Posted on
January 02, 2011 by
Knox

Emily Rose
We are happy to present the next in the series of artist interviews here on P1xels. This month, Emily Rose. (Here is a link to the gallery that goes with this interview.)
KB: Please tell us a little about yourself – where you live, if you hail from Earth, anything like that. Whatever you feel like sharing that isn’t covered in the questions below.
ER: My name is Emily Rose, I’m a 35 year old divorced mother of three amazing daughters (ages 5, 8, and 13) and live in Duluth, Minnesota. I work full time as an Office Manager and have been happily directing my energy towards mothering small children for the past 13 years (mothering is another passion of mine)…about a year ago my last baby got older and needed less of my energy & time…leaving a space…which has been filled with my passion for iPhoneography!
KB: How long have you been shooting pictures with your iPhone?
ER: I started taking pictures (documenting events) when I got my phone in Summer 2009, but wasn’t until Spring 2010 that I became passionate about photography.
KB: How often do you work on your art?
ER: Daily of course! It’s become such an important part of my life that it’s a necessity (obsession?).
KB: How did you discover apps?
ER:
KB: When did you get serious about it, and what was the turning point for you?
ER: Spring 2010 – the change happened for me when my friend Darin invited me along on a photo hike and something just clicked for me. The next day I set out for the very first time with intention to take artistic photos! I brought my daughters at Rice’s Point and took their picture on the dock – that was the beginning. I also made a deal with my 3 daughters – every weekend I would take them to explore a new place and in return they agreed to be patient while I took photos. This was the best summer of my life, and I think theirs too!
KB: What do you like to shoot? When? How does your whole creative process work? And how has it evolved?
ER: I have always been a great admirer of beauty and it’s so satisfying to finally have a way to interact with it! I like to shoot anything that “speaks to me” (beautiful or interesting) and I especially enjoy capturing people and documenting connections, I also really enjoy lines & color. I always have my phone with me, I shoot any time or any place – I’m not picky.
My creative process seems simply emotional to me – I see something that “wants” its picture taken, so I comply! And when processing the photo I feel like the photo already knows what it “wants” to be, and I keep processing until it feels finished. I suppose somewhere in my brain I must be considering the things I’ve learned about photography, but it’s not at the forefront. I wish I had something more specific and fancy to share with you!
KB: Do you work in any other creative mediums, i.e., painting, music, writing, etc.?
ER: No, just iPhone photography, although I am now studying “real” photography and lighting with my DSLR.
KB: Do you spend time online looking at the work of other iphontographic artists?
ER: Yes! I spend as much time as I can viewing other work – it’s one of my daily simple pleasures.
KB: Do you study other art forms?
ER: I do not study other art forms but I do appreciate all genuine creative expression (even if I don’t “get it”).
KB: Have you done a lot of traditional photography? If so, are you still using your camera as well as your iPhone?
ER: I’ve been taking family snapshots my whole life with a point and shoot camera (which I don’t use anymore) but it’s never ignited any creative passion in me. There is something magical about the iPhone, it’s unlike any other camera in the world! Perhaps it should come with a cautionary label: WARNING: iPhone photography is capable of igniting intense creative passion in users. Creative passion is life altering and irreversible. (Editor’s note: As of mid-2011, Emily is now studying photography and lighting with a DSLR.)
KB: Who are some artists – in any medium – you admire or have influenced you?
ER: Oh Wow. There are so many amazing photographers that have shaped my views. When I first began to seek out other people who were taking pictures with their iPhones I came across the work of Stephanie Chappe – the connections she is able to make between people and their environment is brilliant and exciting. Since then many other iphoneographers have had a huge impact on me such as Max Berkowitz, Jason Parks, Laura Conomy, Maia Panos for their beautiful photography with children. Jose Chavarry, Jaime Ferreyros, Daniel Berman, Jeff White,
John Enslow, Sion Fullana, Robert Herold, Marianne Nikolaisen, and Christian Peacock have also inspired me. Of course it would be impossible to name everyone! Each day I become more and more familiar with the members of the iPhone Photography community, I am continuously inspired and amazed by the work I see. My favorite traditional photographers are Dan Anderson, Phil Kneen, Christian Peacock, Federico Erra, Harmony Nicholas, and Brooke Shaden.
KB: What is your basic app kit, or Camera Bag, as Marty Yawnick calls it. How has your use of apps evolved over time?
ER: Camera+ is possibly my most used app and the only one I’ll use to crop. I also regularly use: Pro HDR, Vint B&W, PhotoFX, Effect Touch, Iris, Picture Show, Photo Wizard, BlurFX, and Tilt Shift. There are many more that I have but use much more infrequently and a few new apps that I am still testing out.
My app use changed dramatically a couple of months ago when I became aware of file size. Also, reviews from Lifeinlofi.com have been hugely influential, as well as discussion between other iPhoneographers.
KB: Are there any apps you don’t like?
ER: Of course! Anything that doesn’t save at full res or anything that was poorly designed. So I just delete them, no worries!
KB: Are there any specific improvements you would like to see made to existing apps?
ER: I would like to see all apps utilize full resolution. I wish Iris had an adjustable brush and didn’t take 6 steps to open a photo! I would love if I could correct my horizon in Camera+ and if I could adjust the intensity of the filters, and I wish that PhotoFX wasn’t so easy to accidentally back out of and lose work.
KB: Are there any apps you would like to see developed/invented?
ER: I really struggle with organizing my camera roll. I wish there was a better way! I would like to be able to attach notes to my photos, or mark some as favorites or final copy. I’ve started using Camera + to shoot my studio pics so I can control what makes it to the camera roll and what doesn’t. That helped.
KB: When you feel you have reached a creative stalemate, and believe your work is not cutting it anymore, do you have any tricks for breaking out of artist’s block?
ER: I haven’t experienced artists block yet, but did meet an environmental challenge recently as I experienced my 1st winter as a photographer in Minnesota! Our hours of daylight are greatly reduced during this season and I quickly discovered that my beloved iPhone doesn’t like to take pictures without natural light. When I lost my freedom to take pictures I was in a funk for a couple of weeks, and in a bit of a panic! Fortunately, my friend and traditional photographer, Justin Sinks, stepped in and suggested that maybe with artificial studio lighting my iPhone would be happy…he was right!! We’ve been having a blast at the studio and I’m learning so much at every session! It’s exciting and challenging!
KB: What features would you like to see implemented at the Pixels website?
ER: I would love to search by artist and have the ability to collect favorites, to easily find and view again later.
KB: A last word perhaps?
ER: This has been a life-changing year for me. I am very grateful for the amazing iPhone photography community, and to those who have worked so hard to create connections there (especially Marty & Knox).
I am so incredibly honored to be Artist of the Month here on Pixels. Thank you so very much.
KB: Thank you, Emily.
You can see Emily’s striking contributions to Pixels: The Art Of The iPhone by clicking here.