A Day In The Life Of Laura Vasile-Peischl – An Urban Street iPhone Photographer With An Enormous Talent Full Of Spontaneity And Emotion

Copyright Image, Laura Vasile-Peischl – ‘A Cigarette and a lot of Thoughts’ – Camera+, Snapseed

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

LV-P -Well, I wake up at 6:30 am usually. I go down to the kitchen and head straight to the coffee machine and I wait for the first sips to take action on my brain cells. Needless to say, my iPhone is my morning companion from the first moment onwards! I check messages, emails, FB, iG and all my other accounts. I try to respond to as many as I can. At 7:30 the daily challenge begins…waking up my teenage daughter Nina! After driving her to school at around 8:30 I return home and start my work on my computer.

Copyright Image, Laura Vasile-Peischl – ‘Tenderness’ – Camera+, Snapseed

JC – When is your favorite part of the day for taking photographs, do you hanker for the magic hour or shoot whenever the opportunity arises?

LV-P – I like to go out early, sometimes even at dawn, when the light inspires me most. It depends a lot on the time of the year, but I am blessed to live on an island in the Mediterranean where the sun shines most of the time.

Copyright Image, Laura Vasile-Peischl – ‘Love Hurts’ – Camera+, Snapseed

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

LV-P – No pun in my case. The transition never took place; I had no previous training in traditional photography. I purely and simply jumped into mobile photography. It is on my wish list to learn more about the basics of photography and since I started taking street shots I definitely I need and want to know more.

Copyright Image, Laura Vasile-Peischl – ‘Valletta Boy’ – Snapseed

JC – Do you like to download new iPhone photography apps regularly?

LV-P – I am always up to date with all the new apps, as an iPhone photography Instructor, I have to be able to give my students the latest knowledge about apps and how to use them. Getting acquainted and utilizing all the apps, takes a lot of my time, but I enjoy discovering these fun new ‘toys’.

Copyright Image, Laura Vasile-Peischl – ‘Rain and Sadness’ – Camera+, Snapseed

JC – How often do you update your existing apps?

LV-P – I update my apps on a regular basis, usually as soon as two or more updates are available, I download them. First I read what the update is all about, and then I look forward to check out the new/improved features.

Copyright Image, Laura Vasile-Peischl – ‘Lunch for One’ – Camera+, Snapseed

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

LV-P -Although I have never visited New York, I have a feeling that this city could become one of my favorite places to shoot; however my first and last unconditional love, belongs to Valletta, Malta. I am in perfect sync with this city, it’s history and buildings, it’s people and their stories and it’s light. Most of my latest B&W images are actually taken in Valletta, this is THE place, one can find me and my iPhone!

Copyright Image, Laura Vasile-Peischl – ‘Waiting’ – Snapseed, PictureShow, BlurFX, ScratchCam

JC – Do you also use iPhone photography tool apps, such as The Photographer’s Ephemeris?

LV-P -No, I have never used this app.

Copyright Image, Laura Vasile-Peischl – ‘Convertible’ – Camera+, Snapseed

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

LV-P – I could write an ode to these apps; Snapseed and Filterstorm; they are the street photographer’s best friends. One of the apps I use a lot is ScratchCam and another app I really like using is PhotoCopier. I also enjoy experimenting with BlendCam and Juxtaposer as well as with DXP. Monochromia and VintB&W are both great companions when it comes to a certain type of B&W shot. Last but not least I use Camera+ for capturing.

Copyright Image, Laura Vasile-Peischl – ‘Grades of Separation’ – native cam, Snapseed, Filterstorm

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

LV-P – I upload my pictures on numerous platforms. iG is a must for me, I upload every image onto it, this is where I get my first feedback! I regularly supply my Facebook account… (All my non-photographer friends have to suffer… sorry for that!), G+, Tumblr, EyeEm and, of course Flickr.

Copyright Image, Laura Vasile-Peischl – ‘Out of Frames’ – Snapseed, Filterstorm

JC – Do you take photographs with your iPhone every day?

