I was recently contacted by The App Whisperer, a website specializing in mobile photography and mobile art about contributing to their popular "Day in the Life..." Q&A with mobile photographers. Being a regular reader and big fan of The App Whisperer, I happily obliged and set out to answer the 21 questions, as well as compile 21 of my favourite mobile images to accompany the "Day in the Life..." questionnaire.

I particularly enjoyed this exercise, as it is one of the only interviews I have done that centred exclusively around mobile photography.  Some of the most interesting questions explored my transition from a 'traditional photographer' to 'mobile photographer', my mobile photography and editing workflow, my sources of inspiration and where I see the future of iPhone photography moving towards?

However, for me, the most interesting question was my Top Five tips for shooting mobile photography.  Perhaps this is because I truly believe this handful of tips can be applied across beginner or expert photographers shoot either 35mm or mobile photography:

1) Shoot often.

2) Experiment and push yourself outside your comfort level

3) But at the end of the day try and remain true to yourself; if you are passionate about a certain type of photography, embrace it and go for it.

4) Try to develop a personal photographic style, a unique signature, something that you can be known for visually.

5) Look at other’s work and be inspired.  Share your own work with them.  Build and nurture that community.

Please visit The App Whisperer to read my entire "Day in the Life of Scott A. Woodward" interview, as well as browse a larger collection of my favourite iPhoneography that accompanies the Q&A.

See more of my iPhoneography elsewhere on this blog or on Flickr.

Follow me and my iPhoneography on Instagram.

I am extremely excited to be profiled in the 'Portfolio' section of this month's National Geographic Magazine (China).

The editor and photo editor at NGM (China) in Beijing and I went back and forth over the course of a few months on this feature -- selecting the portfolio of photographs, conducting the interview via email and then getting it translated from English into Mandarin for publication -- and they have done a wonderful job.

As expected, NGM (China) had some great questions for me, ranging from my thoughts on making engaging portrait photography and my use of backlight as a creative device to the story ideas that most interest me in China, how I view “travel photography" vs. "cultural photography" and my thoughts on photojournalism vs. fine art photography.

My amazing friend Sarah Gulston, who is fluent in Mandarin, translated this entire article back into English for me (so I knew what was written, how it was edited and what was cut from the original interview conducted in English).  Sarah's translation stretched to more than seven pages of single-spaced A4; far more than can fit here. And far more than anyone, except perhaps my mother, would care to read.  So here are a few highlights...

For you, what makes a good portrait?

"A few years ago, I received an invaluable piece of advice from a photo editor at the international edition of National Geographic Magazine in Washington, D.C.  At the time, she told me that my portraiture was too confrontational and posed -- that it needed to be more observational and candid.  I took this constructive criticism on-board, began adopting it into my photographic style and will always carry it with me.

"For me, what makes a portrait truly memorable is an intangible factor: the ability to create an intimacy between my subject and me. Ironically, this often means giving the subject permission to ignore me, to act naturally and go about his business without worrying about where my camera is.  When my subject forgets that my lens is pointed at him, he is free to be himself, and then the most natural and engaging portraits are made.

"I like think of myself a visual storyteller, and people feature prominently across much of my work.  But in many of my portraits you will notice that my subject is not even looking at my lens.  Learning from that NGM photo editor, the key for me has been shooting the moment that happens between the moments; capturing my subjects’ subtle expressions, throwaway glances, and real laughter.

"This is when a subject’s true personality shines through, and these are the instances that I seek when photographing beautiful, natural portraiture."

It is evident from looking at your portfolio that you like shooting into the sun and using backlight as a photographic technique.  Can you talk about this?

"Shooting into the sun, and using backlight as a visual effect, is a compositional and lighting technique that I have been experimenting with for the past couple of years.  It goes against one of the most fundamental “rules” of photography -- to always have the sun behind/beside the photographer -- but I love the softness of the subject created by the sun's flare.  It's this ethereal, nostalgic effect that moves me to keep practicing and working with this photographic style.

