Extension Of The I With Dixon Hamby – Awesome Mobile Travel Photographer
Welcome to another new series of interviews and insights that we are running on theappwhisperer.com, we are delighted that our A Day In The Life Of Series is so popular and successful and will continue to run that, we love it. This new section, entitled, Extension Of The I, goes deeper into the photographic aspects of mobile photography. It delves into the lives and thoughts and influences that our interviewees experience from their photography. No other mobile photography website reaches the depths and emotions of the mobile photographers as we do in this series of interviews.
We think you’re going to enjoy this, a lot. Today, we are featuring the very well known and incredibly talented mobile photographer, Dixon Hamby. We recently interviewed Dixon for our A Day In The Life of Series, if you missed that you can read it here. Dixon is a Northwest native, Boeing web and graphic designer escapee. He left his native land to become a travel photographer. Fate hit him on the head (literally) in Panama when an errant palm frond fell and injured his neck, thereby rendering him unable to lift his DSLR. iPhoneography filled the void and his creativity took a new direction. Dixon’s work has been featured in numerous books, blogs and galleries.
Dixon does not normally write down the apps he uses for each image, his normal process for color is:
1. Camera+ Clarity
2. Some images he then uses Filterstorm Enhance.
3. On images that he turns part of image to B&W he uses Filterstorm.
For B&W Dixon uses PSExpress or Snapseed.
(If you would like to be interviewed for our new ‘Extension Of The I’ section, just send an email to Joanne@theappwhisperer.com, and we’ll get it set up.
So, without further ado, let us begin…
First Things First…
Copyright Image – Dixon Hamby – ‘SCORE! Futbol in the street’
JC – How did you get started in photography?
DH – I started at relatively late age. Took Visual Communications with an emphasis in Photography in college and feel in love with photography.
Influences…
Copyright Image – Dixon Hamby
JC – Who and what are your influences?
DH – Henri-Cartier Bresson, W. Eugene Smith and Daisaku Ikeda.
Subjects…
Copyright Image – Dixon Hamby
JC – What draws you to the subjects you seek?
DH – Boy, thats a tough question. I think it is more intuition than anything. Design also is a factor.
Communication…
Copyright Image – Dixon Hamby
JC – What is it about these subjects that you want to capture/communicate and ultimately convey in your images?
DH – Either the beauty of a scene or the interaction between people and their world.
Decisions…
Copyright Image – Dixon Hamby
JC – How did you “settle” on this subject?
DH – Intuition
Exploration…
Copyright Image – Dixon Hamby – ‘sex freaks’
JC – Is there another area/subject that you would like to explore, if so, what and why?
DH – I try to stay open to new visions.
Influences…
Copyright Image – Dixon Hamby
JC – Which photographers (not necessarily mobile photographers) do you most admire and why?
DH – Henri-Cartier Bresson because he was the first great "street photographer" and a master of timing. W. Eugene Smith for his courage and being a pioneer in photojournalism.
Street Photography…
Copyright Image – Dixon Hamby
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?
DH – The iPhone is a revolutionary tool in street photography. Always with you, easy to use and a darkroom in your pocket.
Technique…
Copyright Image – Dixon Hamby
JC – Tell us about your photographic technique do you rely on intuition or do you believe in a more formal/trained approach?
DH – Intuition first then my formal training kicks in.
Evolution…
Copyright Image – Dixon Hamby
JC – How has your photography evolved?
DH – Well, I used to make money doing it and don’t now LOL. I have moved from more commercial images to images that I find interesting.
All For One…
Copyright Image – Dixon Hamby
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?
DH – I am not sure why others take photos. I just love doing it.
Risks…
Copyright Image – Dixon Hamby – ‘queen of perpetual indulgence’
JC – Do you take risks with photographs, push boundaries? If yes, please give examples, if no, why not, would you like to?
DH – I think I have, especially with my "street art" images. Many are very graphic in detail.
Favorite Image…
Copyright Image – Dixon Hamby – ‘elders’
JC – What is your favorite picture, of your own and why?
DH – I really cant pick one. The images that mean the most to me are ones of concerts, which I used to shoot a lot. Love live music and had the great fortune to see most of the greats during the 60’s and 70’s. But they aren’t mobile photos.
Emotional…
Copyright Image – Dixon Hamby – ‘erotic photographer’
JC – Do you get emotionally involved with your photography?
DH – They can evoke emotion and hopefully at times do for others.
Entwined…
Copyright Image – Dixon Hamby – ‘honey bee’
JC – Does your life become entwined with your subjects?
DH – No
Post-Processing…
Copyright Image – Dixon Hamby – ‘oops’
JC – Do you have a special post-processing style?
DH – I usually use Camera+ Clarity filter first. At times do more work with Filterstorm. For B&W I use PSExpress or Snapseed.
Tips For Post-Processing…
Copyright Image – Dixon Hamby – ‘folklife’
JC – Do you have any tips for post-processing?
DH – Master a few powerful apps.
Workflow…
Copyright Image – Dixon Hamby – ‘bottleneck lounge’
JC – Do you have a digital workflow system to sort your images, if so what is it?
DH – I sort them by equipment shot with and where they were taken.
Development…
Copyright Image – Dixon Hamby – ‘real doll’
JC – How do you think photography has changed over the years?
DH – It is much harder to make money. Everyone has a camera and some will give away or sell their work for almost nothing.
35mm Film Days…
Copyright Image – Dixon Hamby – ‘my hood’
JC – As a mobile photographer you’re at the cutting edge of technology, do you ever hanker for the 35mm film days?
DH – No. I spent many years in the darkroom and don’t miss the chemicals at all. I worked in graphic design and started using Photoshop with version 1.0. From that moment I knew photography would never be the same and was an earlier user of digital equipment.
Apps With Links Used In This Article…
Joanne Carter
Joanne Carter is a British photographer, photography journalist, editor and curator and the founder and editorial director of TheAppWhisperer.com, an independent international photography publication established in 2009.Her journalism, criticism and commentary have appeared in The Times, The Sunday Times, The Guardian, Financial Times, BBC, Vogue Italia, LensCulture, Popular Photography, Android Magazine, NikonPro, DPReview, Which Digital Camera and Which Camera. She has lectured internationally on photography and mobile art, served as a juror for international photography awards, and exhibited her own photographic work across the UK, Europe, South Korea and the United States.Alongside her editorial work, Joanne's photographic and postgraduate research explores death, grief, memory, representation and social inequality through contemporary photography, participatory practice and visual research methods, with the longer-term aim of developing this work through doctoral research.Through TheAppWhisperer, she continues to publish independent photography journalism spanning contemporary photographic practice, mobile imaging, photographic apps, computational photography and emerging imaging technologies.Joanne is available for editorial commissions, photography projects, judging, curatorial work, speaking engagements, consultancy and selected collaborations.