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| Threadbare |
Until fairly recently, almost all my casual photography would appear on Instagram, a site which historically, was designed as a photo sharing device. However, as the social media market changed and moved into video, so the site moved its focus towards the more sensationalist and narcissistic side of the user base and concentrated on video clips and featured content. The attraction for me had always been the discrete size and format of the image - generally a neat square of 1x 1 and most camera apps for the mobile phone were directed at this format. The option to add a frame in imitation of a Polaroid print or a Kodakchrome slide added to the illusion of an analogue product and I quite enjoyed the idea of creating images, which I felt, could function equally well as a small print.
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| Keys to the Kingdom |
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| Dry Season |
Using the phone and various apps, it was a simple process to take a shot, adjust it or edit it on the phone and have it online in a matter of seconds. Historically, I had grown up with Adobe Photoshop on a Mac, coming to it from the early version 2.5, which at the time did not even have the capability of Layers and would not see them for a good few years. Now I could perform much more effective and wide ranging effects on my phone.
However, the appeal of setting up a shot with the camera mounted on a tripod and an old 1960’s lens to look through, gave me a much greater sensation of control and eventually skill, as I managed to re-learn all the basics I had forgotten about photography, plus a good deal more besides.
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| La Luna |
After I decided to leave Instagram and it’s constant shovelling of trashy, uninteresting reels onto my account, apparently because I had ‘liked’ a photograph at some point, effectively burying my own photographs and any photographers work that I did legitimately follow; I looked for a more dedicated photography group where I could post my work and receive criticism and feedback, as so far I was charging along happily, heedless of restraint. The obvious choice appeared to be Flickr, but on closer inspection, even that had become victim of the Facebook craze and was subject to the whims of social media.
One site, Mobitog, purposefully set up to appeal to mobile photography aficionados, seemed to fit the bill. It was a discussion group based site, with rigid regulations regarding posting and commenting and featured some very fine work by several talented individuals. I joined the group and was very warmly encouraged to post my work and to enter the monthly competitions. It is a good group, with a small and dedicated membership, which changes from time to time, as members come and go. One of the mainstays for the group is the idea of a 365 Project, whereby a member takes a photo every day, for twelve months.
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| Raven |
I toyed with the idea for a while, as I generally took at least one photograph of something per day, with my phone, although there were periods when it was simply not practical or desirable to do so, if I was especially busy at work or feeling off colour or down. But ultimately, I decided after a few months of posting and encouragement, to pitch in and give it a go.
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| If we don’t sell it, you don’t need it |
Part of the problem for me was getting out of the mindset of taking a ‘good’ photograph, every day. Social media and the culture of acceptance and appreciation had coloured my judgement for so long, that it was difficult to go out with the intention of taking a photograph specifically to share with others. It took several weeks before I began to realise that I had to be entirely selfish and to please only myself, not some anonymous public, who may or may not give my work a virtual thumbs up. It was all about the rigour and the process of taking a photograph each day - if it happened that the shot was a good one, even better, but the important thing was to ensure I practised the act of shooting religiously.
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| Bunting |
It helped that when I started it was summer and there were plenty of photo opportunities, either by virtue of good weather or by being away myself. Either way, by about six months into the project, I had become so ingrained in the habit, I found I was taking more photographs than ever before, both on the mobile and on the mirror less platform. I would find myself unconsciously sizing up shots before I even had the camera out of my bag, or planning a shoot ahead of a visit or vacation.
As a result, my photographic practice has become an obsession, even over a year after I finished the 365 project, I still feel compelled to take a daily shot, just to keep the habit going.
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| On Reflection |
Luckily, one of my favourite photography apps, Hipstamatic, which allows a user to build virtual analogue style camera combinations of lens, film and flash; recently branched out and added a social media style sharing element for users, purely for shots taken in the app. Once more the square formal and the Polaroid style shot are at the forefront and daily shots are rewarded with special badges in a passport style section on the app.
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| No Waiting |
I am hoping to be able to curate some of my photography on this personal blog, even if only so I can track my own progress and enjoy the memories on a larger screen, rather than hiding them away in storage. Watch this space.
