Showing posts with label Black and White. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Black and White. Show all posts
Friday, November 27, 2015
The Dramatic iPhoneography of Vassilis Rogakos
VR: My name is Vassilis Rogakos. I was born and live in Athens, Greece.
How did you get started in mobile photography? What device do you use?
VR: I resisted getting a cell phone for a very long time, but I was introduced to Instagram through my good friend (@blackbirdtales) and he set up an account for me about one year ago. Then I bought my first iPhone 5S in August 2014 and I am still using it. Its simplicity was a relief. I was amazed how easy taking and editing my photos on my iPhone turned out to be. That’s how I got hooked on mobile photography.
 |
| Midnight in China Town |
 |
| Spiral |
VR: No, none at all. I had music lessons for six years in my childhood, but I studied chemistry and I am a chemist by profession. So photography and generally all forms of artistic expression is a way to activate the other parts of my brain more than I do in my daily work. Photography and mobile editing is mostly self-taught, although I do have a lot of help from my friends who are very talented and wonderful artists and photographers.
 |
| Mr. Gasoline |
 |
| Steam |
VR: Mainly the people and secondly cities and landscapes. I like to watch people on the streets and try to imagine their emotions and feelings. There are many stories we could see if we just opened our eyes.
When I feel I start to lose inspiration I open photography books and consume imagery from world-class photographers such as Francesca Woodman, Diane Arbus, Duane Michals, Andre Kertesz. There are so many great artists that it would be hard to list them all. I love to spend a day in an art museum or in galleries and exploring all it has to offer.
In addition, there are dozens of contemporary mobile photographers that I am constantly inspired by and I am hesitant to start a list, but I would like to mention at least Tony Nahra (@tonyinseattle) for his imaginary landscapes, Valeria Cammareri (@_soulkitchen_) for her artistic vision of everyday life and of course Richard Koci Hernandez (@koci) for his urban melancholy.
 |
| The Suitcase |
 |
| Deep Listening |
With the exception of one color photo that I found while looking through your Instagram gallery, all of your images are in black and white. Why black and white?
VR: It’s very difficult for me to handle color in photography, so black and white was the only choice. My first photographs were so dark with high contrast, so that it was an easy step. Of course my cultural background (film noir, B&W masters of photography) also played a role.
 |
| Time Stood Still |
 |
| Family Affair |
VR: I have experimented with some B&W apps (Hipstamatic, Hueless, Provoke), but I prefer to shoot in color and convert to B&W as part of the editing process. I believe that this method gives me a lot of flexibility over tonal values when converting to B&W.
 |
| When I Grow Up... |
 |
| Shadows at Sunnyside |
A lot of your images contain a solitary figure. Are these composite images where you add the figure afterwards?
VR: It depends on how lucky I am to capture the right moment. Sometimes it just happens in front of my eyes, but often it takes time to find the right location and wait for someone to appear in the scenery.
In about 30% of my images I add the figures afterwards. Usually I photograph interesting silhouettes late in the afternoon or early in the morning. The protagonist is always a human being.
 |
| I've Seen it Before |
 |
| Monkey on His back |
I would characterize your images as dramatic and moody. Any tips for composing an image for a dramatic effect?
VR: This is a great compliment for me. I am not even sure what to call my style but I believe absence of color, clean backgrounds, great light and the solitude of the figures create this dramatic atmosphere.
 |
| Street Scenery |
 |
| Endless Summer |
Describe a typical workflow for your editing process including your favorite apps.
VR: I always shoot with ProCamera or Camera+. For post-processing (using an iPad) I start with Snapseed for the basics and from then on it depends on the image. I love using Mextures and Stackables for texture and tones. For sophisticated editing I use Filterstorm Neue or Enlight and for top quality film filters I use VSCO Cam.
Have you ever sold or exhibited your work? If not, any plans for the future?
VR: No I haven’t yet, but there is discussion with a local bar-gallery which wants to do a show with my work. Let’s see what happens.
 |
| Lost at Richard Serra Sculptures |
 |
| Decay |
What is the best advice you ever received regarding either mobile photography or photography in general?
VR: Go out and start visiting locations and shoot!! Capture anything that moves you and tells a story...
 |
| Smell of Fear |
 |
| Real Life |
Is there anything else you'd like to add?
VR: As a big fan of Art of Mob, Geri, this has been an incredible honor. Thank you so much for this interview. Your site is always an inspiration. I am grateful.
 |
| Strange Times |
Find Vassilis: Instagram
Apps Mentioned:
Hipstamatic
Hueless
Provoke Camera
ProCamera 8 + HDR
Camera+
Snapseed
Mextures
Stackables
Filterstorm Neue
Enlight
VSCO Cam
Thursday, November 26, 2015
Instagram Challenge Showcase - contrast by hornbeck
“The most colorful thing in the world is black and white, it contains all colors and at the same time excludes all.” ― Vikrmn, 10 Alone
This week it may have been a bit more difficult shooting with just one app, contrast by hornbeck. Sometimes when we're not familiar with a particular app, we give up and move on to the next one. Hopefully you enjoyed exploring the possibilities of shooting with this very unique black and white app. Below are just a sampling of the photos submitted for the challenge. Below each image is the artist's Instagram username. Please visit the aom_contrastbyhornbeck hashtag to view them all.
