Ever wonder why mobile phone photography is exploding?
A discussion I had last night crystalized why this is indeed the case. Mobile phone photography, in particular iPhoneography, has distilled down the simple and core attraction of taking photos… simply put it facilitates taking photos for the sake of taking photos and exploring visually. There is no preconceived notion of what is right, acceptable or marketable. You see something interesting, you shoot it and there is no major post-processing effort required.
There are catalysts to this craze including the BestCamera, Hipstamatic and Instagram apps that are bridging phone photography to social media and making a big dent in how most people think of photography. In the near future when someone says in conversation they took a photo, the interpretation by default will be that the photo was taken with a mobile phone and not an SLR. You want proof? Just last week the New York Times pointed out that the iPhone 4 is just quickly rising to become the most popular camera used on photos submitted to Flickr.
To Be A Poppy
Of the three community based photography mobile apps previously noted, I’m most heavily using Instagram. Why?
It’s free
It has a similar posting vocabulary to Twitter (hashtags, @ replies, etc.)
Vibrant community of users (2 million who joined in 5 months!)
Easy to share via Flickr, Twitter, Facebook, FourSquare, Tumblr, and Posterous
The app keeps improving with new features
Like Flickr there is an API facilitating new services and sites to view & share photos (ex. Postagram, Webstagram, Instagallery etc.)
The user interface is refined and simple from registration to sharing & reviewing photos
Clarity of Message
Rating:
I won’t sugar coat it. Instagram has had their rough spots (ex. their version 1.6 release having cache issues for some), but overall the functionality, and track record of regular incremental improvements has been impressive. It is the Flickr of the Mobile world and my most frequently accessed app on my iPhone and iPad. Instagram is by no means a finished product and ever expanding and improving. Instagram clearly has a larger plan expanding beyond the basic app, the release of their API and burgeoning sister apps like Postagram are a sign of the future. The mobile market is huge so it’s likely that there will be multiple players in this field and I’ll be keeping close tabs on BestCamera and Hipstamatic. For now I’m having the most fun with Instagram because its so simple, makes it easy to share output from other photo editing apps and most importantly has made it easy to take photos for the pure and simple joy of taking a photograph.
Strictly Business is an event put on by the American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) and is one of the best resources I’ve found to learn best practices and critical business skills every professional photographer should employ to excel in the business of photography. The last time I attended ASMP’s Strictly Business event I wrote up a quick review with in a few hours of the close of the event. Back then, 3 years ago, blogging and social media were not yet on the radar of ASMP and I think I took the organizers of the event by surprise. Now ASMP is running their own blog, fittingly named Strictly Business, and extending the value of the Strictly Business conference year round with insightful posts to help photographers succeed. This year ASMP is holding Strictly Business 3 in three cities: Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Chicago and it is open to everyone (ASMP members and non-members). That being said I wanted to share with you, a twist on the traditional review, a list of 11 reasons ASMP Strictly Business 3 should be in your future:
11 Reasons ASMP Strictly Business 3 Should Be In Your Future
You’ll meet friendly open professional photographers who want you to succeed
Everyone is approachable. Everyone!
You’ll learn best practices on negotiation, estimating, licensing, copyright, web & traditional marketing, still & video production, portfolio building, etc. from expert organizers/mentors
You’ll have the opportunity to learn something relevant to every niche of professional photography
You’ll learn about tactics that work not just from organizers/mentors, but also from your peers in attendance
You’ll network and build a circle of peers who are serious about succeeding
Perhaps most importantly you’ll learn what mistakes everyone makes and how to avoid making more
It will take you out of your comfort zone
You will leave wiser than when arrived
It will be your wake up call on how to be a professional photographer whether its new to you, you’re in a slump or you need a refresher.
You will leave motivated
Lastly I want to thank ASMP for their generous invitation to take part in their New Business Models discussion panel organized by Shannon Fagan. I had a great time sharing my ideas, hopes and concerns and most of all receiving feedback from numerous photographers whom I hold in high esteem. I had a great time learning, sharing and meeting others. Once again Strictly Business turned out to be an incredibly valuable experience.
Collagewall is an all-in-one printing service that allows you to easily configure and order photo collage prints to hang on your wall. A friend, Josh Norem, tipped me off to the existence of Collagewall.com not that long ago and I was instantly intrigued by the possibilities. After a quick review of the site and their demo videos I knew I had to try it.
First and foremost I have to say Collagewall is the best print service and product I’ve used all year. The online configuration and ordering system is amazingly simple and the unique peg and paper socket mounting system makes installation simple.
How Does It Work?
After creating an account on Collagewall.com and logging in you can create photo collage project from nearly 200 layout templates or create your own. Next you upload your photos and assign them to an image location in the template. The online system allows you to zoom in/out of and pan with in your photos. Once your design template is populated with images you finalize your order and with in days your images and an installation kit arrives at your door.
