User Spotlight: k8rry

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Some of our favorite users post their beautiful photos in our Pixlr on Flickr group. Some of these folks are real standouts, continually sharing images that blow us away either with their subject matter, their sense of style, or the way they use Pixlr apps to do creative things we never would have thought to do ourselves. We’ll be spotlighting these creative users with some Q&A sessions on this blog; we want you to check out their work. They’re good. First up: k8rry from the U.K. She makes some very artistic and stylish images with Pixlr Express. And she has a great sense of humor!
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What kind of things inspire your photos, and how long have you been at it?
I’d like to say I was inspired by National Geographic magazine landscapes, Dada montages, and the work of Man Ray, but in truth I merely want to take pictures that are in focus and don’t cut off people’s heads — unlike the ones my mum took of me in childhood (thanks mum).
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I’ve always taken photos since getting my first Instamatic camera at age eight, but it wasn’t until I discovered Flickr and various apps (I use Pixlr Express and Pixlr-o-matic, Poladroid, Retro Camera, Lomo Camera & Vignette) that I found I could turn my mediocre holiday photos into “artsy” snapshots. My current inspiration is all the excellent photographers on Flickr and the vogue for toy cameras.
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I own a DSLR (Canon EOS 400D), but I’m a snapshot girl at heart, so I mainly use a point and shoot (currently a Panasonic DMC-TZ30) and a smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy Ace.
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What kind of themes do you usually pursue?
I use quotes from favourite books, films, poems, and songs on photos — as well as to title my photos so there is probably a subconscious theme of sorts there. I also shamelessly rip off/pay homage to famous works of art. For example, artist Tracey Emin’s My Bed sculpture inspired my photo Fill The Empty Space With Hopes & Dreams and Wolfgang Tillmans’ Concorde photos inspired my photo Come Fly With Me. Otherwise my photos are fairly standalone records of my daily life and my worldview. They also document the increasing popularity of mobile photography apps and my attempts to master them.
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Are there any special subjects that regularly catch your eye?
I’m quite keen on street art and have been approached by Hero De Janeiro about using some of my Amsterdam street art photos in his next book. I also seem to photograph a lot of statues and sculptures. I live in the Yorkshire Sculpture Triangle. Other than that, I seem to focus on nature and travel.
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Do you use a lot of effects, overlays, filters?
Most of my recent photos have effects added, usually in a slipshod and haphazard manner. I’m the poster child for the “try it and see what it looks like; it can’t be any worse than the original” school of post processing. Occasionally, I see a photo that looks good straight out of the camera and I leave well alone. This doesn’t happen often.
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Is there anything on your Pixlr wish list? Something we should add to our apps?
I’d like to retain the use of all sticker packs that are issued [instead of rotating them out seasonally]. Also, when text is entered, I’d like the ability to keep it across all font packs without having to re-enter it if you change the choice of font. Finally, I’d like to preserve the EXIF data from my camera, especially the date it was taken. Other than that, keep surprising us with new effects.
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Where can we find more of your work?
My photos can be found on my Flickr page.