The iPhone Photo Revolution: Part 1

MacTribe: Last we heard you were migrating your photography business from commercial Stock Photography to Social Media. Now it's clear you have an iPhone Photography obsession. Is there a connection?

Hollingsworth: Yes indeed. There is a definite connection. All working photographers today, young or old, newbie or veteran, are seeing the emergence and convergence of three market forces: local - mobile - social. Each of these paradigm shifts will greatly influence how a photographer survives and thrives in this marketplace. My migration into Social Media was well chronicled right here, in MacTribe. What hasn't been so heralded or public is my slow but steady infatuation with iPhone Photography (or 'iPhoneography' as it is more popularly referred to). I jumped feet first into Social Media. Now I'm learning the mobile space with the exact same ferocity and velocity. The next part of applying this trifecta to my photography business will be integrating both social and mobile into a working, measurable local strategy. Like every new project I tackle, I do it at 150%. No middle ground. No compromises. Total commitment to exploring and exploiting the iPhone 4’s mind-numbing greatness. Is there really any other way to learn what is possible? So far, so good. The beginnings of my journey have netted me nothing short of wonder, surprise and sheer amazement. The iPhone is a game-changing smartphone and camera device. IPhoneography is a game-changing process. My connection to both is deep and, most likely, long lasting. I am absolutely thrilled to be talking to you here about this mobile shakedown!

MT: I like how you refer to your migration into mobile as an ‘infatuation’. Tell us more.

JH: It’s really more like an obsession than an infatuation. But regardless, I’m hooked! I have never, in my 30-year photography career, been infatuated with any piece of equipment. Never. Until I put the revolutionary iPhone 4 in my hand. Wow. I’m in love! And how can you not be with the iPhones great color, great saturation, good dynamic range, a decent LED flash, more than big enough files for online sharing and offline printing. The list goes on.

I will admit, there could very well be a higher pixel count smartphone on the market with more features than the iPhone. But there is, without a doubt, no greater operating system (for photographers) than the powerful, robust and dominant IOS.

Yes, I am an IOS fan boy and an iPhone fan boy too for good reasons. It’s the very best solution for mobile photographers. I just can’t help being child-like and giddy over my new ‘discovery’. I don’t hear many, if any, Android or Blackberry enthusiasts much and gush over their devices like I hear and see with iPhone aficionados. Enough said. iPhone photography is the new ‘everyman’s’ photography. From studio to street. Camera bag to pocket. Occasional use to everyday use. Today - this period in history - while commercially challenging, has got to be the most exciting time ever to be a working photographer. We have the power in our palm, to wonderfully capture life’s faces, places and spaces. Beautify and embellish those experiences through over 6500 photo apps in iTunes. And then, even greater, instantaneously share those creations with a global fan base of friends, family and followers. Talk about a cultural zeitgeist!! This is it. This is our time. We are in the middle of a mobile art revolution like we have never seen before.

MT: What do you mean by a ‘mobile art revolution’?

JH: I mean just that. IPhoneography is really only a subset of a greater ‘sea change’ in how we, as a society, look, appraise, value art in general. Especially photographic art. Today’s mobile art revolutionaries are not just photographers. But designers, illustrators, blenders, storytellers, compositors. Coming together, all over the world, in many shapes and sizes, and creating, via smart camera phones, mobile art that is highly personal, inventive, and expressive. My new mobile friends and running mates are names you probably have never heard of. But their vision, passion, style is equal to some of the most brilliant names of our time…really and truly. This is, again, our time. Mobile Art is here and now. And the iPhone 4 is front and center of this metamorphosis and transformation. Due (in large part) to iPhone activists and forerunners, photography is no longer the exclusive right of gallery walls and prestigious printed pages. The new photographic art, personal and commercial, is seen on mobile phones, tablets, and computer screens – worldwide – at the simple push of a button! I’ve always relished the notion of being a revolutionary. It’s suits me. And it suits the millions of other iPhoneographers who show an equal fanaticism about this product and process.

MT: This term ‘iPhoneography’, as you call it, seems to refer to a mobile photography movement built around a device. Will this movement have longevity?

JH: Absolutely but let’s back up a bit and put the answer to this question in context. Glyn Evans, publisher and editor of iPhoneography.com , seems to have coined the phrase a few years back. And it stuck. I like it. As do the majority of iPhone-shooting zealots I run with who pledge allegiance to its flag. There is also lots of historical precedence for building a grass roots movement around a capture device. Think Polaroid, Pinhole, 4x5 View Camera, Toy Camera, Lomography, etc. All these genres, in photography, were built on the backs of fanatical users. They were also built around specific hardware. The iPhone 4 is such a device to easily build a movement around. Don’t misunderstand what I’m saying. iPhones don’t take pictures. Creative people do. And while the mechanics of shooting with an iPhone are dead simple, the mastery and artistry of lighting, composition, design, exposure, storytelling…is not so simple. Which is exactly why I feel that the iPhone is a game-changing device for photographers who already have the skill set, experience and aptitude to take iPhoneography to the next level. What makes this iPhoneography movement so fanatical and radical is that it’s still in its infancy and still un-commercialized. It’s also fueled and energized by iPhone devotees all over the world that are strangely but happily connected by a collaborative vision of creating, beautifying and sharing iPhone images with each other. Now that is unique, beautiful and very, very special.

MT: Can you help paint a clearer picture of iPhone penetration and adoption among photographers?

JH: Sure. Let’s start with the big picture. There are roughly 7 billion people on this planet. We also know, from telecommunication analysts, that there are currently over 5 billion active mobile subscriptions. That roughly translates into about 70% of the globe having cell connection and service. Nielsen released a report recently, saying that 37% of mobile users have smartphones. No matter how you slice and dice these daunting numbers, it’s pretty safe to say that smartphones, especially those with camera features, are having a tremendous impact on how global citizens are capturing, filtering, and sharing their mobile pictures. No one knows exactly how many pro and emerging pros have purchased and assimilated iPhone and iPad devices into their photographic workflow, but I am assuming that number is pretty small. Remember, we are only at the very beginning stages of this swing shift to mobile production, dissemination and distribution. Ask me in another 12 months and I bet the landscape looks radically and completely different than it does now. Today, mostly pioneers and frontiersman are doing all the trailblazing and heavy lifting. Tomorrow, iPhoneography will be as common as DSLR photography today.

JH: Would it be fair to say that your love affair with iPhoneography has as much to do with post-processing and sharing your images as it does with capturing them?

MT: Bingo! You hit the nail right on the head. IPhoneography is popular, in large part, to the seamless coming together of three factors – shooting, processing and sharing. None of these iPhoneography influences exist in a vacuum. They work together in tandem. Like a bicycle built for two (or three). The real honest-to-goodness magic and momentum, for this grass-roots movement, is the ability to shoot, process and share your images, right from your phone. With an eager-to-support fan base.

PART TWO
Read part 2 of this interview here: IPhoneography 2