Join The Revolution With Iphone Art

THE GOOD...When the iPhone was first introduced, it revolutionized how we record and document our lives. People are creating and sharing amazing images like never before, and taking iPhone pictures from happy snaps into the realm of art.

A recent advertisement from Apple states that more photographs are now taken with an iPhone than any other camera.

THE BAD...However, does this mean the end of art photographers such as you and me???
Now it's the turn of professional photographers to join the scrap heap. Photographers are getting destroyed by the rise of iPhones. Increasingly our audience/buyers don't need photographers or our art – they can do it themselves and get results that are good "enough" for them.

Just one more observation...
Most of us know that the iPhone has a crap lens. We can take a beautiful picture on the iPhone and blow it up for a print and it looks terrible.

But who needs prints in a paper-free world? Ah, there's the rub....The general public can upload their iPhone images onto their high resolution, brilliantly colored monitors and their images (even the not so good) look appealing.

Sigh, well this will not stop me from being a photographer/artist type. I am what I am and do what I must to retain my sanity (which is to take my Canon EOS 70D and my two main lenses: L 100-400 zoom, and a short zoom 18-55 (which gives great color and contrast).

.

I can't afford an iPhone yet....

Cell phones are the new polaroid cameras... so what?

HW...
So what? Check out the "art" that is being created by cell phones and iPads, etc. That's what! lol...These devices give us a new way to see and record the world around us.

From an article I recently read:
"If Cartier-Bresson was still taking photos today, he would ditch his Leica and be taking photos with an iPhone. At least, that is the view of Knox Bronson, a curator, composer and iPhoneographer who has been gathering a stunning gallery of iPhone photos on his site: P1XELS the art of the iPhone."

See, we get to call ourselves iPhoneographers now (and not photographers)...

iPhoneography, which Bronson characterizes as "an underground art form emerging from its infancy," was the subject of a real world exhibition, on view at the Orange County Center For Contemporary Art through April 28th.

I've viewed this show. Quite impressive (as I reach for my iPhone4s)...

There's lot's of excellent photography done on polaroid. :)

The what is that some things change and somethings stay the same. Cell phone cameras are getting better. Dslrs are getting better. Is a cellphone ever going to be as good as a dslr of the same vintage. Probably not.

I think we've had these same discussions in the past. Color was the end of black and white, etc.

The tools are important, but what's most important is the end result. If you get what you want from a cellphone great, if not you try something else.

I agree with Mike on this one.

The end result is the end of the journey. Sometimes it's the journey and not the end that is exciting. Aesthetically we all have very different interests, but we're all trying to explore something new, especially in terms of technology.

From candid snapshots to sleek ad campaigns and everywhere in between, mobile phone photography has advanced rapidly in a few short years.

Mobile photographers are much more prolific than average amateur "big camera" enthusiasts. They have their photographic brains switched on all the time, looking for possibilities. And the ubiquity of these cameras, combined with their unobtrusiveness, have made them particularly effective at capturing candid moments in public spaces.

I carry my iPhone all the time I am outside the house, and use my iPhone4s for candid images of people and even urban still life for that certain iPhone look.

Hockney started sending out his iphone drawings to his friends. its not just about photography ...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturevideo/artvideo/10408677/David-Hockney-unveils-his-iPad-art.html

now i need to get back to watching the nba draft ;)

Carolyn,
OMG...I forgot about the NBA draft. I am a huge Chi Bulls fan....

Sigh, wish I were so talented...
Artist...David Hockney, 76, started drawing on his iPhone with his thumb about five years ago, sending his works via email to dozens of friends at a time.
On Saturday, a sweeping new exhibit of Hockney's work, including about 150 iPad images, will open in the deYoung museum in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco.

I don't create my work for those who consider a cell phone snapshot to be "good enough for them". These people are not buying art anyway.

Robert, I just purchased my 1st iphone last month, I use it to capture photos of the sculptures I make, I'm working on the quality of those pictures. I have a link here to a short 1.5min video of my sculptures, the pictures were captured on my iphone and then I used my lap top to turn those pictures into the video.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10202483454116167&l=1978212753936735625

All of the pictures on my website are images taken with my iPhone. Now I would not consider myself a professional photographer by no means. I'm sure that probably shows in my pictures but it is a hobby that I very much enjoy. I have had some of my pictures blown up and printed and even with the iPhone I've still been able to produce some beautiful results. I actually work in a cell phone store and I once had a conversation with a man who was a photography professor. The whole reason why he came into the store was so he could get a phone to take pictures that he could share with his students. He even mentioned to me that certain newspapers were only allowing their photographers to work with iPhones. Working in the line of work that I do. I understand that technology can be a scary thing for some people but I try to tell my customers it's just another new experience. Something different to learn and we might as well be dead when we stop learning new things. Now I think people will still always pull out their trusty cameras. Some will use digital some prefer film but I think the iPhone should just be seen as another medium allowing one to express themselves. Really what's so bad about that???

