A Day In The Life Of Geri Centonze – Sci-fi Sketch Card Artist Turned Mobile Photographer

http://iartchronicles.com

@gericentonze -Instagram name

[email protected] – email address

© 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.

© 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!

© 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.

© 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!

© Geri Centonze – ‘Abstract Woman’ – ProCamera, DXP, CameraFlash, PaintFX, iColorama

Joanne – How often do you update your existing apps?

Geri – Daily or as needed

© 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.

© 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.

© 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.

© 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?!

© 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.

© 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.

© 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.

© 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!

© 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!

© 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!

© 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.

© 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.

© 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.

© 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.

© 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

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