by Todd Leban | Jan 12, 2015 | Stories
What’s In A Name? Volume 2 curated by Todd Leban
Whether you are aiming to be creative, clever, humorous, emotional, or are simply identifying the parts of your shot, the title for your image is an important element that deserves some thought. In the second installment of this series, I have again asked a handful of mobile photographers to select one of their photographs, and share their process of selecting its title. Please join me in discovering more about these artists and their images from around the globe.
Tim McCaff
Title/Caption of Image:
You can look inside of me
but the answers that you seek
and everything you need
is all inside of you
– Goo Goo Dolls
Every post I share has a personal meaning to me. When I choose a photo to post, I think about what I see. I like details… particularly something that a person may not see at first glance. This is usually what I choose to be my focus. I usually have a pretty good idea about what I want to say, based on subject matter or how I’ve chosen to crop or edit. I then search for the right words, something that relates well to the photo. I want to create an emotional connection between the photo and words… a story, my own story, and leave it all up to interpretation of the viewer. I love hearing how people translate my posts and form their own stories.
This is a story about self confidence. The latch, the closed doors, represents me. I am rusted, well worn, a sign that I’ve been around the block. You seek answers… I’m giving you a glance, a hint to an answer, but you already know the answer. Be strong, be confident. I’m going to help you, but I won’t give it to you.
Instagram // Website
Stefanie Le Pape
Title of Image: How to disappear: A Long exposure of bathroom selfie.
Self portraits were a therapeutic medium for me when I first started using photography as an art form. As I have gotten older I’ve come to realize how vain I can be. My own aesthetics find me disliking the image of my self. Yet- I still find moments that I find myself. Working with long exposures has allowed me to both paint with light as well as obscure my image while still making it about me.
The title says it all. Although – I have to wonder whether or not that too is vague? The title a question is answered in the portrait. Most of my work is titled. Titles come to me randomly and are often inspired by associated thoughts from the visuals. Photography can be like poetry in motion.
Title triggers can come by way of mood as well. I read somewhere that any work we produce left unnamed discredits it. I gave that much thought and found that discipline as direction and purging in narrow down pixel stockpiles.
Flickr // Website
Marita Hodges
Title/Caption of Image:
I see skies of blue,
And clouds of white.
The bright blessed day,
The dark sacred night.
And I think to myself,
What a wonderful world.
-Louis Armstrong
My process for naming an image is as random as my musical taste. I may be listening to a song and it sparks an edit or it may be the music I’m listening to while shooting or editing. Other times, like with this image, a song jumps out of my extensive mental song catalog.
I’ve always been a ‘little obsessed’ with music. At some point over the last couple years I started using lyrics to caption my photos on IG. It’s part to enhance the image and part the social aspect on IG. The feedback I get is amazing: from new band recommendations to sharing deeply personal life stories.
Jeffrey Simpson
Title of Image: Unity
My love of photography + my wife’s love of words = most titles for my work. Usually starts with a shout from the office, ‘hey babe…I need a title for this!’ We ping pong back and forth a bit, until we hit that ‘oh yeah that’s it‘ Mostly, it’s more of a subtle feeling than an exact or obvious definition.
My work is ultimately about getting under the mask to reveal what is real, raw, and of soul essence in my subjects. I think a great title enhances an image in that it draws the viewer in deeper to the image and ignites a spark of recognition of their own story, not just my story; connecting us all and weaving us together in that beautiful way that art does.
Facebook // Selfie Love // Website
Devin Graf
Title of Image: The world was spinning too fast.
I’ve always been very off and on when it comes to captioning my photos. It’s sometimes hard for me to find the right words to describe what I’m thinking when I’m looking at my photos or I just think my title is corny. But when I do, I try to think of a caption that provokes emotion because I want viewers to feel something when they see my images. I’ll look closely at details in the photos. The surroundings or certain objects in the image that I feel make it stand out. If it’s a self portrait I’ll try to focus more on how I think I’m feeling in the certain photo. It’s never been one of my strong points to caption a photo because I want the title to be original and there are so many artists out there that I feel might have used a certain title already. Recently, for the last couple months, my good friend Alex Wisner has been captioning my photos. She usually sees my photos before anyone else and has always had such nice things to say, so I decided hey why not let her title my photos. She is a talented writer and musician, so it just seemed like a wonderful idea to have her caption my photos and she hasn’t let me down yet!
