Mobile Photography and Art – A Picture’s Worth with Mandolina Moon from the US
‘A Picture’s Worth‘… is where we ask mobile photographers that have created powerful mobile photography/art to explain the processes they took. This includes their initial thoughts as to what they wanted to create, why they wanted to create it, how they created it, including all apps used and what they wanted to convey. We also ask these incredible artists to explain their emotions and how the image projects those feelings. We have published a few A Picture’s Worth articles recently, if you have missed those – please go here.
In this ‘A Picture’s Worth’ today we asked Mandolina Moon to tell us more about this image ‘Supernatural Forest Devi’. Matthews has detailed her thoughts below, we think you’ll find this invaluable…
“Thank you Joanne Carter for inviting me to participate in A Picture’s Worth. With the exception of photographing my dog, Briar-Rose, whose image I’ll often shoot with a theme or a story in mind, with most of my mobile photography I usually allow my subconscious to guide me. I snap pictures of anything I should happen across, then later select one of those shots to play with and see what I can discover while experimenting with various apps. It is a relaxing process and I don’t usually keep track of what I am doing on a conscious level.
Recently, while on a walk, in my neighbourhood, I captured, on my iPhone 6, an image of intermingling palm fronds and pine branches.
A few days later I opened the image in iColorama for some editing play. Under Style, I used a little Flow and Lighten to enhance and offer a sparkle and energy to the needles and branches. Under Adjust I played with ToneLab, then I went into Form and chose Mirror, Preset 4 and adjusted set XMirror. The image became a mandala, to me, the center looking like a female nature spirt, with her branchy arms raised up and her woody fingers forming mudras about her head. At this point, in my creative process, intention set in and I decided to refine what accident created. The image was still abstract, so I subtly layered in a female face, hopefully to allow others to see what I imagine. I saved the image and opened it in Repix, where I added a spattering of stars to represent the cosmos and a few bokeh representing spirit energy orbs. As the image came into being I saw the essence of the mandala as a deity of the woods, a supernatural Forest Devi”.
‘Supernatural Forest Devi’©Mandolina Moon
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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)
