Hi, I’m Rachel… and I’m a Hipstaholic. It’s been 30 minutes since my last shot.
In my own personal experience with twelve-step programs, I can confidently say I’ve got step one covered here. However in this case I’m not interested in moving through it. In fact, I’d like to hang out for a while. It’s cozy in here.
A week ago when I was invited to Juxt, I could have written about any number of things. As timing would have it, the recent release of a certain D-Series camera inspired me to write my first blog (ever) as an introduction to me and my addiction; the Hipstamatic camera.
This past week I’ve been nothing less than giddy. The moment I learned those mad scientists at Hipstamatic would release a new and mysterious product, my pulse quickened and my eyes dilated. I’m pretty sure I tweeted, “I don’t know what it is or how much it costs, I must have it!” Well, my friends, I may just eat those words.
To illustrate my adoration of all things Hipsta, I’ll recount those first gleeful moments downloading, waiting impatiently…loading…installing…come ON already!! Opening the app to find what looked like the modern, sexier older sister of my Hipstamatic BFF, I was elated. I’m not ashamed to say: it was like early Christmas. What happened next surprised even me. I took care in exploring each new feature. Saving the best for last, I arrived at the camera selection screen. Select… select… I took a mental double-take. Wait… are you…? Ok, so… wait… really? You’re telling me I have to pay for every single roll of black and white film? What I’m seeing is that every photo I take is going to cost me? This is an outrage!!!
I need to be clear that it’s not my intention to bash the Hipstamatic team for their latest money making endeavor. In fact, quite the opposite is true. After all, these are the evil tech geniuses almost solely responsible for feeding my passion for photography until it overflowed into the IGverse. Where would I be without them? I do not begrudge them their profit margin. No, I will be giving the D-Series a 4.5 star review (most likely in greater detail on this very blog) and I assure you I will use it often, post photos as I always do and fall madly just as I did with my original Hipsta lover. What I’m getting at here and what I want to explore with you is that visceral reaction; the immediate and deep seeded rejection of being told I have to PAY to take photographs.
What has become of photography, my friends? Would Louis Daguerre be proud? Would he lower his gaze in disdain? Is it my right to take thousands of photos for free because technology says I can? Or is it my obligation to financially support the industries making it possible? I invite you to discuss the evolution of photography’s bloodline that brings us together here. Some part of me realized in that incredulous moment, how absurd my objection must be in the eyes of a traditional film photographer. My amorous relationship with photographs has grown in an age where a photograph can be captured at any time, in any place, on any whim. You’re talking to someone with 1,800+ photos in her camera roll alone, not to mention the thousands of others on hard drive. I sometimes feel like the spoiled only child receiving a brand new Mercedes for her sixteenth birthday.
As with many of my peers, I was drawn to photography and memory making from a very young age, but the price to indulge and excel was prohibitive for me as the experience level advanced. Fast forward ten years and moments in life can now be captured… relatively cost free from my PHONE of all things. This is a mind boggling concept when you look through the eyes of say, my grandparents. They were literally stunned silent when I showed them my iPhone photographs. It really is a wondrous device. Receiving my first iPhone as a gift* three years ago opened a world of options, admiration, beauty and new relationships that led me here today. I always felt I had a creative side. It took this little device to draw it out of me.
With that said, I find myself embroiled in this internal dialogue: Are mobile photographers artists? Is iPhoneography a genuine expression of skill and creativity? Are we simply riding the coattails of talented app designers? Have I deluded myself into thinking my photography is artwork because I have followers on Instagram? Where can I take this obsession of mine and how do I keep my integrity along the way? Shall I rise indignant when film photographer friends call me “phoney-ographer”? Of course I have my own opinions, and I’m happy to share. What I’m most interested in is exploring here and in future posts, a dialogue among peers. I want to hear how you think and feel about this and other questions of mobile photography as hobby, as therapy, as profession, as escape, as obsession, as art.
I’m very happy and honored to participate in this eclectic community and anxious to share this experience with you my new good friends. I’m jumping in, let’s go! Juxters… Cheers!
(*I married that guy, by the way. iPhone is a geek girl’s promise ring)
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Great post Rachel! As you know, I to am a Hipstaholic… What I like best about this is that the three photos that you included are all Hipstaroll shots. And, I might add, all three are superb.
Hey! Thanks for stopping by, Chuck! You’re awesome. I will definitely talk more Hipsta in future posts. Hope you’re having a great weekend so far…
Many interesting points and deep thoughts to talk through here Rachel.
We need hours for this
Make some coffee then 😉
Indeed, a subject I clearly have much to write about. Ha!
Of course I believe in iPhoneography as art and in the value of individual expression in unconventional forms. I also enjoy playing devil’s advocate. 😉 I enjoy a good old fashioned debate too.
Coffee’s on!
– r
Wonderful first blog Rachel!! Your photos with hipstamatic are amazing & it was so great to have a chance to read your story about it. I look forward to your next post!!
Kate, thank you so much!
Really appreciate the feedback. I was kindof freaked out about writing, need to get the feel for this blogging stuff.
agree with you. Hipstamatic is higly addictive. GREAT article.
Thanks so much, Nikos! It’s great to talk with other Hipsta lovers.
Great article Rachel. I think photography evolves like anything else and mobile photography in part of this evolution. I hate the snobbery that exists when it comes to recognising it as a legitimate form of imaging. Things change and you either greet about it or embrace it! As someone who trained with traditional film cameras of all kinds I’m delighted to be able to shot edit and post shots on the go, any time, any place. The founders of our art form would be very proud!
