A Day In The Life Of Geri Centonze – Sci-fi Sketch Card Artist Turned Mobile Photographer
Welcome to our very exciting column on theappwhisperer.com. This section entitled ‘A day in the life of …’ and this is where we take 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 fifty seventh installment of the series, you can read the others here, if you have missed them so far. Geri is a new comer to iPhone photographer but has found her niche and even runs her own iPhone website.
Read more about Geri in our 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 Joanne@theappwhisperer.com, and we’ll get it set up).
Geri Centonze
First Things First
© Geri Centonze – ‘Brothers’ – ProCamera, Snapseed, PS Express
Joanne – Let’s start at the beginning of the day, how does your day start?
Geri – Usually with a cup of coffee in my favorite chair checking my iPad for latest app updates, free apps, interesting articles, email.
Magic Hour
© Geri Centonze – ‘Graffiti and the Guy’ – ProCamera, Sketch Club, iColorama, Jazz
Joanne – Do you like to head out and take photographs early on?
Geri – My “real” job is helping my husband with his online business so I don’t have a regular photo shoot schedule. Whenever I leave the house I have my iPhone in hand, prepared to start snapping!
Photographer vs Mobile Photographer
© Geri Centonze – ‘Exiting in N Out’ – ProCamera, Painteresque, Snapseed, Jazz, Glaze, PS Express, Sketch Club
Joanne – How did the transition from traditional photographer to iPhoneographer develop? (pardon the pun).
Geri – I bought my first 35mm film camera with monthly payments at J.C. Penney’s back in 1970 (it took a year to pay it off!). Photography became a hobby but I never pursued it beyond taking family and vacation photos. I got my first iPhone in 2011 when the 4S was released. At that time, I was a full time sci-fi sketch card artist. In July of this year, I happened upon the blog of Karen L. Messick and was intrigued by her artsy iPhoneographic style. That was the start of this all consuming passion! I ended my career as a starving artist to work with my husband, but every free moment I get is dedicated to shooting and editing photos.
New Apps
© Geri Centonze – ‘Friends’ – ProCamera, Painteresque, PS Express, AHDR, PhotoPower
Joanne – Do you like to download new iPhoneography apps regularly?
Geri – Checking for new apps is something I do daily! If they’re FREE and look interesting I’ll give them a try. I add the paid apps I’d like to my iTunes Wish List and purchase when I need a new toy!
Updates
© Geri Centonze – ‘Abstract Woman’ – ProCamera, DXP, CameraFlash, PaintFX, iColorama
Joanne – How often do you update your existing apps?
Geri – Daily or as needed
Location, Location, Location
© Geri Centonze – ‘In times of trouble she turned her eyes toward heaven’ – ProCamera, BlurFX, Pixlromatic, Snapseed, Decim8, Sketch Club
Joanne – Where’s your favorite place in the world for a shoot?
Geri – I live in the suburbs of Southern California where the streets are pretty much vacant, so anytime I’m in a public place where there are lots of people who are oblivious to my lens, I’m a happy camper! When I view my Instagram feed and see the images of bustling cities, I’m always just a wee bit envious.
Tools Of The Trade
© Geri Centonze – ‘Inked’ – ProCamera, Painteresque, Artist’s Touch, ShockMyPic, PS Express, Iris Photo Suite
Photogene, PicGrunger
Joanne – 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?
Geri – Showing my ignorance here…no I don’t! But I do find I like shooting in early morning or late afternoon because of the long shadows.
Favorite Apps
© Geri Centonze – ‘Love Keeps Giving’ – ProCamera, Dramatic Black & White
Joanne – What are your favorite, at the moment, iPhoneography apps?
Geri – Glad you said “at the moment” because it changes! Out of my 250 apps (yikes!) my current favorites are ProCamera, Snapseed, NoirPhoto, Dramatic B&W, A-HDR, Simply HDR HD, Artist’s Touch, Painteresque, Iris Photo Suite and PS Express. Although not a photo app, Sketch Club is where I layer and blend images.
Sharing
© Geri Centonze – ‘Man in Motion’ – ProCamera, QQImageHD, PicShop
Joanne – Where do you like to upload your photographs? Flickr, Instagram?