Read more »
This week it may have been a bit more difficult shooting with just one app, contrast by hornbeck. Sometimes when we're not familiar with a particular app, we give up and move on to the next one. Hopefully you enjoyed exploring the possibilities of shooting with this very unique black and white app. Below are just a sampling of the photos submitted for the challenge. Below each image is the artist's Instagram username. Please visit the aom_contrastbyhornbeck hashtag to view them all.
 |
| @diananicholettejeon |
 |
| @a_shiridoij |
 |
| @aconica |
 |
| @armineh29 |
 |
| @beezzz_ |
 |
| @catmoris |
 |
| @christicarterphoto |
 |
| @coppercurls55 |
 |
| @deevlasak |
 |
| @hanakai2001 |
 |
| @harrysonpics |
 |
| @helgejorgensen |
 |
| @itha_m |
 |
| @j_sarinana |
 |
| @johntrif |
 |
| @micromacromondo |
 |
| @morbec |
 |
| @olycow |
 |
| @onekevmoore |
 |
| @patronr |
 |
| @peterbryenton |
 |
| @richardpilon |
 |
| @sirpa9 |
The Mobile Photography of Tracey Renehan
 |
| Contemplation |
G: What is your name and where do you live?
T: My name is Tracey Renehan and I am an Australian living in Sweden.
G: How did you get started with mobile photography?
T: I have travelled extensively and have always taken a lot of travel photos with various cameras. In 2011, I decided I wanted to learn how to use a “real” camera and bought a Canon DSLR.
During my self-study of photography, I came across Mobile Photographers doing amazing photography and became curious. Winter set in and it was too cold to take my system camera out, so I thought why not use my iPhone to at least practice composition over the winter. It wasn’t until I joined EyeEm in April 2012 that my real journey into Mobile Photography began. Looking at photos on EyeEm has been the equivalent of going to school. It helped me see what both professionals and regular people can do and inspired me to learn.
 |
| Inner Prison |
 |
| Sound Waves |
G: What device do you use?
T: I started with an iPhone 4S and received the iPhone 5 last Christmas.
G: Do you have a traditional photography or art background?
T: I wish! My learning curve would be far less steep if I had studied. The only training I have done is two of the Story Telling Series Workshops with Mobile Photo Workshop. Last autumn, I did the Portraits workshop and I just finished the Street Photography workshop last week. Not only are Anton Kawasaki and Sion Fullana amazing Mobile Photographers, they are also gifted instructors.
It is too early to see the results from the Street Photography workshop, but my photography significantly improved after doing the Portraits workshop. I am actually very excited about seeing what I do in the coming months with what I just learnt from them.
T: I wish! My learning curve would be far less steep if I had studied. The only training I have done is two of the Story Telling Series Workshops with Mobile Photo Workshop. Last autumn, I did the Portraits workshop and I just finished the Street Photography workshop last week. Not only are Anton Kawasaki and Sion Fullana amazing Mobile Photographers, they are also gifted instructors.
It is too early to see the results from the Street Photography workshop, but my photography significantly improved after doing the Portraits workshop. I am actually very excited about seeing what I do in the coming months with what I just learnt from them.
 |
| Waiting it Out |
 |
| Erasing Thoughts |
G: Who or what inspires your work?
T: Coming out of a tragic time in my life, I took up creative writing and wrote several short stories and a novel. I realized I had a vivid imagination, but my writing skills needed a lot of work. The novel has been edited four times and I really love the story, but I don’t think it will ever reach the point where I am satisfied with the writing. Regardless, one of my characters is an artist and in the course of the story she paints an image, which was related to my own personal story. I considered commissioning someone to paint it and even casually mentioned it to an artist friend. I’m now inspired to make that image myself. It is still a long journey to reach the point where I have the skills I need, but hopefully I will get there.
I am also very inspired by images created by other mobile photographers. It is amazing what images are coming out of our mobile photography communities. I just love when I log on to one of the photography sites and see work that takes my breath away. Such images give me a high and I am inspired to try to create images that also speak to others. There are many mobile photographers and traditional photographers I admire and look up to and I spend more time than I should looking at images.
 |
| Face Off! |
 |
| Morphed Streets |
G: Do you plan your shoots with a specific idea in mind?
T: Mostly not, though I have planned some shoots. Typically when I shoot portraits of people I know, I think about the person then have a rough plan of how I want to shoot them. When I shoot street, I shoot what catches my attention.