Installation
Collagewall utilizes a foolproof means of installation. A paper template is provided that assists you in placing each mounting peg in exact location for a symmetrical and evenly spread display of your photos. The back of each photo then has a grid of paper sockets that attaches to each peg. There really isn’t a way you can mess up an installation and it removes any need to measure or calculate placement of your images. In my case I have plaster walls so I had to utilize a drill bit (that was provided) to prime the wall before I hammered in my pegs. I was warned about this during the configuration process online, but in my infinite wisdom ignored that warning when I tried my first install. I quickly found out that the pegs bend when hammered into an unprimed plaster wall. Lesson learned heed the warnings provided.
Ultimately the installation of my photo collage took 20 minutes. I was originally going to surprise my wife with a canvas wrap triptych of our son’s baby photos, but ditched the idea when I found out about Collagewall. While she was out on an errand I quickly installed the photos and had time to spare while I awaited her return.
Print Quality As easy as the configuration and installation was the bottom line as to whether I would ever use Collagewall again depended on the print quality. Having looked at ink jet prints until I’m blue in the face I was extremely pleased with the silver-halide prints that were part of the delivered package. Each photo is printed at a high-resolution of 320 dpi on Fuji Archival Paper and they look incredibly sharp. I expected the photos from my Canon 1Ds Mark III to look great, but I was blown away that even my iPhone 4 photos came out looking incredible. In the end print quality exceeded expectation.
Final Thoughts
As you’d imagine I am really happy with my Collagewall experience and I would certainly recommend using the service. Unfortunately its available only to those in the United States at the moment. My experience wasn’t perfect as the drill bits provided did not hold up well and broke easily. All-in-all that hardly impacted my experience negatively and I later learned that additional drill bits can be requested for free. Price seemed a little high when I placed my order, but after seeing the quality of the material and prints I think you get what you pay for. That being said I do hope the pricing comes down as I’d still like to get more bang for my buck. Ultimately I’d love to be able to present large prints in this fashion and not just be confined to photo collages.
There are few photographers who are as skilled with the written word as they are with a camera as friend, photographer and author Guy Tal. Guy’s latest eBook “Creative Landscape Photography” is a comprehensive and well-thought book that is perfect for intermediate and advanced photographers who are looking to hone their creative skills.
What is refreshing about “Creative Landscape Photography” is that it is not just instructional in its 86 pages of descriptive text, but in its consistent use of reader exercises. Guy consistently spurs the reader to take part in exercises provided with in each section of the book. These exercise are a great bridge to Guy’s popular Creative Landscape Photography workshop even if you’ve yet to attend one. Rather than passively absorb knowledge relayed in the book, the active participation that is prompted with each exercise helps reinforce the concepts discussed.
The best way to use your imagination is simply to not stand in its way.
What I found most compelling about Guy’s writing is that it is incredibly positive and supportive. The thought of being creative can be a menacing proposition to many, but Guy provides written mentorship that is invaluable. Exceptionally well organized, the book contains sections including the Creative Process, Concept, Visualization, Composition and Capture. Not only does each section include Guy’s inspiring photographs they include quotes from other inspirational thinkers. A book containing such a great balance of technical information and creative philosophy is a must for ones library.
“Ansel Adams In The National Parks” excels in that Andrea G. Stillman, the books’ editor, has pulled not just amazing photographs from the Adam’s archive, but also his writing & correspondence that breath life into an otherwise historical photo anthology. As one would expect viewing the artistic images and reproductions of his finely crafted prints is nothing less than inspirational. What separates this book from his others are the great anecdotes and quotes that bring Ansel Adams down from the pedestal so many of us keep him on to a mere human with family, everyday challenges and a variety of relationships spanning the average to celebrity. Especially fascinating was being able to read these anecdotes in relation to select images featured in the book adding an entirely new dimension to his photographs.
What I found most interesting as a landscape photographer was the inclusion of several image sets at the end of the book. These image sets reveal the seconds in relation to some of Ansel Adams most iconic photos. This provides a great opportunity to catch a glimpse of what Ansel Adams saw, photographed and selected as he reviewed his work.
Will every photograph in “Ansel Adams In The National Parks” be new or as high impact as Moon and Half Dome? No, but you will certainly see work that sheds light on a journey of life, art and creation. This book has made a great addition to my library and is one I’ll be viewing often.
A month ago quite a bit of buzz started to circulate with in the Twitter photography community about Easy Release (iTunes Link), a program that enables you to create model and property releases on your iPhone incorporating a digital signature of subjects and/or property owners. The potential immediately grabbed my attention and I approached the application publisher for a review copy. The review of the application was the easy part, but my background research on the acceptability of “digital signatures” in the form of an electronic touchscreen signature took much longer. Now that my research is complete here is the review…
Easy Release is just that… easy to configure, easy to use and easy to see its value. I give the team behind Easy Release a lot of credit as creating an application that is simple to use is quite a difficult task. The added perk to Easy Release is that it makes obtaining, logging and sending releases a very cool process. The out of the box thinking to obtain releases digitally is exactly the type of application I’ve been waiting for to maximize the business potential of my iPhone.
