Extension Of The I With Carlein Van Der Beek aka ©arlein – A Mobile Photographer Oozing With Talent And Inspiration

Copyright image – Carlein Van Der Beek – ‘art inc.’ – Apps used – Slow Shutter Cam, Squaready,  addLib, Superimpose, King Camera

JC – How did you get started in photography?

Carlein – My background is painting, abstracts, and mixed media. At the art academy where I studied, I was also able to take photography classes. I loved it. It was analogue of course; black and white, developing your own film, the work in the dark room. I switched to digital only about 10 years ago.

Copyright image – Carlein Van Der Beek – ‘chain of thought’ – Apps used – Pro Camera, squaready, Picture Show, DXP, shakeItphoto, Photofx

JC – What draws you to the subjects you seek?

Carlein – Colours, shapes, forms and moods. Anything I come across that I find interesting or that inspires me. That ranges from movies, poems and song texts to what I see around me, including nature, people, windows, reflections, posters.. anything I can use for my layered images or diptychs.

Copyright image – Carlein Van Der Beek – ‘Cadiliac Walk’ – Apps used – cp pro, Squaready, Superimpose, King Camera

JC – Who and what are your influences?

Carlein – Too many to mention but some of my favorite photographers are Lisette Model, Sanne Sannes, Brassaí, Kertesz, Bresson, Robert Frank, Anton Corbijn.
Painters include Rothko, Tapies, Rembrandt, Emil Nolde, Constant, and Morandi. Architects, such as Calatrava, Hundertwasser, Berlage, and Rietveld.
Also music, from jazz to Motown, and from Tom Waits, Nick Cave, Mink DeVille, Frank Zappa to Philip Glass

Copyright image – Carlein Van Der Beek – ‘fade to black’ – Apps used – Pro Camera, Squaready, Superimpose, Scratchcam, Filterstorm

JC – What is it about these subjects that you want to capture/communicate and ultimately convey in your images?

Carlein – What I always try is to convey my moods, thoughts and emotions… though I use all kind of subjects to express myself. I am inspired as well by lyrics, books I read, poetry… movies…

Copyright image – Carlein Van Der Beek – ‘i don’t see the world like you’ – Apps used – Pro Camera, Squaready, Decim8, Halftone, Superimpose, Filterstorm, Photo fx

JC – How did you “settle” on these subjects?

Carlein – It is not so much I “settled” on them, as it is something coming from inside of me.. it is part of me.

Copyright image – Carlein Van Der Beek – ‘ambiguity’ – Apps used – Slow Shutter Cam, Pixlromatic, Superimpose, Halftone, Filterstorm

JC – Is there another area/subject that you would like to explore, if so, what and why?

Carlein – I frequently set myself “challenges” to change the way, angle, app, area or subject, so I won’t get stuck in a “one trick pony” style.

Copyright image – Carlein Van Der Beek – ‘It was you who came to my side. remarkably close for our time of life’ – Apps used – Cameramatic, Montage, Superimpose, Filterstorm

JC – Which photographers (not necessarily mobile photographers) do you most admire and why?

Carlein – All of those that I mentioned in Influences above.

Copyright image – Carlein Van Der Beek – ‘jetlag’ – Apps used – cp pro, Squaready, Superimpose, King Camera

JC – Henri Cartier-Bresson is/was in many ways the Godfather of street photography, even in the 1930s he enjoyed using a small camera for discretion in order to capture people and tell a story-do you feel this way regarding mobile photography?

Carlein – I am not a street photographer in the pure sense of the word. But I do like not to have to lug around 1,5 kgs of hardware to shoot 🙂

Copyright image – Carlein Van Der Beek – ‘la dame aux camélias’ – Apps used – Pro Camera, Squaready, Superimpose, Filterstorm, Photo fx

JC – Tell us about your photographic technique do you rely on intuition or do you believe in a more formal/trained approach?

Carlein – That is difficult to answer for me, as I had a formal training. I think it is very good to have the knowledge of some technique so you know what you are doing. Or when to abandon it. 🙂

Copyright image – Carlein Van Der Beek – ‘la peine’ – Apps used – Cameramatic, Superimpose, Filterstorm

JC – How has your photography evolved?

Carlein – For some years (so also before iPhone) I am more into layering my work. It is more like my paintings: I work layer over layer, use more than one picture, blend in the parts I want, leave out what I don’t want and build up an image.

