A Day In The Life Of ...,  News

A Day In The Life Of Laetitia Harnie-Coussau – An iPhone Photographer Full Of Enthusiasm

Welcome to our very exciting new column on theappwhisperer.com. This section entitled ‘A day in the life of …’ and this is where we’ll be taking a look at some hugely influential, interesting and accomplished individuals in the mobile photography world. People that we think you will love to learn more about.

This is our forty third installment of the series, you can read the others here, if you have missed them so far. Today, we are featuring Laetitia Harnie-Coussau. Laetitia is 40 years old and has always lived in France. For the past 20 years Laetitia has lived in the South West of France in Bayonne. Laetitia worked for 15 years in a luxury hotel and with the birth of her daughter Barbara, she made a career transition, to an administrative assistant. Laetitia has always been interested in photography and the iPhone has made this practice more accessible and Hipstamatic increased her desire to go further. Laetitia is a regular contributor to our very popular Flickr group and we wanted to find out more about her.

Read this exclusive interview below. Each image is titled with the apps used to create it in sequential order. You can find all the links the the apps mentioned at the end of this article.

(If you would like to be interviewed for our new ‘A day in the life of …’ section, just send an email to [email protected], and we’ll get it set up).

 

First Things First…

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Copyright Image – Laetitia Harnie-Coussau – ‘Bayonne La Nive’ – Apps Used – 645Pro 6×6 & PhotoToaster

 

JC – Let’s start at the beginning of the day, how does your day start?

LHC – I usually wake up at 5H50. I check email, facebook and instagram. I post my iPhotography early in the morning. My daughter starts school at 8h and I start at 8h30.

Magic Hour…

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Copyright Image – Laetitia Harnie-Coussau – ‘Barbara’ – Apps Used – Hipstamatic John S & Blackeyes

 

JC – Do you like to head out and take photographs early on?

LHC – I would like to be able to do that most often. When it’s possible, I wake up earlier and take time to walk before arriving at the office. Most of my photography takes place when I’m walking, usually on the week-end. I like photographing sunsets, mostly ocean views.

 

Photographer vs Mobile Photographer…

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Copyright Image – Laetitia Harnie-Coussau – ‘Percolator Nespresso’ – Apps Used – Hipstamatic, Percolator, WordFoto, Blender, Pic Grunger & Filterstorm

JC – How did the transition from traditional photographer to iPhoneographer develop? (pardon the pun).

LHC – Everything started when I discovered Hipstamatic. I am really addicted to iPhoneography, beginning to shooting up to digital design. The Adventures of Crazy Duck, my colorful character, that I stage and playing on the outlook and colors. Crazy Duck is a playful wink of my creations and my personality. During my travels I used only Hipstamatic and I was honored to participate in the “Adventures in Hipstaland” series (I’ve done two, Ibiza and l’ île de Ré) organized by the developers of Hipstamatic.

 

New Apps…

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Copyright Image – Laetitia Harnie-Coussau – ‘Crazy Duck’ – Apps Used – Hipstamatic John S & Blanko noir & Jolly Rainbo 2x

 

JC – Do you like to download new iPhoneography apps regularly?

LHC – I work a lot on intuition and I like to have apps that fit my style. I also like discovering new trends and it is by discovering the work of other artists that sometimes I want to try a new app.

Updates…

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Copyright Image – Laetitia Harnie-Coussau – ‘Graffiti’ – Apps Used – Hipstamatic, Decim8

 

JC – How often do you update your existing apps?

LHC – Whenever they ask for it.

Location, Location, Location…

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Copyright Image – Laetitia Harnie-Coussau – ‘Bayonne double exposition’ – Apps Used – Hipstamatic, Dynamiclight

 

JC – Where’s your favorite place in the world for a shoot?

LHC – I’m very lucky, I live in a beautiful area, the Basque country in the south west of France. I love Ibiza and Paris too. I think there are many wonderful places in the world. We must open our eyes and enjoy every moment and capture the best of these!

