Anatomy of an Edit

Earlier this week @mobileartistry on Instagram featured one of my painterly images. I'm posting it here because it included a detailed walkthrough of the editing process.

© Geri Centonze

What I love most about creating artwork from images is that you can take almost anything mundane and make it into something more interesting. This image started off as a woman walking through a beauty salon dressed in black jeans and a shirt. It was a really boring photo. 

• First I brought the image into Sketch Club where I augmented her wardrobe and added to the volume of her hair. I also evened out her skin tone, enhanced her eyes and lips and painted over the background (version 1). 
• Next I ran the original image through Glaze (version 2). 
• I then blended versions 1 and 2 in Sketch Club (version 3). 
• On to AntiCrop where I added in more background to version 3 by expanding the image. This would allow an off center crop at the end (version 4). 
• Next I took version 4 into Waterlogue to produce a watercolor effect (version 5). 
• I then combined versions 4 and 5 in Sketch Club (version 6). 
• Next I took version 6 into DeforMe and nipped in her waistline a bit (version 7). 
• Version 7 was adjusted in Snapseed to increase saturation (version 8). 
• Version 8 was opened in Auto Sky FX HD where I added the misty cloud surrounding the figure and the crescent moon (version 9). 
• Finally back into Snapseed with version 9 for final crop, tune image and adjust detail (bump up Structure). 

It's interesting to me that I often don't have an end in mind and the piece evolves as I go. I'm not sure how I determine what comes next, it all just seems to flow with a mind of its own! 

Here's the Before and After

Apps Mentioned:

Sketch Club

Glaze

AntiCrop

Waterlogue

DeforMe

Snapseed

Auto Sky FX HD

Apps, Artists, Accessories and More Favorites for 2013

Okay, first the disclaimer! This in no way includes ALL of my favorites. This was just a fun exercise and you may want to play along. When you read the subtitles below, what comes to mind first? That's how I made my lists. If these lists were complete there would be MANY more in each category.

If you'd like to share some of your answers, I'd love to read them in the comments.

10 Mobile Photography Sites I Visit

Mobiography
iPhone Photography School
Mobitog
We Are JUXT
The App Whisperer
iphoggy-bloggy
Skipology
Creative iPhoneography
Life in LoFi
iPhoneography Central

10 Mobile Photographers Who Inspire Me

Alain Vincent

Bret Pemelton

Erika Brothers

Jane Fiala

Paula Gardener

Patrick St. Hilaire

Sarah Jarrett

Jun Yamaguchi

Susan Tuttle

Cristian Margarita

10 Favorite Apps 

Snapseed

Tangled FX

Sketch Club

Dropbox

Instagram

Glaze

Flipboard

The Room Two

Word Swag

Squaready

4 Favorite iPhone/iPad Gadgets or Accessories

Wacom Bamboo Stylus

Moshi VersaCover Origami Case for iPad 

Wally Case for iPhone

Olloclip 3-in-1 Lens for iPhone

11 Photos I'm Most Proud of

Second Street Bus © Geri Centonze

© Geri Centonze

Magnolia Blossom © Geri Centonze

The Pianist © Geri Centonze

Ships that pass in the night © Geri Centonze

The Observer © Geri Centonze

The Recital © Geri Centonze

The Wishing Well © Geri Centonze

The Snow Princess © Geri Centonze

The Engineer © Geri Centonze

Delta Riverboat © Geri Centonze

7 Favorite Mobile Photography Publications / Books / Courses

Mobiography Magazine

The Art of iPhone Photography

AppAlchemy

iPhone Artistry

creativeLIVE iPhoneography with Jack Davis

iPhone Photography Secrets with Chet Davis

Discover the Creative Possibilities of Snapseed

*Note some of the links to recommended products will provide a small affiliate commission which helps support Art of Mob 

Featured at Mobiography 24 Mobile Photographers til Christmas

What an honor to be included in Mobiography's series, 24 Mobile Photographers til Christmas. Andy Butler has compiled this series featuring 24 photographers who have "inspired or supported" him over the past year. The series opened with Paula Gardener, one of my favorite iPhone photographers. I can't wait to see who is next! click on the image below to read my top tips for aspiring mobile photographers. 

IPA Quarterly Exhibit Extended Through December 14th

Due to the popularity of the IPA Quarterly exhibit, the gallery extended the stay of the installation until December 14th. If you are in or near the Los Angeles area, you still have time to visit the Santa Monica Art Studios.

It was quite a thrill for me to see my photo, "The Recital" exhibited along with the works of many of my friends.

Me and The Recital © Geri Centonze

Gateway by David Ingraham

Leaves of Grey by Stefanie Le Pape (Top)
Sans Souci by Stefanie Le Pape (Bottom)

Channeling Atget #7 by Michelle Robinson

w o n d e r m e n t  by Catherine Restivo

The road to Mrs. Johnson by Nico Brons

Wheat Road by Cecily Mariece Caceu

Longing by Lola Mitchell

The Exhibit

What's in a Name? Do you Title Your Images?