Facebook // Instagram // Tumblr
Alex Wisner:
The way it began was that Devin had sent me an image and asked if I could help caption it because he couldn’t seem to think of one. The first photograph he sent me was of a friend of his, standing in a doorway after having tripped on a cord that had fallen from the ceiling. He had told me the backstory of it, and the first thing that came to mind was “break everything” because that’s the sort of angry reaction you would typically feel when an inanimate object attacks you. Since then, I not only try to find the humor but also validate the beauty. So, I guess that would be my answer. I look for the most humorous yet beautiful message for each shot.
Instagram // Website
by Anna Cox | Jan 9, 2015 | Stories
Written by Anna Cox Photos by Sam Smotherman
I met a man on Sunday morning. He wasn’t particularly handsome or interesting but my time with him continues to niggle in the back of my head. He told me about being a veteran, about agent orange, and shared that his mother had a terrible accident involving missing lung lining, a brick wall and a terrific sneeze. He spun story on top of story, one bleeding into and borrowing on the last. He was hard to follow and it seemed as though whiskey permeated every ounce of air around him. He cried crocodile tears into his coffee cup while spinning his stories and fell out of his chair while he was eating. He was diabetic and very conscious of what he ate. He spoke with an eastern Kentucky accent, fidgeting with his hands that shook the entire time. He seemed almost child-like when he spoke of his momma and how she would kill him if she saw him looking unkept. He told me about getting lost looking for the bus and how the benches were the best place to bed down at night He was a dirty, dirty liar but I liked him anyway. My friend bought him breakfast and patiently helped him pick food out while the wait staff fluttered about them. He made them incredibly nervous, and although I understood why, I felt sad for him anyway.
I cannot pretend to understand homelessness or being hungry. I won’t even begin to try to decipher why he ended up on the streets or what was truth out of everything he told me because it doesn’t really matter. What bothered me the most was that he had been conditioned to lie to gain sympathy to ultimately get what he wanted. In this instance, he wanted breakfast and a large cup of coffee. When he said the phrase, “I am not telling you this so you will feel bad…” but that, in fact, was exactly what he was hoping we would feel. Don’t misunderstand me, I am not here to debate homelessness or to negotiate sticky social topics. I am here to point out that he and I are not all that different. I have been taught to be sneakier with my lies, whereas he tells his boldly because that is exactly what is expected of him. He is homeless, therefore he is drunk or will drink before the day is out and everything out of his mouth is a lie crafted to gain sympathy. Don’t shake your head at my words, you know, deep down, you believe the sentence I just typed. I know your type, because I am like you. I skeptically look at the young woman on the side of the road and wonder if she actually has the five kids she claims to have waiting on her back home. I ask myself as I drive past and read her sign why she couldn’t get a job down the road at the restaurant I just left. Don’t pretend you don’t think these things also because most of us do, even if we are generous people. Most of us would feed someone hungry. Most of us wouldn’t ignore a bald plea to ease a physical ache. Most of us are good humans, but most of us are also good liars.
The only difference between the man on Sunday and me is that he turned right at hardship where I turned left. He is only one step removed from me, and in effect, you. He is dressed down and wearing his physical needs on the outside. I have learned to hide mine in plain sight. That morning, once his belly was full, he wanted to talk. He wanted to be heard by a captive audience. He wanted to impart a small piece of himself to us even if it wasn’t the truth. We can all understand that. We understand wanting to belong to something, even if that something is a Sunday brunch with two strangers. My friend and I pretended to not be uncomfortable while he talked with us, but we were. Both of us wanted to meet his needs if we could, but we also understood that he was telling lie after lie. It is hard to find the line between between sympathy and naivety. Even though my friend and I were basically strangers, we have a similar world view. Simply stated, to give without strings and to give without the hope of reciprocation. But even as I type that it feels hollow. The small, dark part of my heart says that I am generous because it makes me feel good. If I lead with that thought, my giving is ultimately selfish and motive driven.
What if we strip the generosity down to its base instinct? A base instinct that most people have built in to their psyche. The instinct to care about what happens to those we care about the most. If I look at that man like he is one of my own, then my caring and meeting needs isn’t one of selfishness, it is a pure act of love. He is me and he is you.
My resolution this year is simple. It is that my heart and head will come together to understand that there can be love even if there are lies between strangers. My motivation is one of caring for my circle. I am calling for an overhaul in my own life and heart. I am calling for a community chest born of pure love. I am calling for a giving that will strip down our wants and needs to perfect unrequited giving. We need to give ourselves to the idea that there is no us and them. That there is just us, and in that all encompassing circle there is a freeness of love that gives, not until it hurts, but because someone else is hurting and you, simply stated, are in the position to change that fact.
by Jeff Kelley | Dec 29, 2014 | Jeff Kelley, Stories
We all know there’s more than one downside to the omnipresent smartphone–the invention of the ‘selfie’, the calloused thumbs, the inability to bullshit our way through a discussion about, well, anything that can be Googled.