Subjects…

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Copyright Image – Laetitia Harnie-Coussau – ‘Pop Psychedeledic’ – Apps Used – Camera+, Decim8, PhotoForge2, Percolator, WordFoto, PhotoToaster & Blender. Too much work for this one and more pleasure.

 

JC – What are your favorite subjects?

LHC – I love flowers, beaches, sunsets, street reflection… I would like to improve my skills in street photography. Here we have a lot of possibilities to shoot different themes. Recently, I’ve been very inspired by an old warehouse in destruction. I liked the atmosphere that it emanated and it helped me with my eye to capture these places with the great graffiti.

Tools of the Trade…

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Copyright Image – Laetitia Harnie-Coussau – ‘Rose’ – Apps Used – Hipstamatic John S & DC

 

JC – Do you also use iPhone photography tool apps, such as The Photographer’s Ephemeris and if so do you use it to plan your shoots?

LHC – No, I don’t.

Sharing…

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Copyright Image – Laetitia Harnie-Coussau – ‘Paris’ – Apps Used – Hipstamatic, WordFoto, Blender

 

JC – Where do you like to upload your photographs? Flickr, Instagram?

LHC – First Instagram “@laetitiahc” and my photos are loaded directly onto my Facebook page “https://www.facebook.com/hipstamaticlaetitia” and “https://www.flickr.com/photos/laetitiahc“. And when I have some time , I upload to IPA, Eye’em.

Favorite Apps…

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Copyright Image – Laetitia Harnie-Coussau – ‘Le pot de l’ île de Ré’ – Apps Used – Hipstamatic, Dynamiclight

 

JC – What are your favorite, at the moment, iPhone photography apps?

LHC – Hipstamatic, 645Pro, Camera+, PhotoToaster, Blender. There are a lot of other apps that I may use for my work, like Percolator, WordFoto, Decim8, Diptic.

Frequency…

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Copyright Image – Laetitia Harnie-Coussau – ‘L’ île de Ré’ – Apps Used – Hipstamatic John S & DC

 

JC – Do you take photographs with your iPhone everyday?

LHC – I try! If I haven’t had the opportunity, I work my iPhoneography.

Top Five Tips…

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Copyright Image – Laetitia Harnie-Coussau – ‘Love in Paris’ – Apps Used – Hipstamatic john S & Pistil

 

JC – What are your top five tips for iPhone photography?

LHC – I have not yet experienced enough to give advice. For my part :

– Think first, then shoot.

– Join iPhoneography groups to be interested for you, participate to the challenges

– Stay open to learning from others and share your work. You’ll have some feedback, it’s nice to improve.

– have fun, be creative, be yourself.

Teaching…

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Copyright Image – Laetitia Harnie-Coussau – ‘Café Bayonne’ – Apps Used – Hpstamatic John S & DC

 

JC – How did the teaching side come along?

LHC – I’m an autodidact, it’s only learning by doing. I also learned using tutorials that give some new ideas. But doing is easy, since the handling of iPhone and the apps are very intuitive.

Editing…

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Copyright Image – Laetitia Harnie-Coussau – ‘Surf at Biarritz’ – Apps used – Hipstamatic, PhotoToaster

 

JC – Do you edit images on your iPhone or do you prefer to do that on a desktop/laptop?

LHC – I do all my editing on my iPhone 4s.

Videography…

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Copyright Image – Laetitia Harnie-Coussau – ‘Walk on the street Bayonne’ – Apps Used – Hipstamatic, DynamicLight

 

JC – Do you enjoy videography with your iPhone?

LHC – I never used the video.

The Future Of Mobile Photography…

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Copyright Image – Laetitia Harnie-Coussau – ‘Macro Flower’ – Apps Used – 645pro 6×6 + Olloclip macro lens, ToonPaint, DynamicLight, Blender, Camera+

 

JC – Where do you see the future of iPhone photography?