"Although I pride myself on making many different types of photography, I also recognize that I need to take my individual style and consistently sharpen and improve it, establishing a unique photographic voice for myself.  This is one of my ongoing goals, as my eye is always maturing and my inspirations are ever changing.  Creating a portfolio of images that uses backlight as a creative device is an attempt to develop a simple, yet memorable, personal photographic signature for myself."

What do you think the differences are between 'travel photographers' and 'cultural photographers'?

"By their very nature, both travel photographers and cultural photographers share much in common.  Both need an innate curiosity about others. They both must demonstrate deference for foreign cultures.  They both must be sensitive to the interconnectedness of the world, and how their presence and actions impact the foreign culture they are documenting.  And they both require the intellect and willingness to challenge their own cultural assumptions and stereotypes about what’s 'normal'.

"However, a cultural photographer is first and foremost a visual storyteller, able to weave together a series of still images into a captivating narrative.  To do this effectively, he must be able to demonstrate other, more advanced, cross-cultural acumen that a travel photographer won’t necessarily always possess.

"First and foremost, I feel that a cultural photographer should have an awareness of, and experience documenting, his own culture.  Many travel photographers rarely take their cameras out while in their own environs, never showing an intellectual curiosity for their own culture or a willingness to explore it deeply photographically or otherwise.  To me, one doesn’t need

to travel abroad to create cultural photography; there are fascinating stories and engaging characters everywhere, even in a photographer’s own backyard.  And until one truly understands and respects his own culture, I feel it will be difficult for him to understand and respect someone else’s.

"A cultural photographer should be more interested in the 'why' than he is with the 'what' when capturing a scene.  He should have a deeper understanding of the cultural significance of a place or person or event, and the corresponding historical, social and emotional importance attached to it.  This will doubtless help him make deeper and more meaningful imagery."

The full article is printed in the December 2010 edition published in China this month.  It is truly honour to be associated with anything National Geographic produces, and I am humbled to have my photography and my words published in the pages of the Chinese edition of their magazine.

A couple of months ago I did a short Q&A for British online adventure portal WideWorld Magazine where we talked briefly about travel, music, sports, books and, of course, photography.

I was recently approached again by WideWorld Magazine, this time to contribute "10 Tips for Better Adventure Photos".  Although I don't necessarily consider myself an "adventure photographer", per se -- at least not in the conventional sense, or the same realm as true action or sports photographers --  I suppose that what I do, and the places I go to do it, is adventurous.

Therefore, I tried to provide a collection of tips that aren't simply applicable to adventure-related photography, but can be applied across all photographic disciplines, such as having a shoot plan, not over-packing, introducing a human element to images, understanding and using your camera's aperture and ISO settings, and getting creative with light.

I am not sure what WideWorld Magazine will suggest we do together next, but I am already looking forward to it.

As I mentioned in a recent post, I have been partnering with Adobe in the U.S. over the past couple of months. They were initially interested in licencing some of my photographs for use on their Photoshop.com website, which I was more than happy to agree to.

Then, while we were finalizing the details and licencing agreements, I had an opportunity to speak a few times with an employee in Adobe's Digital Imaging group.  One day we talked at length about Adobe's suite of imaging software and how, specifically, Lightroom is such an integral part of my digital workflow.

A short time later, Adobe asked if I'd be interested in being a profiled photographer on the "Spotlight" section of Photoshop.com.  I had a few telephone calls with Adobe's PR agency in San Francisco so they could learn more about me and my business, the type of photography I make, and how I integrate Lightroom into both my editorial and commercial photography workflow.  The agency then drafted a profile and I prepared a small portfolio of work to be uploaded online.

The result is the "Choosing a New Adventure" spotlight that went live on Photoshop.com this morning. I am extremely proud of this association with Adobe, and look forward to sharing more of my work as it appears on Photoshop.com in the future.

I was recently interviewed by a journalist from Asian Photography Magazine for the "Pro-Profile" section of their October 2010 edition.  The magazine is on newsstands now, so I thought I'd share a bit of the article here.

