Win Dan Marcolina’s App Alchemy or Mobile Masters

Want a chance to App Alchemy or Mobile Masters from the very talented Dan Marcolina?  Just follow the link to this Tweet and enter your best answer to the question, “How is iPhoneography changing photography?”  Dan will be picking the winners!

Here are some video sneak previews to whet your appetite!

AppAlchemy {available in iTunes now} from dan marcolina on Vimeo.

Mobile Masters (available NOW) from dan marcolina on Vimeo.

Good Luck!

Free Today! Real Bokeh

Real Bokeh is FREE Today!

Features
- 21 beautiful bokeh shapes
- Draw multiple bokehs with finger touch
- Apply multiple bokeh shapes to one photo
- Change bokeh size (large, medium and small)
- Change opacity
- Multiple bokeh colors with easy color picker (28 colors)
- Easy undo and clear all
- Save as full resolution
- Share to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Flickr and other apps

Parisian City Life by Eva Charbit

When you live in the suburbs like I do, you don’t get the opportunity to photograph the exciting street life experienced by those who inhabit large metropolitan areas.  Perhaps that is why I am drawn to the work of photographers like Eva Charbit.  Through her lens, I am immersed into her world.  Below is my interview with this talented mobile photographer.
 

Indiscretion (above)

Geri:  What is your name and where do you live?

Eva:  My name is Eva Charbit and I live in Paris, France.
Geri:  Do you have a traditional photography or art background?
Eva:  I have no traditional photography background but as far as I can remember, I have always been fascinated by this medium.  I have been following the technological progress with various kinds of cameras, from Polaroid, when I was a kid to silver process cameras.  Now of  course, I shoot with a DSLR and above all my iPhone! 

Complete Triple (above)

Good Night

Geri:  How long have you been photographing with your iPhone?
Eva:  When I shoot in the streets, and in the metro looking for "faces" or unusual situations, I exclusively use my iPhone which is the most discrete and perfect way to grasp expressions and stolen moments.  I've used my cellphone as a camera for about 4-5 years but I kept my photos for myself.  I didn’t know how to edit and download them on a social network!  I discovered Instagram about 7 months ago and I've been on EyeEm since December 2012. 

Homeless Faceless Sadness (above)

Le Marais Paris (above)

Lieu de Vie (above)

Geri:  Do you use the native camera app, or another specialty camera app like ProCamera or Camera+?
Eva:  Mostly, I use the native camera app.  I have downloaded ProCamera but I've never used it yet.  I use Hipstamatic sometimes though. 
Geri:  Who or what inspires your work?
Eva:  I am deeply influenced by Diane Arbus and Martin Parr. They never fear to be weird and even sometimes shocking. I am also keen on the photographers that magnified the Parisian people such as Doisneau, Cartier-Bresson, Willy Ronis. Lastly, I am fascinated by two series  of pictures  by a Magnum Agency photographer, Joseph Koudelka  throughout  the 1970s and 1980s: Gypsies (1975) and Exiles(1988).  Last summer, I viewed his photos at Les Rencontres D’Arles in the South of France.  I experienced real aesthetic emotion. 

Love is in the Air (above)

No Trespassing (above)

Geri:  The majority of your photographs are black and white.  Is this your preference?
Eva:  When I seriously started photography around 14 years of age, I used to  buy Ilford films for my camera. I prefer to work in B&W.  It is more dramatic and in my opinion, portraits are more powerful and expressive in that format. 
Geri:  I love your street photography.  Is it difficult to get the candid shots?  What tips do you have for those interested in capturing images on the street?
Eva:  Unfortunately or rather fortunately, there are no recipes to get a good picture. You just have to be close enough, a little bold as well, for it is not that simple to get the best expression of your subject if you are too shy or if you fear other people's reactions.  Most of my shots are taken in the metro and crowding is always a problem you have to get through. Don´t hesitate!  Shoot or die I would say!  Nevertheless, I always try to be respectful and discrete. I don't want to laugh at the people I shoot in the streets or in the metro. I just want to focus on the urban solitude, and to highlight everyday people. My purpose is to show the diversity, the vibrant reality of my city life.

Metroline 12 Paris (above)

Saturday Morning Shabbat Shalom (above) 

Geri:  Do you have an interesting stories to share about shooting in the streets?
Eva:  Not really. Once, I was caught by a beautiful woman trying to photograph her in the metro. I felt really ashamed like a little girl who had stolen some candies in a shop.  Sometimes, I think people realize that I'm shooting them. You can find a few examples of nasty gazes – moments of fear for me - when I know that I've been discovered. Strangely enough, men are usually more control freaks than women in public transportation! 
Geri:  Do you plan your shoots or do they just happen spontaneously?
Eva:  My shoots always happen spontaneously, since I don't take my DSLR with me when I'm going to work!  I'm a regular commuter too and I almost only shoot during my scheduled journeys. I take the metro a lot and my journey to work takes sometimes an hour!  I never plan any shoot. 

