Following on from last years successful ’24 Mobile Photographers Til Christmas’ series and to celebrate the forthcoming festive season and another year in the timeline of Mobiography I have decided to repeat the series and showcase the work, thoughts and insights of 24 talented mobile photographers. Each featured photographer has inspired and supported me in one way or another during the course of the past 2 years and I will be asking them to offer an insight into their photography, to reflect on their year gone by or plans for the coming year ahead.

Each day until Christmas Eve we will be featuring one photographer in a sort of online advent calendar so to speak.

Today’s featured photographer is Brendan Ó Sé

The Photo I am Most Proud of is…

Photo by Brendan O Se

If you go on to the iTunes store to search for apps for photography, you will find thousands. Through the years I have downloaded many apps for mobile photography, but rarely used any of them. For me, photography is about composition; all about what you can create and construct within a frame. Rarely, when setting up a shot do I think of how I will run and rinse the image through apps.

As I move along on this photographic journey, I find I am moving away from using apps. I tend to keep things simple now and seldom use anything but Snapseed. Usually only to convert to black and white and do a little work on highlights and contrasts. Ya, there are still some images that I might run through the grunge filter and that can be fun.

I have been lucky this year, in that I have gotten to travel to many places: London, Hong Kong, Seoul, Taipei, Tokyo, Copenhagen and Berlin. While most of this is for work, I do get the chance to get out and do some photography. To choose a single image from the hundreds I have taken with my iPhone in these places is not an easy task. There are the ones of family that are precious to me, but I tend not to share those on public platforms.

The image I have chosen is probably the simplest in form that I made this year. Four feet and four shoes, but three people, cropped just below the knee. One black shoe of a man extending towards a white high-heel of a woman, while on the other side another black shoe stays hesitant.

All the while, I sat opposite, about two feet across from them. The woman made eye contact with me as I took the iPhone out. I held it on my lap, lowered it to the level of my knees and composed the shot and got it. Looking up, I saw she was still looking at me. I nodded. She lowered her head and pulled her feet in towards her seat. The others’ feet shuffled. At the next stop, she disembarked.

This was Tokyo in late April of this year. I have had a good year photographically, getting many images I like, but this one has a simplicity I love. With all the apps available for mobile photography none can compensate for composition and none can create a story.

I would like to thank Andy for inviting me to participate in this feature and for the interviews he did with me this year. Mobiography is a wonderful document of the evolution of mobile photography. I think it will become something that photographers in years to come will look back at with great interest. I am very proud to be part of it.

Nollaig Shona Daiobh Go Léir! Happy Christmas to all!

Connect with Brendan Ó Sé

Flickr (iphone) | Flickr (DSLR) | Photographic Punctuation | Twitter | Instagram

Win FREE ACCESS to the Mobile Artistry Course

Remember, one lucky reader will win FREE access to Bob Weil’s superb online video course, ‘Mobile Artistry’ (both iPhone and Android apps included). (You can learn more about the course by visiting www.iPhonePhotoArtist.com or AndroidPhotoArtist.com).

To enter simply leave a comment below including your name and email address. This competition closes of 24th December 2014.