Geri – My blog (iartchronicles.com) and Instagram @gericentonze. The App Whisperer has a Flickr Group. I need to get involved in that, too. So many venues, so little time! Can someone create an app that will upload to all sites at the same time?!
Frequency
© Geri Centonze – ‘My Shadow Self’ – ProCamera, Foolproof Art Studio, Snapseed, Sketch Club
Joanne – Do you take photographs with your iPhone everyday?
Geri – That would be ideal, but it averages out to 3-5 times a week. I edit everyday using the saved images on my camera roll.
Favorite Subjects
© Geri Centonze – ‘Profile of a Man’ – ProCamera, Artist’s Touch, Sketch Club, Snapseed, PS Express
Joanne – What are your favorite subjects to photograph?
Geri – Street Photography is number one but I also like experimenting with abstract images and painterly portraits.
Top Five Tips
© Geri Centonze – ‘Silhouette Collage’ – ProCamera, Snapseed, Pic Grunger, PictureShow, Diptic
Joanne – What are your top five tips for iPhone photography?
Geri –
Capture what you find interesting.
Experiment with apps.
For street photography you have to be either really bold or really sneaky!
Learn from the pros (there are ebooks, articles and videos available online).
Don’t apologize if you’re not professionally trained we are all artists when we express ourselves creatively.
Editing
© Geri Centonze – ‘Star Struck’ – ProCamera, Dramatic Black & White, Sketch Club, Process, PS Express, Snapseed
Joanne – Do you edit images on your iPhone or do you prefer to do that on a desktop/laptop?
Geri – All editing is done on my iPad. My eyes just can’t take the small screen of the iPhone!
Videography
© Geri Centonze – ‘Summer Palms’ – ProCamera, IrisPhotoSuite, AutoPainter2, Sketch Club
Joanne – Do you enjoy videography with your iPhone?
Geri – I haven’t experimented with videography yet, but have downloaded a few apps like CineBleach and Video Camera in case I get the bug!
The Future Of Mobile Photography
© Geri Centonze – ‘Summer Play’ – ProCamera, Painteresque, PS Express, Snapseed, ShockMyPic, Sketch Club, Blur FX, SimplyHDR
Joanne – Where do you see the future of iPhone photography?
Geri – After attending the L.A. Mobile Arts Festival in Santa Monica, California this year, I see the future as expanding, getting the recognition it deserves and attracting more people to this ever evolving art form!
Popularity
© Geri Centonze – ‘Sunday Stroll’ – ProCamera, Touch ReTouch, Painteresque, PS Express, Glaze, Snapseed
Joanne – What do you think is the most popular area of iPhone photography?
Geri – My interpretation of this question is that you’re asking how do most people use their iPhones for photography. The majority of people use it to share images with their friends and family but there are a growing number who exclusively shoot with their iPhones to produce images that have artistic value. As the iPhone camera continues to be updated and improved, more photographers may gravitate to using this very convenient tool.
Worldwide Phenomena?
© Geri Centonze – ‘The Couple’ – ProCamera, Snapseed
Joanne – Do you think it’s country specific, are some nations more clued up?
Geri – If my Instagram feed is any indication, it looks like a worldwide phenomenon.
iPhone 5
© Geri Centonze – ‘The Pigeon’ – ProCamera, iColorama, PerfectPhoto, PS Express, TouchRetouch
JC – What did you hope for in the iPhone 5?
Geri – Since it’s already out, there are no surprises. I’ll wait to see the reviews once it’s in the hands of buyers to decide whether to upgrade or not.
TheAppWhisperer.com
© Geri Centonze – ‘Waiting For Her Ride’ – ProCamera, Dramatic Black & White
Joanne – What do you think of Joanne and theappwhisperer.com?
Geri – Joanne does an excellent job of bringing all the latest news for those who, like me, are app-dicted! This is one of the first places I stop in the morning. As a blogger to a much smaller audience, I know the amount of work that goes into maintaining a site like this and appreciate all of her hard work!
Joanne – Thanks so much Geri for your support.
