andyroyston OCEANSCAPES
F I N E A R T P H OTO G R A P H Y
S u m m er 2 0 1 2
4G DESIGN
F t L AU D E R DA L E S U N
Looking for the perfect wave Andy explains why he is drawn more and more to the ocean’s wild side
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The Unseen Sea Turtle iPhone 101 Shooting with your iPhone Tips and tricks
If anyone can, pelican! All hail the mighty peli
Why sea turtles love our beach and what we can do to protect it
Art of Instagram How Instagram took over the mobile photo world.
Sobre Las Olas My favorite street
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Welcome to issue one An introduction from your host, Andy Royston So why, in this age of instant digital communications should I start a magazine to share my work and ideas?
Why iPhone? iPhoneography, or mobile photography, is visual art created, edited and produced entirely on iPhone. This device is the common denominator of a growing global network of photographers, artists and individuals who have embraced the limited resolution capabilities and have found enormous common ground artistically. Artists the world over have put aside their bigger cameras to enter this amazing global mobile photography scene. It is photography, but it is also a collective mind set that’s changing the way that we create digitally in the 21st century.
That’s a very good question. These days I’m probably far better known for my real-time photography project FtLauderdaleSun, and the project has grown in reach and reputation because of the use of the best social media outlets on the internet. And today, the internet includes the ordinary (or should I say extraordinary) 4G smartphone. Indeed the project is photographed, edited, post-produced (or apped as its now called) and uploaded directly from my iPhone. My only use of a computer is to archive and label the work. I’m a passionate advocate of the smart phone as a primary artistic tool. It can take a fine image that can then be enhanced, distressed, duplicated, color corrected and given any kind of effected treatment that you can think of without leaving the small box in the palm of your hand. What is more it can be published in a hundred different ways and reach an appreciative audience globally within seconds of being created. So why make a magazine? Because it’s a great way to step away from the chase and take a longer look at the work of the past few months and to share my thoughts about where this amazing creative outburst (everyone’s Instagramming it seems!) will go. So whether you’re reading this online or in printed form I hope you enjoy this look back on the past, and my thoughts about tomorrow.
www.tropicalsundesign.com instagram: @ftlauderdalesun twitter: @ftlauderdalesun facebook.com/ftlauderdalesun
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It’s a Grand life My most loyal supporters during 2012 have been those fine folks at the Pelican Grand Beach Resort. The Pelican Grand just happens to be on my beach beat, being situated right on the sands of North Ft Lauderdale Beach. If you see any shots of a pelican in this publication the chances are they were taken within sight of the biggest Pelican of them all, the Pelican Grand!
hellopeli! A curious bird is a pelican. His beak can hold more than his belly can. He can hold in his beak, Enough food for a week But I just don’t know how the hellican*
*There seems to be several slightly different versions of this Dixon Lanier Merritt limerick. This one is as told to Jackie by her dad, so it has to be the right one!
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If anyone can, the pelican! A classic Fort Lauderdale sight is a flock of brown pelicans as they fly along the shore. I’ve always thought the pelican a most comical bird. With their comedy beak and waddling sailor’s gait they are hard to take too seriously. But in flight, the pelican is an altogether different matter. That firm, elegant flying style is frequently interupted by a dive into the ocean for a fish. They seem good at it too, and knock back quite large fish whole before making a fussy typically pelican takeoff into the air again. Most times I see them early in the morning that are solitary or in small groups of two or three. Sometimes though an entire flock will appear in a perfect V shape, off to who knows where. This is quite a spectacular sight, and on air-show days they seem to be doing fly-bys just to get a cheer from a crowd who appreciate a good flight formation. I catch a good photo of these guys quite infrequently, which means I’m always on alert if there’s a familiar silhouette heading down the shore. ANDY ROYSTON
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Best time to see them? The quietest time on our beach for sea birds is the spring, as they’ve got FAR better things to do than hang out at the beach! You might still see one at Dania Pier, or a little north at Lauderdale-bythe-Sea’s Anglin’s Pier where they stick around optimistically hoping for a handout from one of the fishermen. As summer goes on though the fish begin to return to coastal waters and on calmer days you might see quite a few on foraging trips. On the really calm mornings they will forget everything and just stay put, floating aimlessly around - in no special hurry to get on with things.
