In The Spotlight: iPhoneography Part Two

MacTribe:: 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?

Hollingsworth: 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. The iPhone is a brilliant 8MP, jpeg capture device that is changing the photography landscape for the better! According to David Pogue (technology writer for the NY Times) at last check, there were over 6,500 photo apps in iTunes. Making the proposition of shooting, processing and sharing…easy, immediate and downright fun! On top of having a great capture device, like the iPhone 4, and thousands of affordable photo apps, we have shockingly robust sharing platforms like Flickr, Instagram and FaceBook. Combine all these together, in a big pot, and we have a true and remarkable eco-system for not just documenting but interpreting life’s magical, meaningful and memorable moments. A photograph is a photograph…no matter what tool you use. True. Success still and will always depend on image preplanning and proper technical execution. You can dumb down a DSLR shot in the same way you can genius up an iPhone shot. Image virtuosity, superiority and longevity will always live on and reign supreme. First in the heart and mind and hands of the creator.

MT: Is there a difference between what you shoot with your iPhone and what you shoot with your DSLR?

JH: Well I'm not abandoning my DSLR for my iPhone. I happily shoot with both. Since I always carry my iPhone with me, then, as you would guess, it’s both natural and normal for me to use the iPhone to capture everyday subjects, themes, concepts, emotions, throughout the day, as they pop in and out of my overcrowded brain. As a photographer, speaker and educator about iPhoneography, what I find more enthralling and tantalizing about this question is how the iPhone is challenging thinking about digital information, publication, and dissemination. Think about the ramifications for a minute. The iPhone is changing everything about what, how, why, when, how and where we shoot. Photography is no longer just a lofty, unattainable profession for a privileged few. IPhoneography has made ‘professional’ photography accessible, affordable, and even sensational for the every day man, woman and child. My 14 year old daughter Emma is a brilliant young budding iPhoneographer. We are witnessing a generation that could solely be shooting with an iPhone. The iPhone doesn’t do terribly well in low-light situations (4S may change this). Nor is it great, in my opinion, at capturing fast action subjects (like sports). And, of course until recently shooting with an iPhone, you didn't have the luxury of being able to use on-camera flash. But for everything else like: portraits, landscapes, scenics, travel, still lives, lifestyle, street photography, and journalism, I find it excellent and first rate . IPhoneography has brought photography to the masses. It has provided all of us with a compelling motivation and methodology to document life, advocate an opinion, evangelize our cause, detail life’s precious moments, have fun and celebrate the great wonder and beauty of our planet.

MT:: Do most iPhoneographers have day jobs? Also, why are pro photographers so reluctant to embrace this new technology?

JH: The majority of iPhoneographers, as I have seen, have day jobs. In other words, most are from the ranks of hobbyists, prosumers and consumers. As I mentioned earlier, they're all united by unbridled vision and passion to shoot, beautify and share their works of art with their respective tribes and groups. Lets not kid ourselves, many here in this space, would call themselves ‘amateurs’. But their work is far from ‘amateurish’. Quite the opposite. Much of the great work I am seeing in communities like iPhoneography, iPhoneogenic, Life In LoFi, iPhoneArt, Taken With iPhone on Flickr have outstanding artists – many of who humbly inspire my own journey in iPhoneography. To me, this is what is so cool about iPhoneography in general - anyone can do it! Anytime. Anywhere. This is becoming more evident through the photo streams we are seeing on social media sites like Flickr, FaceBook, Twitter and Instagram. More pro photographers are not what I would consider ‘early adopters’. So this migration to embrace the iPhone, as a capture and processing device, is understandably slow. That said, besides myself, there are a bunch of savvy and discerning pro photographers who have totally clutched, clasped and canoodled the iPhone with open mind, heart and arms.

Pro photographers like:
Tony Sweet
Dewitt Jones
Don Marcolina
Dan Burkholder
Teri Lou
Harry Sandler
Chase Jarvis

MT:: Is your mobile style of photography different than your DSLR style of photography?