Although I love editing images, the difficult part for me comes when I try to think of a title. There is no hard and fast rule that says you have to title your work, but it does add something to an image, especially when you are submitting a piece for a possible inclusion in an exhibit.

My titles are usually boring, like "Portrait of a Man" or "Portrait of a Young Woman".  There are a few photographers I consider masters when it comes to titling an image and one is certainly the brilliant Susan Tuttle. I recently asked Susan if she had any suggestions for coming up with a title and she offered this advice, "Just close your eyes and wait patiently. Don't think. Then the words come."

Hmmm...I wondered if it would work, so I gave it a try with a few recent images and to my surprise, the words did come! Thank You, Susan!

The Flower Whisperer

Ships That Pass in the Night

The Thinker

You can read more about Susan Tuttle in the interview I conducted with her here.

Do you title your images? If so, I would love to hear how you come up with them.

Mobiography Interview

It was so nice to "chat" with Andy Butler about my favorite subject - iPhoneography!  Andy runs a great site over at Mobiography.net and also produces the beautiful bimonthly magazine Mobiography available for the iPhone and iPad.

Hopefully I'll be able to chat with Andy again soon with the focus on his work and all he's doing for the mobile photography communitiy! Thank you Andy for this wonderful feature.

Click on the image below to read the interview.

The Whole Story - Photo by Geri Centonze and a Challenge!

The beauty of having your own blog, is that every once in a while you can get away with featuring yourself! Interested in submitting a smartphone photo of your own for a chance to be featured? Get more information here. 

  

The Photograph

The Whole Story

As I was looking through my Instagram feed this morning, I came across a post by @kelbelle110. Kelly had just received a handwritten letter from her daughter and she was over the moon. There's something magical about snail mail.  Immediately my mind went back to the time when my father was alive. We had difficulty communicating verbally sometimes but whenever either one of us had something we wanted the other to "hear" we would write it down. I have several memories of incidents that were resolved through letters.  Once, as a teenager, I pulled up too close to the curb on an outing with my Mom, and scratched my Dad's cherished hubcaps!  My mom's advice was to say nothing, but the guilt got to me so that night I slipped a note under my parents' bedroom door with all of the money I had (which was only about eleven dollars and some change).  I told him that I would repay him as soon as I had enough money.  When I got up the next morning, the note was slipped back under my door, along with the money and it said "Your honesty means more to me than a scratched hubcap. Love, Dad".  

The photo above is of one of the many letters Dad wrote to me when I was living in the Cayman Islands. In 1984, he and my Mom were packing up to relocate and he must have had a moment of nostalgia as he sorted through the "stuff" they had collected along their life's journey.  I still cherish this letter and every once in awhile I read it. In part it said:

"While sorting through the items we want to sell during our garage and moving sale, I came across your little tap dance shoes, Geri. I looked at these shoes and immediately my thoughts rolled back to the slap, back, step, routine you and Diane use (sic) to do in the front entry marble with those little tapeshoes. My eyes filled with tears for just a moment. Now you have two boys of your own."

Almost 30 years later those two boys are now grown up and married. One has two daughters and the other has a new baby on the way. Time is moving at breakneck speed! Today I challenge you to handwrite a letter to someone you love. Put a stamp on it and send it through the mail - you will be surprised at the big impact of this small gesture.

The Photographer

Geri Centonze - You probably know a bit about me if you're a regular reader of this blog, but if it's your first visit, I am a former sketch card artist turned mobile photographer. I have been totally consumed by this new mode of expression and started this blog to chronicle the journey. It turns out that I'm just as passionate about sharing the work of others, so this space also features artist interviews that highlight some of the very talented men and women I've met through social sites like Instagram and Flickr.

Find Geri:  Instagram / Twitter / Flickr / iPhoneArt / Pinterest / iPhoneLife

iPhone Photography School

If you haven't already discovered the iPhone Photography School blog, you have a nice surprise in store when you visit.  

In addition to interviews (I am pleased to be featured there today! - click here to read), you'll find Photo Tips to help you take great photos, Photo Editing with tips on improving your captures and Weekly Themed Photo Contests!  

When you sign up for email updates, you'll even receive a FREE iPhone Photo Editing Video Course - so what are you waiting for?  Hop on over and have a look!

Click on photo below to read the full interview.

The Whole Story–Photo by Geri Centonze

Today I had a breakthrough in my journey as an iPhoneographer, so I just had to share The Whole Story!

If you’d like to submit a photo and have a chance to be featured, you can find the details here.

