TheAppWhisperer - Mobile Photography - Portrait of an Artist Interview with Cathrine Halsor -

We are delighted to publish our twelfth Portrait of an Artist interview to this special column within TheAppWhisperer, edited by Jennifer Bracewell. This week Jennifer has interviewed Cathrine Halsor an alluring and intriguing mobile portraiture photographer, you’ll love this. (foreword by Joanne Carter).

We also have a dedicated Facebook group set up for this Column too for chat and discussion – please join us here, Jennifer regularly adds and contributes to this. In addition we have set up a Flickr Group dedicated also to this column. We would like you to send all your mobile portraiture images here and we will curate and create showcases of this group. Please go to the Flickr Group here.

Contact details for Cathrine:

What are your earliest memories of photography and/or art?

I remember I was very curious of my mums camera when I was young. It was an old one with the kind of flash cubes you had to change after shooting a picture. I also remember that I started taking photography classes when I was 13 years old and enjoyed creating black and white images in the darkroom. I was always captivated by the art of storytelling. And poetry. The poetic sensation in both words and pictures.

The magical worlds little worlds they create. It still fascinates me tremendously.

‘The Tale of’ ©Cathrine Halsor

What have you sacrificed for your art?

No sacrifice at all. By creating I understand both myself and the world around me just a little bit more. Or, at least, it opens up even more questions about Life. It just keeps adding a sense of wonder to my life.

I believe we are born to create, in one way or another. And as a mother and an artist, I hope to inspire my girls to find their own way of expressing themselves.

What is it about portraiture that appeals to you?

The creation of a story and a search for the peaceful, humble and fleeting feelings of Zen. I’m also inspired by some old daguerrotypes of Native Americans.

‘My Talisman’ – ©Cathrine Halsor

Why do you think mobile photography and portraiture work so well together?

The use of a mobile camera makes the shooting more subtle. The camera doesn’t ”get in the way” of connecting.

It’s easier to ’forget’ there’s a camera there. And then you also have all the options of the editing tools to add to your picture.

Tell me about awards and recognition you’ve received.

I have been fortunate to get two honorable mentions in the 2014 Mobile Photo Awards MPA and I’ve exhibited artwork at the Exposure Mobile Art Exhibit (organised by Amy Liebrand) in Columbus, Ohio. I was also invited to show a picture at the WIAM iPhone Photo Show in Milano Italy in 2014. My work has been featured on different mobile art websites.

Mobile photography is such a strong movement, and I am so happy to be a part of it. I have to mention Joanne Carter and The App Whisperer, she is fabulous! And I am so grateful to be a part of every single showcase she has chosen me to participate in.

‘She’s a Wanderer, a Bohemian’ – ©Cathrine Halsor

Which of your own images are you most proud of and why?

If one of my pictures means something for the viewer, that makes me proud. My images are small stories that evolves and are being released into the world, for the viewers to let them in and give them meaning.

I do like the subtle feel in some of my images, an visual story that I want to share with the viewer.

What have been the high points and low points of your career so far?

I feel there’s only been high points so far. The last 2,5 years, after I started exploring iPhoneography, has been an amazing journey. To connect with all the wonderful artists around the world, has really added joy and new possibilities to my life. I had no idea when I started this journey, what what it would be like.

I am now doing the final preparations for my first exhibition here in Norway, and I’m really excited to show my work.

‘Silence is my companion’ – ©Cathrine Halsor

What would you say the biggest myth is about mobile photography?

The biggest myth is that it’s not ’real photography’ or ’real art’. Mobile photography and art is a new way for us artists to express ourselves, and I find it very exciting. What will the next step be?

For me it doesn’t matter what medium we use to create. The main thing is to find our own source, and how we choose to create is up to us. I am very excited to be a part of this wonderful movement.

‘Under the Infinite Sky’ – ©Cathrine Halsor

What/whose work of art would you most like to own?

With my background in Visual communication and graphic design, I have been so inspired by many wonderful artists. But to own art is not important to me. Actually it is not important for me to own other things either.

For me, freedom, happiness and inspiration are important values.

And to explore. Whether it is other peoples work or other countries or cultures.

What song would work as the soundtrack to your life?

Music is one of my biggest sources of inspiration beside nature. Music goes straight to my heart and can touch me deeply. It is the closest sensation there is to feelings, love and freedom… it’s very difficult to define in words, to give it a label. As humans we have a tendency to want to put a label on anything our mind cannot understand. This is the same way I feel about the creation of my images.

And if I have to choose a soundtrack, I would choose the theme song from Pippi Longstocking. Because it takes me back to joy and playfulness and all the good things from my childhood. That’s where I find the courage to play and not take things so seriously, as we grown ups tend to do in our world. To remember to laugh, to play and to find our own sources of happiness, can do wonder to a moment, a day and a project.