A Day In The Life Of ...,  Interviews,  INTERVIEWS,  News

A Day in The Life of Jun Yamaguchi / monowave – An Outstanding And Hugely Talented Mobile Photographer/Artist

Welcome to our very exciting column on theappwhisperer.com. This section entitled “A Day in the Life of…” 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 seventy ninth installment of the series. If you have missed our previous interviews, please go here. Today we are featuring Jun Yamaguchi also known as monowave.

Jun was born in Japan where he currently lives. As a child he loved to read books and draw pictures but before he knew it, he had stopped drawing or painting.

He then describes his life as ‘living in his own hell for nearly 40 years’, and after he felt release from it, he began to photograph and then to paint a few years ago. He suddenly decided that was what he wanted to do them and didn’t really know why. Around the same time he joined Flickr and has become acquainted with some great artists. And through Flickr he has sold a number of his works.

Jun is not formally trained but has worked with and continues to work relying on his intuition. He surmises that various things he had experienced while being in the “hell” are very helpful to his work.

You can learn more about Jun in the following interview below:

You can find all the links to the apps used or 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 [email protected], and we’ll get it set up.)

 

Jun Yamaguchi

artist

© Jun Yamaguchi (monowave)

First Things First…

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© Jun Yamaguchi – “Back To The Good Future Days” – Apps Used: Brushes, PhotoForge2, PictureShow, ScratchCam FX, DXP and Snapseed

 

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

Jun – I check my email box and read my favorite blogs and news sites while drinking Twining’s tea.

Golden Hour…

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© Jun Yamaguchi – “Walk In Forest” – Apps Used: Brushes, PhotoForge2, ScratchCam FX, DXP and Filterstorm

 

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

Jun – No. I am an extremely lazy and slow person, so if possible, I want to do nothing in the morning. I hate mornings!!!

Photographer vs Mobile Photographer

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© Jun Yamaguchi – “After Dark” – Apps Used: Brushes, PhotoForge2, and ScratchCam FX,

 

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

Jun – It was very easy to me, because I had not had experience with working seriously with such a traditional style. I had been believed firmly for a long time that I was not cut-out for the Art form of Photography, until I had iPod touch 4 with camera.

New Apps…

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© Jun Yamaguchi – “Beyond the Plateau of Thoughts” – Apps Used: Brushes, PhotoForge2, and ScratchCam FX

 

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

Jun – Yes, but I’ve not done so lately, because I am very pleased with my existing apps and hold many projects to work with those great apps.

Updates…

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© Jun Yamaguchi – “Salesman in Winter” – Apps Used: Brushes, PhotoForge2, Pixlr-o-matic, ScratchCam FX, PictureShow and DXP

 

Joanne – How often do you update your existing apps?

Jun – This is an important question for many iPhoneographers. I learned that it’s very risky to update my favorite apps without any consideration and so I seldom update them. Some apps often changes their unique taste or functions too much with each every version.

Location, Location, Location…

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© Jun Yamaguchi – “Pilgrimage” – Apps Used: Brushes, PhotoForge2, and ScratchCam FX

 

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

Jun – I don’t have such a place. It has become my favorite place wherever I want to shoot, so to speak.

Tools Of The Trade…

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© Jun Yamaguchi – “Standing Alone” – Apps Used: Brushes, PhotoForge2, Pixlr-o-matic, ScratchCam FX, and PictureShow

 

Joanne – Do you also use iPhoneography tool apps, such as The Photographer’s Ephemeris?

Jun – To be honest to say, I didn’t know there were such apps.

Favorite Apps…

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© Jun Yamaguchi – “Ukiyoe City” – Apps Used: Brushes, PhotoForge2, ScratchCam FX, DXP, Filterstorm and PictureShow

 

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

Jun – PhotoForge 2, ScratchCam FX, Pixlromatic, PictureShow, DXP and Snapseed, I especially like PhotoForge 2 and ScratchCam FX among them. They apps are fabulous and very useful, I always use PhotoForge 2 for making the base color tone and Scratch Cam FX for adding some noisy textures and adjusting the color.

