroundings. Unlike the way I normally approach an art piece I did not have a concept. I was going to let “Tiny Planets” outcome of my photograph to inspire my ideas or concept. More of a creating on the fly approach. It was a nice change for me.
So what collage app to use? I have many on the iPad and have used most of them at one point. On this assignment it’s “Superimpose” that was going to be my culprit. The biggest downfall that I saw before getting started is I could only load one layer or image on top of my background image at a time. Other apps I have allows up to 20 and with a “Photoshop” background I am use to having no limits on how many layers I can use at one time, but I heard the brush on “Superimpose” was pretty sweet, so I thought I would give it a try. Now I have my two apps that am going to start with on this project. Keep in mind that these two apps could lead to more (and it did) the unknown is the key here.
First I picked an image to run thru “Tiny Planets”. What I am looking for is an image that has similarity in the landscape on the left edge of the image as the right. As you can see below it is very consisted in content all across the image. This will give me a planet that will match up really well at its intersection.
So after running it thru “Tiny Planet” I have this to work with.
Not bad. The sphere looks pretty good. I love the spacing around it. Hmm the trees I do not like very much but am going to let that lead me into another direction. So yea, lets go with it.
So I guess many people might stop at this phase but I am using this app to inspire creativity not to make the image for me. Still dealing without a concept for my planet, the first thing that popped into my head was to add a single object on top of the planet. I work fairly simplistic using just what I need to carry the image into its meaning. The problem? It has no meaning yet. It is so different working this way after creating images with concepts and a direction before hand but that’s the main objective of my exercise. Letting the image guide me to its meaning.
So now to start adding some elements to the planet and see what happens.The first image or element that comes to mind is a tree I photographed just a few days before. A haunting tree that I found in the parking lot of Wal-Mart of all places. It would give my planet height and a center point of interest. So lets look at our tree before pulling it into “Superimpose” and masking it. What is masking you say? Its probably more of a “Photoshop” term but it simply means to erase. With a mask you can always add back parts of the image you erase. Not all collage apps have this ability and you have to hit the “back” button if you erase a part of the image you want to keep. I love a mask if I can have it. Is is much quicker and forgiving then hitting a back button and you can always add back parts of the image layer at any stage of your creation. OK here is my tree to work with…
For those who mask I know what you might be thinking. Couldn’t you have found a cleaner lined tree? I admit masking this will take longer but being new to the iPad and “Superimpose” I could use the practice plus I do love this tree. So I pulled the planet into “Superimpose” as my background image. So with the “Tiny Planet” image loaded as my background image next I pulled in my tree image into “Superimpose” as my foreground image as you see below.
I then selected the brush and its ready to clean up. As we can see making the brush a soft one and the size will of course vary.
After a few minutes of taking away parts of the image to give the tree it’s clean lines we start getting a feel for our tree.
…and finally we have our basic cleaned up tree. I decided to just use the main branches for a starker look and took away a lot of the whimsical stuff.
Next I flattened the layers to run the image through two different apps. The first to add drama, I used “Noir”. Using it to give me a light direction and separation. Normally I would continue adding more elements before moving into another app but since you can only add 1 layer at a time with “Superimpose” I thought I would play with some lightning to see if that gives me a direction and feel for the image. There is no method to this madness as I am playing and learning.
Next I used “OldPhotoPro”. This app does downsize my image but I still decided to use it not for the old paper look as I dialed that out but for the smoothness it gives images and also I used it to give the image some warmth as my last step in a few minutes will be to paint with cold tones and I like that warm and cold contrast. I just love the way it treats my images. Maybe the makers can fix the downsizing issue. Anyway here is the effects of using “OldPhotoPro”.
After going through “OldPhotoPro” and looking at my image, I had an idea to add a few more elements to the image that began to give it a concept although in a subtle way. Thinking of the biblical garden “Eden” with its lush and new life and thinking of the evil presence that also existed and how that is true to the planet that I am on today. So the title came to me as “The Other Side of Eden”. To create the opposite of a lush garden and show the opposite by using a bare tree and a landscape that is dying and breaking apart.
So as I wanted, the series of apps are pushing me into a creative mode of thinking. It seems to be doing what I want. To stir my creativity and allow me to create a piece of art that was not pre-conceived. Back to the image I thought that if I was to add some roots coming from the tree and busting through the tiny planet it would cause some of the destruction that I wanted to portray. Before going further my thoughts on “Superimpose”? I like the feel of the masking brush but a HUGE issue unless I am missing something is the ability to work with more then one layer or image at a time. Layers of images need to be moved around as you go inside an image and with “Superimpose” you have to flatten the image before adding another layer. If am wrong please tell me but I don’t see a way around one layer workflow. As I can see this piece is going to require more elements then I previously thought. Do I still go with “Superimpose” working with one layer requirements and flattening or do I try another app that allows me to have multiple layers so I can move things around and fine tune stuff as I go? I made the choice to try another application. Why not? Its about exploring and letting the apps guide me through the journey. So looking at my app selections on my iPad I thought I would try “Photoforge 2″. It allowed the use of multiple layers and I knew this piece could benefit from that very soon as this planet will start to break apart in pieces. So I pulled my piece into “Photoforge 2″ and added some roots as you can see below The brush is slide to the right which is a hard edge brush. For that smooth transition into other elements you want to slide the bar to the left for a soft brush. Again the size of the brush will vary according to the area am cleaning up.
After finishing my initial root system, I wanted to try something else new in my work flow and that is to try a painting app to give the piece a mixed media look. So I moved it to “ArtStudio”. Here I wanted to play with the trees that circled the planet. You can see them as a upright forest in the original photograph. Instead of cloning them out I decided just to paint over them and see what this might lead to. It led me into painting not only the trees but into the background.
Also using the smudge tool to bring the illusion of the planet sliding away from its core. Smudging gives the image movement and impact, at least in this case. A stillness of the tree above just compliments the movement for me. For some reason I like the ring of blackness around the planet. Not sure why but I do. Onward.
Next with the planet having a destruction movement to it I wanted too add a piece of broken off planet and I also decided to add more of a root system to the bottom as my smudging took most of that away. Again using tree branches I go back into “Photoforge2″ and add the root system again and a piece of the original planet for the large falling boulder.
With the boulder and root system in place I knew I had to give the rock a fallen appearance and perhaps add a few smaller rocks. This meant smudging them again but before leaving “Photoforge2″ I thought of maybe adding a sign of life to this and so I added a bird that came from one of my images. After masking it I placed it up top and flattened my piece. Pulled it back into “Artstudio” I painted some smaller rocks and smudged all my fallen pieces to give it movement. For the final touches I sent it to “Snapseed” converted the image to black and white as I decided to have a colder look. Also I added a small border in “Snapseed” and we have that completed below.
Some resizing to make the planet smaller and which gave it a feeling of being alone with plenty of space and its complete.
To bring this to a end. What started as trying out 1 app to generate a creative challenge to myself (Tiny Planet) ended up with me learning or at least getting familiar with 3 new apps and also inspired me to start a new series called “Planets with Small Stories” and below are a few examples…
“The Arrival of Spring”
“The North Pole”
The lesson to be learned if any? Create challenges for yourself. For me it was working without a concept for a change and doing it with unfamiliar applications. It could be what you need to spark your creativity and it might even inspire a new piece or series.
Thanks and remember to
“Create and Destroy”
Until next time.
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