But you know what my favorite upside is? The ability to take a picture at any given moment. No, I’m not talking about catching a nominee for the ‘People of Wal-Mart’ blog; I’m talking about taking pictures of my kids.
The truth is, I really didn’t take any pictures at all before I succumbed to the allure of that sleek rectangular gadget. In fact, everything I’ve learned about photography has indirectly been the result of stumbling across a photo app a few years ago. Now that I’m able to take photos at any given moment, countless events that were once seemingly insignificant (like, uh, dental visits) have been captured on-the-fly, off-the-cuff, and even in middle of the street. The fact is, even if I <em>had</em> owned a camera, those spur-of-the-moment memories would likely have never been immortalized had I not been wielding my trusty iPhone.
So the next time someone collides into me on the street whilst checking Facebook, I’m going to think about that perfect photo of my kid–the one that was taken by a phone, the one that’s going be sitting on the mantle for the next six years, and yes, even the one that’s going to be sitting on a hard drive for the next sixteen.
Sure, I’ll likely succumb to carpal tunnel syndrome within the next year or two and end up with the permanent posture of someone decades older than me, but that hike we took on our family vacation? It holds a permanent place via some pixels in square form.
And when I’m in line for a coffee and the guy in front of me is haphazardly ordering a chai tea latte with almond milk and an extra pump of chai while day trading stocks, instead of whacking him upside the head, I’ll just take it as a trade-off. He gets to be obnoxious, I get to remember that look on my daughter’s face when she’s grown, and maybe her kids will get to know her a little bit better because of it.
Admittedly, not all of the disadvantages involve other people, and the perceived urgency my phone causes in me is distressing. It’s just slightly possible that I don’t need to take my phone in with me every time I use the bathroom. And it’s probably a good idea to actually interact with my kids in addition to getting the perfect shot for Instagram.
Maybe, if I’m lucky, my kids will take up photography. Or at least look back on the photos I’ve taken and appreciate them. It’s possible that in a few short years they will have their own phones and will be telling me to go stand in front of some foggy woodland scene so they can post it somewhere. I certainly hope so. I’ll try not to be annoyed.
by Rebecca Cornwell | Dec 8, 2014 | Featured Articles, Stories
Before I started to write non-fiction, I told myself all kinds of other stories. Our lives are filled with fantasy and fiction. The stories we tell ourselves and others, to entertain, to explain and to connect to one and other. Just as all stories aren’t fact, all photography isn’t the documentation of life.
While historically Grryo has given the space for photographers to tell stories of true life, Grryo simply means storyteller. So, in the interest of true storytelling, in all it incarnations, Grryo is excited to announce that it will begin taking open submissions for works of fiction. Have a work of fiction you want to share? Short story, essay, poem or haiku? Please submit your words and photos …we’d love to share your stories.
by Brad Puet | Dec 5, 2014 | Stories
Photo Credit: Eduardo Soteras Jalil/Comet-ME
The submission deadline for the 2014 Activist Awards has beenextended to Tuesday, December 16, 2014 at 11:59 PM PST. If you are a photographer who has collaborated with a nonprofit organization, we encourage you to apply. Read the submission guidelines and submit your work now: photophilanthropy.org/award
2014 Activist Awards Jury
We are very excited to announce the Jury for the 2014 Activist Awards. This year’s judges represent some of the top photojournalists and photo editors working in the field. The jury will convene in February 2015 to choose a winner in both the professional and emerging categories.
Alice Gabriner is the International Photo Editor at TIME magazine, a position she held previously from 2003-2009. Prior to rejoining TIME, Gabriner was a Senior Photo Editor at National Geographic magazine, and before that, she was the Deputy Director of Photography in the Obama White House. During her tenure at TIME from 1999-2009, she led the photo department during the 2008-2009 campaign, election and inauguration of President Barack Obama and oversaw the magazine’s award winning coverage of the Iraq War. |
Balazs Gardi is a freelance photographer most well known for documenting the everyday lives of diverse communities in great need, traveling to the corners of the earth following inspiring stories. His worldwide independent expedition exploring the far-reaching consequences of the global water crisis has recently evolved into Azdarya, an online magazine solely dedicated to water. |
Neil Harris is a Senior Photo Editor at WIRED, responsible for all photography on WIRED.com. Previously he was a photo editor at Fortune and Time magazines, and CNNMoney.com. Neil has also worked as a photography instructor at the Columbia Journalism School, and at the International Center of Photography. He lives with his wife and daughter in Oakland.
