by Grryo Community | Aug 31, 2012 | Featured Articles, The Temples
Kewiki’s Introduction
Josh Johnson, known in the Instagram world as @joshjohnson, is one of the first Instagrammers I followed and is most likely responsible for my impending addiction to the app. Instagram was in its infancy and Josh was one of the only Instagrammers hosting daily photo challenges. It was a great way for me to be able to stretch my creativity, connect with others and get involved in the community. Over the years, Josh and I have gotten a chance to know each other offline. Josh is crazy busy these days, but was willing to take some time with me to do a quick interview.
K: Kewiki JJ: Josh Johnson
K: So, tell us in a couple sentences who Josh Johnson is, what you do, etc.
JJ: I’m a professional photographer who found Instagram and has had a hard time picking up my Canon ever since. Once I experienced snap, edit and share, it was hard to go back to all the work that’s required with photography as I use to know it. For me, if creativity was the drug, IG was an intravenous injection. Instant buzz.
K: How long have you been on Instagram?
JJ: Almost two years
K: What are some of the biggest changes you’ve seen on Instagram since you started?
JJ: I think the popular page, now known as explore, is the most obvious. When we started in this community I think it took everyone by surprise the quality of photography that people were sharing. As more and more people have come on the app, it is obvious that the general culture is less about the artistic side of photography.
K: What would you say are the biggest improvements and biggest downfalls of Instagram’s growth since you started?
JJ: I’m not sure I want to judge it that way actually. I think it will surprise some people to hear me say this but, Instagram is what Instagram is. It’s a place to post pictures. There are no rules so I don’t think I would say it’s going in the right way or the wrong way. It’s growing and changing. Sometimes you’ve just got to go with the flow.
K: Rumor has it, you’ve got a big project going on! What can you tell us about it?
JJ: Rumor is right. We’re developing an app that will be an open community featuring the very best Instagram posts.
K: What was the driving force behind your project?
JJ: I see a problem and I think, “I’m in a good position to fix it. How do you find Instagram’s best images? How do you get your images seen by the Instagram community?” I’ve been featuring some of the best images on the #jj tag for almost two years now. With over 11 million submissions it’s one of Instagram’s most active communities.
K: What other Instagrammers are currently involved and what are they doing to help make the project successful?
JJ: I’m working with Kevin Kuster @kevinkuster and Emily Gomez @ohemg87. Kevin is our staff editor and was the first paid employee of the app. Emily is my assistant.
K: How can others find out about the details of the project and/or get involved?
JJ: Check out the Q&A we’ve created on the @our_new_app account and stay tuned for details on the Kickstarter campaign coming soon. Also, you can join the community by following me @JoshJohnson and participating in the daily forums.
K: What are 5 tips you can give for new folks on Instagram?
“Josh’s 5 Tips”
- Post only your best work. Your feed has very little time to make a positive impression. It’s about quality not quantity. And don’t forget, personality, not just pictures. We want to know what makes you, you.
- Give thoughtful comments. Letting someone know you like their picture is great. Telling them why gets their attention. Always address people by name if you can.
- Befriend the new kids. Visit the followers list of a suggested user. The people with very few posts are new. They’d love to have someone show them around.
- Relevant hashtags are your friend. Use them. And don’t just tag, also be sure to search tags you are interested in as well. You’ll find people that have common interests. Also, geo-tag your shots when you are in public places. Click on the geo-tag above your picture and you will find Instagrammers who are local to your area.
- Ask questions. It’s a great way to start a conversation. You’ll find people are eager to talk to you about their pictures.
K: Any final thoughts you’d like to leave us with?
JJ: Have fun. You will come to realize that the best part of Instagram is not the numbers. You’ll find that you keep coming back to IG because of the friendships you make with people who share your love for taking pictures.
K: Thanks Josh for taking the time to do this interview! Sounds like this new app will be very exciting and we wish you the best of luck!
Josh’s favorite Instagram shots
by Grryo Community | Aug 9, 2012 | The Temples
Let’s start out by defining what a “Bot” is. A “bot” is a computer that runs automatically and executes certain commands. These bots are typically related to some sort of SPAM.
Okay, now that we have that out of the way, let’s get into the purpose of this blog post. Most of us that have been on some sort of social network have been the victims of bots. For example, if you’ve been on Twitter for any length of time, you’ve been followed by some random half-naked teenage girl who wants to date you or some financial company who will get you out of debt. You’ll also notice they follow a lot of random people and their tweets are all reposts of some other feed.
Well the problem has recently worked it’s way onto Instagram. Instagram’s API is pretty heavily protected when it comes to having the ability to post directly to the app. The only app that has been approved to do so is Hipstamatic. But somehow these bots are doing something that isn’t typical of the normal spammer on Instagram.
If you are on Instagram, you’ve dealt with the typical spammer accounts who either post pics from Google or WeHeartIt. They’re also notorious for taking screen captures of your photos and reposting them as their own. But, this is where things begin to differentiate. These spammers are NOT bots. Even though they lack creativity, there is a human behind the account.