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Lauderdaleby-the-Sea logo I’m very proud to have been commissioned to create the logo for one of my favorite beach towns
The brief was to design a logo that was in keeping with the low-rise Miami Modern scale of this family-orientated coastal resort. The American classic adirondack chair - a homespun porch favorite and a bona-fide ecodesign classic was a perfect fit. But the logo needed character, and the chilled out, inquisitive and friendly pelican was just the job!
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The image on the left shows the iconic town square sculpture in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea by Colorado-based artist Carl Wagner. Whilst working on the town’s 2012 logo I learned that some of the fishing pier regulars have affectionately named the pelicans Melvin and Sarah after the town’s founders.
instagram Toy camera apps for smart phones were nothing new. But Instagram brought something new to the party; a quick and easy way to share photos with friends. Because it is easy to set up the service it became a great way to share some of the quirkier beach shots, and the deeper crops. After all, the app was designed mainly to be viewed on a cellphone and I’d probably never show these images anywhere else. And you know what? It became great fun! I started to love one or two of the set frames (like ‘Earlybird’, the sepia-tinted one use on this spread...
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Instagram What makes Instagram so unique is that it has caught the imagination of a generation of smart-phone users, who have learned that it is the perfect capture-the-moment device. I hold that it is like rock-n-roll radio - some of it is cliched, goofy and unashamedly pop - but it is something that we can all relate to and appreciate. It sparks global conversations and chatter about the most amazing things. Some leading iPhoneographers like Aussie maestros Misho Baranovic and Ollie Lang have used Instagram to bring together an active community of users. Elsewhere IG meetups are commonplace, and the phenomenon shows no sign of letting up. For me Instagram gives me a chance to share a one-of-a-kind snap and perhaps share a few views of the beach that are a little different. Instagram accounts: @ftlauderdaleSun @ayup @teamlasolas
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At the heart of my photography there’s a breaking wave. These waves still carry the shadow of the night, but are kissed by the first light of the morning sun.
newwave Breakdance_SW9
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Breaker Fishermen_DAS5
Light Of Dawn_SW11
Ocean Having Fun_SW2
Silver Waves_SW16
Roll Wave_MW2
Big Break_MW5
Shore Diver_MW1
Catch of the Day_MW8
Dark Wave 1_MW6
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iPhoneography 101 Want a tasty dessert? Try Pudding Camera!
On a Facebook group recently we were talking about the lack of decent free apps around.
Hipstamatic’s hot new combo I’ve been using Hipstamatic for a long time and have always been a fan of this daft old app.
I thought immediately of a wonderful toy cam app that first came with Korean instructions, yet managed to be so much fun that this didn’t matter. Pudding Camera isn’t a high-res app that will give you a giant canvas to frame or a classy picture for your 500px account. It’s just a box of neat photo filters and frames all dressed up in a neat and tidy interface. If you just want to play around with the available light and share the results on your Instagram, Pud is just perfect.
A new pak came out recently with a combo that really rocks. Its called the Portrait SnapPak and includes just two items. The Foxy lens and the Sugar film.
I particularly love the square Fantasy cam with the vivid color option so I can max out those golden sunrise colors. I tend to just shoot palm trees with it, but I’m sure you can find a million variations and color combinations from this natty little app. And yes, it’s free.
I’m especially sold on the Sugar film, which works very well with most of the lenses. It brings John S to life especially. The image here uses the Foxy lens with another fave, Claunch 72 Monochrome. Hipstamatic is back.
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protect& survive Every summer it happens. And every summer it seems that some beach-front businesses fail to get the message. The signs are clear enough. Do Not Disturb.