Links To All Apps Used Or Mentioned In This Article
© Geri Centonze – ‘Wine Abstract’ – Leme Camera, TwistCam, PS Express, Snapseed, Iris Photo Suite
A-HDR
Artists Touch
AutoPainter 2
CameraFlash
CineBleach
Decim8
Diptic
Dramatic B&W
DXP
Foolproof Art Studio
Glaze
iColorama
Iris Photo Suite
Jazz
Leme Camera
Noir Photo
Painteresque
Paint fx
Perfect Photo
Photogene
PhotoPower
PicGrunger
PicShop
ProCamera
PS express
QQimage HD
Simply HDR HD
ShockmyPic
Sketch Club
Snapseed
Twistcam
TouchRetouch
© Geri Centonze – ‘Young Love’ – ProCamera, IrisPhotoSuite, AutoPainter2, Snapseed, Sketch Club
TheAppWhisperer has always had a dual mission: to promote the most talented mobile artists of the day and to support ambitious, inquisitive viewers the world over.
As the years pass TheAppWhisperer has gained readers and viewers and found new venues for that exchange. All this work thrives with the support of our community.
Please consider making a donation to TheAppWhisperer as this New Year commences because your support helps protect our independence and it means we can keep delivering the promotion of mobile artists that’s open for everyone around the world.
Every contribution, however big or small, is so valuable for our future.
Joanne Carter
Joanne Carter is a British photography journalist, editor, curator, and the founder of *TheAppWhisperer.com*, one of the world’s leading platforms dedicated to mobile photography and art. Since its launch in 2009, TheAppWhisperer has become an international hub for artists of all levels to discover, learn, exhibit, and engage with contemporary photographic practice.Built on principles of inclusivity, accessibility, and artistic excellence, Joanne has spent almost two decades championing mobile photography as a serious artistic medium. Through interviews, critical essays, exhibitions, competitions, and education, she has helped shape and document the evolution of mobile art on a global scale.Her work has taken her internationally, lecturing on photography and mobile art at institutions and events including the Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea, alongside appearances in the UK and Europe. She has served as a juror for international photography and mobile art awards across Portugal, Canada, the United States, South Korea, Italy, and the UK.Joanne is also the founder of *TheAppWhispererPrintSales.com*, one of the first online galleries dedicated exclusively to collectible mobile art, connecting artists with collectors across Europe, the United States, and Asia.Before founding TheAppWhisperer, Joanne worked extensively in print journalism and photographic publishing, including roles at a paparazzi photo agency and as deputy editor of a leading photography magazine. Her freelance journalism, criticism, and commentary have been published widely in both the UK and the US, with bylines in *The Times*, *The Sunday Times*, *The Guardian*, *Popular Photography*, *NikonPro*, *DPReview*, *Which?*, *Vogue Italia*, *LensCulture*, the *BBC*, and more recently, the *Financial Times*, where her published letters on photography continue to contribute to wider conversations around the medium.Alongside her editorial and curatorial work, Joanne’s own photographic practice has been exhibited internationally across the UK, Europe, South Korea, and the United States. Her work increasingly explores themes of grief, loss, death, memory, and the body.Her current research interests centre on grief, death, and poverty, with forthcoming postgraduate study leading towards doctoral research in these areas.Joanne is currently developing new long-form writing and photographic projects and is available for commissions, editorial projects, speaking engagements, and collaborations.Contact: joannetheappwhisperer@gmail.com)
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9 Comments
David
Great images…love the interview! Thanks for sharing, Geri!
Geri
Thank you David – I’m definitely obsessed with this new creative expression! Cheers!
diane stanley
Great Interview
k giraud
Geri
This is a splendid progression from your beautiful hand drawn work. Terrific images! Thanks so much for sharing.
Geri
Thank you Kathy!!!! I am totally consumed in the best way possible ♥♥♥
lissa
great works, very creative and more so than I imagine since an iPhone is used, I don’t own one but it’s something to think about after seeing these wonderful artwork.
Geri
Thank you Lissa – you have always been a great support to me and I appreciate your company on this journey too ♥♥♥
betty
Wow Geri, you never cease to amaze me. thanks so much for letting me see this new work of yours. Have fun.
Love, Betty
angelia
Wonderful interview, Geri, and the images are quite stunning. I enjoyed my visit here!