A Day In The Life Of The Talented And Inspirational Mobile Photographer Lindsey Thompson

Copyright Image – Lindsey Thompson – ‘Look This Way’ – Apps Used – Lomora 2

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

LT – My day always starts early with being woken by my children, I set my alarm clock each night but it’s normally completely pointless as they are the best alarm a person can have! I’m not a morning person, I love to sleep! At this point I normally check social networking sites and email on my phone in an effort to wake myself up, it works a treat,  it’s also the only chance I’ll get to check until after the school run because for the next hour or so it’s a race to get us all ready and out of the door in time!

Copyright Image – Lindsey Thompson – ‘Pretty Green’ – Apps Used – Lomora 2

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

LT – Unfortunately, I very rarely head out for morning photo sessions. After dropping the kids off at school it’s straight back home for chores, unless I have arrangements to meet with friends in the morning, but it’s the best time for me to straighten things up at home while the house is quiet. I am on a tighter schedule at the moment with three school runs per day, my son only attends a morning session at the school nursery so once home it’s a race (again) to fit things in before I’m heading back out of the door to collect him. This is where my macro photography fits in well with my schedule at the moment, if I can find a spare 10 minutes and a flower, then I’ll have a quick shoot session and see what I can get. I also keep a box of bits I’ve collected, mainly dry flowers etc, so I can have a root around in there if  nothing is available to photograph. Though unfortunately light conditions are poor here at the moment, so on a dark day I have to give it a miss. I’m really looking forward to the summer months and more opportunities in this respect. I am just generally a LOT more inspired to photograph in the summer months. 

Copyright Image – Lindsey Thompson – ‘Step In Line’ – Apps Used – Lomora 2, TouchRetouch, ScratchCam, Snapseed

JC – How did the transition from traditional photographer to mobile photographer develop?

LT – As a couple, my partner and I have always been keen to document our lives through photos, we’ve owned many cameras, one of our first camera purchases was a Nikon SLR but found the film processing too costly (for mostly rubbish photos) so switched to digital from then on. Funnily enough, our first introduction we had ourselves was through photographs, when we met on the internet nearly 11 years ago!

We’ve enjoyed capturing images of our children as they grow. We bought a canon DSLR in 2008, unfortunately I’ve never been competent in using this camera as well as I would like, most photographs I took were normally in auto-mode, but not a day would go by without taking photos of the children. This was at the same time my son arrived so didn’t have as much free time to experiment. I have owned an iPhone since early 2008, I bought a 3G after a recommendation from Iain, my partner. Though sadly I didn’t see the full potential of using it as a camera for the first 2 years, I even took the phone on a Mediterranean cruise visiting half a dozen countries and didn’t take ONE single photo with it, I have given myself a hard time about this on numerous occasions about all those missed photo opportunities.

The gateway in to iPhone photography started with a very brief period using shake-it-photo and then a not-so-brief period with hipstamatic. I will never forget the excitement of realizing I had discovered something so amazing, I was hooked immediately. After a couple of weeks of taking photos of the kids, cats and anything else I could find, we had a day trip to Stratford upon Avon and I just could not put my phone down, it’s pretty much been like this for every trip since then  😉

I love how this camera is always with me, unlike the bulky Canon, I am capturing so much more than I can ever have imagined, I look through my camera roll and it’s full of memories, I remember the exact days every one of them were taken ~ where we were, what we did. I find deleting or moving my images from my camera roll incredibly difficult. I want to keep them all right there with me. I have had constant storage issues as a result! 

Copyright Image – Lindsey Thompson – ‘Morning Walk’ – Apps Used – Lomora 2, Snapseed (straighten)

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

LT – I find I tend to go through phases with app purchasing. I’ll buy lots and then none for a while. If I find a couple of apps I particularly like then I’ll use them to death, until one day I’ll get bored of them and start searching for more. I always buy apps based on recommendations through other artists or blog sites, it’s very rare I just search the app store for something new, I’m not really proactive enough in that respect. I’ve always considered myself a follower rather than a leader when it comes to app-trends.

Copyright Image – Lindsey Thompson – ‘Out For A Run’ – Apps Used – Photo fx, Photoshop Express

JC – How often do you update your existing apps?

LT – I have been lax at maintaining my updates for both the iOS and apps due to the storage issues I mentioned earlier in the interview. There have been a few apps I have wanted recently and not had the correct version of iOS to purchase them. I had 40 apps updates to do recently. That’s quite bad isn’t it?

