I apologize for the links in this post not being active. I am trying to figure out why WordPress is not loving me this morning and will update as soon as I can!
JACK BE NIMBLE
There’s a new breed of photographer out there. They are roaming the streets, they are always armed and ready to shoot and their photography is developing into a cult. They are called the iPhoneographers and they mean business.
No, we are not talking about your average cell phone user seeing something interesting and wanting to share it on Facebook. These enthusiasts are serious about their art, they have dedicated websites, Flickr groups and worldwide communities and they are producing some amazing work – from street photography, food photography to, wait for it… underwater photography! (See an example here: http://tinyurl.com/3dmapqa).
Also called mobitogs, these technology junkies are not limited by lugging around heavy equipment and bulky camera bags. They move swiftly, shoot from the hip, sometimes they don’t even stop walking to take a shot. It is all about the spur of the moment, getting that slice of life. They are run and gun photographers.
PROFESSIONALS TOO!
I know what you are thinking – that iPhones can’t possibly produce the quality of work that a DSLR can. I can just see it in my mind’s eye - the purists cringing, looking upon this “art form” with disdain. But there is also a new trend developing among professional photographers, a desire to produce outstanding work with only a simple piece of technology to their disposal. The are proving that you can create compelling images without being wrapped up in the technical know how of what you think you need to create the perfect image. I read an article the other day on F-stoppers of fashion photographer, Lee Morris who did an entire fashion shoot with his iPhone only. The results were astonishing. You can read the article and watch a video here: http://fstoppers.com/iphone
Being a new iPhone owner myself I am very fascinated by the possibilities of this device, mainly because it affords me the opportunity to practice my photographic eye without always having to have my DSLR with me. The iPhone has become a full fledged point and shoot, but even more compact. I could be picking up the children from sport practice, see a bare winter tree on the school grounds and snap it. I could be walking the dogs, observe a plastic bag floating in the wind and snap it. Or I could go for a walk on the beach with the intention of creating images and have my phone in my pocket. What a pleasure! Best of all is that people don’t feel intimidated by a cell phone as oppose to a heavy, “in your face” DSLR which makes for more natural, spontaneous portraits should you get the opportunity to snap strangers walking by.
With applications such as Instagram (http://instagr.am/) and Hipstamatic (http://hipstamatic.com/the_app.html) you can create vintage works of art on the fly resembling the look and feel of Polaroid and Holga. What is of course even cooler is that with a touch of a button you can upload these images directly to Facebook, Twitter or your Flick account.
I love my DSLR, I wouldn’t call myself a professional photographer without it. But photography is evolving in so many ways and with so many new technologies to our disposal I would definitely not want to be accused of not utilizing something I am carrying around in my pocket everyday.
RESOURCES
Check out these websites for more on the interesting world of iPhoneography:
http://iphoneographycentral.com/
http://www.iphoneography.com/
http://www.fuelyourphotography.com/iphoneography-introduction/
http://www.iphoneography.org/
http://www.ericfairchild.com/blog/?cat=5
And check out these 10 books on Amazon on the subject of iPhoneography :http://tinyurl.com/3fzy7yx
And here are three of my first attempts at iPhoneography with the Instagram application:
We would like your opinion on the concept of mobile photography and would also like to feature a few images taking with iPhones or other mobile devices. Please email your contributions to: admin@photographermojo.com
