Bokeh Lens–FREE for a limited time!

Formerly Bokehlicious, Bokeh Lens has been updated and is temporarily free. Compatible with iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad.  Optimized for iPhone 5.  Requires iOS 5.0 or later.

 

 

The Painterly World of Carol Smith–aka Dogsitter

You may know Carol’s work by her Instagram name @dogsitter80 (yes she owns a dog walking and pet sitting business!).  When I first visited her gallery I thought I was looking at photos of her original paintings.  When finding out these were painterly edits of photographs, I became an instant follower and huge fan of Carol’s work.  After interacting with Carol, I also learned that she’s quite hilarious.  This is a gal I could be best friends with!  I’m thrilled to be interviewing her to find out more about her life and work.

The Lake in Winter (above)

Colorful City (above)

Geri:  Where do you live? 

Carol:  I live in Coastal New Jersey now, lived in Denver for 22 years.

Geri:  How long have you been creating mobile art?

Carol:  I started "messing around" with pics on my iPod Touch 2 years or so ago.  My first efforts consisted of putting hats and funny noses on the faces of friends.  Soon no one would give me any pics   I was sad.   I then practiced on photos on the Internet.   I never posted anything during this time.

Flapper (above)

The Lady Cardinal (above)

Geri:  Do you have an art or traditional photography background?

Carol:  None at all.  I never took a pic in my life before getting an iPhone about a year ago. (Geri’s note:  Carol is proof that it’s never too late to become a fabulous artist!)

Geri:  How did your painterly style evolve? 

Carol:  It started to evolve after I got an iPad.  The larger screen helped me to do more complicated edits.  I started to look at sites like iphoneart and Flickr.  I realized what was possible.  I tried every app listed by every artist whose work I admire; and there were many.  I practiced and practiced...

The Ride (above)

Babes in Starbucks (above)

The Look (above)

Geri:  What are your favorite apps? 

Carol:  SHOCKMYPIC,  PHOTO COPIER. PHOTO TEXTURE.  PHOTO FX by TIFFEN, SNAPSEED and   IMAGE BLENDER.  I use these on most images.  I seem to be using fewer filter apps lately.  I am starting to make my own textures too.  I have much more control that way.  I have hundreds of apps.  Some I use just once in a while, many have only one or two worthwhile effects. 

Geri:  Please tell me about your process.

Carol:  I take the photos on the 4s and edit them on iPads 2 and 3.

Pink Evening (above)

Decimation City (above)

Lost in Thought (above)

Geri:  Who or what inspires you?

Carol:  Nature always inspires me. I find the street of NYC wildly inspiring!  I must mention here my collaborator, Oliver Reckert @oliverlovesit.  He provides many great shots of Germany for me to edit.  He is a far superior photographer; but doesn't do extreme edits.  I am also inspired and constantly learn from other artists, particularly those on IPHONEART

An Infinity of Kitties (above)

What Cats See (above)

Where do you think you are…Grand Central Station? (above)

Geri:  Have you ever exhibited your work.  If not, any plans for the future?

Carol:  No I haven't.  If the opportunity arises I will have to think hard about it.  This is a hobby for me. I don't know if I would want that to change.

Geri:  What would your dream app do?

Carol:  Hmmm. You know, I am pretty satisfied with the apps I have.  If there was one perfect app the fun of searching for new and exciting apps would be over.

Street Scene (above)

Waiting for the Train (above)

Brooklyn Bridge (above)

Geri:  Anything you’d like to add?

Carol:   Community is such a big part of this experience for me.  I have been met with such generosity and kindness here!  Having friendships with the best Mobile Artists in the world is mind blowing.  It makes doing this rewarding.  When I see the caliber of art produced by others it motivates me to practice my craft, to become better, to produce art worthy of this community.

Another Little House (Above)

Thank you Carol for your endless inspiration – You make me want to work at my craft even more!  You can follow Carol on Instagram @dogsitter80 and view more of her work at iPhone Art Dogsitter

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Use Flickstagram to move your Instagrams to Flickr!