On a side note I've also found that a lot of people are now becoming interested in lomography. Who would've thought that these cheap little toy plastic cameras would be considered anything of worth but the images they produce can be really quite amazing. I agree with hw kateley. In the end it's the results that matter not necessarily how you get there.

RF, i'm a conflicted Knicks fan with a love for the San Antonio Spurs because they are poetry.

Hockney has mastered pretty much every media there is to create his art. Do you remember his fax machine phase? and he ends up with those vast, vast canvases.

I have to admit that I enjoy taking photos with my Samsung galaxy s4 more than with my new Sony camera...I like being able to edit the images in the phone and share them instantly on Flickr or different sites..I especially enjoy playing around with the filters to enhance photos...

Some analyst of the movie industry thought the industry would be destroyed or adversely impacted by the DVD market. Then along cam Netflix and Cable TV with all the free and paid for view and not you view on demand. All of this was going to damage if not outright destroy the Hollywood movie industry as we knew it.

Those studios are making 100x more money today then they ever have!

What some see as a threat others see as opportunity.

thanks all of you for your many and interesting replies pro and con about iPhone "art."

Philip,
U R correct when you say most iPhone artists then use filters to enhance their "images."
I don't (too impatient) and really I like the results I get without the use of art filters. It's just a fun way to see in a different way.
http://www.iphoneart.com/

I agree Philip..Shooting with phone so much easier...more concentration on enjoying the moment..less concentration on the technical side of operating a complicated camera....I realize, that seasoned pro photographers have mastered the technical aspects of the camera and photographing and for them it is probably just as much fun if not more so...Just hope I can get to that place someday...and then have even more control of the outcome and results.

I don't believe iPhones take photographs; they take snap shots. People then put filters on them mostly to get around the lack of any technical expertise by the "camera." I used to get into debates with my news director at the last TV station i worked at about sending back Android photos for the web site out in the field. As a photographer, it irked the hell out of me. She was the boss though; I never had a "shot" at winning that argument.

Robert, here's some information on mobile photography:

The mobile photography group on FAA:

http://pixels.com/groups/mobile-photography.html?tab=overview

Th iPhone Photography Awards on the Flickr blog:

http://pixels.com/showmessages.php?messageid=1952456

From the viewers standpoint, it doesn't really matter what was used to create the image....you either like it or don't based on whatever criteria you use to judge a photo.

From the photographers perspective....the camera is a tool (one of many) used to get a a desired photographic result. I wouldn't use a sledgehammer to hammer in a small nail or a small hammer to hammer a railroad spike in the ground. The right tool for the right job.

What I've found with my iPhone.....it's fantastic for quick shots without the technical worries, well lit close ups, it's great for a quick internet post of the image and many others, the other pro...it's always with me! The negatives in my opinion.... Limited print size. Under the best of circumstances, I only feel comfortable posting in the 20-24 inch size...often less. The other issue I have had is with landscapes and distance shots, for me when under the 100% microscope! they just don't have the clarity I want....but overall! I feel is is a useful tool in my photography toolbelt

Here is an example of an iPhone photog project that impressed me....but it is as much about the photos artistic view of the subject as it is about the tool in my opinion. http://thattree.net

Just my thoughts,
Matt

Robert - found this article from a discussion on LinkedIn with the Fine Art Photography group:


"For Raed, an iPhone is just another medium for capturing a picture. He photographs with DSLR and film cameras but admits that the iPhone is certainly his favourite tool. “The thing about the iPhone is it lets you immediately see what you're taking a photo of and you're able to manipulate the focus and the exposure of the photo on-screen which other phones allow in a much more complicated way.”"

THE IPHONOGRAPHY CULT -- http://www.theweek.co.om/disCon.aspx?Cval=7673

Is use of a smart phone to take pictures photography?

Frank,
Once again thanks for your info to me. I can always depend on you and Philip S. to fill in my blank spots (of which there are many).

Whilst I don't think it's for me - take a look at this.

http://www.iphonephotoartist.com/