2011 is about to come to a close, and there’s no question this was THE year for mobile photography! So much happened, that to write about it ALL would take multiple blog posts and probably extend this column well into 2012. So instead, I’m just going to touch upon the highlights, and give some of my own thoughts and opinions on what occurred in one big post:

INSTAGRAM EXPLODES!

While the popular photo sharing app actually debuted in October of 2010, Instagram really blew up to epic proportions in 2011 — and was featured in countless media outlets around the world, including The New York Times. The app proved to be so popular, that it dramatically changed how many already well-known mobile photographers chose to share their photos to the world…both for the good AND the bad.

The best thing about Instagram is just how EASY it is to use. It makes sharing photos FUN again, and has also opened up a whole new world to people who have never shot photos on an iPhone before. The worst thing about Instagram is, well…just how EASY it is to use — which means everyone in the world seems to be joining it. The rapid growth this year not only caused some growing pains in terms of expansion (the app would often have “down times” — which thankfully has become less of an issue of late), but it also brought complaints of an onslaught of “average” to “awful” pics. Images of food, pets, and awkward teenagers inappropriately trying to look sexy seemed to dominate the app’s “Popular” page. Most users seemed more concerned about getting more likes and followers than actually uploading anything of quality.

To be fair, the makers of IG never once made claims of Instagram being for SERIOUS photographers only, but the app’s early adopters still hoped that it would replace Flickr and other sites as the premiere destination for the ever-growing field of iPhoneography. And yet, as moments like “Biebergate” began to be more common (teen idol Justin Bieber tweeted a pic from his Instagram account which literally brought a flood of new users to the app and overloaded their servers), the frustrations with IG among more “serious” photographers grew. 

Things came to a head earlier this year when a Spanish TV station was reporting on the traveling EyePhoneography exhibit in various cities in Spain. The mobile photographers involved had been taking photos with their iPhone long before Instagram was around. But when the station’s sloppy reporting implied that the photographers had been “squeezing the best of Instagram filters and the app,” it caused an uproar — and sparked a growing concern among iPhoneographers that IG was becoming the center for ALL things related to mobile photography. And as the medium was getting more popular than ever, media sources kept contributing the success to Instagram, which irked many.

A few known mobile photographers have decided either not to use Instagram, or only on a limited basis. I, for one, have used it almost exclusively for sharing my photos this year — which was more laziness on my part than a full endorsement of the app. (However, I recently asked the IG team if I could be taken off their “suggested user” list in order to make the app more manageable for me again). Most mobile photographers (and even some “traditional” ones) have embraced the app, and find that they are reaching their biggest audience yet — but… is it really the audience they WANT for their photos?

One thing’s for certain: With the possibility of IG going to Android phones in 2012, it just means the audience will get even BIGGER. That could be a good thing, or a bad thing, depending on your perspective…

EYE’EM 2.0

Before Instagram, Berlin-based EYE’EM was at the forefront of mobile image sharing. After delivering a few successful gallery shows in various cities (including one in New York, which featured a few of my photos among the dozens of amazing images), EYE’EM looked poised to become bigger than ever — especially with the promise of a new version of their mobile app on the way. But then…they remained quiet for most of 2011 — while some app named Instagram showed up and stole their thunder. By the time EYE’EM got around to re-launching their app in August this year, they almost seemed like an IG copycat, which was…unfortunate. The new app had some technically cool innovations like “live” previews of filters (if that’s your thing) and “automatic tagging” — but some felt it was the wrong direction to take, and made EYE’EM less “serious.” Many hoped that the app would veer away from becoming too much like IG (at this point, with IG having a 10-month head start, they just couldn’t compete), and instead they should have really set themselves apart as a more unique entity…

The first week of December brought a 2.0 update to EYE’EM with many improvements, and a slow and steady increase in new members. And while the number of users is nowhere close to the 12 million+ that IG seems to have, the overall quality of photos uploaded there still seems to be a little better. Despite the unnecessary app additions, EYE’EM users are at least TRYING to share more interesting stuff there, rather than just what they ate for breakfast (though you’ll see that there too). It’s quite possible that if more and more “serious” photographers become disenchanted with the quality of pics on Instagram, they might start flocking to alternatives like the EYE’EM app (which unlike IG, also has an Android version). And if the guys in Berlin are smart (and having met them, I KNOW that they are — passionate about mobile photography too, which I admire), then they’ll have to focus future versions of the app around sharing the BEST images out there, rather than just trying to capture Instagram’s success.

APPLE FINALLY ACKNOWLEDGES “US”

For the longest time, Apple Inc. — whose iPhone device is clearly dominating the mobile photography scene — seemed to be ignoring the exploding iPhoneography community that had started as early as 2008 with the introduction of the iOS App Store. 

