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A Picture’s Worth With Catherine Restivo

You may of seen this wonderful image that Catherine created and published yesterday, entitled, “When you reach the heart of life you shall find beauty in all things, even in the eyes that are blind to beauty.” ~Kahlil Gibran. Well, we were totally enthralled by it and asked Catherine to use this image to participate in our very special A Picture’s Worth section. Catherine is a sweetheart and was only too keen to oblige. Read this exclusive article and find out just how Catherine managed to create such a stunning image.

Over to you, Catherine…

 

This Is The Final Image

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I’m in love with peonies.  The flowers are quite delicate and short-lived, and it’s always a bit sad when they’re gone for the season.  As they went through their life cycle, I was touched by the different stages of beauty, and tried to capture their many personalities. As the soft, creamy white, fragile petals fell, there remained a beautiful vulnerability, rather a proud baring of their soul’.

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‘I took the photo using the ProCamera app’.

 

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‘Then I brought it into FilterStorm, cropped it square, and using the Clone tool, I removed the busy background’.

 

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‘I took this version into ShockMyPic.

 

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‘Using Image Blender, I combined the two versions so that the ShockMyPic squiggles weren’t as prominent.  Then I brought this into VintageScene and applied color, overlay and border’.

 

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‘Next, I brought this version back into Image Blender and combined it again with the Original/SMP blended version, keeping the VintageScene background as-is, but masking out the flower so that it popped more’.

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‘Finally, this was brought into Iris Photo Suite where I applied the “Grunge” filter just to the background, using the mask feature’.

Final Image

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‘A bit of the Polarizer filter, sharpening and resize finished off the piece’.

Screen-show Of The Process

 

 

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)

2 Comments

  • David

    So that’s how you did it!! Fantastic image, Catherine!! When I saw this yesterday, I sat there thinking…so how did she do this?? Now I know. Thank you so much for sharing your process with us!!