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Protect & Survive Our most important beach visitors, the sea turtles, need as much t.l.c. as we can give them. As a photographer I turn a blind eye to lots of things, in my efforts to keep from getting distracted from nature, but one thing I’m very passionate about and can’t shy away from, sea turtle protection.
Find out more You may only see the caution tape and the idea that you are sharing the sand with sea turtle hatchlings might seem just a story. Here are a few places to find out more... Broward County Sea Turtle Conservation Program www.nova.edu/ ocean/seaturtles/ Broward’s wing of the state-wide protection program whose team patrol the shore in those familiar ATVs. This is your first port of call to find out about our sea turtles. Sea Turtle Oversight Protection www.seaturtleop. org/ Sea Turtle Oversight Protection (STOP) nighttime survey volunteers monitor sea turtle nests in Broward County Florida.
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I’ve been walking the sands of Fort Lauderdale beach daily for well over three years now, and have observed the sea turtle nesting patterns over that time with great personal satisfaction. To arrive at the shore to see the tell-tale tracks of little turtle hatchlings heading out of their yellow-taped nest area and off towards the ocean if a wonderfully uplifting sight. The team from NOVA University, whose dedicated turtle protection protection squad are constantly on the alert for new and activity around these precious nests, can be seen at work every moring throughout the nesting season. The most amazing thing is that for all the mornings I’ve been walking the sands I have yet to see a single momma turtle or hatchling along the shore in the mornings. I have witnessed a nest laid - during a recent stay at the Pelican Grand Beach Resort I took a midnight wander up the shore and soon came across the tell-tale tracks of a sea turtle heading up the sands. That there was no return tracks told me that she was still at large, so I moved slowly up into the shadows to find a rather sandy and slow moving shape high up the beach. What a privilege! The sad thing though is that too often those hatchling tracks head in the wrong direction. Usually caused by disorientation - by instinct they head towards the dawn glow, and if the brightest thing in the sky happens to be the ballroom of a beachfront hotel or a TV left playing in a bar balcony then off they’ll go. Quite why beach businesses continually forget themselves, or fail to remind their guests or cleaning crews to mind the lights is beyond me. Only a few weeks ago over 60 hatchlings were killed on A1A heading to join the party at one of the bigger beach hotels. Ironically this same hotel has a giant picture of a sea turtle in reception.
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Spreading the news My images of the turtle tracks and the volunteers who protect them are not anything like those that I hang in art galleries They are simply part of the daily @ftlauderdalesun live-from-the-beach photo project that I run through Twitter, Instagram and my own website. You can follow daily and see the latest goings on at our wonderful beach here in Fort Lauderdale.
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Come see where it all began in the heart of Fort Lauderdale Guided tours daiLy at 1, 2, and 3 pm Learn about Frank and ivy stranahan and how they helped to build Fort Lauderdale. this is a story of a house, a family, and a town.
BIG E THE BOOK!
riVer GHOST tour For more information or to register for a sunday night river Ghost tour, please call or go online. 335 southeast 6th avenue Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301 (just off Las Olas Boulevard across from the Cheesecake Factory)
954.524.4736
www.stranahanhouse.org
FTLAUDERDALESUN.COM/BOOKS
This fall: Showing iPhone art by Fort Lauderdale’s Andy Royston Drop by to see these wonderful prints! (954) 522-5088
EVERY SUNDAY RAIN OR SHINE East Las Olas Boulevard and SE 12th St
1239 EAST LAS OLAS BLVD FORT LAUDERDALE, FL 33301
FORT LAUDERDALE’S ONLY OLIVE OIL BAR
e’sback! Just don’t call him egret, bub...