LV-P -Yes, yes and yes. From the moment I discovered my passion for Mobile Photography, which was at the end of 2009; there was barely any day without me taking a picture with my phone.Thus it became even more vital to me, since Street Photography captured my soul!!

Copyright Image, Laura Vasile-Peischl – ‘Portrait’ – Camera+, PictureShow, ScratchCam, Snapseed

JC – What are your favorite subjects?

LV-P -I experimented with almost everything in these last two and a half years, but there is nothing like Street Photography for me! I am not interested in shooting street scenery, my heart beats for depicting emotions of people who have a story to tell. I wish the viewers of my images would stop for a moment and try to imagine the story behind the photograph, they would feel joy or sadness and they would identify themselves with something or someone in my images. I am forever seeking emotional shots.

Copyright Image, Laura Vasile-Peischl – ‘Love is in the Air’ – Camera+, Snapseed

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

LV-P – For me taking pictures is a very personal experience, every dedicated photographer should find out what is good for him/her.

For app enthusiasts, I recommend they get to know their apps very well and also to get used to the way they interact, so as to be able to achieve the result they are searching for.

For street photographers, well, I would tell them: “follow your heart and don’t think too much, just shoot.” After all, the best street photography shots occur unexpectedly, and THIS is the thrill of it all!!

Copyright Image, Laura Vasile-Peischl – ‘Valletta my Love Series’ – Hipstamatic – John S Lens – US1776, no flash

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

LV-P – I never use my iMac for editing. A genuine iPhone photographer never does. I use my iPad a lot but, somehow I always find myself with the iPhone in my hands. It is a different grip and feel to processing for me, using the iPhone. I do transfer my images on my iMac before uploading them, in order to check if something can be improved.

Copyright Image, Laura Vasile-Peischl – ‘Valletta my Love Series’ – Hipstamatic – John S Lens – US1776, no flash

JC – Do you enjoy videography with your iPhone?

LV-P – Not at the moment, although I think I would thoroughly enjoy it, but unfortunately the days are just much too short for trying out everything!

Copyright Image, Laura Vasile-Peischl – ‘Valletta my Love Series’ – Hipstamatic – John S Lens – US1776, no flash

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

LV-P – iPhone photography has a tremendous potential in my regard. It is up to us, the artists, what we make of it. There are some amazingly creative artists in the community that push the limits of this art form, by exploring unbelievable territories like abstracts and collages. I think now, when the initial app hype has cooled down a bit, a few very good artists will start inquiring the real meaning of their art and they will determine the future of iPhone photography.

Copyright Image, Laura Vasile-Peischl – ‘Walking my Baby Back Home’ – Camera+, Snapseed

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

LV-P – I don’t think there is a popular area, street photography seems to be well represented but so are abstract works, collages, landscape photography or portraiture.

Copyright Image, Laura Vasile-Peischl – ‘One by one’ – Hipstamatic JohnS lens/US1776 film/no flash

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

LV-P – So far I have met artists from all around the world and I don’t think I could filter a nation better represented or more clued up than another.

Copyright Image, Laura Vasile-Peischl – ‘Valletta my Love Series’ – Hipstamatic – John S Lens – US1776, no flash

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

LV-P – I just like surprises; this is what makes working with an iPhone so exciting. I started with an iPhone 3 and I’m currently working with a 4S, which is already a great tool therefore it can only get better.

Sometimes I miss the times when a shot was all grainy and looked old fashioned because of the weak camera. I am actually searching for a first generation iPhone, so I can be able to experience the effects of the first camera.

I really wish the new iPhone would have an improved battery life. The charge of my iPhone 4S drains very quickly so I have to keep on going into coffee shops while street shooting to recharge my phone.

Copyright Image, Laura Vasile-Peischl – ‘Life Mosaic’ – Camera+, Snapseed

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

LV-P – Really cool idea!! I do get a lot of information from your page. Lately I am enjoying the new “A day in the life of…” feature. It gives a nice, fresh, short and sweet insight in the world of many mobile photographers. In fact I take great pleasure in reading it.

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