Copyright Image – Lindsey Thompson – ‘Mr Cool’ – Apps Used – TouchRetouch, BlurFX, Iris

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

LT – I don’t have an exact location in mind, but I imagine it would be somewhere exotic on the other side of the world. I love beaches, so somewhere with amazing beaches, sunshine, great light, lots of bugs for some interesting macro subjects. Or just anywhere different to England, I love seeing the inspiration people get after a holiday away and a whole collection of new and different shots!

Copyright Image – Lindsey Thompson – ‘Twelve Plus Eight’ – Apps Used – Hipstamatic (Ina’s 1969), ShockMyPic, ScratchCam, Photocopier, PhotoStudio, Snapseed, Blender, Juxtaposer

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

LT – Ah, I’m afraid I’m another who has never heard of this, I have been meaning to google it after reading other artist interviews. My memory failed me again! 

Copyright Image – Lindsey Thompson – ‘They Walked The Halls’ – Apps Used – Hipstamatic (Ina’s 1969) x3 images, ScratchCam, Snapseed, Blender

JC – What are your favorite mobile photography apps currently?

LT – My current go-to’s are;

Camera+ (for both shooting and editing)
Lomora 2
Hipstamatic
Scratchcam 
Snapseed
Blender
Touch Retouch
Shock my pic 
BlurFX
Incredibooth (my boy and I love this!)
ILoader (for easy sharing to Facebook)
Juxtaposer
Photocopier (back for another try after a break away)
AddLib 

Copyright Image – Lindsey Thompson – ‘Curl’ – Apps Used – Camera+, Snapseed, TouchRetouch

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

LT – This a difficult one at the moment for me, the ideal answer would be ‘I like to upload to everywhere’ but after my schedule changed last September and became busier with the children I realized after a lot of stress through trying to keep up,  I just didn’t have the time to be involved with multiple sites anymore. Before this I was a regular contributor to EYE’EM, Flickr, iphoneart, pixels, 500px, Twitter and occasionally Instagram. I have currently cut this right down to just Facebook (for sharing mostly everyday images and daily macros)  and Flickr for a few of my favorite edits. Despite this, I’m still struggling to keep up with Flickr, sadly breaking my own rule of posting without returning regular visits to other members works, which I apologize for. It’s something I need to work on. I love the people and I miss them.  It all became so busy at one point that I actually didn’t have the time to make new images anymore. I’ve been trying to find a happy medium since. Whatever the situation, I HAVE to share, even if it’s just a couple of sites. I feel it’s the final stage of the process, keeping them for myself wouldn’t feel quite the same!

Copyright Image – Lindsey Thompson – ‘I Dreamt I could Fly’ – Apps Used – Hipstamatic (Ina’s 1969), ScratchCam, TouchRetouch

JC – Do you take photographs with your iPhone everyday?

LT – It really all depends on how my day pans out, I don’t always take serious photos everyday, but if this includes snaps of the kids and Incredibooth, then the answer is yes! Like I mentioned above, it’s dependent on the light conditions also, if it’s good light then I will always find time for macro photography! If the sun is shining then I may even find myself creeping around the garden for bugs and other photo opportunities 🙂

Copyright Image – Lindsey Thompson – ‘It’s Just Me and My Shadow’ – Apps Used – Snapseed, Iris (possibly Noir)

JC – What are your favorite subjects?

LT – Did I mention I like macro photography? Well, my favorite subjects tend to be flowers, bugs, plants and water/ice for this kind of photography. For normal photography I have really become more interested in landscapes over the months, I have been inspired by lots of great iPhone photographers on Flickr, particularly people like Chris Harland who capture amazing scenes with hipstamatic.  I love people/silhouettes/shadow captures, but other than this, anything goes, I will just search through my camera roll, which is a real mixed bag, if a particular photo jumps out at me, I’ll see what I can do with it.

Copyright Image – Lindsey Thompson – ‘Look Me In The Eyes’ – Apps Used – Camera+

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

LT – 1 Take lots of photos and don’t delete anything immediately, I find lots of old ones, which I discounted  in the beginning I felt weren’t good enough at the time, but  liked when I came back to them. Plus even a bad photo might have ‘something’ on there which could be cut out and used for collage/blend work later

2 If you’re stuck for inspiration, go somewhere new and try something different, possibly even with new apps (I bought Lomora 2 as new app one day, I’m still using it as a main shooting app nearly a year later)

3 Try new gadgets ~ buying a macro brought a whole new angle to iPhone photography for me and suited  my lifestyle, particularly where I wasn’t able to get out as often.