Sharing…

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© Jun Yamaguchi – “Girl In The Library” – Apps Used: Brushes, PhotoForge2, and ScratchCam FX

 

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

Jun – Flickr. At the moment I use only Flickr.

Frequency…

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© Jun Yamaguchi – “When Your Dream Freezes” – Apps Used: Brushes, PhotoForge2, Pixlr-o-matic, DXP, and ScratchCam FX

 

Joanne – Do you take photographs with your iPhone everyday?

June – No, but I edit everyday.

Favorite Subjects…

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© Jun Yamaguchi – “Vertigo” – Apps Used: Brushes, PhotoForge2, and ScratchCam

 

Joanne – What are your favorite subjects?

Jun – A lonesome figure in landscape.

Teaching…

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© Jun Yamaguchi – “Man On Shore” – Apps Used: Brushes, PhotoForge2, ScratchCamFX and PictureShow

 

Joanne – How did the teaching side come along?

Jun – I had shared my way with someone in Flickr, the experiences just brought me something unhappy; I won’t do that again for a while.

Top Five Tips…

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© Jun Yamaguchi – “Cover Girl 3” – Apps Used: Brushes, PhotoForge2, and ScratchCam FX

 

Joanne – What are you top five tips for iPhoneography?

Jun –

1. Finding my distinct style and color.

2. No compromise. Trying various ways over and over again till I get the best result.

3. Limiting the apps to use. Of course, I did so after trying various many apps.

4. Narrowing my theme down.

5. Finding some comfortable cafes to work in. I have found about ten.

Editing…

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© Jun Yamaguchi – “Barefoot Party” – Apps Used: Brushes, PhotoForge2, ScratchCam FX, and DXP

 

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

Jun – I use two iPod touches, I do it all with using them. I’ve never done that on my Mac, I really love to do all my work with only my two iPod touches.

Videography…

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© Jun Yamaguchi – “Breathe The Night” – Apps Used: Brushes, PhotoForge2, PictureShow, and ScratchCam FX

 

Joanne – Do you enjoy videography with your iPhone?

Jun – Just a little. I made a few movies with Nexvio’s 8mm Vintage Camera app, the movies done nostalgically and I like much them.

The Future of Mobile Photography…

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© Jun Yamaguchi – “Old Man At Dinner” – Apps Used: Brushes, PhotoForge2, PictureShow, ScratchCam FX, DXP and Snapseed

 

Joanne – Where do you see the future of iPhoneography?

Jun – This is a great question and also difficult to answer. I hope that someday the word “iPhoneography” will fade away and “iPhone” will be as just one equipment among the other cameras such as DSLR, Micro four thirds, compact digital camera, film camera, video cam, pinhole and toy camera.

Popularity…

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© Jun Yamaguchi – “End Of Prison Time” – Apps Used: Brushes, PhotoForge2, PictureShow, ScratchCam FX, and Pixlr-o-matic

 

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

Jun – Street photo, landscape, portrait, montage and collage.

Where In the World?

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© Jun Yamaguchi – “Starbucks” – Apps Used: Brushes, PhotoForge2, ScratchCam FX, and DXP

 

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

Jun – They are just along the tradition of Photography and have been common in the world.

iPhone 5…

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© Jun Yamaguchi – “Fading Into The Wind” – Apps Used: Brushes, PhotoForge2, Pixlr-o-matic, and ScratchCam FX

 

Joanne – What are your first impressions of the iPhone 5?

Jun – Sorry, I’ve never used an iPhone, I’ve used only an iPod touch. Speaking of iPod touch 5, I got it late last year, the whole performances are quite up than the old model, but I don’t like the display. It’s certainly very beautiful and has a good visibility, but too high contrast to get precise color. So I usually use iPod touch 5 for only shooting, when editing I use my old iPod touch 4.

TheAppWhisperer.com…

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© Jun Yamaguchi – “Night Sea” – Apps Used: Brushes, PhotoForge2, ScratchCam FX, and DXP

 

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

Jun – It’s a really fantastic website with so many resources. I’m honored to have a chance to contribute to this great site and appreciate that Joanne has an interest in my work. By the way, how did you find my work, Joanne?

