Any readers using their smart-phone cameras to make images they consider more than snapshots?
Lately I feel as if I am standing at a line if crossed means the complete, total, and utter abandonment of film. For the past few months I have been shooting nothing but digital images and I have to say I don’t miss the darkroom much at all. There is a certain nostalgia I’m clinging to — the tactile process of loading film, the smell of the chemistry, the look and feel of silver prints. Uncertainty clouds the topic. Is there more for me to say with film or am I just afraid to cross the line? I can’t say right now and no one can push me one way or the other.
One pleasant surprise is the amazing ability of a smart phone camera along with the associated apps. I use an iPhone but I’ve seen work from other systems that are equally impressive. A few days ago I saw the above video referenced on Twitter that was produced using images made with the Hipstamatic app. The guy had to shoot a lot of images to pull off this pixelation project.
I’ve had a few riding projects in mind for a long time, stories that are more about perception and emotion than any documentary detail or recording. Maybe the phone is the answer…
Perhaps it is time to start experimenting more. My pictures are getting predictable.
Take a look at Skip Hunt’s pics. He just did a book on Mexico of photos with just an iPhone 4. He rides a Vstrom too ; )
Anonymous: I took a look at Skip Hunt’s video. Pretty nice though he was obviously using a regular camera for a lot of it.
Here is a link to Skip Hunt’s Video.
The effect isn’t new. There are some tremendous examples in MediaStorm.com.
Depends on what you mean. I like taking photos with my iPhone then play around with it using some of the effects built into some apps. I use HDR Pro, Camera+, and Instagram. I played around with Hipstamatic but didn’t get it. My favorite is still Camera+ since you can use different points for exposure and focus using two fingers. And generally rarely save the modified photo.
Dear Steve:
My point and shoot camera, which I love, is going through some problems, that I suspect are related to the battery. So I got caught short a couple of times and had to use the camera in my Droid. I was staggered at how well it worked.
Fondest regards,
Jack • reep • Toad
Twisted Roads
The Biker Blog Where Foreplay Leads To Global Discourse
Steve, think I’ll try my Droid2’s camera next time I ride…
My photos are becoming predictable as well.
Dom
RichardM: Without the apps the camera would be marginal at best. The apps can really extend the possibilities of interpretation.
I wish the images straight out of the iPhone camera were sharper. I always have to sharpen them in an app.
Just looked at Camera+. Looks great. I am going to download it and give it a test drive. Can’t go wrong for 99 cents.
Hipstamatic is complicated. Can’t disagree with that. And it is difficult to use. It’s like a K Bike — you struggle and suffer and then suddenly a profound moment.
Dear Mr. Riepe: I am always so enthralled with your prose that I forget to look at the pictures.
I think the Droid camera is great. Probably better than the one in my iPhone.
Charlie6: Let me know if you figure out some new approach to pictures. I was out riding today for seven hours and tried and tried to make something different. Always the same result. The Vespa looks like something fromf Mount Olympus.
I’ve not forgotten your package. I just had something I wanted to add. Will send it on Monday.
The saying is the best camera is the one you’ve always got. I have to say I love my Canon, but when I don’t have it I miss some great opportunities. Too bad for me. I didn’t arrive on the photo scene until after the digital conversion, but have to say I enjoy my slapdash hackneyed luxury – I can photograph a million things in a million ways and fix and find later
Brady
Behind Bars – Motorcycles and Life
http://www.behindbarsmotorcycle.com/
A recent article in the NY Times pronounced the point-‘n-shoot digital camera all but dead, due to the tremendous capabilities of cameras in smartphones. The point-‘n-shoots are certainly cheap at the moment.
I gave up on film and silver prints decades ago, and while my iPhone produces some stunning images, it’s as much by accident and circumstance. It would be nice to have some adjustability in the iPhone’s camera. Maybe the iPhone 5 will have that capability.
But having literally a dozen devices in one package is hard to beat. Especially a small, thin package…
__Orin
Scootin’ Old Skool
I’ve been using cellphone cameras almost exclusively for four years now. The iPhone4 is a great camera with good low-light performance, and adjustable initial-focus video. Plus, a celliecamera does things a normal camera can only dream of. With PixelPipe, you can upload to 100 different sites with one click. Very powerful!
We in mobile call it Phontography.
Brady: My Canon G9 is the workhorse of my riding photography but the iPhone is so easy to have with me and as you say, the one you carry is the best one.
That said, I could never execute the same images with the iPhone. The lack of a telephoto lens or RAW files would show. But for some things it is just the ticket.
Orin: I’ve not been in my darkroom in a couple months and I have to say I’m liking that. But another part of me shivers at the thought of never plunging my hands again into a tray of Dektol. I’m holding on tight I suppose.
I don’t think it will take too much longer for the iPhone to make another quantum leap in capability. The video editing on the iPhone4 is amazing.
norcalbarney: Phontography — I love it. I’m not ready to work exclusively with the iPhone yet but I could do some nice work with it if I had to. Would be different than the things I can do with a point and shoot with a zoom lens, but still, good stuff possible.
Hey Steve,
Do you post on Instagram on a regular basis? If so, how do we find you to follow?
Steve, you got great pictures. But to keep up with the competition, then you got to try out new tactics too! I will be waiting to see what you come up with.