Mobile Photography Showcase: 10 iPhone Photos That Use Negative Space

The theme of this week’s Mobiography Flickr group showcase looks at photos that are minimal in their composition and that feature negative space as a crucial element. From Chris Stern’s misty Christmas scene to Chris Harland’s tranquil waterscape, all photos this week have a simple and uncluttered look. Even though they are simple images, your eye is immediately drawn to the subject in question which just goes to show that you don’t need to fill the frame with activity in order to take a good photograph.

Featured photographers this week include Chris Stern, Lawrence Lazare, Chris Harland, Michelle Robinson, Jessica Andrews, Lee Atwell, Allie Brock, Arpita Upadhyay, Nicolas Xanthos and dinalfs.

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.

Looking Out for Santa

‘Looking Out for Santa‘ by Chris Stern – “This image was taken the day before Christmas in Springvale, ME where the whole area was engulfed in fog especially in the higher elevations. The one thing that struck me was how the power lines were converging into the distant fog so I thought why not get a self portrait with me aligned in the center of 3 power lines above.

In looking at the final image, it shows symmetry, negative space and tells a story which is exactly as I envisioned.

This photo was taken with iPhone 6s Plus using 3 Legged Thing “Brian” tripod and Mefoto 360 Plus Smartphone Adapter. I used Pro Camera app and set it on a 20 second timer to capture this self portrait then edited it using Snapseed to make basic adjustments and finished it off in VSCO Cam using preset A6.”

Morning fog on the Hudson River.

‘Morning fog on the Hudson River.‘ by Lawrence Lazare – “After 35 years living away from New York’s Hudson River Valley, I recently moved back to my hometown of Croton-on-Hudson, a small town along the Hudson, 25 miles north of Manhattan. As the name implies, Croton is a river town, bordered by the 3 1/2 mile wide Hudson to the West, and by the the Croton River to the South. Surrounded by these rivers and the lakes that dot the area, I find myself photographing water almost exclusively these days.

One cloudy Saturday morning a few weeks ago, I was driving North along the Hudson when noticed the water was totally still and covered with strings of low lying clouds and fog. I pulled off the road and parked my car by the waterfront in the town of Peekskill, pulled out my camera, and started shooting.

This photo was shot with my iPhone 6 using the default iPhone camera in Panoramic mode. I used Snapseed to boost the contrast just a bit. There was no conversion to black and white – these were the colors as they appeared that morning.”

Low Mist Clearing from Loch Awe, from the Old Pier at Portsonachan, Argyll & Bute

‘Low Mist Clearing from Loch Awe, from the Old Pier at Portsonachan, Argyll & Bute‘ by Chris Harland – “After a (failed) visit to re-photograph Kilchurn castle on the Northern edge of Loch Awe, I set out in my car to head down to Inverary, and my next planned location. About 10 minutes into the drive I noticed a very heavy mist was still collected on the Loch , further down from my previous location. After a quick consultation of the map, I headed down (a previously unknown to me) road that lead to the tiny hamlet of Portsonachan, and the edge of the Loch. I had no idea what I’d find there, but was excited to try find a way to use the texture of the mist within a landscape…a combination the iPhone’s shortcomings do much to turn to an advantage

It was clear that the mist (under an increasingly warm and sunny autumn day) was dissipating and that the conditions would soon be lost, so I parked at the first available spot and headed down to the water’s edge. Looking for something to ‘anchor’ the image I spotted the old, ruined and broken down pier remains. I loved their unusual and uneven nature and decided that, in the absence of any particular ‘subject’ to pin the image to, that the best idea was to embrace the almost abstract nature of the scene, and de-couple the scene from the concept of ‘landscape’, and to attempt to portray the eerie, almost dream-like nature of the moment.

I was able to take around 30-40 frames before the mist rose and evaporated. Within around 10 minutes, the scene had entirely altered, and – whilst still beautiful – had lost its ’magical’ aspect.

For me, this image is a re-learned lesson – that in Landscape Mobile Photography the moment can be everything, and that the equipment we use in that endeavour gives us the freedom and portability to exploit that to the full. I advocate using the iPhone like a sketch pad – to retain that fleeting moment….and the iPad as the canvas upon which it can be expanded and brought to its fullest realisation.

For taking the image I used: iPhone 6, Classic Toy App with: ‘Classic Snap’ Lens & ‘Colour Negative’ Film

For Processing the image I used: Photoforge 2 (for straightening), Filterstorm Pro (sharpening), Photo Toaster, Snapseed, Stackables”

Everyday Adelaide No. 132

‘Everyday Adelaide No. 132‘ by Michelle Robinson – “The photo was an abstract architectural piece for the group NEM Architecture (New Era Museum). I took it because I thought it looked some what birdlike and the blue South Australian sky was just so brilliant. I used Procamera to take the photo and edited it with Snapseed and VSCO cam. ”

A happy place

‘A happy place‘ by Jessica Andrews – “A Happy Place as taken at Pacific City, Oregon. My dog Murphy had been running around on the near-empty beach when he paused as if to savor the moment. I used the app ProCamera8 for the initial capture then I used Mextures Formula GGRLQBB to finish out.”

twilight

‘twilight‘ by Lee Atwell – “Heading home after work I had to stop when I saw the tree and bench silhouetted against the western twilight sky. As I was crouching across the street to take the photo, the man and his dog literally walked into the scene. Apps used were Hipstamatic Oggl app using Madalena Lens and BlacKeys XF Film.”

Winter’s rages

‘Winter’s rages‘ by Nicolas Xanthos – “In the nordic region where I live (in Quebec), winters are rather cold. The rivers and lakes freeze, and in some places people put small houses on the ice for fishing. I’ve been taking pictures of these fishing villages on the ice for some time, but I’m often not satisfied. I took this photo one day when the temperature was -27 F. It is technically complicated, because, at this temperature, the iPhone shuts down after 8-10 minutes (my fingers too, by the way), so I did not have the opportunity to photograph a lot. The main difficulty with this picture was framing: either I put the little house in the center, but I was losing the symmetry of the hills in the background; or I choose symmetry, but then the house was no longer the center. I chose the latter and by decreasing the saturation of the house, which gave an impression of loneliness and fragility amidst the dominant elements.”

The Lonely Rider

‘The Lonely Rider‘ by dinalfs – “The photo was taken in a nature reserve in northern Israel. We got there in the early morning. Since it was a winter day, there was a heavy fog, creating a special atmosphere and mysterious.”

Gloomy stadium

‘Gloomy stadium‘ by Allie Brock

Run!

‘run!‘ by …arpi…

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 joined the Mobiography Flickr Group then head on over and join in the fun. Alternatively, sign up to the Mobiography email list to get the latest news and updates direct to your inbox.