Taking a trip to Vancouver by ferry, I had an opportunity to spend a couple of hours, in short periods, to work on some images on my iPad. I used the Snapspeed app by Nick software. It is very intuitive and powerful. The app allows stacking of multiple filters, but the intermediate steps of the editing process are lost as soon as the file is saved. I experimented with several combinations of adjustments, saving the various versions in separate files.
Of course, image editing on an iPad is technically limited, compared to doing it using a full-featured computer-based software. Nevertheless, as the demands in our lives increase and time becomes more and more precious, it becomes apparent that unless one can utilize brief moments to experiment with images on a tablet, this kind of creative work may not happen at all. In my case, this is certainly the case: by the time I have an opportunity to sit down at my desk, with a Wacom graphics tablet and a large, color-calibrated screen, and, most importantly, a large uninterrupted chunk of time, the idea of a creative image that I had at the time of pressing the shutter has usually disappeared.
I see digital artwork on an iPad as sketching in an old-fashioned notebook – it is not a substitute for work in an artist’s studio, but it allows one to capture an idea, and it can be done, from start to finish, in a short period of time.
Autumn tree
Back in October, while taking one of the first walks with my daughter Anna around the Majestic park in Victoria, I took a photo of this tree with my iPhone. Half of the bright yellow leaves had just fallen, and the remaining leaves, contrasted against the dark background, still allowed the spherical shape of the tree to be recognized. This transitional stage of the tree reminded me of the image of the unfinished Death Star from “The Star Wars.”
Irish landscape
This photo was taken in February of 2010 in Ireland, during my sabbatical there. I tried to create a look of an old etching, while keeping some color in the sky.
Sumo
Svetlana and I had a chance to attend a sumo competition in Nagoya in July of 2010. This photo was taken from the first row, just by the dohyo, with a Canon 70-200 f2.8L IS USM lens. I added colder tones to create a sense of confrontation and conflict and overlaid some texture, aiming at a weathered look of terracotta warriors. After all, sumo is the oldest martial art that is practiced today.
Please visit my gallery of to see more sketches and digital artwork.