Hello, Scott! So happy you stopped by to read my post. It really means a lot. It’s refreshing to hear your comments from a film photographer’s perspective, especially one of your talent. Honestly, the only professional film photographers I know in Seattle do have that air of snobbery, but I don’t mind. It’s punk rock to annoy the old folks. 😉
I also like to think photography’s founders would approve, and probably be as stunned as my grandparents when they saw what their baby had grown up to be.
So the question remains… will you be paying for the D-Series disposable cameras? 😉
Cheers, my friend! xo-r
I’m not a typical Scotsman when it comes to spending cash so yes I probably will!
Ah! So that’s how you came up with the name! Greatest gift you received in years no doubt.
Yes, our whole iFamily thought we were so clever for choosing our screen names. My husband was the first to get iPhone and I subsequently began calling myself iWidow because he couldn’t put the thing down! I didn’t understand until he got iPhone for me, and then our kid started calling herself iOrphan. Haha! Of course she got our hand-me-down 3Gs, so everyone is happy now. It truly is one of the best gifts ever!
Thanks for stopping by, Marco!
Great post Rachel. Thank you for sharing your love of the Hipstamatic & your thoughts on what this all means… and for prompting discussion.
I began this little ride with Hipstamatic (ironically it appeared about a week after I’d bought both a Holga AND a Diana!), but admittedly have neglected it somewhat for a while. I am rediscovering it now (especially the b/w films) & plan on doing some shooting with it as the base for my abstracts.
Are we reliant upon apps for our art? Of course. Are they all we rely on? Not by a long shot. As apps become more versatile & option-filled, we need to determine how we like to use them, what our own style & approach are. These things form our identity just as they are formed within it. And they are what create the difference between pictures & art.
Perhaps there is some value in having to pay for shots taken. Perhaps it would cause us to more deeply consider our shots. Then again, for someone like me who often shoots quickly & may comp several shots into a final image, it might just be expensive! 😉
Very well said, Nick. I definitely foresee the shots I take with the D-Series being more focused and used in a much more thoughtful way. And I agree, that could be a very good thing.
I enjoy trying out new apps and seeing what they feel like. Sometimes they are great and it’s fun to experiment. In the end, there are 3-4 that I use consistently and have made a point to learn their nuances. I think that’s why my shots get better, not because I use a ton of apps. It really is about what you see, the tools you use and how well you use them.
Thanks again for the great comment.
Great post, Rachel!!!
Will I be paying for rolls of film from the D-series? YES!
$4.99 for 2300 shots is really not bad at all. It’s a money-making scheme and that can always be upsetting to the consumer but when I look at the bigger picture, I’ll gladly shelve out that money to the makers of an app that I use on a daily basis. More of a disappointment to me is that the only way to connect to users is through FB and also that the “free” cameras are low resolution while only the paid ones are high res. I still haven’t used it enough to decide on how I like the “cameras” per se.
Are mobile photographers artists? Yes. Is someone with a mobile phone that uses its camera to take pictures an artist? Not necessarily. After all, dslr, iPhone, film camera…. They are all just tools.
Anyway, looking forward to more posts. See you on IG!
Andre
Andre, thanks so much for your comment and for coming to read my post! I really, really appreciate it. Means a lot that my Instagram friends came out here to see me. And I also thank you for your very thoughtful evaluation. I agree that it is right to support the folks who gave us Hipstamatic, so I’m much less pissed about paying than I was a few days ago.
I just posted my review/opinion piece on the D-Series, so I feel a lot better about it all now. Turns out this blogging thing is very cathartic! Haha.
Thanks again, my friend!
Excellent first post, Rachel! I’d be happy to join in your 12 step program 😉
I love Hipstamatic as well and I agree with Andre in that I’m more bothered about it being shared through facebook than the cost of it. I think I’d use it wisely (when I do purchase it) and not go stir crazy like I would with the reg Hipsta cam.
We are creating art and are skilled in our own way. The beauty of it is that we continue to grow and these apps make it fun and allow us to get more creative. Also, being that the technology is progressing, it in turn will hopefully give us better results – as in better photo quality 🙂
Looking forward to the next read!
Thanks so much, B!
And yeah, the Facebook connection thing is wack. I just posted my review/opinion piece about it and I feel much better 😉 This blogging thing is great!
G’nite…
Joining the chorus with Andre & Bridgette, I was dismayed the other day when I was forced to reactivate my (happily) deactivated FB account in order to restore my Hipstamatic purchases. Now I fear that if I deactivate the account again (as I’d prefer to do) I’ll lose those purchases once more.
This is one thing that stopped me from using Hipstamatic for a time. I’m grinning & bearing it for now so I can re-explore this great tool, but I’m not happy about it.
Yes, definitely with you on that Nick. I think it’s pretty lame that they require the Facebook link. Still, we all did it didn’t we…
Oh, Zuckerberg…
I just posted my opinion piece about the D-Series. It felt good to get it out! Haha. Goodnight from Seattle!
Nice Gallery Rachel! 🙂 Nice to meet you!
Phil, thank you very much for stopping by! The pleasure is mine. Thank you for participating in Juxt, and for all your work to make Instagramers so fun and useful. Cheers!
Generally I don’t learn post on blogs, but I would like to say that this write-up very compelled me to check out and do it! Your writing taste has been surprised me. Thank you, very nice article.
Oh, thanks very much for the kind words! I appreciate it, Christopher.
Awh hipstamatic is the best!!! So happy to know someone else is obsessed
Indeed, I am. 🙂 Thanks for saying hello, Anna!