A Day In The Life Of Dixon Hamby – An Incredible Environmental Portrait Mobile Travel Photographer
Welcome to our very exciting new column on theappwhisperer.com. This section entitled ‘A day in the life of …’ is where we’ll be taking a look at some hugely influential, interesting and accomplished individuals in the mobile photography world. People that we think you will love to learn more about.
This is the twenty first installment of the series, you can read the others here, if you have missed them so far. Today, we are featuring the very well known and incredibly talented mobile photographer, Dixon Hamby. Dixon is a Northwest native, Boeing web and graphic designer escapee. He left his native land to become a travel photographer. Fate hit him on the head (literally) in Panama when an errant palm frond fell and injured his neck, thereby rendering him unable to lift his DSLR. iPhoneography filled the void and his creativity took a new direction. Dixon’s work has been featured in numerous books, blogs and galleries.
Check out the full interview below…
Dixon does not normally write down the apps he uses for each image, his normal process for color is:
1. Camera+ Clarity
2. Some images he then uses Filterstorm Enhance.
3. On images that he turns part of image to B&W he uses Filterstorm.
For B&W Dixon uses PSExpress or Snapseed.
You can find all the links to the apps mentioned at the end of this article.
(If you would like to be interviewed for our new ‘A day in the life of …’ section, just send an email to [email protected], and we’ll get it set up.)
First Things First…
Copyright Image – Dixon Hamby – ‘Girl and her dog’
JC – Let’s start at the beginning of the day, how does your day start?
DH – At my age first check to see if everything is still working 😉 I have been practicing Buddhism for 38 years so I start the day by reciting a portion of the Lotus Sutra and chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo.
Magic Hour…
Copyright Image – Dixon Hamby – ‘1 Pike Place Drum’
JC – Do you like to head out and take photographs early on?
DH – I like shooting any time of the day, but prefer light in morning and twilight.
Photographer vs Mobile Photographer…
Copyright Image – Dixon Hamby – ‘Girr and her dog’
JC – How did the transition from traditional photographer to mobile photographer develop?
DH – I came down with a serious illness (fibromyalgia) and could no longer lift my Canon equipment. Looked at my iPhone and said, Hey this has a camera in it.
New Apps…
Copyright Image – Dixon Hamby – ‘Strutting Their Stuff’
JC – Do you like to download new mobile photography apps regularly?
DH – Yes, but very particular now. At one time had hundreds of apps. Now down to one screen of apps that I use.
Updates…
Copyright Image – Dixon Hamby – ‘Occupy Seattle’
JC – How often do you update your existing apps?
DH – Usually daily.
Location, Location, Location…
Copyright Image – Dixon Hamby – ‘Tulips’
JC – Where’s your favorite place in the world for a shoot?
DH – Capitol Hill area of Seattle and anywhere in Panama. But if anyone wants to finance a trip to Barcelona my mind could be changed.
Tools Of The Trade…
Copyright Image – Dixon Hamby – ‘Flowers’
JC – Do you also use mobile photography tool apps, such as The Photographer’s Ephemeris?
DH – I always am aware of when sun rises and sets. I wake up before sunrise.
Favorite Apps….
Copyright Image – Dixon Hamby – ‘Busker’
JC – What are your favorite mobile photography apps currently?
DH – Camera+, Filterstorm, Snapseed, PSExpress and experimenting with 645Pro.
Sharing…
Copyright Image – Dixon Hamby – ‘busker’
JC – Where do you like to upload your photographs? Flickr, Instagram?
DH – May favorite by far is Google+. Also upload to Flickr, Tumblr and Eyeem. Since Facebook bought Instagram don’t trust loading photos there, but at times post something. Also post links to Facebook, but not photos on Facebook. Too many places, though FlickStackr makes it easy to upload to multiple sites with one post.
Frequency…
Copyright Image – Dixon Hamby – ‘The Posies’
JC – Do you take photographs with your iPhone everyday?
DH – Of course!
Favorite Subjects…
Copyright Image – Dixon Hamby – ‘Shoe Shine Man’
JC – What are your favorite subjects?
DH – People and the environment they exist in.
Top Five Tips…
Copyright Image – Dixon Hamby – ‘Gamblers and Hookers’
JC – What are you top five tips for mobile photography?
DH –
Learn the basics of good design.