The bots that have attacked Instagram have somehow hacked into the Instagram API and are not only creating fake accounts, but they are also reposting entire posts. This isn’t just a screen capture either. The bots are reposting photos and the captions word for word. There is no human behind these accounts either. They seem to follow the same accounts and are followed by the same accounts. Additionally, they don’t comment on their photos or even reply to you when you tell them they’ve stolen your photos.
So what’s the point of these bots attacking Instagram? It’s actually quite simple. Obviously, since Instagram spread out into the Android world, the quantity of followers has grown significantly. It has become harder for people to get noticed and therefore it’s harder to get followers and likes on your photos. So how do you increase your numbers? You buy them. At least that is the service that some companies are offering. Some companies, which I won’t name since I don’t want to endorse this practice, are selling followers and likes for a “small” fee. For example, you can pay $50 and get around 100 guaranteed followers and likes. For around $1,800 you can buy 20,000 followers and likes. But who are these followers? If you guessed they are bot accounts, then you’re correct.
In my opinion, this is one of THE worst things to happen to Instagram. The whole point of Instagram is community and appreciation of each others’ work. With practices like these, it will only be too long until “the next best thing” comes around and we all say, “Remember when Instagram was cool?”
Let me be the first to say, this isn’t Instagram’s fault. They really can’t do too much about it unless users help report and block these bot accounts. I’ve put together an extensive list of tips to help users ward off these attacks. You can find them at my Instagram account under the tag #kewiki_saynotobots or you can view online here: http://statigr.am/viewer.php#/tag/kewiki_saynotobots/.
As a community we have some responsibility to protect the integrity of the app. With the proper practices in place, we will hopefully be able to stop the bots and get back to enjoying creativity.
– Kewiki
by Grryo Community | Jul 26, 2012 | Reviews, The Temples
Well MacPhun is at it again. They’ve taken an app and made it even better than before. The app I’m talking about is what is now called “ColorStrokes”. This is a spot color app on steroids. Yes, I have done a previous review on the existing features, but what I wanted to highlight are what really sets it apart from the “other” guys.
Let’s look at why it’s called ColorStrokes. Just like a painter paints strokes of color on a canvas, you can now color your photos to whatever color you want. You can take color or black and white photos and select from the color palette tool any of the preset colors to begin painting your photo.
As an added bonus, they’ve included an eye drop tool that lets you create your own colors to paint with! This is something I haven’t really seen in other spot color apps and definitely makes it worth the $0.99. (Limited time price. Normally $1.99)
Another thing that I have to mention that has really set MacPhun apart from other app developers is their loyalty to their fans. Did MacPhun come up with the name “ColorStrokes”? No! This name was selected from thousands of user-submitted names. This is a brand new concept and one that other developers should pick up on.
The other really amazing thing MacPhun has done is the creation of their “fan club” for the ColorStrokes app. It’s still early on in development, but MacPhun is in the process of recruiting what they are calling “Lemon Headz“. This apparently is a club for the fans where you can get free Mac-based apps, news on upcoming apps and inside info on contests and other opportunities to win prizes.
Summary:
ColorStrokes is definitely a great app to check out if you don’t have it already. But besides all that, I applaud them for not just trying to sell apps, but for also doing such a great job at creating community on Instagram (@colorsplashrocks), Facebook, Twitter and other social avenues. Make sure you check out their feed or visit www.macphun.com for more info.
by Grryo Community | Jul 18, 2012 | The Temples
“Finders Keepers through Photography”
I’m excited! As I was walking back to work after lunch, I noticed this wall in the alley had paint on it. After shooting it and editing, I realized that it had been painted over several times through the years. An advertisement for “Owl Cigars”, “Mail Pouch Tobacco” and a pharmacy.
Seeing these old ads made me dig a little deeper. Apparently the Owl Cigar ads go all the way back to the 1920’s. Mail Pouch Tobacco could have been all the way back to the early 1900’s.
This brings me to my open mic question of the week.
“What have you found after shooting and editing? It’s like a treasure hunt isn’t it?”
Happy shooting!
#kewiki_mic @wearejuxt
by Grryo Community | Jul 6, 2012 | Reviews, The Temples
Like all good mobile photographers, you probably have multiple folders of apps on your phone. Every once in a while, it’s fun to use one that you haven’t used in a long time. For me the app is Perfect Photo for the iPhone.
Perfect Photo is not your typical photo app. Although there are a few filters included, the good stuff is really the different tools they provide to touch up your photos. Below is a list of the features available:
- Crop,
- Rotate/flip,
- Alignment,
- Brightness/contrast,
- Gamma,
- Exposure,
- Shadows,
- Highlights,
- Levels,
- Hue/saturation/lightness,
- Color balance,
- Color temperature,
- Sharpen,
- Denoise,
- Red eye reduction, and
- Spot healing.
The two features I think are the best are denoise and spot healing. Denoise is extremely helpful for those extra grainy photos. It also will help save your night shot that you may have had to brighten due to under exposure. The Spot Healing tool is also extremely helpful when editing those portrait shots that may have a blemish or two that need to be removed.
You may find some of these features in other apps, but what makes this app so nice is the ease of use and simple interface. Complex edits can be made by the most novice of mobile photographers. This app is perfect for cleaning up portraits, enhancing macro photos and saving those photos you think you may have lost.
Definitely check out Perfect Photo!
You will love it!
– Kewiki