LHC – Few square centimeters of technology for design possibilities exploitable everywhere all the time. Mobile photography is not a simple fashion, it fits into the evolution of photography and digital art.

Popularity…

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Copyright Image – Laetitia Harnie-Coussau – ‘La Villa Belza Biarritz’ – Apps Used – Hipstamatic Watts & Claunch 72 Monochrome

 

JC – What do you think is the most popular area of iPhone photography?

LHC – I think that is the street photography.

Where In The World…?

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Copyright Image – Laetitia Harnie-Coussau – ‘Biarritz’ – Apps Used – Hipstamatic  John S & Blanko Freedom13

 

JC – Do you think it’s country specific, are some nations more clued up?

LHC – I think this is an international movement, I see great works from many different places in the world.

iPhone 5…

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Copyright Image – Laetitia Harnie-Coussau – ‘Hotel Florida Biarritz’ – Apps Used – Hipstamatic Watts & Claunch 72 Monochrome

 

JC – What do you hope for in the iPhone 5?

LHC – The last October, I passed from iPhone 3g to iPhone 4s ! And I’m very satisfied. I would be happy with all the improvements that the iPhone 5 will have.

TheAppWhisperer.com

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Copyright Image – Laetitia Harnie-Coussau – ‘La Cathédrale de Bayonne’ – Apps Used – Hipstamatic John S & DC

 

JC – What do you think of Joanne and theappwhisperer.com?

LHC – Theappwhisperer.com is for me one of the best websites for the community of mobile photography. I like the “A Day In The Life” series highlighting various artists, I enjoy discovering or forward. I also appreciate the tutorials. I warmly thank Joanne for inviting me to participate in “A Day In The Life” series. I am very proud and honored that my iphoneography is promoted.

Joanne Carter, creator of the world’s most popular mobile photography and art website— TheAppWhisperer.com— TheAppWhisperer platform has been a pivotal cyberspace for mobile artists of all abilities to learn about, to explore, to celebrate and to share mobile artworks. Joanne’s compassion, inclusivity, and humility are hallmarks in all that she does, and is particularly evident in the platform she has built. In her words, “We all have the potential to remove ourselves from the centre of any circle and to expand a sphere of compassion outward; to include everyone interested in mobile art, ensuring every artist is within reach”, she has said. Promotion of mobile artists and the art form as a primary medium in today’s art world, has become her life’s focus. She has presented lectures bolstering mobile artists and their art from as far away as the Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea to closer to her home in the UK at Focus on Imaging. Her experience as a jurist for mobile art competitions includes: Portugal, Canada, US, S Korea, UK and Italy. And her travels pioneering the breadth of mobile art includes key events in: Frankfurt, Naples, Amalfi Coast, Paris, Brazil, London. Pioneering the world’s first mobile art online gallery - TheAppWhispererPrintSales.com has extended her reach even further, shipping from London, UK to clients in the US, Europe and The Far East to a global group of collectors looking for exclusive art to hang in their homes and offices. The online gallery specialises in prints for discerning collectors of unique, previously unseen signed limited edition art. Her journey towards becoming The App Whisperer, includes (but is not limited to) working for a paparazzi photo agency for several years and as a deputy editor for a photo print magazine. Her own freelance photographic journalistic work is also widely acclaimed. She has been published extensively both within the UK and the US in national and international titles. These include The Times, The Sunday Times, The Guardian, Popular Photography & Imaging, dpreview, NikonPro, Which? and more recently with the BBC as a Contributor, Columnist at Vogue Italia and Contributing Editor at LensCulture. Her professional photography has also been widely exhibited throughout Europe, including Italy, Portugal and the UK. She is currently writing several books, all related to mobile art and is always open to requests for new commissions for either writing or photography projects or a combination of both. Please contact her at: [email protected]

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