The App Nerds Workshop – Working Around Your Reality By Lola Mitchell
We’re delighted to published the latest article to Lola Mitchell’s App Nerds Workshop Column. This is a truly stunning piece and we are sure you will love it, over to you Lola…(foreword by Joanne Carter).
This is going to be a long post, a little about me, a tutorial and my favorites from the App Nerd Flickr group. I feel like sharing what photography means to me as well as what brought me to iPhone photography.
It is no secret that my father was a photographer so I always had a camera in my hand. However what I don’t share is the reason it was so important for me to document my children’s life. My mother passed away when I was very young, 6 years old, and as a defense mechanism (I think) I have no memories of her. Now you would think that I have an enormous amount of photos from my childhood, but the truth is I do not. I mainly have photos of my mother when she was a model when she was young in Argentina, and then as a contemporary dancer and actress in France. I have probably less than 10 family photos.
When my son was born 4 years ago I made it a mission to make sure I took pictures of his growing up and our family. I also got my first iPhone which was great because taking care of a baby and carrying a big camera is almost impossible. I deeply admire people that do it! The iPhone unleashed something in me. I was finally able to show the world as I saw it. At first I put my kids in a lot of my photos, now they still make an appearance but not constant. I have two kids one is 4 years old and the other is 2. So often my shooting conditions look something like this.
©Lola Mitchell
Now lately I have been wanting to spread my wings and develop my photography further. I am itching to go out and shoot other people. The reality is I am at home with two kids that are of course very demanding. Scheduling photo shoots is almost impossible. I did a few portraits of my neighbor and a friend of mine but these took me 5-10 minutes of shooting….Not what I wish I had but that is the reality.
I started doing self portraits because I was itching to edit and we had been stuck at home sick for about two weeks.
This happened again a flu and here I was sleep deprived and stuck at home. So once I was better and just the taking care of the rest of the family I did what I could. A self portrait while the kids were taking their baths with their dad.
Below is the photo cropped with snapseed and I worked with elasticam to smoosh the couch seems, as well as erased my other shoulder to showcase my neck more.
©Lola Mitchell
Next step Icolorama, I love their brushes although I have to admit I still have lots to learn about how to use them.
©Lola Mitchell
I thought the bottom was too solid compared to the top so I went back into icolorama.
©Lola Mitchell
I liked the effect on top it made me think of trees and water and photo of a puddle with tree reflections, I took back in November with Kitcam. This is the pic I used.
©Lola Mitchell
So I went into Superimpose and blended the two images together. I moved the puddle image so that the tree branches were all the way on top to blend with the icolorama brushes. Played with modes and transparency until I liked the result.
©Lola Mitchell
I really liked the result so I moved the puddle image again to have a branch on my face.
©Lola Mitchell
I went back into procreate and added some hair.
©Lola Mitchell
Then I wanted to add birds because trees and birds go together in my mind I guess. So I used the pic I have used many times now taken at a playground back in january. (I think it is time to start looking up again and get a new pic of birds flying).
©Lola Mitchell
Added the birds on Superimpose, it took two steps so that I could use different blending modes. Here is the result.
©Lola Mitchell
By then I was so happy to be editing a photo and seeing transform in front of my eyes. I had been sick and feeing very unproductive so I started thinking about what I could do about the very dark spot in the photo. You could not really see hair. So I looked through my photos and found another puddle photo with clouds on it.
©Lola Mitchell
So I put these two in superimpose and blended them together.
©Lola Mitchell
It was a little yellow but I like what it did for my nature theme, so I went into image blender and blended at 50%. And this if the final image with my signature added on iwatermark.
©Lola Mitchell
I have to say I never thought I would do self portraits, I also never thought I would be able to transform reality without having and learning photoshop. I work with what I have to try not to feel restricted by it. That is especially true for me about time, I definitely do not feel restricted by using apps. I always feel like I wish I could have more time to dedicate to photography. The way I see it, I am learning the ropes while my kids are not in school yet. Hopefully in the near future I will be able to create even more.
This week I am finally starting to feature my favorites from our App Nerd Flickr Group.
Please keep posting there are some truly amazing work being posted.
The links to the images below on Flickr are here:
Pat St H
Scott A. Woodward
Andy Royston.
‘Au Printemps’ by Pat StH
©Pat StH
‘Pot of Gold’ by Scott A. Woodward
©Scott A. Woodward
‘Dreamboat’ By Andy Royston
©Andy Royston Apps used (Photowizard, laminar, image blender)
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)
5 Comments
Robert Lancaster
Thanks so much for sharing this workflow with us Lola!
I appreciate it greatly and then also realise how much I still have to learn.
How exciting is that?
What an inspiration these articles of yours are.
Lola Mitchell
Thank you so much Robert! I really appreciate the feedback. It is exciting, isn’t it? I too have so much to learn. If I did not I think I would feel a bit bored frankly : )
Janine Graf
Oh Lola, this brought a tear to my eye . . . only approximately 10 family photographs?! Your mom sounds like she was an amazing woman; wow! Beautiful image edit; I love how you embrace processing the way you do!
Lola Mitchell
Yes she was. It was hard to just have these amazing models pics and pics of her on stage. Hard to just see the woman behind. My kids will definitely more than that lol. Thank you for the lovely feedback.
Justine Foster
Lola: I am in awe of the amazing, wondrous photos you create with the i-phone. Also, your article was …beautiful, real, communicative…inspiring. Your multiple talents have never failed to delight. I am SO PROUD that you picked our son, and by extension, our family, with whom to share your life. – MA.