Brought to Light – Mobile Photography/Art Interview with Robi Gallardo
Robi Gallardo’s photography shows an instinctive grasp of narrative and metaphor. Each image carefully composed and produced to accentuate the images in his head. His restless vision and relentless curiosity is conclusive evidence of the important visual chronicler that we have before us. Gallardo’s photographs demonstrate an instinctively gifted individual pursuing his own creative journey with clarity and brilliance.
This is our new interview section for mobile photographers and mobile artists and we hope to be filling it very soon with vast explosions of thought and imagery. These questions are designed to explore the artist behind the work, to get to know them a little more intimately.
We recently published our first ‘Brought to Light’ Interview with Andrea Bigiarini, Founder of the New Era Museum and FIPA Florence International Photography Awards as well as writer, author, Imagineer and digital artist, if you missed that, please go here. We then went on to publish an instinctively gifted artist, Ile Mont, if you missed that please go here. Further we published our interview with Roger Guetta, please see here, Rad Drew, please go here to read that also Gianluca Ricoveri (please go here to read that one), Sean Hayes – please go here to read that one and most recently Petyr Campos – please go here to read that one.
Enjoy…
Robi Gallardo
“I was born in Hong Kong in 1962 and live here with my wife and two children. I spent my high school years in Manila, the Philippines, then worked for a year or so before heading off to Paris to study Art History at the American University of Paris. What a place to study art! What a place to live as a young person!
I worked with an interior design magazine as an editor, writer and desktop publisher and I’m presently the editor, desktop publisher (or whatever the term is these days), photographer and occasional writer for a weekly newspaper”.
©Robi Gallardo
Describe a moment that changed your life.
There are quite a few, but going to university in Paris is a definite biggie. Almost in an instant I was challenged to step out of my comfort zone. My horizons broadened. Even more amazing was seeing and experiencing, up close and personal, things I had hitherto only seen in books or movies.
I recall a particular moment, early on. My friends and I were walking down the Champs Elysees as we explored the city; it was late afternoon. We dashed across Place de la Concorde to the gates of the Tuilleries Gardens. We all turned at the same time to look at the Arc de Triomphe in the distance and in that instant twilight took hold and the street lights up and down the boulevard all came on. It was magical. The moveable feast was on and the people with whom I shared that experience have been friends ever since.
Describe a childhood photographic/art memory.
Using up all my dad’s oil paints on my various little painting projects as a little kid (all those butterfly images made by squeezing some paint into the crease of a folded a piece of paper, pressing together then opening it up to reveal, voilà! A butterfly!)
Being handed my first honest-to-god SLR by a professional photographer friend of my parents, along with two prime lenses and a basic light meter. I still have it in my possession.
‘Conference call’ – ©Robi Gallardo
Describe your mobile studio.
An iPhone 6 Plus crowded with apps. I’m pretty sure I have more photo apps than I actually useat least 70! My usual go to apps would be Snapseed, 645 Pro, Provoke, Mextures, iColorama, Distressed FX, ImagBlender and Hipstamatic. Oh, and the native iPhone camera app as well.
‘Dreams of the Mall’ – ©Robi Gallardo
What do you like to think about whilst creating images?
“What if I tried this…?” Tends to be the thought that runs through my mind. I will start with an image and experiment my way through various iterations until I feel I have something that works for me.
Sometimes I may glance at one or two (or three) of the photos I have on my phone and have an “ah ha!” moment and tell myself: “I could do something with these…”
What is the most unusual subject you have photographed/painted?
I’m not sure it counts as unusual, but very early on in my mobile photography/art journey I took a photo of a rough-cut stone in a granite retaining wall. I thought I might use it for texture somewhere down the line. However, a few days later and after couple of sessions with PhotoStudio and Diptic, this granite stone had morphed into… well I don’t know… but I called the resulting three pieces “Study in blue,” “Untitled,” and “Elementals”
‘Elementals’ – ©Robi Gallardo
What or who ignited your passion for mobile photography/art?
My sister, Cara Gallardo Weil and the Hipstamatic app.
Share one mobile photography/art tip.
I’ve found that, given the way I work on images, there’s always the risk of doing too much. Take a step back, when you return you might notice something you didn’t see before.
‘Flower Market, Chinese New Year’ ©Robi Gallardo
What are your favourite mobile photography accessories?
You know, I don’t think I have any.
“Triple Take’ – ©Robi Gallardo
Who would play you in a film of your life?
Humphrey Bogart?
Do you have a favourite app?
Snapseed for general work, Provoke and 645Pro, Dramatic B&W for black and white, Mextures and ImageBlender. I’m still getting to know iColorama.
‘Umbrellas at the Crossing’ – ©Robi Gallardo
Describe your dream mobile photography/art assignment.
A book of my work. That would be nice. Or my work as cover art for a book or music album.
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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)
One Comment
Tracy G
Nice to learn more and see more images from RG.