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Teru Kuwayama is a photojournalist from New York. His work for the past decade has focused on Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Kashmir. He works with the Instagram Community Team. In 2004, while working in Iraq, he launched Lightstalkers, a global, online community of photographers and unconventional travelers. He received a 2010 Knight News Challenge Award to launch Basetrack, an online social media project that chronicled the deployment of a US Marine battalion in Afghanistan from 2010 to 2011. He is a 2012-2014 TED Senior Fellow. |
Stephen Mayes for over twenty-five years has managed the work and careers of top-level photographers and artists in areas as diverse as art, fashion, photojournalism and commercial photography. As creative director, CEO and ambassador for the medium of photography, he has written successful business plans and reshaped operations for American, Asian and European imaging companies. Often described as a “futurist” Stephen has broadcast, taught and written extensively about the ethics and practice of photography. |
by Grryo Community | Nov 25, 2014 | Stories, Storyteller, StreetPhotography
I was introduced to Jordan Foy by a mutual friend. I was told Jordan had something to do with a mobile photography and I needed to speak to him. We hooked up and from there I discovered more about his involvement with the app Steller, a new storytelling app that has become a firm favourite in my camera bag.
Jordan is based in the historic city of Chester, UK. Even though he is still at university Jordan has worked in the creative industry for others or by himself since the age of 15. In 2011 he was nominated for the Young UK Entrepreneur Awards due to the work he did with the hotels in his local seaside resort of Blackpool. Jordan saw a market on his doorstep where he could sell photography on a large scale. Following on from this he has held an exhibition in a small gallery in Chester and become involved with the team at Steller. This has been an awesome opportunity that has enabled him to meet so many talented creators in the community.
AB: How were you first introduced to iPhone photography?
JF: I first got my hands on iPhone photography when I got my first iPhone. I was obsessed with it, it blew my mind. I even had two cases! I went through the Instagram filters and frame phase and luckily looked back and learned from my mistakes. I love iPhone photography more than I ever thought, and I haven’t picked up an actual SLR since, I feel it doesn’t matter what you take the snap on.
AB: Photographically, what subjects fascinate you and how would you describe your style?
JF: I don’t have a style. This is something I used to constantly worry about. I was worried that I would get left behind and be a failed creative if I didn’t have a style, so I would try and fix this with a style/genre. I soon learnt this is really not the way to do it. I am consistently inconsistent with what I produce, I just like to document everything. I am fascinated with and inspired by others’ creativity. That is what drives me to be better to experiment with new approaches all the time.
AB: We were introduced by a mutual friend who told me about your involvement with the app, Steller. Tell us about Steller and how the idea behind the app came about?
JF: Steller is a new creative social media app where people can share their stories, experiences and interests, which elsewhere can be hard to share. Steller allows you to create your stories right on the phone through images, videos and text. It has a beautiful design aspect to it for creators and its simple to use. There’s a really vibrant and diverse community taking shape of photographers, food lovers, adventurers and creatives that are very inspiring and sharing in a whole new way.
AB: During its launch week, Steller was featured as Apple’s ‘Editors App of the Week’ which is quite an achievement. What makes Steller so special and how is it different from other photo apps or social networks?
JF: I think the thing that makes Steller so unique is people have a fresh way of sharing. This is something that today everybody is doing, everyone is sharing that latest snap in their camera roll, everyone is keeping people updated with what is happening in their lives and what makes them tick. Steller allows you to do all this in a bitesize interactive story where you can share everything from your latest holiday, to your latest creative photography project, to you’re freshly baked goods straight out the oven! Steller allows you to tell a story, which we all have the ability to do, in a way that’s very beautiful looking and personally designed. With Steller, you have a platform to tell stories grand and small to your hearts content and share them wherever you like.
AB: What are the key ingredients that make up a good photographic story?
JF: Great original photography. I am always very intrigued with how people see the world. I actually have an ongoing hashtag series called #seewhatisee on Steller. This allows people to see into other peoples lives and the way in which they document their last 7 days. This is always very interesting. The app is filled with incredible creatives who use photography and videography in all different ways.
AB: Who are your favourite Steller storytellers and why?
JF: I love all different types of stories and new users keep catching my eye with stories that really keep me interested and anticipating their next ones. Recently I have really enjoyed stories from:
@Devin Castro : Devin’s Memory Bank Series in ongoing series which contain fleeting moments in his life.