Only in Paris (above)

Serving Hatch, Paris (above)

Geri:  What are some of your favorite apps?
Eva:  My favorites apps are definitely Snapseed for black and white, Fotor-PES, Photo FX and sometimes Lo-Mob. I also use Dynamic Light and especially one effect inside called Orton. I like it very much!  Also, I would include Hipstamatic, TouchRetouch if there is really something annoying in the original crop, and Noir Photo from time to time to get a very dramatic effect . 
Geri:  Please share a little about your editing process.
Eva:  My editing process always begins with Snapseed and then it varies according to the effect I am looking for.  When I want a blurred image I will use Photo FX or Orton in Dynamic Light.  If I need something very sharp, I use "sharpen" and "vignette" in the Fotor-PES app. If I want my image to look old and/or dirty I use the infinite range of "grunge" nuances in Snapseed again! 

Waiting (above)

Rue de la Huchette, Paris (above)

Un ange passe (above)

Geri:  Is there an area of photography you haven't explored that you would like to try?
Eva:  I think I have found my style. My playground is the city life. Though, if you browse my gallery you will find many photos of seaside landscapes. This is my other passion. When I get tired of Parisian commuters and the hectic rhythm of Paris, I love to go to the seaside, in Brittany or Normandy, not that far from Paris and take photos. There, I get fresh ideas and I recharge my batteries to come back and enter the arena again! 
Geri:  Have you ever exhibited your work?  If not do you have any plans to do so?
Eva:  I have not exhibited my work yet, but I have plans to do so rather soon with my Parisian Instagram friends ( some are on EyeEm too).  In March, we will exhibit our photos in a famous restaurant in the Marais, which is a vibrant place in town! I'm very excited! 

Goodnight IG (above)

Thank you Eva for allowing me to feature your brilliant work on iART CHRONiCLES.  Wishing you every success with your exhibition!
You can view Eva’s work here:
EyeEm @eva_esty
All images in this feature are copyrighted property of Eva Charbit published on iART CHRONiCLES with the consent of the artist.

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We have a Winner–Actually Two!

Congrats to Petyr Campos and Jane Fiala for being the lucky winners of the Deco Sketch giveaway.

If you entered and didn’t win, you should still hop on over to the App Store and purchase Deco Sketch.  Right now on Instagram there is a challenge sponsored by the developers of this great app. 

Here are the details from the Deco Sketch website:

#DSPATTERNS CHALLENGE:

Deco Sketch announces the #dspatterns challenge on Instagram to determine the best edit for a chance to win $50 and a copy of Deco Sketch!

3 edits will be chosen. 1st prize is a $50 gift card to iTunes or the Google Play store. 2nd prize is $25 and 3rd prize is $10. In addition, each winner will receive a promo code to download Deco Sketch.

RULES:

1. Create an original edit using one or more of the DS Patterns.
2. Tag your images on Instagram with #dspatterns to be included in the   challenge
3. The edits must be done using mobile apps only. No computers.
4. Enter as many edits as you'd like.

The challenge will run for 2 weeks ending on 3/3/2013 12:00PM PST

Get Dan Marcolina’s Mobile Masters for iPad for FREE!

Right now, Dan Marcolina’s Mobile Masters app for the iPad is FREE – not sure for how long, so grab it while you can!

 

 

Mobile Masters (available NOW) from dan marcolina on Vimeo.

Friday Favorites Week No. 25

Here is my weekly installation of Friday Favorites. The first three images were from a weekend visit to nearby Laguna Beach, California.  What a beautiful day – life doesn’t get much better than enjoying a stroll along the Pacific Coast.

App Recipe:  Camera Awesome, Camera+, Snapseed 

App Recipe:  Camera Awesome, Camera+ 

The Sandpiper (above)

App Recipe:  Camera Awesome, Snapseed, Deco Sketch, Camera+, PS Express, Image Blender 

Walking Along Pacific Coast Highway (above)

App Recipe:  Camera Awesome, Snapseed, Glaze, Wrapcam, Tangled FX, MiraCam, Sketch Club 

Portrait of a Man (above)

App Recipe:  Camera Awesome, Deco Sketch, PixelTwister, Artist’s Touch, Sketch Club, Snapseed, Laminar Pro 

Abstract Portrait of a Young Woman (above) 

App Recipe:  Camera Awesome, Sketch Club, Snapseed, Decim8, Glaze, Image Blender, Pic Grunger, SymbolGram

The Silent Witness (above)

App Recipe:  Camera Awesome, NIR Color HD, PicFX, Photocopier 

At the Diner (above)

App Recipe:  Camera Awesome, Filterstorm, Photo FX, Picfx 

Making His Way (above)

App Recipe:  Camera Awesome, Snapseed, Sketch Club

HDR–Temporarily FREE!