Here’s an online service for moving your Instagram images to Flickr…Flickstagram .  I wish I had found Flickstagram while I still had all of my Instagram images uploaded!  The service will transfer your captions from Instagram, any hashtags will be added as Flickr tags and it will import your IG comments!  Of course you’ll need a Flickr Pro account if you have more than 1500 images, but the account is only $25 a year which isn’t a hefty price to pay.

Flickr allows you to create sets and collections so you can categorize your images any way you like.  There are also groups you can join on Flickr to link up with like-minded photographers.  Into Portraits?  There are groups for that.  How about only black and white?  There are groups for that.  There are even groups for black and white and one color only!  One thing you WON’T find on Flickr are the 1000’s of selfies by ghost followers!  That’s something to shout about!

PureShot Camera App Walk-Thru

I just purchased the PureShot Camera App for my iPhone and this video tutorial is a nice introduction to this new app

Friday Favorites No. 20

I missed last week’s Friday Favorites so you’re going to get a double-dose of my favorite edits.  This art form is infinite – limited only by your imagination.  By combining different apps, layering styles and methods of shooting the iPhone has become my favorite photographic tool.

Abstract Tree (above)

App Recipe:  ProCamera, Snapseed, Mirrorgram, MirroCamFX, Glaze

Dinner for Two (above)

App Recipe:  ProCamera, Snapseed

California Adventure (above)

App Recipe:  Bracket Mode, Snapseed, True HDR

Untitled (above)

App Recipe:  RealSpyCamera, Snapseed, Paint FX 

Sleeping Beauty (above)

App Recipe:  RealSpyCamera, Snapseed

Grocery Shopper (above)

App Recipe:  ProCamera, Snapseed Sketch Club

Second Look (above)

App Recipe:  RealSpyCamera, PhotoArtista Sketch, Image Blender, Snapseed

Beauty (above)

App Recipe:  RealSpyCamera, Snapseed, QQImageHD, Sketch Club

Man With a Red Hat (above)

App Recipe:  ProCamera, Artist’s Touch, Moku Hanga HD, Sketch Club, Snapseed

"Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes." - Carl G. Jung (above)

App Recipe:  RealSpyCamera, Portray, Sketch Club, Snapseed

Untitled (above)

App Recipe:  RealSpyCamera, Snapseed, Snap & Sketch, Pixlr Express, Distressed FX

Untitled (above)

App Recipe:  RealSpyCamera, Snapseed, Portray

At a Restaurant (above)

App Recipe:  RealSpyCamera, Snapseed, Portrait Painter, Sketch Club, Photo Artista Haiku

"You cannot be lonely if you like the person you're alone with." - Wayne Dyer (above)

App Recipe:  ProCamera, Snapseed, Pencil Camera HD, Sketch Club, Camera+

Waiting for New Glasses (above)

App Recipe:  Sneakypix, Corel Paint it Now, Moku Hanga HD, iWatercolorist, Distressed FX, Sketch Club, Snapseed, TouchRetouch

iPhoneography Tutorials at Kat Eye Studio

Kat Sloma of Kat Eye Studio is an accomplished photographer who conducts online and on-location workshops. Kat is passionate about photography.  In her words, “I believe we all have a unique vision of the world, there is no right or wrong point of view. Everyone’s voice deserves recognition in the conversation, thus making the world a richer place. Being an artist is a choice we make, by creating and sharing our vision. With digital photography as one of the most accessible art mediums available today, won’t you join me in exploring photography as a form of your own creative expression?”

Below are two beautiful examples of her traditional photographic work.  

Piaggio (above)

Wash Up (above)

Now, Kat has picked up her iPhone and found what we’ve all found – it too can be a useful tool for launching your creativity!  Kat is generous to offer tutorials on her blog explaining her process. 

Here are a few of her most recent mobile art images: 

Under the Surface (above)

Storm Coming (above)

Winter Flowers (above)

To find out the process behind these creations, be sure to visit Kat’s website.  Follow Kat on Instagram @kateyeview

The Art of Tatulee ~ Transforming an imperfect world”

Oh, if it were only possible for Tatu to entirely transform our world – then it would be as beautiful as his photographic artwork!  While trolling for new artists to follow on Instagram a while ago, I luckily stumbled upon the gallery of Ricard, whose nickname is Tatu and username on Instagram and EyeEm is @Tatulee. There was something different about his images – they had the richness of an old world oil painting, but there was something else.  I couldn’t put my finger on the word to describe what I was feeling until I read the words on his profile “Transforming an imperfect world ~ Every single image is taken & edited on iPhone 4 with the passion it deserves.”  PASSION!  That was the word and that is the feeling that his work evokes!


