Pixels: The Art of the iPhone

Shane Martin

This is one of those pictures that says (shouts) “daily pic” the instant I see it.

Let’s start with the capture: it’s beautifully composed, one gentle sloping dune with two cresting peaks in the distance, the rippling sand rolling toward the lower right, the clumps of grass, dead in the desert of no footprints, bereft of water or any other sustenance, shooting up from the ground like sparkler trails.

I love the earthen tonalities, browns and beiges, hints of yellow and orange overtones, and how the grasses stand out in wonderful relief against the corrugated dune. Not sure at all how Shane apped it, but it is perfect. I love the brown vignetting and glow in the sky. Its very clear that this was taken near sundown: we can see the shadows that define the ripples in the sand and the shadows of the grasses splayed across them. I think many would be tempted to desaturate this image, but by not doing so, Shane evokes the living and dying of the eternal desert, the thrust of life itself into the most inhospitable of environments, and the energies of the Earth in a most magical way.

I’ve said it before. I ‘ll say it again. Iphonic art is magical realism: capturing moments of the ephemeral and, through apping, bringing forth the artist’s truth in the process.

Perfect timing. Perfect shot. Perfect apping.

Do I need to say “Well done?”

The Daily Pic sponsored by P1xels—The Fine Art of the iPhone.