HDR – temporarily FREE!  It shouldn’t be too hard to remember the name of this HDR app – it’s simply “HDR”. 

From the description on iTunes:  Capture High-Dynamic-Range photographs with HDR. By combining twice the image data of a standard photograph HDR is able to mix an over-exposed and under-exposed photo with incredible results. Includes 4 different mix options, plus the ability to import raw images all in one incredibly fast app.

Featuring:
- Automatic and manual modes (To set exposure manually: drag exposure loupes to dark and light area of photo, double tap to return to automatic mode)
- Import from Photos: Select light and dark photos from library to mix in HDR.
- 4 different HDR mixes: Auto, Optimized, Vivid, Contrast
- Alignment: Photos are automatically aligned for the sharpest possible results.
- Native device camera resolution support
- Save in photos
- Speed: Fastest possible capture and merge of HDR results

Deco Sketch Giveaway–Enter Today!

I’m pleased to be able to give away two copies of Deco Sketch, the app which creates Geometric Photo Effects.  This new app was just added to my arsenal this week so I’m only beginning to tap into its potential. 

To be eligible to win one of the two promo codes for Deco Sketch, please leave a comment on this post. 

 

Deco Sketch is advertised as the “new way to customize your photos” and indeed it is with:

• 8 geometric brushes
• 17 adjustable settings
• 90 style presets
• High resolution output for printing
• Work in Portrait of Landscape
• Optimized for Phones & Tablets

Watch the video below to see Deco Sketch in action!

Deco Sketch iPad Demo from Ben Guerrette on Vimeo.

When creating my iPhone art Deco Sketch is going to be a major player.  Here are two pieces I already worked on with Deco Sketch. 

 

 

The winners will be contacted on Friday, February 22nd after noon PST.

Good Luck!

New Feature!!!

If you’d like to find all (or nearly all) of the latest mobile photography news in one place, I hope you’ll subscribe to iartchronicles and check the Mobile Photo News tab daily.  I will be curating a current listing of news from around the world relating to mobile photography, new apps, exciting artists and the latest gear!

Davide Capponi – “Photography is not my work, but my pleasure”

This morning I stopped to marvel as I prepared this feature about the technology that allows us to travel around the world to view the work of gifted artists.  One such artist that I am honored to feature here is Davide Capponi, better known as @rubicorno in the mobile photography world.  Join me today as I take a cyber journey to Italy and speak with Davide about his spectacular work.

lumen (above)

by the window (above)

funerary moment (above)

Geri:  What is your name and where do you live?
Davide:  Davide Capponi (@rubicorno).  I live in Italy, partly in Torino, where I was born, and partly in Milano, where I work. My life is on the run and from this point of view mobile photography fits very well, enabling me to shoot wherever I am – something I would not be able to achieve with my DSLR gear.
Geri:  Do you have a traditional photography or art background?
Davide:  I don't have a formal training in art or photography (I earn my living as senior manager of an Information Technology company), but photography has always been a passion.  When I was a child, my very first camera was a glorious Diana F (a cult for lomographers); later I put my hands on an Olympus OM2 reflex and learned analog photography techniques on my own, mainly through books. In time, I shot less and less and lost interest, maybe because I had no way to share my works; I recently learned that sharing my photos and receiving feedback is essential to me.

there was (above)

Lunch break on Naviglio Grande (above)

by the blood (above)

Geri:  How long have you been a mobile photographer?  What device do you use?
Davide:  I bought my first iPhone, a 3GS, in November 2009, but I seldom used the camera. In the second half of 2010 I tried Hipstamatic, and this was the moment that I discovered the potential of an iPhone as a tool for creative photography.  At the time, I had a business trip in Kazakhstan and had my first iPhoneographic reportage.  A few months later, in March 2011, I registered on Instagram and my iPhoneographic journey truly began.  Since November 2011, I use an iPhone 4S and an Olloclip, a fantastic add-on, my favorite lens being the wide angle.

city house (above)

golden memories (above)

Cudillero (above)

Geri:  Your work includes many subjects - architecture, rich landscapes, abstract and fantasy works.  Is there a subject you prefer?
Davide:  The architectural theme is possibly the one that inspires me most - buildings, especially old, and even more if they are abandoned or derelict, have a story to tell.  I have  a special love for shooting cemeteries, and everything inside them.  In cemeteries, I love the feeling of strong but restrained emotions that is expressed by funerary art and by the writings on the tombs.  Landscapes are recently emerging more and more in my choice of shots, I love the sense of immensity and mystery you can find in the land.
Geri:  Do you plan your shoots to create a certain piece or do you shoot and then let the piece evolve as you work with it?
Davide:  I have learned that my instinct is better at creating images than my rational mind.  Most of the time I am inspired by things I see, and will stop and shoot; but from time to time  I also plan shootings of specific subjects.