G: Your work is mainly in black and white. Do you shoot in black and white with an app like Hueless or do you make the conversion afterwards?
T: Even if I shoot with a black and white camera app, I always apply Snapseed’s black and white processing to my images. Color is still a part of my learning curve. I hope one day to shoot more color even though I love and am mostly drawn to black and white images.
T: Even if I shoot with a black and white camera app, I always apply Snapseed’s black and white processing to my images. Color is still a part of my learning curve. I hope one day to shoot more color even though I love and am mostly drawn to black and white images.
 |
| From Where I Stand |
 |
| The Letter |
G: Do you shoot with the native camera app on your phone or a specialized app like Hipstamatic or ProCamera?
T: So far I have mainly shot with Hipstamatic, 6x6 and Camera+. I sometimes also shoot with Hueless, MPro and Pure, never with the native camera.
G: Do you have any favorite editing apps?
T: YES!!! Some of my favourite apps are: Snapseed, decim8, iColorama, ScratchCam, Blender, Pixlromatic, Photo FX, Filterstorm and BlurFX.
T: YES!!! Some of my favourite apps are: Snapseed, decim8, iColorama, ScratchCam, Blender, Pixlromatic, Photo FX, Filterstorm and BlurFX.
 |
| Latte |
 |
| PI Jones |
G: Do you do all your editing on your phone, or do you prefer a tablet?
T: My preference is to edit on my iPad. If I’m not on wifi, then I edit on my iPhone. Some apps are only on my iPhone, so I go back and forth.
G: Please share a little bit about your editing process.
T: First and foremost all of my images are processed in Snapseed. It is a great app and sometimes it is all an image needs. I edit both intuitively or with a specific edit in mind, so some of my images have gone through an array of apps. I love playing with apps and can spend hours experimenting on getting different effects (some by accident, others with intent). If I have a specific effect in mind and do not know how to achieve it, I will spend hours playing with different apps to try to achieve an idea. Often I don’t quite manage what I had in mind, but usually get something anyway. This way of editing has given me the opportunity to learn apps and know what both the app and I are capable of.
T: First and foremost all of my images are processed in Snapseed. It is a great app and sometimes it is all an image needs. I edit both intuitively or with a specific edit in mind, so some of my images have gone through an array of apps. I love playing with apps and can spend hours experimenting on getting different effects (some by accident, others with intent). If I have a specific effect in mind and do not know how to achieve it, I will spend hours playing with different apps to try to achieve an idea. Often I don’t quite manage what I had in mind, but usually get something anyway. This way of editing has given me the opportunity to learn apps and know what both the app and I are capable of.
 |
| The Jogger |
 |
| The Shadow |
G: When shooting on the streets, has anyone ever objected to you photographing them?
T: So far I have been lucky. If someone were to object, I would tell him or her what I am doing and offer a copy of the finished image. If they still object, then I would respect his or her wishes and delete the photo. Often I wish I had given some of the people I have photographed a card so I could send them a copy of the image.
G: ‘Jaded’ is a most interesting piece – please tell me more about it.
T: ’Jaded’ was created when I was trying to hone a special effect for a Poetry series. I chose a portrait from my album, which had the right facial expression and applied the Bunker filter in decim8. I then took the image to ScratchCam for texture and into iColorama for the colour tint, warping and transitional adjustments. I then blended a part of another image to balance it out. The subjects are actually siblings in real life, so the story I imply is pure fantasy based on her expression and the colour. I think it is interesting to think about why an image comes about and from where it comes. With this one I can’t give you an answer. Such images I think are like dreams, they have a meaning, but perhaps not always the most obvious one.
 |
| Jaded |
G: Have you ever exhibited your work? If not, any plans to do so?
T: You know I am fearless when it comes to posting my images on the Internet. The only time I feel nervous is when I post images to art albums. I almost feel like I am an impostor and have no right to post. I post anyway, but not without some trepidation.
If I were asked to exhibit, I would do so in a heartbeat and would enjoy every second!
G: Anything else you'd like to add?
Thank you so much for featuring me on your Blog. I visit regularly and so enjoy reading your artist features and catching up on mobile photography news. Great job, Geri! I would also like to share that you emailed to ask about the feature on the day of my birthday. I was both honoured and delighted to receive such a wonderful surprise birthday present. Thanks again.
Thank you so much for featuring me on your Blog. I visit regularly and so enjoy reading your artist features and catching up on mobile photography news. Great job, Geri! I would also like to share that you emailed to ask about the feature on the day of my birthday. I was both honoured and delighted to receive such a wonderful surprise birthday present. Thanks again.
 |
| Silent Love |
All images in this feature are copyrighted property of Tracey Renehan published on iART CHRONiCLES with the consent of the artist.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)