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Transformation by Kathleen Magner-Rios

By on December 13, 2012

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To celebrate the 40 year anniversary of the Magazine W, Hipstamatic added the luxurious WMag Freepak to its collection. The Freepak includes the W40 film, the Wonder lens and a case.

A competition was also organised on the theme of "Transformation" with a chance to win the opportunity to publish photos and also take part in a major exhibition in New York. The top prize was awarded to Kathleen Magner-Rios. A meeting with a great artist...

Kathleen, can you introduce yourself in a few words?
I am a full time mother, full-time real estate manager, & full-time photographer. I have a bachelors of fine arts in photography from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I graduated at a time when film and the dark room ruled... so when I returned to photography after a hiatus raising a family, learning digital was a challenge. I started getting back into photography three years ago when I bought my iphone 3, but it really took off when I upgraded to the iphone 4 and once I found the Hipstamatic app. Now, my "camera" is always with me. I upgraded to the iphone 5 simply for the better lens and for more GB.

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So you're the big winner of "Transformation Photography" organized by W magazine. How did you hear the news? And what was your reaction?
The editors of W Magazine notified me by email that I had won the Hipstamatic Challenge. When they first notified me, I wrote back asking when the participants would learn who won the "best in show" award. It hadn't sunk in that they were trying to tell me I had won "best in show" and that my images would be the ones used in their online magazine and hung in the photography show at the Ace Hotel in NY City. I was really pleased that the editors had chosen my images, and sorry that I would be travelling when the show was hung.

Were the pictures you sent created for the occasion? Could you describe these pictures?
I created my images using the "Wonder" lens and "W40" film (W pack) as required by the competition, and solely for the competition. I kept the idea of "transformation" in mind while composing... I wanted to transform jewellery into images that captured and reflected light, almost an abstract of a piece of jewellery, but still keeping the integrity of the image of jewellery. I kept in mind that the images were being judged by the editors of a fashion magazine. The blue tones of the W pack really play beautifully with the golden warm glow of the light bouncing off of the faceted stones.

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Has this competition opened doors?
Winning this particular competition has disseminated my images, via Hipstamatic, to the far reaches of the planet. I found that people from all over the world have seen the images... it brought me to Hipstography. I would adore getting a fashion shoot out of it... I think there is room for mobile photography, you can see it happening... I've seen images in periodicals such as the New York Times. I think we mobile photographers are on the leading edge of something very exciting.

Do you still continue to use this combo (W40/Wonder)?
I still use the W pack when I want to photograph jewellery, particularly using a macro lens. I also use it when I want to tone down a photo that is looking particularly warm, and not giving me the mood I want. I used it on a recent trip to Paris, it seems to capture the Parisian light beautifully.

What are your current expectations for Hisptamatic?
I think that Hipstamatic has to be one of the most consistent applications that I use for photography. It really is limitless in all its configurations. I haven't even begun to scratch the surface. One of my favourite quotes is from Henri Cartier-Bresson who said "your first 10,000 photographs are your worst." I have to wonder what he would think of the infinite possibilities that we now have at our finger tips... and at the same time I have to thank Hipstamatic for bringing me so much closer to that 10,000 mark.

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