Copyright image – Carlein Van Der Beek – ‘nova zembla’s fata morgana’ – Apps used – Slow Shutter Cam, Squaready, ScratchCam, Superimpose, Filterstorm

JC – Many of the great photographers, Jacques Henri Lartigue, Robert Frank, Henri Cartier Bresson described only shooting images for “themselves”do you see this attitude with mobile photographers?

Carlein – Always hard to speak for other people. I either paint or photograph because I simply have to. It is my way of expressing myself. In that way the work i make is mainly for myself. I know when i made it and why… the underlying thoughts and emotions. With the sharing on internet, nothing is really “to yourself” anymore. Anybody you want to see what you make, is able to see it.

Copyright image – Carlein Van Der Beek – ‘rolling in the deep’ – Apps used – Pro Camera, Flowpaper, Plastic Bullet

JC – Do you take risks with photographs, push boundaries? If yes, please give examples, if no, why not, would you like to?

Carlein – I think you can only grow if you push boundaries. So, yes, I do. I experiment, try things out, set myself challenges. Think outside the box and go that one step beyond. Examples: go out shooting and restrict yourself to using only one application. Or: try shooting what is within a few meters where you are that moment. Or: take photos in an area you usually don’t shoot because you think it is either boring or doesn’t have anything appealing. Make things work for you instead waiting for opportunities or inspiration.

Copyright image – Carlein Van Der Beek – ‘speak no evil’ – Apps used – Pro Camera, Plastic Bullet, Superimpose, Filterstorm, Photo fx

JC – What is your favorite picture, of your own and why?

Carlein – I don’t have a favorite picture. All my pictures have different moods and I made them for different reasons..

Copyright image – Carlein Van Der Beek – ‘split level’ – Apps used – Pro Camera, Squaready, decim8, Filterstorm, Superimpose

JC – Do you get emotionally involved with your photography?

Carlein – Emotionally in the sense that I put in my energy, emotion, mood and give it my all when I make something.

Copyright image – Carlein Van Der Beek – ‘leaving, on a jetplane’ – Apps used – Autostitch, Squaready, Monophix, Photo fx

JC – Do you have a special post-processing style?

Carlein – I don’t know if it is special, but I have a certain flow I follow. My main “signature” is the layering, my images are like photo paintings.

Copyright image – Carlein Van Der Beek – ‘spring’ – “one of the first images I made on the iPhone” – Apps used – iPhone default camera, DXP, Plastic Bullet

JC – Do you have any tips for post-processing?

Carlein – Mainly the advice to try things out. Don’t stick with what you are comfortable with. Try a new app, or a mix of several apps, and try to use the apps to the maximum: blend, clone, layer, play with the levels and settings.

Copyright image – Carlein Van Der Beek – ‘the fabulous reappearing into unknown destinies’ – Apps used – Slow Shutter Cam, Squaready, Superimpose, ScratchCam, Photofx

JC – Do you have a digital workflow system to sort your images, if so what is it?

Carlein – I sort the images I want to work with and have those in a folder (I use iTunes to make folders) I basically save all the different steps, those I save as well. The end result goes into another folder.

Copyright image – Carlein Van Der Beek – ‘the incredible love story’ – Apps used – Pro Camera, Shakeitphoto, Pictureshow, Photo fx, Filterstorm

JC – How do you think photography has changed over the years?

Carlein – The biggest change is of course the change from analogue to digital. That and the sharing on internet of images.

Copyright image – Carlein Van Der Beek – ‘the muse’ – Apps used – Pictureshow, Plastic Bullet, Genius Scan, Photo fx

JC – As a mobile photographer you’re at the cutting edge of technology, do you ever hanker for the 35mm film days?

Carlein – No, not really. I loved working with it (shooting and developing), and still love the feel of analogue. There is something in the mood and grain that is not yet found in digital photography… But, I can picture myself doing an analogue project again one day, just for the feel of it.

Copyright image – Carlein Van Der Beek – ‘the one’ – Apps used – Pro Camera, Plastic Bullet, Superimpose, Photo fx

addLib
Autostitch
Cameramatic

cp Pro – Camera Plus Pro
Decim8
DXP
Filterstorm
Genius Scan
Halftone
King Camera
Monophix
Photo fx
Pictureshow
ProCamera
Pixlromatic
ScratchCam
Shakeitphoto
Slow Shutter Cam
squaready
Superimpose
Flowpaper
Plastic Bullet
Montage