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News,  What Apps Are We Using This Month?

What Apps Are We Using This Month? with Zarina Ibrahim

Welcome to TheAppWhisperer’s new section, “What apps are we using this month” series, where we discover which apps you are particularly enjoying. Kicking us off today is non-other than notable Mobile Artist Zarina Ibrahim.

My name is Zarina Ibrahim (aka Ina Ibs @aniraz95 and @ina_loves). I live in a busy township about 20km from the capital city Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I am 61 years old. I am married to a wonderful 75-year-old who also enjoys art and travelling like me.

I am working as the executive secretary at the Malaysian Institute of Architects in Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. My work mostly involves administration, writing, managing the office and staff, and coordinating meetings and events.
I started using my iPhone to take photographs and edit in 2017. Currently, I am using the iPhone 14 Pro Max to take photographs which I transform into ‘artistic’ images. I fine-tune photographs that I capture on the iPhone using the native photo app, and Snapseed. 99% of my edits are on the iPhone.
Depending on the type of photos I capture and the mood I am in or the quality or image of the photos, sometimes I will edit using DistressedFX for textures to the backgrounds, after fine-tuning in the iPhone native photo app or Snapseed.
Lately, I find myself using Hipstamatic a lot for the ‘artistic’ transformation of the original photographs. So far I am still experimenting with capturing images using the Hipstamatic camera but the images don’t turn out the way I like so I continue using Hipstamatic as filters or edits.
I prefer to transform my images into what I call outrageous and surreal images as compared to soft, painterly, clean, true images! Although I love and admire these minimalist, painterly and ‘clean’ images, I always end up making my images busy, colourful and textured.
Hipstamatic has absolutely wonderful filters and gears that I could play around with, especially in addition to the adjustments to the light, exposure, crop, vibrancy, highlight and shadow, depth of field etc. The possibilities are endless but I find myself ending up using a limited type and usually the same type of filters and gears!
I also enjoy using the Slow Shutter app to create blurs and patterns and lately attempting double-exposure images using iColorama or Snapseed. However, most of my attempts have not yet produced results that I am happy to share! In the past, I have also used MetaBrush and ICPainter but have not lately as I guess I am enjoying them too much the Hipstamatic App!

I have used Tiny Planet app and enjoyed the results but have not used it lately. Here is one of my favourite images that I edited using the Tiny Planet app.

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©Zarina Ibrahim

Below are some of the images I created with the apps I have mentioned above.

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©Zarina Ibrahim

 

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©Zarina Ibrahim

 

©Zarina Ibrahim

 

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©Zarina Ibrahim

To read our other interviews in this series, please go here.

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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)