PDN Emerging Photographer Magazine

I have to admit that most of the photographs I took last year on the road were from my iphone 4.  I struggle with the fact that they might not be considered serious images.  The resolution is lower, overall quality is poor and some pros might say, it's only an iphone photograph.  To my professional and fine art photographer friends, I would always respond to their compliment with, "well, it's just an iphone photograph."  I even considered my year on the road as a failure in some respects because my larger camera rarely saw the light of day due to my laziness. 

They always say that the best camera is the one you are carrying.  For me, I take my iphone nearly everywhere I go.  If I don't have it, there has to be some sort of reason I don't want to document something or I just want to go on a walk without it on purpose. Even then, there is a huge potential to miss an opportunity to photograph something.

If you follow me on Instagram (search Alison Turner "Alisontravels"), you'll know that I post just about everything I do through the lens of my iphone and sometimes fancied up with an Instagram filter.  It's so easy to take a photo and click a button to share.  It's also a nice collection of images from my life held in a place like a virtual scrapbook.

To hear that I was the winner in PDN's "Go Indie" photography contest in the Instagram/Hipstamatic category was a bit unbelievable. Thousands of images are uploaded every minute on social networks and because of the iphone, almost every corner of the world is being photographed.  Six image from my iphone 4 "On the Road" series were picked and they chose four of those images to publish on a full page in the Spring 2013 edition of Emerging Photographer Magazine.  

I still feel strange taking portraits with my iphone (scroll down my blog and you will see several), but it's what I have on me at all times so it will have to do.  I'm even working on a new project that I will eventually share that's only taken with my iphone.  

I am thankful to judge, Matthew Jordan Smith who chose my series as the winner and for PDN Emerging Photographer magazine who published it.  I am starting to warm up to the idea that the tools you use for an image shouldn't matter.  No matter what, I will continue to use the camera I have on my iphone.  It's always with me and a part of me (ok, a BIG part)  can't imaging going through life without taking photos.

Handmade iphone Photography Photo Art Boxes

I tend to get bored easily.  I am not one of the many people that can grab a book and sit on a beach and read all day.  I am excited to report that I have read two more books from beginning to end to complete my, "5 books from start to finish" goal this year.

Another goal of mine that wasn't on the list was to put together art boxes from the photographs I've been taking with my iphone on this journey.  I am happy to say that I completed this goal.  Sometimes I get ideas in my head that I have to follow through and complete before I obsess too much about them.  This project was one of those ideas.

Don't get me wrong, I still LOVE to take photographs with the other cameras I have and will continue to upload portraits, events and landscapes to my photography site, but there is something about the iphone hipstamatic app that I just love.

I had these 4x4 photographs printed on archival paper and I mounted them on 4x4 wood blocks after I hand sanded them and applied primer  with several coats of paint in either black or white.  After I mounted the photograph on the finished block, I then applied several layers of non toxic clear matte finish to give the boxes a nice texture and durability.  I am pleased on how they turned out.

Since these are my first round of boxes, I have them up for sale on etsy in my shop that you can see here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/AlisonTravels

Each box is signed on the back and I also put where the photograph was taken.  Many of the photographs are featured in an iphone photography slide show I put together that you can view HERE.

I will continue to write about my travels but wanted to mention what I've been up to.  I look forward to sharing more photographs of my adventures here soon.

Provincetown, MA

I love Provincetown.  I fell in love with the area when I was lucky enough to spend the month of September here last year.  I briefly visited the town in the summer but I think the fall is the best time of year to be here.  The crowds are thinner, the air is crisp and the town is just the same as it always is...diverse and quaint.

Each part of Cape Cod has its own personality and I am drawn to ptown each year.  I love the rows of cottages as you approach the town and if you decide to drive through commercial street at 1 mile an hour, you will get a glimpse of what the town is about.

Once you are out of the car and mingling with the surroundings, you will get a sense of what I am drawn to.  You can stroll the street a mile and see some amazing works of art from locals and semi-locals.  You won't see a Starbucks or any other chain coffee or fast food restaurant which is a breath of fresh air.  Everyone in town is free to be who they are, when they feel like it.  It's not uncommon to see people expressing their love openly or seeing someone strolling down the street in leather pants with nothing else on in 50 degree weather.

My favorite place to eat for breakfast is at the Far land market.  I stop there at least once every other day to pick out some goodies and if you want an amazing breakfast at a low price, you better get there before 11:30a.m!

All of the beaches are beautiful and I have always been drawn to Race Point.  In fact, I took a photograph of the ranger station each day during my stay last year in September.  It never gets old.

I've always said that this is the perfect place to live if you are able to survive the winters.  Here is a small collection of some of the photographs I took while in Ptown with my camera phone.