 

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The Photograph

 

The Whole Story

This photograph marks a "first" for me.  As I was visiting a local outdoor mall with my son and his family, I passed a young man enjoying a smoke and a soda.  I said to my son, "Oh I would give anything to have a photo of that cool looking guy on the steps."  He said, "You're a photographer, just go ask him if you can take his photo!"  I remembered the words from Anthony Ginns from the recent article I did on portraiture for Juxt.  Anthony said he always asked when he wanted to take a photo.  I hesitantly went back and approached the young man.  He was more than amiable and willing to have his photograph taken.  I started off the conversation with "I am an iPhone photographer…"  It felt great to say that and it was a different experience taking my time to get the shot I wanted instead of sneakily shooting from the hip!  I am thankful to this young man who made it that much easier because of his great attitude and kind words. 

 

The Photographer

You probably know a bit about me if you're a regular reader of this blog, but if it's your first visit, I am a former sketch card artist turned mobile photographer.  I have been totally consumed by this new mode of expression and started this blog to chronicle the journey.  It turns out that I'm just as passionate about sharing the work of others, so this space also features artist interviews that highlight some of the very talented men and women I've met through social sites like Instagram, EyeEm and Flickr.

Find Geri:  Instagram / EyeEm / Twitter / Flickr / iPhoneArt / Pinterest / Juxt

Winners Announced for D-ive Festival in Barcelona

What a surprise I got this morning when I received an email from the organizers of the D-ive Festival in Barcelona.  I wrote them last night to see if they had a list of the winners for their upcoming event.  I wasn’t expecting to be among them, I was just wanted to see the winning entries for inspiration!  I was gobsmacked to find out that my portrait was one of the ten chosen to be exhibited as part of the D-ive Festival on April 20th in Barcelona, Spain!

You can see all of the winning images in all categories here.  I want to extend a special congratulations to my good friend Patrick St. Hilaire who was also selected in the portrait category.  Well done, my friend!

Below is my submission

 

Talking to Myself & Bonus Hipstamatic Tutorial!

I am kind of in a bind this week – there are some artist interviews in the works, but I’m waiting to receive them, so rather than scramble to put something together, I decided to “interview myself”.  There are perks to having your own blog!  It’s probably not the first time I was caught talking to myself.  Hopefully next week I’ll be back on track with my regular artist interviews.

Portrait of a Man (above)

What is your name and where do you live?
Geri:  My name is Geri Centonze and I live in Southern California about an hour’s drive from Los Angeles, but if you know our freeways that hour can quickly become two and a half hours in peak traffic!  For 22 years I lived in the Cayman Islands and both of my sons were born there.  I mention that because living there had a big impact on my life.  I was exposed to a different way of life and got to know people from so many countries since the Caymans  attract people from all across the globe.

The Realtor (above)

Portrait of a Man Reading (above)

At the Mall (above)

Do you have a traditional photography or art background?
Geri:  I was never trained in either but have always loved both.  I purchased my first 35mm camera when I was a teenager back in the 1970’s (okay do the math and you’ll figure out that I’m no longer a teenager!).  It was a Konica and it took me a year to pay it off with monthly payments to J.C. Penney’s.  I would often go on shooting adventures down to the beach or convince one of my friends to be my model for the afternoon so I could experiment.  But in those days, photography was a very expensive hobby due to film and developing costs, so that limited the number of photos I could take.  My camera ended up on the shelf taken out only for special occasions and family outings.
On the art side of things, I loved drawing since I picked up my first crayon.  I thought of pursuing a career as a commercial artist but my father discouraged it as he thought my science and math aptitude could be used in a better way.  Although I worked in an art gallery in the Cayman Islands, it wasn’t until 2008 when, encouraged by my stepdaughter, I started creating sketch cards and selling them on eBay.  Sketch cards are collectible 2.5” x 3.5” original works usually Sci-Fi or comic themed.  Selling on eBay led to doing official sets for a few trading card companies. I also dabbled in mixed media pieces and in the four years I was creating original works, I sold more than 1300 pieces on eBay.

Benihana Chef (above)

Butterball (above)

 How did you get started in mobile photography?
Geri: After four years of drawing sketch cards, my passion was waning.  I had begun to use my iPad create original art using an app called Sketch Club.  These were all original pieces that were not image based.  My sister kept telling me how much fun she was having on Instagram so I joined.  I mainly saw a lot of photos of meals, shoes and teenagers.  I figured it wasn’t the venue for me until I stumbled upon the galleries of artists like Alain Vincent @alainvincent and Richard aka @thelongsilence.  These were two of the first feeds I viewed that opened my mind to the possibility of creating art with a mobile device.  At about the same time I discovered the blog of Karen L. Messick and her painterly images captivated me.  So I started shooting everything in sight and poured through the app store looking for ways to enhance my images.  When I started getting feedback on Instagram, I was hooked!  I decided to abandon my sketching career to pursue this new and evolving art form.

