The Rise of
"it doesn’t matter what you shoot with, it’s how you take the photograph"
In the last twenty years technology has developed at an amazing rate. It seems like a lifetime ago that the first mobile phones came out, we were using dial up internet and digital cameras were an expensive luxury. Now we have all three of those technologies merged easily into most smartphones coupled with the social networking boom, allowing us to upload pictures directly to our Facebook and Twitter profiles in seconds. Except now, of course, there’s the latest social media fad: Instagram.
Launched in October 2010, Instagram is a platform that allows the user to take a picture, add filters and upload to other social media websites. What’s so special about it is that it has grown at an astonishing rate. By the end of 2010, there were already 1 million users. As of April 2012, there are now 30 million users – many of them participating in the popular ritual of taking pictures of their breakfast (not weird at all) – which has aided in bringing about the rather striking new term known as the ‘iPhoneographer’. It’s very basic really: someone who takes pictures with an iPhone. But I can’t help but feel that’s not all the term encompasses. So, what does it mean to be an iPhoneographer or participate in iPhoneography?
that it has grown at an astonishing rate.
By the end of 2010, there were already 1 million users. As of April 2012, there are now 30 million users – many of them participating in the popular ritual of taking pictures of their breakfast (not weird at all) – which has aided in bringing about the rather striking new term known as the ‘iPhoneographer’. It’s very basic really: someone who takes pictures with an iPhone. But I can’t help but feel that’s not all the term encompasses. So, what does it mean to be an iPhoneographer or participate in iPhoneography?
There are those who rather resent the term, mostly because of the words it fuses together: iPhone and photographer. Professional photographers in particular could argue that the skill of an iPhoneographer versus their own differs immensely – the photographers specifically choose their lens, angle, aperture size and deal with a whole other plethora of variables to achieve the perfect photo. Photographers can spend thousands of pounds on learning their craft and learning the ins and outs of their complex equipment – but it seems that the apparatus used for taking the photo is ceasing to matter, as long as it’s a great photo.
f variables to achieve the perfect photo. Photographers can spend thousands of pounds on learning their craft and learning the ins and outs of their complex equipment – but it seems that the apparatus used for taking the photo is ceasing to matter, as long as it’s a great photo.
I spoke to Bournemouth graduate Jessica Bracey, now a features writer for Professional Photographer and Photography Monthly magazines, and she points to real world examples that suggest perhaps we’re moving on and becoming more open-minded with photography. “There are wedding photographers out there that have even shot the special day on an iPhone and the New York Times featured a Hipstamatic image of soldiers in Afghanistan on the cover!”
photography. “There are wedding photographers out there that have even shot the special day on an iPhone and the New York Times featured a Hipstamatic image of soldiers in Afghanistan on the cover!”
With each new technology bestowed upon us, there is always another being
developed just around the corner – and being the impatient species that we are, we’re always looking forward to the next big thing.