The theme of this week’s showcase of smartphone photography looks at a series of 10 photos from Instagram which all use creative framing in their compositions. From Gary HS’s use of a car’s wing mirror to frame a passing to cyclist to Laurence Bouchard’s use of high contrast shadows. All photos in this showcase illustrate how framing a subject with surrounding objects, windows or shadow can help add another element of interest to your photos.
Featured photographers this week include; Paul Yan, Gary HS, Harry Bosch, luismdrodrigues, Kevin Dory, Laurence Bouchard, Maureen Ruddy, olgaunal, pa_trash_ja, and vovkkh.
Do you have a favourite photo from this week’s showcase? Let us know which in the comments section at the bottom of the page. Finally, hashtag your photos with #mobiography for a chance of getting featured in future showcases.
Tread the Path!
‘Tread the Path!‘ by Paul Yan – “I was experimenting taking low-angle shots with the Manfrotto Wide-Angle add-on lens when this image was taken. After locking the focus on the ground in front of me and setting the shutter speed and ISO in the ProCamera app on my iPhone 6 Plus, I squatted on the edge of the pavement by the boulevard leading to Tian-An-Men Square in Beijing and waited for my prey. I had the top edge of my phone right on the pavement and tilted the lens up towards the low afternoon sun with the intention of including only someone’s legs in the frame. I saw a man coming by while another was in the distance. The shutter was fired when the one near me was about to walk out of the frame with the one in the distance right in the triangle formed by the former’s stride.
Editing was done with Snapseed to render the image black and white, and cropping away a tiny portion of the left and bottom edges.”
Framed!
‘Framed!‘ by Gary HS – “I spend a lot of time in and around Oxford, UK, very often stuck in traffic jams in narrow streets, where I often see photo opportunities and my phone is always to hand. This particular street, Long Wall, often has many cyclists speeding past close-by on both sides; using the mirror gave me the extra time needed to take the shot, as well as making it a bit more interesting. I kept my hand safely inside the car!
I took the photo with my old faithful Samsung Galaxy S4 using Open Camera. I processed the photo using my most used app, Snapseed (I prefer to ‘refine’ rather than overuse filters/effects) and the recently discovered, Afterfocus. In my experience, not easily being able to choose depth of field is the biggest handicap with smartphone cameras.”
National Day
‘National Day‘ by Harry Bosch – “This morning, the sky was covered with a nice summer mist and like every year for our National Day, an old steam train of the 40’s was preparing to host all the nostalgic steam for a stroll into the time. While walking along the train I saw through the window this lady. She was happy and all smiles standing behind the glass.
The light was perfect, diffused, soft and without contrast. Non-existent shadows, mist acting as a huge natural filter. The window, outlined against the black paint of the car drew a perfect frame and the bit grubby window gave all additional material. Everything breathed the joy of living a beautiful day.
I changed quickly my favorite Hipstamatic lens (John S) by Jane (softer and light) but I also kept the film with which 99% of my photos are taken (BlacKeySupergrain). Click!
There were no corrections to be made, the light was perfect and the mood as I love , delicately nostalgic. The clouds are really friends photographers!”
The flip side
‘The flip side‘ by Laurence Bouchard – “‘The flip side’ was taken in Ebisu garden place – a kind of strange post-modern complex which has this beautiful black and white chequered tile flooring running around it.
I’d actually spent ages before trying to work out how to get a good aerial shot of the tiles and not had any luck. Then one lunch break it suddenly dawned on me that I’d forgotten to check the other side of the complex. So I rushed over and sure enough there was a great place to take aerial shots and great shadows. Fortunately, a few minutes later this man walked into the frame wearing a hat.. I then tweaked the image slightly in Snapseed.”
L i s b o a n d o 4 3
‘L i s b o a n d o 4 3‘ by luismdrodrigues – “I took my kids to an ice cream store at the back of Museu Nacional dos Coches (www.museudoscoches.pt), in Belem, Lisbon. I love the afternoon light from 5pm to the sunset. That Museum is the new one, it was open in May 2015, and it’s a very interesting building. I like Architecture very much, and love architecture photography.
I noticed the beautiful warm light in the building and my kids were playing around. I took some shots and the results were quite good. From 37 to 45 it was all there! I took the photo using my iPhone5s and edited using Snapseed.”
Untitled
‘Untitled‘ by Kevin Dory
My kooky neighborhood
‘My kooky neighborhood‘ by Maureen Ruddy @mophotoartist
Annemindenizleri
‘Annemindenizleri‘ by olgaunal
There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in
‘There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.‘ by pa_trash_ja
Untitled
‘Untitled‘ by vovkkh
Which was your favourite?
Do you have a favourite from this weeks showcase? Let us know your thoughts on the featured photos in the comments below.
If you haven’t already done so, follow Mobiography on Instagram and hashtag your photos with #mobiography for a chance of getting featured in future showcases. Don’t forget to sign up to the Mobiography email list to get the latest news and updates direct to your inbox.