4 Make images for yourself, not what you feel others want to see. 

5 Get out there in the community, talk to people. Not only are they all fantastic, but offer great inspiration through their work!

Copyright Image – Lindsey Thompson – ‘Slip And Slide’ – Apps Used – Camera+

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

LT – I have never edited images on a laptop, initially I started out with editing on the phone and viewing them on a laptop before sharing, but since purchasing an iPad 2 last year every image has been edited this way instead. It gave my eyes a rest from squinting at the little screen. I find it hard to believe what I did on the phone now, even though a lot of my favorite apps are still iPhone app size, I just prefer holding the iPad instead of the phone.

Copyright Image – Lindsey Thompson – ‘Lunch With A Lady’ – Apps Used – Camera+, Iris

JC – Do you enjoy videography with your iPhone?

LT – Sadly, I don’t produce enough videos on my phone, it’s something I want to do more of, particularly with the kids. I enjoyed using silent film director a few months ago which was great fun, but had to stop because of the  storage issues on the phone. I’ve seen some really cool iPhone videos, inspiring stuff!

Copyright Image – Lindsey Thompson – ‘Keep Going’ – Apps Used – Lomora 2, Snapseed, ScratchCam, TouchRetouch

JC – Where do you see the future of mobile photography heading?

LT – This is a tough one, and an often debated subject. I firstly see iPhone photography becoming even larger than it is now. Much more mainstream. I’m seeing a huge increase in friends and family purchasing iPhones and dabbling with apps who have never tried before. I’m all for any types of phoneography, whether it’s iPhone, HTC etc so wonder if the ‘i’ term will phase out now other smart phones are putting up fierce competition with the iPhone.  Possibly a new, more generic name will be given for all phone photography. Personally, at the moment, I’m more focused on the ‘here and now’, I shall keep having fun with this and enjoy what it means to me. Though if Apple brought a high-res iCam, I’d be the first in line 😉

Copyright Image – Lindsey Thompson – ‘Prickles’ – Apps Used – Lomora 2

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

LT – I believe all areas are popular with mobile photography, there seems to be a good mix between Black & White, street, landscapes, collage, blending, art etc, though if I judge this by my own uploads then creative texture work tends to get the best reception from the community, whatever the subject. 

Copyright Image – Lindsey Thompson – ‘Room With A View’ – Apps Used – Hipstamatic (Ina’s 1969), ShockMyPic, Snapseed, ScratchCam, Blender, TouchRetouch 

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

LT – From what I’ve seen over the years, there seems to be a large number of countries involved in mobile photography already, but I don’t think it’s down to nations being more clued up as such, probably more just down to the character of the individuals this may appeal to, who can be anywhere in the world. I imagine there are many more we don’t know of, who aren’t involved in the communities and blog sites, maybe even due to language barriers. I often wonder if there are other huge communities out there we aren’t aware of. Or is this me thinking too much? 

Copyright Image – Lindsey Thompson – ‘Watching Waves’ – Apps Used – Lomora 2, Snapseed (straighten)

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

LT – After nearly purchasing the 4S twice recently and then talking myself out of it, I hope the 5 will be nothing short of fantastic. A much better camera again, obviously ~ a huge amount of extra storage ~ A stronger screen, my glass one broke way too easily ~ and one that makes me cups of  coffee whenever I need them. Not too much to ask.

Copyright Image – Lindsey Thompson – ‘Ice Explosion’ – Apps Used – Lomora 2, Snapseed

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

LT – Joanne is lovely, she’s incredibly committed to the site with updates and news. I appreciate the recent involvement in Facebook where I can stay updated in one place. Keep up the great work for the community, Joanne!

Copyright Image – Lindsey Thompson – ‘Falling’ – Apps Used – Snapseed

Camera+
Photo fx
Photoshop Express
addLib
IncrediBooth
iLoader
Lomora 2
TouchRetouch
ScratchCam FX
PhotoCopier
PhotoStudio
Juxtaposer
ShockMyPic
BlurFX
Iris Photo Suite
Hipstamatic
Simply B&W
Image Blender
Snapseed