Iphoneography Abstractions Process Part II

At the request of many of you, I've included the steps to my latest abstraction. I can tell you that I most frequently use these apps in creating them: Matter, Fragment, Tangent, and Shift (all Pixite apps); also Master FX, Alien, Sky, Alayer for textures, and Glaze. Rarely do I use them all for one photo, but usually some combo thereof. I will say that when I start, I have no idea where I am going. It's a surprise to me every time.

Here are the steps to Kachina Echoes. Enjoy and I look forward to seeing your creations.

I started with a photo of calla lilies that I've posted previously and took it into Tiny Planet for this rendition.

Next, I went into Matter app and chose this object (I almost always get rid of the shadow).

I then chose another object in Matter and came up with this.

I took the photo into Fragment which added these shapes and changed the color as well.

Fragment again - it has the feel of Japanese paper cranes I've seen at Manzanar, the internment camp in California that is now a National Historic site. I'm wondering if this will turn out to be cranes or a kimono.

I Fragment it again.

And again.

And one more time - now I am seeing the Kachina face and I feel where this might be going.

I take it into Glaze for painting look - I don't like it.

I go back to the face and change the color palette in Shift app.  Better.

I change the color again in Shift. I'm liking it more and more.

I add a texture in Alayer, which also shifts the color a bit. It feels very Southwest in origin to me now.

One more layer of texture in Alayer and I add a white vignette - not sure if I got it in Snapseed or PS Touch, but one of those. It feels complete to me now.

iPhone Abstraction: A Guide to the Rabbit Hole

Many of you know that I have disappeared down a giant rabbit hole these past couple of weeks exploring abstraction with the iPhone. I have a feeling that I won't be emerging into the light of day anytime soon, however I promised to show my steps in creating these, so here goes.

I was shopping and noticed the pepper display in the produce section. I thought the colors might make a good base for an abstraction, so I snapped it.

Next I took it into Glaze app and chose a glaze that kept the color but made the photo much less recognizable.

Now that it was pure color, I decided to crop out just a section of the photo to use as my base. I used Snapseed to crop freestyle.

I took it into Matter app and chose one of the styles, expanded it with my fingertips on the base until it looked like I wanted it too. I never know exactly what is going to look good to me in Matter until I do it, so there are many trial and error bits that I do not save. I liked this next one so I saved it.

Now it was getting interesting. It felt "spacelike" to me, like a wormhole. (I have no idea what a wormhole might look like, by the way.) Next, I brightened it in Snapseed.

I felt that I needed a "space" object, so next went into Alien Sky app. I tried some stars, even some galaxies, but I didn't like them. I inserted a Saturn like planet, which I liked very much.

Now, the photo is coming together for me. I then took it into an app called Shift to add some texture. The effect is subtle, but I really liked it.

Next I added another texture and vignette filter from Shift. It was not what I was looking for but interesting enough that I saved it.

Finally, I revisited an old favorite app called Laminar (formerly IRIS) and used the Space texture to add a smattering of stardust. I am happy with the final result. I look forward to seeing what you all do with your own abstractions.

App Your Big Girl/Boy Photos on Your Phone

It's not only permissable, but desirable to app your SLR or micro 4/3 pix on your iPhone or iPad. I often forget this, mainly because I shoot so much on my phone that I barely have time to app anything else. But I have vowed to change that after seeing artist Katrina Pruett's latest offerings. Check these out:

Katrina says that she used so many apps that she is hard pressed to remember exactly which ones are responsible for the lovely looks here. She is pretty sure that Stackables is one of the texture apps she used. I love Stackables too - if you haven't tried the app, you should.

You can follow Katrina on FB - she does amazing work in the contemplative photography discipline miksang.

Flights of Fancy

I set a goal for myself this year to push the creative edge a bit more - to break some rules or make some new ones to expand out of my familiar ruts. I took some of my archived bird of paradise photos, printed them on a non-professional ink jet printer on plain printer paper (not photo paper), and used water with a brush to "paint" them. The ink blurs like watercolor paints.

Then I rephotographed the finished watercolor images in HIpstamatic using Dreamcanvas. I further apped them in Snapseed and Camera+. I'm not sure these are better than painting in an app like PhotoViva, but I really like the end result and plan to do some more soon. Try your own experiment and send it to me - I'd love to see and share it.

Peek-a-Boo Blossoms

A couple of months ago at a photo seminar at Hui Hoolana, John Barclay challenged students to create a folio, a sort of focused self-assignment. Taking his advice to heart, I began photographing a series of single flowers that were hidden in plain sight - what I termed Peek-a-boo blossoms. Here's the first sampling of an ongoing self assignment. (BTW Check out huiho.org for more info on John Barclay and Jonathan Kingston's annual photo seminar with guest artists Dewitt Jones and Rikki Cooke.)