Showing posts tagged: iphone
Last month two stories were published and some things occurred which made me think about (mobile) photography and the new media and whether it is really necessary to isolate mobile photography from photography..
First there was Lysfoto, where some of my photos were featured and I was asked to write something about “This land is your land, this land is my land.”. Then there was the launch of the website DPReview “Connect”, with a video with some of the photographers like Dan Berman, Star Rush, Brad Puet and Koci were asked what connection in relation to mobile photography meant to them.
These events made me think.. Connect says it all and is by far the best description for this emerging movement. Probably better than iPhoneography, mobile photography and all other descriptions I have seen. But, can’t it be used on all sorts of photography? To me, photography (+ social media) = connection. For example: I love this website where Chris Connolly shares his (mostly) analog photography on tumblr. Is this any different than mobile photography? I love the work of Sieben Warmoeskerken, alias De Vetpan. Is sharing his Polaroids from The Impossible Project any different than sharing his (Mattebox) mobile photography on his website? Why would you limit to mobile photography / iPhoneography?
I never have been happy with the term iPhoneography and never used it actively myself. I hate it when I’m called an iPhoneographer or even a Pro iPhoneographer. I’m really not. I am a photographer using the iPhone among other cameras.
The big change now from a few years ago is that photography nowadays can instantly be shared around the world and that sharing is made much easier. When the iPhone came out we uploaded our photos to Flickr and shared the links on Facebook or Twitter. That was it. Nowadays, with the rise of social media there are dozens of possibilities to share the photos you have (just) taken. This sharing makes us witness someones life or environment on a regular base. Every time a small part of this life or part of the world is shared, liked or commented on we connect. Some apps, like Instagram,even have had a major growth because they made uploading and liking fast and simple. We don’t mind the actual photos we share are only 640 x 640px, do we? The accounts with the most users are mostly instagramers who let people peek in their own world. Share their surroundings, friends, family or even their food. They don’t necessarily have to be the best photographers on the platform.
Like I wrote here, mobile photography makes us more aware of the world we all live on. It really is. We are different but we share one thing. The beauty of our planet and the things on it and the passion for photography. But after thinking about it, isn’t it all photography and the sharing of it that raises awereness.
So no, this isn’t limited to mobile photography only. Mobile photography only made it simple to take, edit and share. But through the years mobile photography also means that the photo doesn’t have to have 100% great quality.. the story behind it and the final image which is shown is what matters. Anton Kawasaki has written a nice piece about that here on DPReview Connect. But is that any different from photography? Any person with a $3,000 camera can either make crappy photos or great photos just like a person with an iPhone. It’s not the tool that makes the photos, it’s the person behind it.
So, whether it’s mobile photography, iPhoneography, Nokiagraphy or Nikonography .. it’s all photography and it’s the sharing of our vision on this world. Do we need to give the photos or even ourselves different names when we use another camera? Are you an iPhoneographer when you used the iPhone and a Fujiographer when you shot a photo with a Fuji X camera a minute after that? I don’t think so. And when do we call it iPhoneography? Photos taken on the iPhone and processed with Lightroom, is that iPhoneography? Photos taken with an iPhone through a telescope? All these ‘rules’ I have seen last couple of years really are the opposite of this great and creative tool with allmost no bounderies, which we all should just enjoy. For me it’s all photography and mobile phones are just tools which have made sharing our vision easier. And in my opinion “connection” is the key word for shared photography nowadays, whatever it was taken with.
To conclude, I don’t think it’s strange to be part of a mobile photography group, contest or even a iPhone Flickr group and be proud of the camera you use. Because I’m certain that the iPhone has made a big change in photography and the way we share our photos nowadays and it’s a damn fine camera. But I do think that you limit yourself and your work by isolating it from photography.
In my opinion, and in Doctor Popular’s whom I quote : “iPhoneography puts too much emphasis on the novelty of shooting on a mobile phone and de-emphasises the importance of taking a really wellthought shot”. So .. instead of being with other “iPhoneographers” in a cozy yet closed ‘room’, go out on the streets and mingle with the people with oldfashioned cameras, don’t limit yourself. Be proud, inspire, share your work, your life and build a CONNECTION.
Robert-Paul
PS yesterday another photo group has started on www.kagecollective.com. They are photographers using the Fuji X cameras to share their vision. They call themselves photographers, not Fujiographers and probably tag their work with #fujifilm and #photography. Check them out whether you are a Canonographer, Nikonographer or iPhoneographer.. you’ll love it, very inspirational.