The Process (Ex. For a Model):
Click the “Plus” sign to create a new model or property release
Enter the “Shoot Name” and “Shoot Reference ID”
Enter Shoot location information “Shoot Country” and “Shoot Region/State”
Enter the Shoot Date
Enter the Model’s Name
Take a photo with your iPhone of your model
Enter the Model’s date of birth, gender and ethnicity.
Enter the Model’s address
Enter the Model’s Parent’s name if a minor
Enter the Model’s Email address and phone number
Enter the name of a Witness
Review the Release summary
Sign your signature (the photographer) with your finger on the screen
Let your Model review the agreement. They tap to agree.
Model signs the release using their finger on the screen.
Click to create a PDF of the signature and send it to your model & yourself via email
Fully written out the process seems long, but it takes only a few short minutes to complete.
Easy Release
Additional Features & Real-World Experience
The application allows you to customize your releases with a logo, specify a default language from 12 translations or add your own custom release text.
Of course it would be easy for me to just idly claim Easy Release is easy to use, but having tested this in the field I can attest that not one subject I asked to use the application had a problem or showed any confusion when reviewing the release or signing it. Logistically using Easy Release was much simpler than dealing with a paper release and fumbling for a pen. The convenience to email the release in PDF form to both the model and the photographer is also a huge time saver. Lastly and most importantly the biggest benefit was speeding up the process to obtain a signature.
Easy Release
What to Be Aware of…
The one weakness of Easy Release is that some stock agencies might not yet accept “digital signatures”. At the time I received my review copy of the application it was unclear to me if Getty accepted “digital signatures” in the form of an electronic touchscreen signature. Right off the bat I was able to confirm with Rasmus Rasmussen (@theprint) that iStock does not yet accept these type of “digital signatures” and prefers pen on paper signatures. I had to wait a few weeks to hear back officially from Getty as to whether “digital signatures” in this form were currently accepted. The response: “…the Getty legal team is reviewing this, but at this time digital signatures are not allowed on releases.” That being said the people behind the application are former Getty employees and are aware of this. If you’re outside of the Getty sphere and/or work independently then this is a non-issue.
Rating:
Easy Release is a solid application that is ultra intuitive to use. Not only did it live up to my expectations, it surpassed them. Whether you’re a semi-professional or full-time working pro photographer this is a must have application to have at your fingertips. For those that have been holding off on upgrading to an iPhone, this app alone might be reason enough to do so.
In no short order the iPad has been receiving a ton of hype since its release, but rather than get sucked into the hype echo chamber I postponed my review until I had sometime to use it. Now that 10 days have passed and I’ve used my iPad in almost every way conceivable here is my review.
iPad Impressions
The Apple iPad is a really slick device. It has a great feel to it. It’s balanced, fits well in your hands, is extremely well constructed and looks sharp. The software that powers it runs seamlessly and integrates into Apple’s solution suite perfectly. The application platform is a perfect extension of what has been in place for the iPhone for several years. I received my iPad via UPS and activating it online was a breeze. Apple did a great job in getting the glitches out of the activation process that plagued past iPhone launches. Application management is a breeze and the while the on screen keyboard takes some getting used to its quite usable. If you prefer a traditional keyboard you can still use one as long as its Bluetooth enabled.
My biggest complaints about the iPad are minor ones:
The name leaves something to be desired
The screen is easily marked up with fingerprints
If you have an iPhone headset it won’t work in the standard headphone jack of the iPad.
Complaint #1 sure the iSlate would have been a better choice, but we’re stuck with iPad so if you get one suck it up.
Complaint #2 fingerprints are to be expected as its a touchscreen device. The good news is the screen cleans up easily.
Complaint #3 Apple has used a couple headphone standards in past generation iPhones where the jack has three connections to accommodate a remote. I had hoped the latest standard would carry over to the iPad so I could use existing headphones. No such luck iPhone headphones don’t fit, won’t work and we’re back to using only a standard headphone jack.
It’s a computer that lacks multiple ports?
There is nothing you can’t do over WiFI that a port would provide you… after all it’s intended to be a mobile device not hooked up to a ton of wires.
What about it’s lack of Flash support?
Sorry friends at Adobe… it doesn’t matter. The faster you forget about one standard versus another the better off you’ll be. There is ample competition to provide Flash alternatives. Flash isn’t the only game in town, but I’ll admit falling back to a known standard is nice.
Recently I had an opportunity to spend some time using the Canon 800mm f/5.6 lens via BorrowLenses.com and had a blast capturing some nature and travel photos in the San Francisco bay area. Below is a video review of the lens with some example photos from my limited time with the lens. The review is not tech heavy and deals with the practical use of the lens. Overall the lens was a dream to use. I only wish the weather had cooperated a little more so that I could have photographed a wider variety of subjects with less atmospheric distortion. Bottom line I can’t wait to get my hands on this lens again.
Basic Tech Specs
Max Aperture: f/5.6
Min Aperture: f/32
Field of View: 3.1 degrees
Closest Focal Distance: 19.7 ft./6.0m
Weight: 9.9 lbs./4,500g
Diameter: 6.4in.
Length: 1.5 ft.
