Studio in my Pocket Fine Art Photography on the Go by MICHÈLE Taylor, VanDest Photography
It's 4:30 in the afternoon and I'm reviewing my day. My phone catches my eye as the screen lights up to alert me to an event I've got coming up.
I smile; simply because the way my phone integrates into my workflow gives me pleasure.
It occurs to me that today I have already used my phone as a watch, an alarm clock, a stopwatch, a diary, an address book, a post office, a filing cabinet, an encyclopaedia, a dictionary, a thesaurus, a notebook, a torch, a roadmap, a train timetable, a booking office, a radio, a games console, a voice recorder, a camera, a digital darkroom...
...a photography studio in my pocket...

Mobile photography and post-processing make real for me the view of Alfred Stieglitz:
"Wherever there is light, one can photograph." Alfred Stieglitz
The quality of the native iPhone camera and the opportunities afforded by third party apps offer fantastic possibilities for all kind of photography, post-processing and digital art.
Having a camera and digital workspace with me all the time has given me an unprecedented environment in which to experiment with my sense of myself as a photo artist.

Being able to work on mobile devices has accelerated my growth as a photographer, possibly even taking me to places that I could never reach without it. The drive to develop my mobile practice has motivated me to study my whole approach to photography whether it's with my iPhone and mobile apps, or my 'big camera' and desktop software.
My DSLR photography and my fluency with Photoshop have definitely both benefited.



Sometimes I use a mobile approach in order to explore an image and to 'sketch out' ideas which I later work on with my 'big camera' and Photoshop.

Sometimes I move back and forth between iPhone, iPad and laptop;
and sometimes it's all done on my iPhone and uploaded straight into Lightroom.

"You don't take a photograph, you make it." Ansel Adams
I have upwards of 60 apps on my iPad. Of those, there are probably a dozen or so that I go back to again and again, and two or three that I go to for basic processing with almost every photo before I do anything else with it.
Recurring themes have emerged in the images I make.
Geometric abstracts.
"A camera is a tool for learning to see without a camera." Dorothea Lange

Triptychs and diptychs.


Having a camera with me all the time has been critical to enabling me to develop my 'eye' for the world around me in all its detail and its expanse.
Monochrome edits.

"Light is our paintbrush and it is a most willing tool in the hands of the one who studies it with sufficient care." Laura Gilpin

"There is a vast difference between taking a picture and making a photograph." Robert Heinecken
Architecture.
And did I mention monochrome...?!
I'm currently working on setting out the next steps in my artistic journey and intend to include shots taken with both my iPhone and my DSLR and to continue to work on my skills in both mobile and desk-based post-processing.
"Your photography is a record of your living, for anyone who really sees." Paul Strand


Unless otherwise stated, all photographs taken by Michèle Taylor of VanDest Photography, with iPhone (5s or 6s); and edited on mobile apps.