Purpose-Less Photography… Why Should I Shoot?!

Its something that has taken over me for the past year or two… the question “what’s the point of photography?” For a very very long time, I didn’t have a dslr, not even a decent point-n-shoot. All that I was using was my phone, and the kind of shots I took (or the type of photography I did), were snapshots of mostly impromptu moments that unfolded themselves. Yeah, the ever growing popularity of mobile photography overtook me too, and the world of app tweaking had no limits. The original was nothing more than a reference point and the final image depended on the social site the image was to land on. Thus is the nature of mobile photography – for the most!

So all this time, I watched cameras and gadgets come and go, drooling over them and setting my mind to buying it, and when it’s successor came, feeling wise that I had waited (as if I was able to buy it anyways). This was mostly because I didn’t have the $$$ and let me tell you, it’s VERY frustrating… to want something that you end up seeing it in your dreams, and not able to have it. Well that all changed when I bought the OMD E-M1. I thought I would shoot like crazy, and rough my camera, but it just sits there. Yeah I did make use of it, but not like I had thought I would. I don’t know, I guess I’ve lost my push, my hunger to shoot! To be honest, I am baffled. I think of shooting landscapes, and then I think – WHY?!

I have lost purpose, I don’t have that drive I used to have. I don’t find a need to shoot anything! If I am given an assignment, I’ll jump on it, but shooting for myself, has no meaning to me anymore. It’s sad, and I just don’t know how to deal with it 😦

 

Android / iPhone & ART : What’s Your Take?!

People for a long time consumed themselves with the DSLR’s, the amphibious mirrorless world, moving on if possible to digital medium format backs, have started to find themselves settling with their cellphone images, for sharing purposes for starters. Creating in no way any less artistic photographs than they would, if they had used anything else. The most significant detail in this trend was that, these “photographers” were not professionals or in many cases photographers at all. They were the happy-go-lucky snappers that found their artistic vision aided, nevertheless, by photo-apps.

It was a definitely a collective effort and a mass creation of sorts, that made an impact in the artistic world, so much so that even cellphone manufacturers took note, and the megapixel war that had somewhat died in the camera world, now trickled down to your regular cellphones.

If someone said today that a photograph from a cellphone isn’t valid, original or praise-worthy, he would get looks he never would expect. The craze of shoving more and more technology into that little palm sized device holds no boundaries, and with every new and more, comes the want and expectation, not need, for more!

I remember, back in the days when phones were “phones” and not an tech-toolkit. The addition of a camera in a phone was popularized by Nokia with their early GSM models (can’t remember the exact model that really made the “camera” feature popular). Well, that was then and this is now – 41MP camera, HD display, no-need-to-touch control, voice over command, GPS… frankly a mini computer, if not more, in your palm. The mere sight of a photo appearing on the “colored” screen got everyone excited back then, and it’s no different now. People just grew to expect and want more and more – that is all.

PLATFORM WARS

The purpose of my post is not just to evaluate the growth of technology, I wanted to vent out my frustration about the 2 platforms that have pretty much monopolized the phone market (sorry Windows, you ain’t there yet :P) when it comes to photo-apps.

One might think it is the hardware that would make the most impact and not the app/software when it came to creating a strong photograph. I started with Android with the HTC Droid. Thought it had a big lens element, would def. capture better pics. Through the time, cameras and phones got way better and many apps added, some really good ones and some just to fill the void!

It was only recently that I really got interested in “mobile photography” and started giving it a serious look, esp. since upgraded my phone to the LG Optimus G with 13 MP. The choices of apps in the Android market were many now, but still the ones that were worth keeping and trying were the same old ones. Sadly, the best photo app in the Android market was PicPlz. Alas, that got taken down in 2012. The apps that got people all crazy into taking more pics were and still are with Apple, and only very recently a couple of them made it to the Android market. Instagram for a long time was Apple only, Hipstamatic was and still is with Apple, Vignette has recently shown some presence in Google Play. Android did it’s part, in a feeble and slow pace to overcome the lack of those particular apps, but we all know it didn’t cut it – by a long shot!

