BLUE.RIDINGHOOD FEATURE
Over the last several days we’ve been in deep conversation with M (@blue.ridinghood). Not only is she one of the friendliest people you’ll ever meet but she’s also one of the most talented folks on Instagram. Read on to learn more about her and her mobile photography!
I’m MM. When I was a little girl I knew that I would talk to many people and that somehow I would get to know many of them worldwide and help them feel good. Being little, that seemed like crazy talk - to know at such an early age, before there was even social media or any kind of easy access to large masses of people (not even a phone). But I felt and believed it for so long. Today it seems like that little girl was right. I also knew back then that I have something within me that needed to find a way to be let out. Some type of creative work. But I had no idea what that was. This was when was around five-years-old. Being on Instagram now has become the cumulative answer to what might have seemed like childish thoughts to some at one time.
How did you get started on Instagram?
Initially I had a private account on Instagram. It was like a diary of my collected photos and thoughts and it went on like this for several months. Then I began to realize that there was no point in keeping these things to myself and not sharing them. So I decided that I should let myself out of the walls I had created for myself by having a private account. Even still, I was anonymous for almost two years. Maybe two or three of my closest friends knew the real identity of the girl hidden behind the name @bbxb. Yes, that was me.
I think that it wasn’t until this summer that I made my Instagram world public and revealed myself to my offline friends. I remember them talking about how cool it was that I had kept myself as a secret on Instagram for so long. And then, so many of them really loved my photos. It's wonderful a feeling to know that your friends are proud of you.
Instagram for me is not something that I do - it's exactly who i am. And it has helped me in discovering a world inside of me that I didn't know anything about. I've been through some difficult things in life, but all of those events have led me to become my own true self. I’ve actually gotten to know myself and Instagram has played a major role in that. This was also the reason for me being anonymous for so long.
How did you get in to photography?
I'm not a photographer, actually. I don't even own a camera and I don't even know how to use one. I'm a junkie for iPhone apps. It’s kind of like Tetris - a game so addictive that it takes over your mind like a virus - those iPhone apps are teasers for my mind.
It seemed like I lived inside of my phone - or at least that’s what my parents were saying. But I love gadgets. I love this tiny pocket computer (my iPhone) and I love what it does for my eyes and soul. It helps me to create fairytale, magical edits that I simply love. So I've found myself inside those kinds of magical landscapes - especially the foggy ones. Fog has helped me fall in love with the invisible. I believe that things hidden from our sight are the places where new worlds begin.
And the woods, that is my second home. I believe the trees and this forest will always hold a piece of me because every time I venture up there I feel as if I am home again.
What got you started with taking photographs deep in the forest?
The first time that I captured fog in the woods up there it was summer. Lousy summer weather for most, but not for an Instagrammer! I spent several hours up there. The fog was so thick and the woods were colored in that gorgeous deep green. The hours I spent there - breathing the same air as those trees and soaking the silence. It felt peaceful. I would take walks or sometimes run and then sit, staring at those hills. Looking up at the trees and trying to get the same heartbeat as the woods. Two years ago this place felt like home for the first time. I knew back then that this place would be the one place I would always come back to.
That was also the first time that I was up there in the forest with my blue hoodie on. So the inspiration to change my Instagram username was born.
What was it that made you start using Mextures to edit your landscapes?
First, I loved the edits I saw that were created by other Instagrammers using Mextures, so I bought the app for myself immediately! I was also in awe of the app itself. Not just what it was capable but how it was made as well. Mextures was so professionally and creatively made! It was a product of Merek’s imagination. He had a vision with this app and that's something that I admired strongly! It was something that made me think, “Wow! I wish I had thought of that". An app that gives you endless editing possibilities, depending on your wish or style. You can achieve it all with this app. Soon I realized that I could make any kind of edit that I wanted with Mextures - soft tones, deep tones, completely changing the colors or the feel of the photo. And I don't even need to mention the styles you can achieve with Mextures - retro, modern, cool urban and so on.
Who has been your greatest influence for your editing style and your photography?
I just love the work of @fursty, @bobbimac, @othellonine, @hannes_becker and @johnbozinov.
There are so many more artists whose work I love but those five are my favorite and I have always looked up to them.
I also love the work of @pickledgoose. That lady is a master Mextures editor!