JH: For my DSLR work, I’ve never really been a big Photoshop guy. As a matter of fact, most of my commercial retouching is done in India. And more often than not, includes the basics: dusting, adding contrast, adding saturation, light coloring, etc. My iPhone images, on the other hand, look a lot more ‘processed’ and ‘produced’. That’s primarily because there are so many cool and fun apps to play around with where I can really express, in pixel form, at my very fingertips, what I deeply see and feel. Let me make a point here. Apps shouldn’t define a photographer’s style. Your photographic vision is what, why and how you see the world. Your photographic style is the process of applying tactical expressions of art, design, composition, etc…to your vision. Apps can, and should, most definitely help any budding photographer develop a unique photographic, mobile style. But apps, in my opinion shouldn’t define that style. I have many photographic apps but I use less than a dozen on a regular basis. Not necessarily because the apps aren’t great, but because I have found the apps that best help me attain my vision and style. Since I’m shooting so many iPhone images these days, my DSLR work is now slowly being influenced, perhaps even guided, by my mobile efforts. I’m wanting to bring my DSLR portfolio shots into iPad and app away. I’m most attracted to iPhoneography that has a unique style, thumbprint, stamp, and vision that is consistent with that particular photographer’s body of work. One last piece of advice: commit to the photographic image. See if it will stand alone with minor tweaking before you go crazy and apply countless apps, layers and blends.

MT: What is the ‘secret ingredient’ to your iPhoneography?

JH: It's three decades of commercial shooting. I’m bringing and applying 30 years worth of lessons in exposure, focusing, light, posing, workflow, etc…to the iPhone experience. I think it would be fair to say here, that my true ‘secret ingredient’ is commitment:

Commitment to Device:
I’m committed to the iPhone and the IOS. I look at the limitations and liabilities of this device as an opportunity to create unique, unusual and long lasting work. It’s not a toy camera. It’s a real camera. And a real good one at that!

Commitment to Photography:
Great iPhoneography always starts with great photographs. Apps don’t make photos great (although I will say they can improve on inferior quality captures). If you love photography, then you can’t help but love the iPhone. Treat your iPhone like a camera and you’ll be surprised at the results.

Commitment to iPhoneography Experience:
Think of the popularity of iPhoneography like three tripod legs – shooting, processing and sharing. Commit to the whole experience, not just part of it.

I love taking pictures, I always have. But only up until recently did I enjoy processing and sharing those same shots. Now I’m jubilant about all three aspects of the iPhone experience.

MT: What is your favorite app, or combination of apps, and why?

JH: I don’t particularly like answering this question. Any more than I like answering questions about my favorite camera or lens. My teaching philosophy about photography is process, not product oriented. It’s strategic, not tactical. It’s an inward journey, not an outward journey. What may be brilliant for me, may be disastrous for you...or vice versa. You have to find your own path. True creativity lies in invention, not imitation. Having said this, in the sidebar, I have taken the liberty to list all my favorite apps (I’m embarrassed to tell you that I own over 100). The real magic in apping is not necessarily in the apps per se but in the creative capture process that happens long before apping. It’s still about what you see, not how you app. And while there are thousands of great photo apps on the market (available through iTunes), there is probably only around 100 that are particularly applicable and appropriate for those serious about iPhoneography (I hope to have this list for you in my new Tumblr blogsite). My go-to camera replacement app is Camera+ - which has robust feature sets for capture & editing. And works for most of the kind of subjects I shoot. There is a lot more to apping than ‘filtering’ a shot. As a photographer, what I am more interested in is apps that capitalize on the iPhone's feature set. And use the smartphone more like a ‘real camera’ (see sidebar for suggestions).

Read part 1 of this interview here: iPhoneography 1
Look for part 3 of our interview with Jack Hollingsworth coming up soon.