Downtown Aviles (above)

in a dream (above)

inside the mausoleum (above)

Slow Life (above)

Geri:  Please share a bit about your process.  What are some of your favorite apps?
Davide:  The production of my images is about 40% rational and 60% instinctive: I follow an established workflow in a flexible way but I don’t have standard recipes, I tend to improvise as I edit.  I work on a shot until I am satisfied with the edit.  This can involve just 2-3 apps and a few minutes or 6-7 and hours.
A thing I discovered about my style is that while for me editing is an instinctive process, from the comments I received by fellow iPhoneographers little by little I became aware of what I was actually doing with my images. To explain it though, I must make a little diversion: there is a psychology theory about memories and how they evolve in time in our mind as we shape them with emotions. Let’s take a meaningful event of your life (positive or negative): as time passes you will go back to that event and elaborate that memory sometimes adding emotions something removing them. In this way a distant memory of your childhood can become very heavily loaded with emotions that come from all of your life, not only the day it happened.  I think this is what I am doing with my images: I “dress” them as old and emotionally loaded memories; if you look at my photos with this in mind you’ll understand what I mean.
Now about apps:

• I shoot using PRO HDR, 6x6 or SlowShutter Cam.
• The following step is always through Snapseed, where I crop when needed and make basic adjustments to lightness, contrast and saturation.
• As a third step I often use Dynamic Light to enhance the dynamics of the shot.
• At this point comes the variable part of the processing: depending on the results I want to achieve I will use a number of apps, the most used being Glaze, Modern Grunge, Vintage Scene, Decim8; I often create a number of alternate edits and then blend them multiple times with Image Blender.
• Finally I make closing adjustments in Phototoaster, fine tuning the light, color, and possibly adding vignettes or additional textures.

Stretching the Veil  Trilogy – 3 (above)

subway run (above)

the howling mill (above)

Geri:  Have you ever exhibited your work?  If not, do you have any plans to do so?
Davide:  At the moment I haven’t exhibited my work in a personal exhibition, but I participated in some collective shows. I am considering a personal exhibition but not in the short term. 
Three of my photos have been on show last November as part of a collection of photos about the city of Torino at the contemporary art show Artissima (http://www.artissima.it ) in Torino, Italy.
Last December my photo Collapsed was on show at the "Unit24 Gallery" in London as part of the Pixel Revolution Exhibition organized by mObilepixatiOn.
Again Collapsed, having been selected for THE THIRD WAVE exhibition of iPhonic art organized by Knox Bronson from P1xels, is currently on show at the "Garden Gate Creativity Center" in Berkeley, California and at  the "Galerie OutOfMyMind" in Bremen, Germany.
My photos have also been published in local and national newspapers and magazines in Italy in articles about mobile photography.

Collapsed (above)

Geri:  I've noticed your work on a few sites (Flickr, EyeEm, IG).  Do you find it difficult to keep up with it all?
Davide:  Instagram has been my first photography social network and the first occasion to go “public” with my photos.  I soon discovered that having people looking at and commenting about my photos was the missing link that made a huge difference to me.  I learned a lot from other Instagrammers about creativity and about techniques and apps, and made a number of good friends.
Later I was pointed to iphoneart and it was a pleasure finding so many quality iPhoneographers over there and interact with them.  From there I discovered P1xels another great site for mobile art and unique because of the curation of images - so more challenging.  I then added a Facebook Page and I am participating in photography groups on Facebook, and I also joined Flickr and EyeEm.
My latest addition has been the friendly community Mobitog and a newborn initiative called the New Era Museum that gathers many talented iPhoneographers.
I am on many networks and sites because each one features distinct attitudes, people and context, but it IS difficult and energy consuming keeping up with everything: I think many “social iPhoneographers” like me would love a software solution that integrates all this multifaceted world.

yellow palace (above)

the waiting (above)

until the end (above)

Thank you Davide for all of your insight and for your rich contribution to the world of mobile photography. 
Find Davide:  You can view Davide’s work here:   Website / Facebook / Flickr / iphoneart / P1xels / Instagram / EyeEm
 
All images in this feature are copyrighted property of Davide Capponi published on iART CHRONiCLES with the consent of the artist.

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