So, coming back to the main issue at hand, is it better off to bow down to Apple’s Al-Mighty app power and make-do with the hardware it provides OR buy a powerful hardware (it is important to mention here that Windows based phones are proving to be mighty contenders with the new line of Nokia phones released) and do as much as possible with whatever (app) is at hand?!

SOLUTION

It has been a very frustrating exercise deciding where to spill the cash for the next 2 yrs iPhone or Android… let alone the choice between service providers. iPhone had the apps & Android had the camera.

Laying in bed, dreaming of a phone that was a love-child of Android and Apple, a possible solution came to mind. Capture with the best hardware (aka an android phone) and manipulate it in iPad. Now, this might not seem like an on-the-go method, but it sure seems the only way now, and probably for some time.

Shoot with any phone and download it on your iPad and edit there using Apple only apps. Almost all the apps o Google Play are there on the iTunes.

I haven’t as yet tried this out, since I don’t have an iPad lol.. but I would be very interested in what you guys think! Come to think of it, it would be a good exercise to see how shots taken with regular cameras look and if these apps can handle files of that size.

 

PRIZED POSSESSIONS

Everyone has a prized collection that he for some reason cherishes like no other thing they possess. It can be a lifetime achievement trophy or a handful of sand from their homeland. At times it is just Faith that people have of what is utmost value to them and nothing of worldly possessions.

Fact of matter is, it’s actually never the price that determines the value of the object in the possession. Two things add value – it’s rarity and the sentiments attached to it. The rare and/or the more emotionally attached the person is, the more valuable it is. Rarity brings about a general value that his peers and fellow enthusiasts can appreciate. Sentiments is strictly personal for the owner.

I too have in my possession such an object, and it is both – rare and has personal emotions attached to it. It’s my Minolta Mirror magazine collection dating from 1976 ~ 1993 in mint condition. I have all the editions that Minolta printed except for the 1975. (If there’s anyone out there who has it, please let me know)

Looking at the photographs in these magazines that were all done on film, it gives a sense and a measure as to how much crappy shots are being taken with the advent of digital. I started with film back in ’88 and I still remember thinking twice, thrice… sometimes four times before pressing that shutter. When not shooting, I just held the camera to my eye and tried to see things through the viewfinder. It was like training my eye to see how the camera would see. To pre-visualize a scene and see how it might look if I actually shot it.

The richness of Kodachromes and Fujichromes among other films that photographers swear upon, can all be seen and appreciated through the beautifully printed photographs featured in the magazine. As someone said in a forum regarding the quality of print and paper of Minolta Mirror “It would cost a fortune to print such a magazine if someone were to attempt it now”. The only magazine that has “dared” to print with such quality has been LensWork. 

I for one, am very happy and grateful, that I’ve had the good fortune of owning such a collection. Ironically, it makes me really sad and breaks my heart when I am reminded that film is no longer a viable option in these fast-paced times. The discontinuation of a giant company like Kodak speaks volumes and is a sure tell-tale sign of the future of film.

It took a lot of work to scan the front and back covers of the 18 magazines and at same time being very careful not to “hurt” my precious!! The worst part is, when I was done scanning, I stumbled upon a website where all that had been done! Can’t say how frustrated I got, but it sure was a good exercise. 🙂

There are still a few MM’s floating around on Ebay… be sure to get your copy while it’s there. You’ll be happy you did!!

 

Another One In Blackness

A silhouette of a tree against the sky… taken with HTC Incredible using the Retro Camera app

 

The Road On Fire

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I am working on a project called “Road On Fire” It’s about abstract and surrealism, a play of light and darkness. where colors rule and set the mood of the viewer.

Shooting with my trusty Ricoh GX200 I am finding this really amusing and interesting how these patterns and “images” form. I hope you enjoy!

More to come.. hope you keep coming back!!

~ Dont forget to comment & link back!! 😉 ~

 

Cloud # 9

RICOH GX200

Shot in Afternoon….

 

Raddish Me Good !!

Ricoh GX200

 

The Leaf

I think I am in LOVE with my Ricoh GX 200 and it’s been about 10-12 days at the most. At first, when I started fumbling with it I was distraught with the noise and it’s speed… but now, I think I did a very good thing (with some compromise offcourse) selling off my Nikon D200 and getting the Ricoh GX200.

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