Using technology to turn photography into art

Featured on burlingtoncountytimes.com

A small device tucked away in a pocket or purse can be simply a phone. Or, it can be more — much more.

For Cindy Patrick, it has become an indispensable artist’s tool. A pioneer in the field of iPhoneography, the township resident sees the iPhone as a way to create art from photos she shoots on a Philadelphia street or at a beach on the New Jersey shore.

A traditional wedding photographer turned iPhone trailblazer, Patrick is intent on spreading the word about the possibilities inherent in the small mobile device. With that in mind, she has embarked on a series of lectures and workshops designed to demonstrate what can be done when the phone and individual creativity join forces.

In workshops, Thursday at the Croft Farm Art Center in Cherry Hill, and in December, at the Perkins Center for the Arts in the township, she will make her case with presentations dubbed “Art in Your Pocket.’’

She is also teaching a course for cancer survivors, most of whom are women between 60 and 80 who have never used an iPhone before. The results have amazed her.

“It’s accessible and it’s spontaneous,’’ Patrick said of her iPhone. It also has what she calls an “all-in-oneness’’ quality. “With it, I can shoot, process and share my work,’’ she said.

Typically, Patrick will find her subjects unexpectedly, walking in Philadelphia, or strolling the boardwalk in Atlantic City, two favorite venues. After shooting her photos, Patrick returns home to begin the editing process.

“I work at my kitchen table,’’ she said, noting that she doesn’t need a studio or a darkroom. While she could complete the process on her phone, she often works with its cousin, the iPad, because of its larger screen.

Using an average of five apps out of the more than 200 she has, Patrick can change the shape of the original image, alter its color, and add texture and shadowing. She enjoys the process.

“It’s fun. I feel like a kid again. I always loved visiting art supply stores and apps are like that,’’ she said.

Despite her devotion to her iPhone, Patrick’s mainstay business,

wedding photography, follows a more traditional path. “I use my ‘Big Girl Camera,’ ’’ she said. That Canon 5 D Mark III goes with her to country clubs and other popular wedding venues throughout Burlington County.

Still, even then, she leaves time for a few shots with her iPhone and finds they have become increasingly popular.

Patrick, who fell in love with photography in college, where she majored in art, believes that iPhoneography is gradually being accepted in the art world.

“It can’t be ignored any longer,’’ she said. “It’s another tool for artists.’’

Recently, she sold several pieces at a solo show — her first — in Quogue, New York. Exposure like that helps viewers understand the potential for the iPhone, she believes.

“I was told that my work blurred the line between art and photography,’’ she said.