I am so thankful to Tatu who’s native language isn’t English but nonetheless agreed to answer my questions.

Geri:  What is your name and where do you live?
Tatu:  My real name is Ricard, but since I was a child everybody called me Tatu. I live in Figueres, Catalunya, Spain - a beautiful place!

Geri:  Your bio lists you as a musician and painter, so you are truly a Renaissance man!  What instruments do you play and what medium do you paint with?

Tatu:  Ha ha!  I love this (Renaissance man)!  I admit my philosophy is quite hippie! Well, as a musician I play drums for more than 25 years. I have played in several local bands in my life and right now I play in 3 bands, each with different styles. As a painter, I'm quite new. I paint houses as a job, so I decided to try the smallest pencil 5 years ago when I came back from Australia. There I saw aboriginal communities do this strange kind of art and it fascinated me!  So I decided to use a similar technique applied with a European vision. But... I'm still painting houses..! Ha! 

  

Geri:  How long have you been creating art with your iPhone? 
Tatu:  I started 3 years ago with an iPhone 3, and quickly was hooked!

Geri:  What or who inspires you?
Tatu:  Basically nature, and people who put all the passion doing the things they love to have a "perfect" life!

 

Geri:  Do you start with a specific creation in mind or do you develop a piece as you continue to edit?
Tatu:  I've been passionate about photography for a long time, so I started to take photos with my iPhone like it was a normal camera.  All changed when I discovered all the apps. They opened my mind and vision of this world. Now, when I see the thing I want to shoot I imagine how they will be with filters, textures and masks!  But, I have to admit that sometimes these apps surprise me and then the picture takes another direction. That´s the magic! 

  

Geri:  What are some of your favorite apps?  Please tell me a bit about your process?
Tatu:   I never use the same technique or apps. I believe every single image is different and deserves a different process depending on what you want to express, but I have some basic apps that I always use. These are Filterstorm, essential for processing.  Image Blender to get the best of two images.  Superimpose (in my case) or Juxtaposer to work with masks, BlurFX for blurring specific parts of the image and ScratchCam Fx to define tones and textures! Then you have other common and good ones like Snapseed, PicFX or Modern Grunge.  And finally the most modern ones that I love and I use a lot to create something different like Decim8, Glaze or Percolator.  

  

Geri:  Have you ever exhibited your work?  If not, do you have any plans to do so?

Tatu:  I just printed some images on a 30 x 30 canvas format and exhibited in my parent's restaurant just to see get feedback from people.  At the moment I have no plans for anything else. But I'd like to do more in the future. 

 Geri’s Note – I certainly hope so – Tatu’s work definitely belongs in a gallery!

Geri:  How do you view the future concerning mobile artistry?
Tatu:  I believe in this kind of photography!  I don't think it's a transient fashion and I don't agree with classic photographers that think this is not real photography. Photography is a way to express art. It doesn't matter what you are using to express it.  I can really imagine mobile artistry as a job, like painting or sculpture, in fact there are a lot of people making it already. That is simple as you can shoot photos all the time, everywhere you are, in all conditions.  After that you can immediately edit them with all of the amazing apps and transform them into whatever you want. That's pure art, that makes your creativity grow day by day!

Geri:  Anything else you'd like to add?

Tatu:  I really want to thank all the people I've met during this time…amazing artists who contacted me, appreciated my work and inspired me to continue expressing the little art that lives inside us!  Also, thank people like Geri from iARTCHRONiCLES to give me the chance to talk about something I love. Oh, and so sorry for my rude English that sometimes doesn't allow me to express my feelings as I want to.

Update May 1, 2013.  I have been unable to find any of Tatu’s work on either of the links above.  Please leave a comment if you are aware of any site where Tatu’s work can be seen.

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