Man with a Red Hat (above)

Mall Shopper (above)

How did the blogging begin?

Geri:  When I was selling my original art, several people who had purchased my work wanted to know if I had a blog or website, so I started blogging.  When I began creating mobile art, I thought it was a good time to start a new blog and that’s when iART CHRONiCLES was born.  It’s almost a year old now.

I’ll Watch Over You (above)

The Venetian (above)

Do you use the native camera app or another specialty app?
Geri:  For quite a while I used ProCamera because of the ability to lock in exposure and focus separately.  Now,in addition I use Camera Awesome.  I also like Slow Shutter Cam. There are I rarely use the native camera on my iPhone 4S.
Who or what inspires your work?
Geri:  I am inspired by faces.  I loved drawing them and now I love capturing them in photos and doing painterly edits.  I also secretly long to be a street photographer like Dilshad Corleone @italianbrother, brave enough to capture images of everyday people, but living in the suburbs limits that endeavor.  I could walk for a mile in either direction of my home and not pass a single person!  Mobile artists like Sarah Jarrett also inspire me – her work is brilliant!  I also marvel at the work of artists like Dan Burkholder and Davide Capponi.  Their heavily textured images remind me of old world paintings.

Dusting off the Sand (above)

Westin Lobby (above)

Do you plan your shoots or is your work created out of random shots on your camera roll?
Geri:  I don’t plan.  Much to the chagrin of my husband, I take my iPhone everywhere and I am continually pausing to snap an image of someone or something I find interesting.  I love swiping through my camera roll looking for a face or a scene that I find edit worthy.  I often use an app called Real Spy Camera that randomly captures images every few seconds.  Using an iPhone clip case that I purchased for $6 on eBay, I attach it to my purse or pocket when I’m on a busy street.  I never know what I’ve captured until I look at my camera roll.  

  Shot with Real Spy Camera (above)

Easter Ranunculus (above)

Your work is eclectic with portraits, street photography, abstract work, black and white, color.  Do you have a preference?
Geri:  I love it all and will try most anything, but most enjoy painterly edits.  Collaborating with other artists really interests me as well and I recently edited images by Patrick St. Hilaire and Ketty @LadyKTY that were received well on Instagram and EyeEm.

My edit of an image by Patrick St. Hilaire (above)

My edit of an image by @Ladykty (above)

Please share some of your favorite apps and a bit about your process.

Geri:  I shoot everything with my iPhone and do all editing on my iPad.  I normally begin each edit in Snapseed where I do my cropping and make adjustments to exposure, ambiance, contrast and often use the “Structure” adjustment that is unique to Snapseed.  Then depending on what I’m doing, for painterly edits I take the image into PhotoViva or Artist’s Touch where I will do a rough painterly edit.  I will also make various edits of the original image in apps like Glaze, Shockmypic, Painteresque or Portrait Painter and then combine all of the various versions using Sketch Club.  Sketch Club is an app I purchased when I was doing a lot of original digital painting and I just got used to working with the layers in the app, but I really need to get more familiar with Filterstorm which allows for masking as well as combining layers.  I have more than 300 editing apps on my iPad so I consider myself appdicted!  Other favorites include iColorama, Laminar Pro,
Photo FX, PhotoStamps (for adding a signature), Monovu, Deco Sketch, Picfx, Alt Photo, Pic Grunger all the apps by JixiPix, and Portray.  One of the newest apps I enjoy experimenting with is Repix. 
Is there an area that you’d like to explore more?
Geri:  I definitely want to look into compositing images and also using apps in unconventional ways.  For example the app Perspective Correct I’d like to use to distort images and some of the novelty apps that skew faces are great for distorting figures.  Recently I tried something different with Hipstamatic.  I really like the effects of Hipstamatic but you can’t pull an image in that you’ve taken with another app.  I’ve found a workaround for that.  I shot a blank white page using the D-Type Black and White film and the GSquad lens and here’s what I got.

Hipstamatic “texture” (above)

I wanted to use it to apply to an image that I had already run through Snapseed (below)

After Snapseed I ran the image through Old Photo Pro (below)

Here is the image with the Hipstamatic texture applied over it using a Hard Light blend (I used Sketch Club to blend the layers (below).

Anything you’d like to add?
Geri:   Yes, mobile photography and the community that embraces it have really added to my life.  I believe we can all create something and it’s inherent in our nature – whether it’s a poem, a drawing, a photograph, a song…through this medium I’ve been able to explore various genres and techniques at a fairly low cost (I do have a lot of apps!)  I want to thank all of those who encouraged and inspired me over the past year. 

All images in this feature are copyrighted property of Geri Centonze with the exception of the collaborations.
JUXT / EyeEm / Instagram / Twitter / Pinterest

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