A Day In The Life Of Karen Divine – Simply Divine Mobile Photography

© Karen Divine – ‘Nude_30’

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

Karen – I open my eyes and remind myself that I am lucky to be alive and am grateful. It’s usually around 5:40 am and my dogs have no problem reminding me. I begin to work, reviewing emails, catching up on assignments, etc. but never longer than two hours. A hike in the foothills is generally in order and helps tremendously with my sanity and mood.

© Karen Divine – ‘Nude_42a’

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

Karen – I do not head out in the mornings to shoot. I use to take images called “Daily Walk” but I haven’t done that in a while, however should I come across something new I would certainly shoot it. I am both a random shooter and a scheduled shooter. Spontaneity is crucial as well as an occasional scheduled shoot.

© Karen Divine – ‘Graduation2’

Joanne – How did the transition from traditional photographer to iPhoneographer develop? (pardon the pun).

Karen – I have been a photographer for 40 years and in 2001 I first studied Photoshop. It was my pandora’s box, opening up a whole world of compositing and filled my need to “paint” and create stories and images from my imagination. In the early spring of 2011, I took several images with hipstamatic (the only app I had) and then composited them in Photoshop, posted it and a friend asked if I had created that on my phone. I had no idea that was possible and immediately began researching. I joined iphoneart.com and became obsessed at that moment. I simply transferred my composite skills to the phone.

© Karen Divine – ‘Brothers’

Joanne – Do you like to download new iPhoneography apps regularly?

Karen – No, I don’t download apps on a regular basis, I can barely keep up with what I have and still need to understand all their unique possibilities. On occasion someone will post one that is free and if it looks interesting I may get it.

© Karen Divine – ‘Remi 2’

Joanne – How often do you update your existing apps?

Karen – I update often, why not.

© Karen Divine – ‘Sarah’

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

Karen – A favorite place for me would be any exotic country, the markets in the Middle East in particular fascinate me and, with that said, I strongly believe we can capture intrigue right in front of us on a daily basis.

© Karen Divine – ‘Tyler’

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?

Karen – Well just to show you how ungeeky I am, I had to just look up the Photographers Ephemeris…hmmm so nope, guess I don’t use tool apps.

© Karen Divine – ‘Holdingtheball’

Joanne – What are your favorite, at the moment, iPhoneography apps?

Karen – I shoot with Hipstamatic and Camera+ for now, I use scratchcam for textures and also at the end to pull a composited piece together. I also use Image Blender and Juxtaposer, photocopier, occasionally snapseed and lo-mob.

© Karen Divine – ‘Sarah 2’

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

Karen – . I don’t use Flickr or Instagram…not sure why I’ve never done that. I have been shooting for so long that I simply upload all my work to the desktop and have that habit under my belt. I do post to FB and have a group called Your Parts and Process, which is designed for those who want to share their process both technically and emotionally. I share on iphoneart and a few other sites.

© Karen Divine – ‘Making Connections 2’ (put together in Photoshop)

Joanne – Do you take photographs with your iPhone everyday?

Karen – Yes, I shoot or edit or something related to my art every day.

© Karen Divine – ‘It’s A Party’

Joanne – What are your favorite subjects to photograph?

Karen – Forms, shapes, textures are my favorite subjects so I think in those terms when I shoot. I shoot nudes often primarily for the above reasons and give myself assignments and goals. I’ll do a scheduled shoot just to play with particular apps and hipsta combo’s using various lighting. The last shoot, I used the new telephoto lens the entire time. I am not drawn to landscapes, but living here it’s hard to miss a beautiful image.

© Karen Divine – ‘Journey’ (put together in Photoshop)

Joanne – What are your top five tips for iPhone photography?

Karen –

– Shoot every day

– Experiment with everything you have on your phone, find the apps that speak to you

– For those who want to composite, put together random images in blender and see what appears, it’s magic and then take that magic and keep on pushing until you fall off the cliff then go back and try again, discovering another boundary with more images…

– Learn to use your intuition to make decisions

– While processing, pay attention to the stories you are telling yourself, is that voice supportive or critical…one can make great strides in mental health being an artist

© Karen Divine – ‘Dancing Shoes2’

Joanne – How did the teaching side come along?

Karen – While applying to take a class at the Santa Fe Workshops I had to submit a portfolio. The director discovered my work, called me and asked me to teach. I now have several other jobs in Denver coming up. It wasn’t my goal to teach but I am quite comfortable in that area and have taught compositing in Photoshop in the past. I want to teach about the creative process and how to find your sense of style and what turns you on as an artist. These are important conversations and a great exercise towards self-development and that is the aspect of teaching that I want to do. How can you free yourself up to let the process happen and allow the magic to unfold?

© Karen Divine – ‘Strange Birthdays2’

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

Karen – I always edit on my iPhone.

© Karen Divine – ‘Finding Her Parts’

Joanne – Do you enjoy videography with your iPhone?

Karen – Just started using the video and recently documented my process of creating collages on paper using my iPhone work…haven’t yet done anything with it but I will.

© Karen Divine – ‘The Circus’

Joanne – Where do you see the future of iPhone photography?

Karen – I think it will become quite mainstream and at some point down the line, not so fashionable as a new medium. I remember the SX70 in the 70’s and then all the wonderful alternative processes, transfers, even Photoshop was controversial. It’s all just photography and art for me and I will always jump on the bandwagon when something new and exciting comes along…why not. So far the iPhone is the most freeing.

© Karen Divine – ‘Watchful’

Joanne – What do you think is the most popular area of iPhone photography?

Karen – Street photography and landscapes I think because it’s always there and available.

© Karen Divine – ‘You Knew Where This Is Heading’

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

Karen – Apparently not, considering all the international contingencies represented on FB groups.

© Karen Divine – ‘iPhone Image Using Cut-Outs of iPhone Images’

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

Karen – Well it’s here, and I’ve purchased it…we shall see.

© Karen Divine – ‘Tree of Life’

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

Karen – . Pure awesomeness of course, hard working, creative, smart, sexy…hmmm and I am certain when we meet, I’ll be using the same words to describe you.

Joanne – Thanks Karen, hope I don’t disappoint you 😉

© Karen Divine – ‘When Life Becomes Your Art’

Hipstamatic
Camera+
ScratchCam
Juxtaposer
Image Blender
Snapseed
Lo-Mob

© Karen Divine – ‘Presenting’

Email – [email protected]
Website – Karendivinephotography.com
Blog – Karendivineblog.com
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