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e’s back! North beach’s most diligent fisherman is back again for a third summer. Catch or cadge, he always gets his fish... Big E - so named because for a long time I thought him a great white egret - is my favorite beach companion. He comes to the shore quite regularly in late summer and makes for quite a photographic subject. I now know that he’s a species of bird that’s only found in Florida. He’s a white morph blue heron and the distinction only becomes clear when you see the differences in coloring and behavior. Big E is now a seasonal visitor to the beach, and as we get closer to the mullet run (the annual migration of mullet along the coast that brings so many other fish to our waters) he’ll be an increasingly regular subject. He’s most easy to photograph when there are shore fishermen around, as he’s learned that one or two regulars will toss him a baitfish or a small catch for breakfast. He’s more than capable of catching his own breakfast though. It’s fun to watch him tilt his head as he watches the shore breakers, and when he strikes he’s very fast. Other times being photographed is the last thing on his mind. On days like this he’s quick to fly off before I get close. Probably my biggest concern for him is that he’s getting very confident and not all fishermen like to have a large wading bird nosing into their keep bucket. Sooner or later someone will throw something larger than a fish at him! Most folks though are happy to have him around. He’s a smart looking bird and quite a character.
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Las Olas Boulevard Las Olas lies at heart of Fort Lauderdale and for twelve years I’ve called it home. Like many others I’ve had happy times on Las Olas Boulevard. It’s a place for relaxing, for having fun, for chilling out, and maybe, for falling in love.
#TeamLasOlas Over many years professionally I’ve worked with most of the biggest names along the boulevard and my loyalty to the street remains the same.
Las Olas begins at the museum of Art, Fort Lauderdale in downtown, and runs east through a wonderful restaurant, boutique, art and bar district. From here the road widens a little into the Las Olas ‘east village’ area where the stores and services are more personal and local. Beyond this the boulevard winds a little then passes by some of the finest waterside properties which sit along the Las Olas finger isles with fine yachts and sailboats docked alongside. Finally after crossing the Intracoastal Waterway you are then right on the beach. It is one of the finest in South Florida with five star hotels and fine facilities and that amazing ocean!
I’m proud to be working with several Fort Lauderdale initiatives over the next few months, with my images being published by Sunny.org, the Winterfest Parade and our latest initiative to bring feet to the street, #teamlasolas
What I love the most are the greener areas, like the Richard mancuso Greenway a block north from mangos, or Colee Hammock Park at the foot of SE 15th St, a perfect place to picnic. I think you can see just why I love this city!
Follow the link on the ad at the back of this issue for details!
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Yes, we print... You can own any of the images published here in a high quality giclĂŠe print This publication of iPhone photographs -
Our Prints All prints are printed on museum-quality paper, authentic giclee inks which combination gives a longevity of over 100 years in normal lighting conditions. They are hand numbered and signed by the artist. Pigment printing processes have been utilized since the middle of the 19th century. The image stability of pigment printing is superior to that of any other method of printing, including traditional silver-halide or metal-based. Digital inkjet printing has seen a surge in the use of the pigment ink as ink sets have been refined to be compatible with the latest in high-resolution inkjet technology.
all a part of an emerging digital artform known as iPhoneography - were all taken and edited on Ft. Lauderdale Beach or Las Olas Boulevard using the iPhone3GS and iPhone4 by Andy Royston.
iPhoneography (or mobile photography) is a new and popular photographic medium, that combines a camera, a set of applications that process and edit these images and a means to share in real time to social media and website communities.
Artists and photographers have realized that the shared limitations of a globally available mobile device create a level playing field for creativity. The resulting outburst of visuals via Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Eye’em and a myriad of website and photoblogs have together
A digital pigment print, sometimes referred to as a pigmented paper print, is a digital image rendered onto an uncoated, natural fiber substrate with pigment inks. Custom sizing and framing quotes are available.
created a new global renaissance in the photographic arts.
If you want a particular image as an art print email us: fls@tropicalsundesign.com or call 954-850-7448
published by Tropical Sun Design, Summer 2012 50
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954-850-7448 Fine Art and Photography
Design and Art Direction
Social Media Management
teamlasolas Join the Team Las Olas marketing system
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tropicalsundesign YES, YOU CAN USE TEAM LAS OLAS TO PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS ABSOLUTELY FREE... If you would like an overview of Team Las Olas and its exceptional internet and social media network, please get in touch via TeamLasOlas.com