Links To All Apps Used Or Mentioned in This Interview

art

© Jun Yamaguchi – “Follow Your Porter” – Apps Used: Brushes, PhotoForge2, and ScratchCam FX

 

Brushes
PhotoForge2
PictureShow
ScratchCam FX
DXP
Snapseed
Filterstorm
Pixlr-o-matic

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Joanne Carter, creator of the world’s most popular mobile photography and art website— TheAppWhisperer.com— TheAppWhisperer platform has been a pivotal cyberspace for mobile artists of all abilities to learn about, to explore, to celebrate and to share mobile artworks. Joanne’s compassion, inclusivity, and humility are hallmarks in all that she does, and is particularly evident in the platform she has built. In her words, “We all have the potential to remove ourselves from the centre of any circle and to expand a sphere of compassion outward; to include everyone interested in mobile art, ensuring every artist is within reach”, she has said. Promotion of mobile artists and the art form as a primary medium in today’s art world, has become her life’s focus. She has presented lectures bolstering mobile artists and their art from as far away as the Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea to closer to her home in the UK at Focus on Imaging. Her experience as a jurist for mobile art competitions includes: Portugal, Canada, US, S Korea, UK and Italy. And her travels pioneering the breadth of mobile art includes key events in: Frankfurt, Naples, Amalfi Coast, Paris, Brazil, London. Pioneering the world’s first mobile art online gallery - TheAppWhispererPrintSales.com has extended her reach even further, shipping from London, UK to clients in the US, Europe and The Far East to a global group of collectors looking for exclusive art to hang in their homes and offices. The online gallery specialises in prints for discerning collectors of unique, previously unseen signed limited edition art. Her journey towards becoming The App Whisperer, includes (but is not limited to) working for a paparazzi photo agency for several years and as a deputy editor for a photo print magazine. Her own freelance photographic journalistic work is also widely acclaimed. She has been published extensively both within the UK and the US in national and international titles. These include The Times, The Sunday Times, The Guardian, Popular Photography & Imaging, dpreview, NikonPro, Which? and more recently with the BBC as a Contributor, Columnist at Vogue Italia and Contributing Editor at LensCulture. Her professional photography has also been widely exhibited throughout Europe, including Italy, Portugal and the UK. She is currently writing several books, all related to mobile art and is always open to requests for new commissions for either writing or photography projects or a combination of both. Please contact her at: [email protected]

14 Comments

  • Sue Fagg

    Jun has such an individual style, something different from the majority! Such an interesting interview, and a real artist. Thanks.
    Sue

  • tanci

    Love-love-love your work!!! So intriguingly beautiful and created with such simplicity, stunning!!! As an ipod user it really impacted me with the possibilities.
    I’m so thrilled with this interview.

  • Elaine (Luxtra)

    I always love checking out Jun’s work – this was a great interview!!

  • Jack Webb

    Congratulations, Jun! It was a wonderful interview with a very talented person. Happy to see you getting the recognition you deserve.

  • JQ Gaines

    Thank you for this wonderful interview, Jun… it’s was such a treat to get a glimpse at your working and thinking processes! I just love your work… and it was nice to “see” you 🙂

  • Michael White

    Finally!! Jun, you know I’m a huge fan. If’s finally great to “hear” your voice!

    Shoxmon

  • Colleen (cogphoto)

    Wonderful interview Jun… I’ve been a fan for so long! Thanks for sharing a bit of insight and so glad to see a real pic of you. Its simply amazing to me that you have only been at this for such a short time … crazy talented you are!

  • Tracy Mitchell Griggs

    I loved this interview Jun and would love to see a more in depth piece. I love the themes – solitary figure in landscape – which I find highly ironic given I associate Japan with streets and public places teeming with people – makes me more curious how you create the backdrops and figures. I also like the placement of the moon/sun in almost every image – I started to search for it first on each image.

    A wonderful gallery and visual treat for the eyes. Thanks for sharing your story and images.

  • Marie Matthews

    Wonderful interview with one of my all time favorite iPhone/iPod artists!! I have been a fan for a long time, and I was delighted to find out a little more of the backstory.