@Dariustwin : Darren’s dinosaur lightpainting is magic.
@srt4shawn : Shawn’s Convex Views is a real head spin, very creative.
@asenseofhuber : Turtle Tuesday is an awesome project!
@ChadCopeland : iPhone Only Alaska has mind blowing captured scenes.
@tifforelie : Tiffany’s recipe for autumn chili has her signature mastery beautiful natural light in mobile photography.
AB: Where do you get your inspiration for the stories you tell?
JF: I take a lot of inspiration from Devin Castro as I am fascinated with how he tells a story, and how he documents scenes. I also love taking inspiration from different genres. It expands my eyes to the way others produce photography in say food or interiors or architecture, and adopt it to my own practice.
AB: Where can people find out more about Steller?
JF: People can get their hands on Steller for free on the App Store. You can also check out our featured stories on our Instagram page which is updated everyday with the top stories from all different types of creatives. You can also check out the Steller website for our Editors top picks and Most Viewed stories, as well as search for any subject or user on the app.
Connect with Jordan Foy
Steller // Instagram
by Brad Puet | Nov 12, 2014 | Stories
The Terry O’Neill
Photography Award 2014
Calling Brave, Brilliant Photographers
ANALOGUE – DIGITAL – MOBILE
All formats and all nationalities welcome.
The Terry O’Neill Award is one of the world’s most respected and leading photography prizes. It attracts thousands of entries every year from around the globe. Our distinguished judges offer a unique opportunity to showcase your talent to titans of the industry, many of whom operate in the commercial world and commission work.
Visit the website for more details!
PRIZES
Coverage in The Guardian newspaper and online
£6500 in cash prizes
• Overall winner: £3000 plus 50% of The Guardian image syndication fees
• First runner up: £2000
• Second runner up: £1000
• Mobile format winner: £500
Exhibition of winner and finalists images at The Strand Gallery, John Adams Street, London WC2, free to the public
ENTRIES
1 – 5 images: £12.50 (£6 Students)
6 – 10 images: £25.00 (£12 Students)
CLOSING DATE
30 November 2014
CRITERIA
All images must have been shot between 30 November 2013 and 30 November 2014
Submit Your Entries Here
by Anna Cox | Nov 11, 2014 | Black and White, Stories
Before we were this, we were star dust, We were at the very beginning, We were without anything, and as we travel this preordained journey over and over in one form or another days become months, months become years, years become centuries, centuries become millennium and then it all disappears into light, a light that holds and hides us from ourselves, a light that changes the singular to the plural to the all encompassing god of it all. That god which we are part of, the universe, the all ubiquitous experience that we hide from lest the lies escape us and we return to an eternity of waxing and waning.
The disappointment of the present in the blank stare of my fellow beings, all of them, all of them as confused as the next, all of them terrified by ensuring their survival, pitting themselves against the other in imagined games of interplanetary wars, the mortality of the flesh of the matter that cocoons and diverts our universal being into a mere ego, a singular, living in a moment that no one will recall, no one wants to be reminded of. The failure of it all.
The worst of us control the best of us, the worst set the pace the disruption and deception and the only thing worthwhile is a link that cannot be controlled, the link that all beings strive for and that is association, the association from a link of love, the pull stronger than the gravitational force of our sun, that feeling that you used to belong. It’s not born of admiration, of subservience to the created gods man uses to divert purpose with, how puny that deity is, how basically immoral and unethical does it continue to be. There cannot now be any admiration of slave gods, of the dark matter that they represent trying to absorb your light, your true reality, your unbearable lightness of being.
It will take a blank page, it will take a new discovery in contrived reality to change this, to disprove the diverted purpose imposed on the beings, all beings that inhabit the earth, if it experiences mortality then it is a created temporary ego manifestation of energy, there is nothing real about it, in a few millennia none of this will exist, it will be revealed in a new design. And you will remember nothing of this because it never happened.
// Instagram // tumblr //
by Anna Cox | Nov 10, 2014 | Anna Cox, Mobile Photography, Stories
A: Hey there! Thanks for joining us and sharing a bit more about you. Why don’t you give us a little background info.
D: I’m 46, married and father of 3, live in the countryside in Israel and work in a chemical engineering company. I never studied photography but was always drawn to it. I publish on IG under the username @dot4n, and by same name on AMPt website for mobile photography.
A: What is it about taking photographs that moves you?