The journalist had some very good questions for me, and it was enjoyable to speak with her about photography.  We covered many topics during the hour we chatted at my studio in September, such as...

How I got my start in photography: "Scott learnt photography from his father when he was very young.  He grew up in a house full of photography.  His dad taught him how to compose [an image] and how to interpret light."

How I began taking photography more seriously in the mid-to-late 1990s: "'[W]hen I came to Asia, I had a film camera with me and this whole new world opened up to me'.  He fell in love with the colours, the foods, the rituals, the religion and everything that was a part of Asia... He started capturing everything on film."

And the catalyst that pushed me from the corporate marketing world to establishing my own creative photography business in 2004/05: "[His] plunge into

photography started in 2004.  'On my [30th] birthday, I was having a kind of mid-life crisis… and I felt like my 20s had just slipped by, I didn’t know where they had gone.  I went to this dinner and there were all these people who I didn’t know and... somebody asked a question... if you had enough money that you never had to get out of bed to go to work, what would you do then?  And my answer was [that I would] travel around the world and take pictures.  And I had never said that out loud.  I had thought of it, but I had never verbalised it.  That was my answer to what I should be doing with my life.'"

The writer goes on to explain more about my transition from working for a multinational company to working for myself: "Scott has no regrets of working in the corporate world for eight years before his photography career hit-off.  He treasures [that] experience... and the relationships that he made.  It gave him an opportunity [to learn] how to build a brand."

She explains how I first started commercializing my photography, and eventually was able to monetize my hobby: "His philosophy when he started off was, no job is too small... and you never know if you'll like doing a certain kind of photography until you try it."  This approach actually ended-up landing me my early

commercial assignments.  As the author explains, when I first started my small business, I used to take a lot of family portraits, to practice photographing people and earn some money. "Shooting families and kids actually got him one of his first advertising jobs, which was for Johnson & Johnson.  He mentions that, 'I had a certain style that they liked; it was a sensitive, intimate approach to that type of work"'.

The author touches briefly on how my style and approach to my work differs depending on my various assignments, from editorial reportage: "Choose your own adventure... just me and my camera".

...to fashion: "Cinematic... what I want to do is tell stories... separately, [they are] beautiful pictures, but if you look at them together, you will find a bit of narrative, a bit of a story".

...to advertising: "Extremely collaborative... [but] the creative process is not meant to be easy.  It is filled with conflict.  It is push 'n' pull.  I like someone pushing me to get better at this".

Finally, the writer wraps-up with some of my advice to aspiring photographers: “Keep practicing, because there

is nothing that is perfect. ‘This keeps me going: the desire to make the perfect photograph.  But you never can.  There is always something when you look back at it, you feel, I wish that was different’.  So he [recommends] practice and to find a genre of photography that you like and create a style [for yourself].  Have a signature.  Try not to get discouraged.  It’s a competitive market.  Look at the works of people you admire and try to emulate [them], and then develop your own personal style.  At the end of the day, you have to be passionate about what you do, because if you don’t have passion for your work, nobody else will.’”

In a word, I guess that's what photography is all about: passion.

It's why I left my comfortable corporate life to chase my dream.

It's why I struggle with the uncertainty and challenges (big and small) of running my own business.

It's why I push myself to be more creative, to try and make better and more compelling imagery.

And it's why I love every minute of it.

Yesterday, WideWorld Magazine, a British online adventure magazine, published a short Q&A with me where we talked briefly about travel, music, sports, books and, of course, photography.

It was an enjoyable interview, and I had fun answering WideWorld's questions, almost all of which were framed within the context of 'adventure':

Who’s my adventure hero? Photojournalist James Natchwey

What's my favourite book by an adventure athlete, explorer or traveller? Rory Stewart’s The Places in Between

And what’s the best piece of travel advice I have been given? “You never know if you never go.”

Click here to read the entire interview.

It is, indeed, a wide world out there.