Featured iPhoneographer: Ines Laimins
Thursday, September 8, 2011 at 8:28PM | Star Rush 
© Ines LaiminsWith her iPhone 4 on the streets of Hong Kong or New York, Ines Laimins captures moments and emotions that transform strangers into familiars. “There is a common humanity that flows through all of us,” she says. “At the moment of taking the image, there is an interaction, a connection, if even just a shared smile.”
Please tell us about yourself, Ines.
My name is Ines Laimins. My parents are from Europe, I grew up and went to school in the US, but I have learned the most by having lived in Asia for over 18 years, including India, Taiwan, and now Hong Kong. I work as a stage/film actor but also am a yogi, a writer, and have three daughters who at times are my muses.
I started photographing with my iPhone while I was working in Macau. I was reading my twitter stream and saw that someone posted a photo through Instagram (IG). I signed up, had no idea what it was, and with my iPhone, started catching images of people smoking. I quickly found that everywhere I went, I was pulling out my iPhone.
© Ines Laimins
What are your favorite or most frequent subjects?
I think my favorite is photographing on the street, because I never know what will happen. It is best if I can set aside time to wander around and to stand and observe life around me, if even for 15 minutes a day. There is a common humanity that flows through all of us, and I am interested in trying to capture those emotions of every day life as they happen around me, no matter in which country or place -- to see beauty in the every day or the unusual. Because of this, every stranger I have photographed is no longer a stranger to me. At the moment of taking the image, there is an interaction, a connection, if even just sharing a smile. I remember every one of these moments, and in this way, these people become part of my life--alive in the image.
© Ines Laimins
How would you describe your style or approach to your photography, Ines?
I don’t think I really have a style. I know I like working in black and white. I like the idea of fixing a moment in time in an image. I like the idea that there is that fraction of a second in which I need to see that moment and be responsive enough to frame, compose, and snap. It’s a feeling very similar to what the yogis say about living in the present.
I take all of my photos with the regular (native) iPhone 4 camera and then use a handful of apps to edit. Most often I will see the image I want to capture in my mind first, see the subject in the distance, frame in the screen and then wait for the subject to walk into the frame. I don’t ever use the zoom. I like to observe what is around me, I look up, look down alleys, look for interesting light, look for movement, look for the unusual. If it is an image having to do with nature, I will visit the same place several times to catch the light just right so that it illuminates what I see. I like to try to get a good, sharp image and use very little editing.
© Ines Laimins
Ines, what or who inspires you?
Through sharing, I’m inspired. Oh, there are so many memorable images of other photographers each with their own style, the list would go on!!
Recently since sharing on IG, I’ve been inspired by many of my fellow iPhoneographers. Seeing what others are doing makes me want to try new things, to create something with my own twist. And of course there are the legendary photographers like Erwitt, Cartier-Bresson, Walker Evans, Salgado whose work I can look at over and over again. I also take inspiration from poetry, or books, a piece of art, a film, theater, a dream, or even a random conversation, anything that touches my soul.
© Ines Laimins
What does iPhoneography (or mobile photography) mean to you?
So far for me, it means using the iPhone as camera as well as an editing tool. It is also a great way of viewing and learning from others’ work and being part of an amazing group of creative artists who share their work. I have met, in person, so many IGers from all around the world. By sharing, we all learn from each other.
Right now, I am interested in exploring what the iPhone can do and how, by using it as a primary camera; it changes the way I see things. I think that very soon, there will be sensor sizes and image resolutions that could compete with the bigger cameras out there. In that way images could be printed with excellent resolution. Right now, prints look OK up to 11x14 inches. Maybe we are just at the beginning of a cresting wave.
© Ines Laimins
What would you advise someone new to iphoneography?
Go out there, take lots of photos, interact with people and share. Be authentic, be yourself with an open mind and heart, and see the world with a generous spirit.
© Ines Laimins
© Ines Laimins
© Ines Laimins
© Ines Laimins
Ines, What are your favorite or most used apps?
I only use four apps: Camera+, Filterstorm, SquareReady, and Retouch. I take the image with the iPhone camera, then import it to Camera + to crop, change to black & white, and maybe add clarity to the image. Then it goes to Filterstorm to straighten (if needed) and to adjust brightness/contrast and add slight vignette (usually 75% vignette and 75% falloff). That’s it. If there is something small I want to remove, like a tiny person in the waves or a wire, then it goes to Retouch. SquareReady can makes a rectangular image to square so that I can post to IG and share (I like choosing black borders for uniformity).
You can see more of Ines’ photos at:
Camera +, Filterstorm, Ines Laimins, Retouch, SquareReady in Interview
Reader Comments (5)
Btw; making rectangular shots square can be done in Filterstorm as well! By choosing "canvas size" under crop tool.