D: Taking photos allows me to process the visual stimulation which could otherwise overflow me. Editing images later is done under a strong sense that I must lift-up reality as it’s never good enough as it is, being too small and too local. Things must look unrelated, locations unidentified, reality disguised.
A: Do you have a favorite image?
D: One of my favorite images, not being a landscape as what you noted you liked, but a shot with a sense of mood that I highly relate to. Pic is made from two layers put together. One is of a man standing on the shore at the sea of Tel-Aviv. He is clearly an immigrant, dressed so differently to what local people do. The sky is a shot of a dirty window in my office cafeteria, dust smeared to resemble rain. This is probably the most exact story I wanted to tell of being far away, in a totally strange location with vast space, quiet and moody.
A: What do you think creativity is?
D: I don’t know what creativity is. I want to tell a story. I want to relate to others. I want to repeat myself as little as possible. There’s no deadline for publishing. Pics are posted when I feel they’re ready. And if posted too early I take them off.
A: Who are you inspired by?
D: Mostly, what I know of photography now comes form IG and AMPt. I am inspired by many users, mostly by those who aren’t afraid to be creative and post regardless of the popularity of their pics.
A: Was their a pivotal moment in your photography?
D: I don’t recall any pivotal moment. I thought it would happen with the next follower, but it was never different. Eventually it’s the inner discussion about what you believe worth posting and not the amount of feedback you get.
A: Do you think the number of followers matters?
D: Followers serve as false assurance. You always think that more of them would make you happier, but it never works this way.
Having many followers impresses only people with less followers than you do, if at all, but it does distract the attention from what you want to create to what would make your followers like and comment and to what would bring more followers.
A: What does community mean to you?
D: Community is anything that would make you belong and be less alone. On IG this feeling comes more from the comments I get than the number of likes. I don’t feel I need more than this. I don’t post on Twitter and hardly take any part on Facebook.
A: How do you think social media has changed how we share thoughts, ideas, photos?
D: Social media have become so common that people don’t regard the publication as something that requires self restraint or filtering on their thoughts. It’s not the case for me and I’m sure that also for other IG users. It’s always interesting to try and guess how much effort it takes for someone to share their pics. For me it’s always a struggle. My regular caption of plus-minus sign (±) also means that words don’t come easy, and ifthey don’t create any added value – better not be said at all.
// IG // AMPt //
by Natalie Maddon | Nov 6, 2014 | Stories
Did your mama ever say to you “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all”. Mine did, and I listened. I think for the most part, it is good advice. I find myself dwelling on it though. When I don’t feel like being a ball of sunshine, I turn into a hermit. I don’t want to put myself out there. I don’t want to be the Debbie downer of the bunch. I don’t want to create anything because I feel like that takes my inner downer and makes it something tangible that I might not be able to take back. It creates an image that may give viewers those same feelings that I have inside. Maybe they will look at my photo and get the same anxiety that I felt when taking it. Maybe they won’t. It’s not my job to determine how my art will make others feel.
Something I am realizing more is that maybe I can just embrace and except that sometimes things just suck. Sometimes my attitude or outlook just sucks for no reason and that is just fine. Instead of getting all hermit crab, I am going to just let it out. I am going to create tangible things that maybe people will look at and think I am a bummer. Well, that is just fine too. If I only create when I feel like a magical unicorn full of popcorn and flowers that would be boring. That would be fake, untrue, a facade.
I’m no shrink. But I am a person. And from one person to another, let yourself feel it all. Experience the not so nice. Allow others to experience your not so nice sometimes too. Life is not all bunny rabbits and cotton candy. Life is about experiencing and feeling and being true. Nobody likes a robot.
by Todd Leban | Nov 2, 2014 | 1000 Words, Stories, Todd Leban
Welcome to the 11th 1000 words Facebook showcase
Inspiration for this 1st image is easy , I was in Maui on a Brooke Shaden retreat. Our model Marsha Denlinger, was in a wonderful cave posing for fellow photographer Maureen Sullivan aka Wandering Alice that was setting up a conceptual shot around a beautiful head dress made on the Island ( which by the way you can support Hawaiian artists and find this one on Etsy called “Hat and Mouse” )
i was behind the scene and shot this in Hipstamatic using the Chunky lens and Ina’s 1969 film flash off with the double exposure mode on. The editing i did was minimal opening it in Snappseed and cropped the frame out, i usually hit automatic and let the app correct contrast for me but in this case it changes the color to much so i left it, hit detail and sharpening a bit. I sign in title fx.
Unfortunately, my friend Eric Rosen let me know that the little thingy to the left of the lens is res, high med and low !