Study the masters.
Get out of your car. WALK
Aways be ready. Auto lock off.
Be fearless
Editing…
Copyright Image – Dixon Hamby – ‘islataboga’
JC – Do you edit images on your iPhone or do you prefer to do that on a desktop/laptop?
DH – On iPhone except I prefer to do critical cropping on laptop. Cropping can make or break an image.
Videography…
Copyright Image – Dixon Hamby – ‘Cascoviejjo’
JC – Do you enjoy videography with your iPhone?
DH – I do, but don’t do very much of it.
The Future Of Mobile Photography…
Copyright Image – Dixon Hamby – ‘Embera’
JC – Where do you see the future of mobile photography heading?
DH – It won’t be considered as much a special category. After all it’s all photography.
Popularity…
Copyright Image – Dixon Hamby – ‘Football In The Churchyard’
JC – What do you think is the most popular area of mobile photography?
DH – Well, I can tell you my hits go WAY up when I post photos of an erotic nature (not to mention blood pressure too, Dixon, I should think 😉. So as far as what people like to view that wins hands down. As far as shooting probably street images.
Where In The World…?
Copyright Image – Dixon Hamby – ‘Policia’
JC – Do you think it’s country specific, are some nations more clued up?
DH – What I enjoy most about it is the vast community of “friends”I have made all over the world.
iPhone 5…
Copyright Image – Dixon Hamby – ‘Jumped’
JC – What do you hope for in the iPhone 5?
DH – That I can get my hands on one.
TheAppWhisperer.com
Copyright Image – Dixon Hamby – ‘Sick’
JC – What do you think of Joanne and theappwhisperer.com?
DH – Joanne rocks! Are you married? LOL
JC – Yes, sorry Dixon, if only I’d known how you felt, things could’ve been so different 😉
Complete Links To All The Apps Used And Mentioned In This Article
Contact Details For Dixon Hamby
Copyright Image – Dixon Hamby – ‘Smoking Hot’
Website – www.dixonhamby.com
Twitter – link
Facebook – link
Joanne Carter
Joanne Carter, creator of the world’s most popular mobile photography and art website— TheAppWhisperer.com— TheAppWhisperer platform has been a pivotal cyberspace for mobile artists of all abilities to learn about, to explore, to celebrate and to share mobile artworks. Joanne’s compassion, inclusivity, and humility are hallmarks in all that she does, and is particularly evident in the platform she has built. In her words, “We all have the potential to remove ourselves from the centre of any circle and to expand a sphere of compassion outward; to include everyone interested in mobile art, ensuring every artist is within reach”, she has said. Promotion of mobile artists and the art form as a primary medium in today’s art world, has become her life’s focus. She has presented lectures bolstering mobile artists and their art from as far away as the Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea to closer to her home in the UK at Focus on Imaging. Her experience as a jurist for mobile art competitions includes: Portugal, Canada, US, S Korea, UK and Italy. And her travels pioneering the breadth of mobile art includes key events in: Frankfurt, Naples, Amalfi Coast, Paris, Brazil, London. Pioneering the world’s first mobile art online gallery - TheAppWhispererPrintSales.com has extended her reach even further, shipping from London, UK to clients in the US, Europe and The Far East to a global group of collectors looking for exclusive art to hang in their homes and offices. The online gallery specialises in prints for discerning collectors of unique, previously unseen signed limited edition art. Her journey towards becoming The App Whisperer, includes (but is not limited to) working for a paparazzi photo agency for several years and as a deputy editor for a photo print magazine. Her own freelance photographic journalistic work is also widely acclaimed. She has been published extensively both within the UK and the US in national and international titles. These include The Times, The Sunday Times, The Guardian, Popular Photography & Imaging, dpreview, NikonPro, Which? and more recently with the BBC as a Contributor, Columnist at Vogue Italia and Contributing Editor at LensCulture. Her professional photography has also been widely exhibited throughout Europe, including Italy, Portugal and the UK. She is currently writing several books, all related to mobile art and is always open to requests for new commissions for either writing or photography projects or a combination of both. Please contact her at: [email protected]
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4 Comments
Lisa
Great interview and images!! How much time do you spend in Panama, btw?
Gerry Coe
Great images, like the humour in them. Barcelona, be there very soon, well close by. Valencia is my favourite city.
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