‘Brought To Light’ – Mobile Photography / Art Interview with Lynette Sheppard from Hoolehua, Hawaii, US
Our ‘Brought to Light‘ interview section explores the mobile photographers and mobile artists behind their art. Each question has been carefully crafted and is designed to allow us to get to know them a little more intimately. To view others that we have published in this series, please go here.
Today we are featuring Lynette Sheppard, from Hoolehua, Hawaii, United States. Sheppard is an experienced mobile artist with an endearing spiritual quality to her images. Her art evokes introspection and in many ways reflects an overall predisposition to life. Rich colours play their part as we tune in to listen to the spiritual narratives. Sheppard has defined a way of cultivating and concentrating with transcendence directed to a connection, perhaps beyond ourselves. The stories that she presents within each image, make a difference, representing the universal landscape of art.
To view more of her work, please go here.
This body of work drew us to Lynette Sheppard…
All photos ©Lynette Sheppard
Describe a moment that changed your life
When I walked into the San Francisco Art Institute for the first time. The smell was so creative, a mix of turpentine, oil paint, clay, and developer, it just gobsmacked me. I knew I had to go there. It lived up to that smell and I loved every minute I spent there.
Describe a childhood photographic/art memory
My whole family was good at drawing and painting. I was the lone “uncreative” one. I was always so sure of that. One day, in art class, I forgot myself and just painted. My teacher praised it, held it up to the class, and chose it for an art show. She let me know that I actually was creative and I never doubted it again. Well, almost never. Ok, less often.
Describe your mobile studio
My mobile studio is wherever I am – it can be wandering the High Sierra or standing in line at the grocery store. That’s the beauty of mobile art – you can create anywhere.
What do you like to think about whilst creating images?
I don’t usually “think” because I like to be surprised by where an image takes me. I will usually begin processing with a favorite app and then try to sense what feeling emanates from it. I then choose apps that enhance that feeling. I love Knox Bronson’s quote “App the B*tch Til It Sings”. That said, it’s important that I know when a piece is finished and not take it too far.
Share one mobile photography/art tip
Try new apps or combinations so you don’t get stuck in a creative rut. It’s all too easy to continue that which has worked in the past and when I do that, I run the risk of becoming stale. I sometimes play with a new app or one I’ve rarely used just to explore – inevitably I will find something to use in a later image purposefully. I have over 200 apps so it’s easy to find one I’ve missed or forgotten. Thank heavens for the 250 Gb storage Apple now offers.
What or who ignited your passion for mobile photography/art?
Well, first I’d have to credit Steve Jobs – the iPhone literally changed my photographic life. That passion grew exponentially as a result of a closed Facebook group of forty professional photographers. We shared all we were learning in those early mobile photography days – our enthusiasm created an amazing synergy and spurred the passion for all of us.
What is the most unusual subject you have photographed/painted?
Hmmm – maybe an abandoned woodcarver’s home in the rain forest of Molokai, Hawaii. As it melts into the landscape, details of the buildings become abstract pieces. It’s different every time I visit.
What are your favourite mobile photography accessories?
My Mophie Juice Pak and my Pop Socket for my iPhone 7+. My iPad and the Adonit stylus. Watershot Pro housing for my iPhone 5S (I kept it specifically for underwater shoots.).
Describe your dream photography assignment
These days, I am most interested in self-assignments. Actually, it feels like a co-creation with the Great Mystery – a subject will capture me and I will realized that it needs to be a series. I’m currently working on three self-assignments: Urban Butterflies, Portals, and Peekaboo Flowers.
What does mobile photography/art mean to you?
It means no limits to creativity. It means inspiration and exploration every day. it means joyfully climbing down a rabbit hole that leads me closer to that Great Mystery. And it means sharing all of that with my mobile photography students and watching them surpass their teacher.
Many thanks, Joanne, for all you do to promote and showcase mobile art photography.
Contact Details
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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)