I love it but Im not Hipstmatic savy, and the film and lens were chosen by the app… The setting seem to switch setting on me,
( which i JUST learned how to save favorites ) I use to get mad, when it would change on its own, but now i am plesently surprised on a lot of shots in which i would have never chosen that film or lens.
website // flikr // instagram // facebook //
First of all, thank you very much Todd and GRRYO for featuring my Work.
The image that you have selected has been inspired by the lack that I tried in a moment of distance from my partner. I took this image of him while he was swimming in water (made this summer in a short and happy escape to the sea). I love ‘clean’ and ‘pure’ photographs, but sometimes it happens to me to feel the desire to stratify, to abstractify to make photograph like a multidimensional object, dreamlike. That’s why I sometimes lean towards a kind of photo manipulation. So, as often happens, I felt the need to add something to this photo, maintaining the formal structure of the original image. Based on what I felt at that moment, I had the idea to superimpose a relatively old self-portrait.
Shots were both done with my IPhone.
The editing is quite simple: I only have used image blender and analog film apps. Image blender for the superimposition, analog film to apply a bw filter, adjust exposition, contrast and to add some grain to emphasize the foam of the sea. Also to confuse a little the definition of the image. I Like the fact that you can’t recognize specifically a person and this fact allow everyone’s imagination to flow free and make his own story.
// instagram // Flickr //
Diana Nicholette Jeon
they can only succeed by silencing our voices
iPhoneography/Mobile Art
Composite of 4 images with a lot of drawing/painting in Procreate and iColorama.
This work is in response to the idiotic pronouncement of Satya Nadella that was affront to working women everywhere.
Recently I was working on a series of images, and I got stuck…It wasn’t going the place I saw in my mind, and since it was part of a larger series, I needed to maintain a certain ”look and feel” to the work. As is often the case, I put it aside so I could come back to the work with fresh eyes. I started on a different series.
As I was working on the second Image of the newer series, I read this article: http://readwrite.com/2014/10/09/nadella-women-dont-ask-for-raise. The male CEO of Microsoft was telling women that they should not ask for raises. “Karma” would take care of that for them. I used to work in high tech in the Silicon Valley, and found that it was enough of boy’s club that reading this made my blood boil!
I posted about it on Facebook. I told my husband and son at dinner. I got barely a nod about it. We went to dinner the next night for a birthday, and there were three women at the table with us. I showed the article to them, and they were as mad as I was. I knew I wasn’t alone, and I was sure I wasn’t crazy.
I went home that night and created this work. The woman’s face is composited via three self portraits of myself. I used a heavily textured shot positioned so that part of it would be similar to a noose. I crossed out her mouth. I work with black, for mourning. I was seeking a dense dark look, like an aquatint intaglio print or a mezzotint work.
I used iPhone 5s native camera to shoot the images of my face, and worked the image back and forth using iColorama, Procreate, PS Touch, Photoshop Mix, Pixel Blender, Diana, Mextures, Stackables, Scratch Cam, Stackables to create it. The process was fast but very involved. I rarely use only one or two apps. I go into and out of apps rapidly, taking what I need for this or that, and moving on to the next, then maybe back again. I have been working with digital tools for art practice since 1997, so using apps is, for me, like using different features in Photoshop. It is second nature. I don’t think about the apps, I just move from one to the next as I need.
FB // art // web // flickr //
I live 5 minutes walk from the river close to Richmond. A couple of mornings a week I go out walking along the river with a friend of mine and a couple of doggies. We set off approximately 8.15am so we have been getting lovely light on the riverside. On this particular morning the water was very still and produced beautiful reflections of the boats. I took the photo with VividHDR using the Lively preset. I then opened the photo in Snapseed, cropped it and applied a few minor adjustments. Then I took it into PhotoCopier which gives me the option of so many wonderful effects and textures. I bought a new app Brushstroke so this was my first time using it. Loved the painterly look I got! Then my last app I used was DistressedFX where I applied the Charm preset.
Instagram // Twitter // Flickr
by Jen Bracewell | Oct 31, 2014 | Jen Bracewell, Stories
1000 Words, Instagram vol. 4 by Jen Bracewell
Welcome to our fourth themed Instagram 1000 words showcase! There are many talented artists on Instagram and we wanted to tap into their creativity and showcase their work here. ‘Tis nearing Halloween and Dia De Los Muertos, so I chose “Spooky” as the theme for this showcase.
Grryo believes that mobile photographers/ artists tell stories through the photographs/ images and art that represents their families, their environment, themselves. This is important because of the level of communication that is portrayed in imaging today.
