Mobile Photography Interview – A Day in the Life of Kate Zari Roberts from Boulder, Colorado, USA

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

I need two mugs of coffee to get started. While having coffee, I check my emails, Instagram, FaceBook and try to have a quick look at the local newspaper.

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

If the weather’s nice, I love to go out in the morning, that’s when I have most of my energy. But if I happen to be out late afternoon, of course, I’m always moved by the light. The latitude I’m at has a beautiful quality of light in the fall. The light is everything. While living in Kwa-Zulu Natal in South Africa, I thought that province had the most beautiful light I’d ever seen. Its latitude south is almost the same as my current latitude north, maybe 10 degrees off.

Image ©Kate Zari Roberts

How did the transition from traditional artist to mobile artist develop?

I started photographing when I was 12 years old with a medium format, 120mm film camera that my father gave me. When I got serious about photography, I started shooting with a 35mm Canon F1 and a Mamiya RZ67, medium format. I had an old Calumet 4×5 as well that I used occasionally.

I developed my film, did all my own printing in color and black and white and I particularly loved printing cibachrome.

I can’t remember when I bought my first digital camera, but it was a point and shoot Canon. In 2012, I bought a Canon 5D Mark lll, learned Photoshop and digital printing. The Mark lll was mostly for commercial shoots that I do for architects, landscape architects and magazine projects.

The leap into iphoneography happened when I saw work by a friend of mine that I could not replicate in Photoshop. I asked him how he did it, and along came my first app. I’ve been addicted ever since and feel more creative than at any other time in my career.

Image ©Kate Zari Roberts

Do you like to download new mobile photography and/or art apps regularly?

I used to download a lot of apps, but I’ve settled into a few favorites. Now, I don’t buy many  and have a few I want to learn that I’ve already downloaded. I wanted to spend this winter learning Procreate, hoping we’d be snowed in for weeks, but that didn’t happen-neither the snow nor learning the app.

Image ©Kate Zari Roberts

What is your preferred platform, Apple iOS, Android, Windows?

iOS and would never change. I love Apple products.

Image ©Kate Zari Roberts

How often do you update your existing apps? What are your current favorites and what features do you look for in a new app?

Whenever an update is available.  My favorite apps are Hipstamatic, Stackables , iColorama and Snapseed. I also like Blackie for converting to black and white. iColorama is fabulous for blending images and for almost anything else you could possibly think of! And I know that Teresita is constantly designing new techniques. Occasionally, I use Repix, Mextures, Camera +, and want to learn Procreate.

Image ©Kate Zari Roberts

Where’s your favourite place in the world for a shoot and why?

My favorite place to shoot is where ever I am. If I’m in Capetown, that’s my favorite place, if I’m in Boulder, that’s my favorite place, if I’m in England…….

Being mostly a landscape photographer, I can find beauty anywhere. And now that I’m photographing people(a genre entered into because of iphoneography) it doesn’t matter where I am but sometimes I yearn to be in Cape Town, the most culturally diverse city I’ve ever been in.

Image ©Kate Zari Roberts

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

That’s a delicate question, as you know, because of my problems with flickr. I did manage to set up a new flickr account and only did so for theappwhisperer! Otherwise, Instagram, P1xels and the Exhibition, and FaceBook.

Image ©Kate Zari Roberts

Do you use your mobile phone everyday to take images?

Yes, I try to shoot everyday unless the weather is frightful. If I haven’t shot for a few days I get anxious. I have over 15,000 images that I can pull from on a rainy day but the desire for new work propels me to get out and shoot. Usually, after a shoot, I can’t wait to get home and start editing.

Image ©Kate Zari Roberts

Do you like to use external hardware products with your mobile device for image and video capturing, such as lenses, tripods, external storage and battery packs?

Only a selfie stick my husband bought me. I’ve used it once.

Image ©Kate Zari Roberts

Do you edit images on your mobile devices or do you prefer to use a desktop or laptop computer?

I edit only on mobile devices as that definitely keeps the medium pure. I started editing on an iPhone 4 and now have a 7+. Also, because my eyes are so bad, I bought an iPad pro, the big one!

Image ©Kate Zari Roberts

Where do you envisage your mobile photography passion will take you? Have you been involved with exhibitions etc.

It has already taken me further than expected. My work is in five shows this March and April for the Month of Photography, a statewide event in Colorado started by Mark Sink. I’ve had several exhibitions of my work over the past few years and look forward to iphoneography being accepted into more gallery and museum shows.

Image ©Kate Zari Roberts

Where do you see the future of mobile photography?

I’m not sure what you mean by this question. I think each artist is unique and offers what moves them, what makes them tick so to speak.

Image ©Kate Zari Roberts

Do you think it is country Specific, are some nations more clued up?

Not at all! There is extraordinary work being done everywhere! In researching the history of iphoneography for an upcoming lecture I’m giving, I learned that South Africa had their first mobile photo show in 2011. I felt very proud of that!

Image ©Kate Zari Roberts

If you could select a specification for a smartphone, what features would you select, photographically speaking?

I wish overall, that the camera was better. There’s still problems with zoom even with the iPhone 7. I haven’t used the portrait lens much because we can usually edit out any background we don’t want.

Image ©Kate Zari Roberts

What do you think of Joanne and theappwhisperer.com?

Joanne is the glue that holds our community together. Her never- ending energy in giving to this community has endeared her in our hearts. She has taught us about and shared with us mobile events, showcases our work, promotes us overseas, writes columns, oversees this voluminous site and genuinely encourages all artists to be their best. Her love for this medium and the community is deeply felt and appreciated.

Image ©Kate Zari Roberts

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Image ©Kate Zari Roberts