Have Cameras, Will Travel – the Art of Being There

Beach Huts Near Portofino © Andrée Lawrey

I had a wonderful time in Italy last April – not least on the Liguria Within the Frame workshop with David Duchemin, Jeffrey Chapman and a small group of committed photographers. I am still absorbing what I learned along the way – more on that and the workshop in future posts and/or articles – but my latest Different Strokes article talks about the core lesson: preparation is important, but being there is essential. You can find it here, in the July 2011 edition of Capital Image (page 25).

An iPhone in Italy (II)

© Andrée Lawrey

More exhibition images from my iPhone in Italy series. The flowers and the church are from Portofino and the others are from a morning excursion to Burano in the Venetian lagoon.

This set is part of Out There 2011, the Canberra Photographic Society's annual exhibition which is now showing at the Watson Arts Centre. More information, including an online catalogue, is available here. The exhibition continues until 10 July.

An iPhone in Italy

Roman Flare and Afternoon Trees © Andrée Lawrey

Many of my favourite images from my visit to Italy last April were taken with my iPhone. The Hipstamatic app I was using just seemed to suit my subjects and the holiday mood I wanted to convey.  

I exhibited this pair in Access all Areas 2011 - The PhotoAccess Members' Show in May. I was trying for silhouettes but the iPhone sensor, the Hipstamatic app's Helga Viking lens and the angle of the sun conspired to deliver some additional special effects. The only post-processing I did was to crop off the white border around each photo, which doesn't look good in prints.

Wheels!

Cool Wheels © Andrée Lawrey – Hipstamatic 201

I'm still catching up with 'normal' life after a delightful few weeks in Italy – more on that when I have finished sorting and processing an embarrassing quantity of photos.  Meanwhile, a Southside Camera Club excursion to Robbo's Motorcycles, a local Harley-Davidson® dealership, provided a totally different subject to help me re-focus on the here and now.

Motorcycles bring out my close-up and abstract, arty side.  Machines as sculpture – all those curvy metal shapes and reflective surfaces.  They are challenging to photograph, especially in the bright,white light of the showroom, but well worth the trouble.  I spent a wonderful morning with these amazing machines – my thanks to Robbo's for giving us the opportunity and making us so welcome.

I love the way the Hipstamatic iPhone app brought out the cool, steely blue of the metal (which must have been reflecting my blue cardigan), while my SLR's sensor responded to the cool, white light with a golden glow I could not bear to 'correct' in post processing.

Warm Wheels © Andrée Lawrey – D700, 105 F/2.8 micro