We want to support the mobile arts community by having a place for artists to share, discuss, and critique (if requested by individual). These dialogues help the individuals and the community to grow.
We look forward to you and your art. We thank you for your contribution to the mobile photography/ arts community.
I chose these images for their scary, creepy goodness.
Image by @theljilja
First I want to thank you for featuring one of my images. I really feel honored to be a part of this family.
This image is a part of a series inspired by inner alchemy and the nigredo process. It speaks about the awareness of dark realm. Deep down in blackness there are hidden mythical monsters. We can learn from them if we shed the light on every single one of them. Repression is the heritage and we need to break that cycle!
Image by @_joanna.h_
This image was taken was taken during one of my fairly recent nosebleeds (sorry if too much information!?!), also I now feel a little weird that I took a photo of my nosebleed but I felt like documenting it at the time. Anyway I took the photo with Hipstamatic app on my iPhone; Burke lens and Blanko bl4 film. I used Mextures app to give it a more grungy, grainy appearance. I’m currently reading Dracula by Bram Stoker and found the particular excerpt (used on my Instagram post) inspired to this photograph.
Image by Caren Drysdale (@carenzo96bnw)
As I was closing the door to our home office late one night, I noticed that the night light in the room created the “spooky” shadow of my hand as I reached for the doorknob. I thought it had potential to be an interesting photo. I shot it on my iPhone 5. It took me a few attempts to get the shadow looking the way I liked and to keep it sufficiently in focus while shooting with my left hand (I’m right-handed). I originally converted it to black and white using the Snapseed app, then used the Willow filter when I posted it to Instagram to capture the final look I was satisfied with.
One final side note to mention is that it may look like the wood on the door is inlaid, but it’s a cool cheat done by my fella, Paul. It was pencilled in, taped, then stained with a darker stain.
Image by Daniela Ubide (@4thieves)
Most of my pictures, I take with my iPhone, in different locations when on holidays and most of my self portraits at my home like this one. I use selftimer and/or a small remote ISnapxRemote, with the limitations, I prop my camera in creative ways. My edits are very simple always in my phone or iPad, using apps like Snapseed, Picsart, Repix, Sizeit…
I called this one Clytemnestra’s torment and I based my inspiration loosely in the classic Greek drama, the double edge sword used as weapon of her murder revenge, I represented with this double pointed cross. The hands or lack of them are very important for my pictures, I tried to represent here with my hands the resignation and despair at the realization of her own acts ( The murders) still keeping a sense of pride, as she never repented of it.
Thank you again for this opportunity
Image by @columnsovsleep_
“Hyde” was part of a series I had done awhile back called “The Grotesque”. It’s an obvious take on Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde but with my own twist of having both sides dark, just one a little less than the other. Sometimes the duality isn’t as clear as I’d like it to be. This is my expression of that.
Image by Jim Perdue, @jimsiphone
Who is on the outside? Who is on the inside? Who is the real outsider?
My photo submission for the #grryo_spooky challenge is titled “The Outsider”. This is a re-edit of a photo that I did a while back. What appears to be a person communing with an ominous specter is really my son and daughter playing in our garage. The bulk of the editing was done in SnapSeed. The distressing was done in ScratchCam and SnapSeed. The dodging & burning and blurring effects were done using PhotoToaster.
Image by @maritahodges
I was out taking pictures and found this beautiful abandoned farmhouse.
I edited it entirely in Snapseed, going back and forth between tune image/details and grunge until I was happy with it.
Image by Eitan Shavit (@strongcomet)
I was living in the Countryside at the time, and everything was so mysterious and haunting. The forest, the fields, paths, trees, all so quiet, lonely and dark during winter time.
I would travel 10 minutes from my house and be completely embraced by nature, with no one around.
I love ghosts and ghost stories, and after seeing this beautiful scenery of magical flowers, I knew something must be added to complete the mystery.
There’s one ghost figure I’ve been using a lot in my gallery. She’s a mysterious girl with long black hair. You never know if she’s looking at you with her hair all over her face, or you see her from behind, and that’s creepy 🙂
Shot taken with Hipstamatic / John S / Blackeys Supergrain. Ghost (from the strange app ‘Scary Camera’) added with Superimpose.
This photo is my most popular one on IG, and one of my personal favorites 🙂
This shot is a composite of two photos, the droplet/web being from the fantastic @pickledgoose, the girl/sunset being mine. I edited with Mextures and VSCO. The original intent wasn’t to make something creepy, but that’s how it turned out, so I just went with it.