But things began to change in late 2010. Pixels at an Exhibition did a series of Apple Store presentations in places like New York, Chicago and L.A. — and while those shows received mixed reviews, people at Apple saw great potential in iPhoneography and how it could drastically change the way we capture images. So in 2011, Apple began inviting more individual photographers and groups to talk about this exciting new approach to photography in their Apple retail stores around the world.

New York definitely had the largest number of presentations, beginning in February with Sion Fullana’s talk at the SoHo Apple store to a packed, standing-room audience that listened to him discuss his approach to shooting photos, what apps he used, and how he’s actually making a career out of shooting with an iPhone. More presentations followed later in the year, with Allan Hoffman in April (author of “Create Great iPhone Photos”), myself in June (where I was interviewed by Fullana and did a live example of some processing), as well as individual events from visiting photographers Greg Schmigel and Jim Darling (both from Washington D.C., and co-members of the Mobile Photo Group with Fullana and I), and portrait photographer David Graham. 

Apple Stores around the world also presented exhibitions with multiple iPhoneographers in cities like Zurich, Sydney and London. These events were like a big stamp of approval from Apple, and gives me hope that they’ll keep iPhoneographers in mind with future versions of their phone and iOS. (Any improvements are welcome — as long as they always keep it a very simple, point-and-shoot camera)

GALLERY SHOWINGS GALORE!

Apple Stores weren’t the only places displaying iPhone images! While gallery exhibitions dedicated to strictly mobile photography certainly didn’t START in 2011, there might have been more this year than all other years combined. Just a small sampling of the exhibits this year included three shows at the annual “Atlanta Celebrates Photography” festival (the Eric DeFino-curated “#iPhoneography” show, an exhibit featuring the contributors of Stephanie Robert’s “The Art of iPhoneography” book, and “365 [A Photo a Day]” by John Enslow), my own solo show “All These Little Stories” at the Haus of Hipstamatic in San Francisco, the “My World Shared” exhibit in London, FX Photo Studio’s “International iPhoneography Show” in NYC, Aik Beng Chia’s second solo show “SWIPE(D) - Stolen Moments From The Streets Of Singapore,” and many, many more shows featured in New York and London, as well as places like San Juan, Seattle, Denver, Salzburg, Johannesburg, and Ankara. And probably a dozen other cities I don’t know about because there were just so many!!

Unfortunately a new trend popped up this year that seems to be gaining popularity…that of the “digital” gallery. Many exhibition spaces showing these works have numerous screens instead of actual framed print-outs. I’m of a mixed opinion about these myself, however. I don’t necessarily have a problem with actually showing these works on screens themselves — after all, they were created on digital devices and are usually either viewed on other devices or people’s computers. My concern is more about HOW these images are chosen to be presented…

First, these screens are at a “fixed” ratio — so the resulting images, depending on their own ratios, are often either cropped to fit the whole screen (which is quite unfortunate), OR, they are letter-boxed within so that the full image is shown with black borders around (much better…but still not perfect). Second — and perhaps the most harmful decision that digital gallery curators seem to make — is the decision to bundle more photographers and/or images than there are actual screens. So basically multiple photos are cycled through on a single screen — which often means not having enough time to truly sit and appreciate a work before it goes to the next one, or having some images overlooked altogether. Who really wants to sit and wait on one screen while it rotates through all the pictures?

Call me old-fashioned, but I love the idea of printing out images taken on an iPhone. I know digital is the future, and it’s inevitable that more and more of these types of galleries will pop up — but there’s just nothing like seeing a photo in print. 

That said, if digital galleries MUST be used, I would hope that curators would be more respectful of the images being presented. If they HAD to present more than one image on a screen, than at least make them all of the SAME photographer. Also, it’d be wise to invest in better technology — like an iPhone-like touchscreen so that viewers can swipe through photos at their own pace. 

THE BEST CAMERA PHONE YET!

There’s no question that a new version of the iPhone dominated many people’s discussion throughout the year. “iPhone 5” was one of the most searched Google terms in 2011, and the fact that a new phone was pushed back beyond its usual Summer-release timeframe meant anticipation for a new device reached a fever pitch. When Apple finally debuted their new phone in early October, many people were disappointed to discover it wasn’t a “5,” but rather a “4S.” Mobile photographers, however, had a LOT to rejoice about — not only did the megapixel count jump from 5 to 8, but it had an improved custom lens with a larger f/2.4 aperture that captured low-light conditions much better, and it was just faster all around.

The new phone with improved camera wasn’t the only thing Apple gave mophos this year. They also added many features to their 5.0 iOS update that truly benefitted photographers. Some of these — like native cropping, rotating, enhancement, red-eye removal and other editing solutions — were already familiar to many of us through 3rd-party apps. But other improvements proved to be quite valuable, including the ability to use the “volume up” button on the phone or headset to take pics, the quick shortcut to the Camera app on the lock screen (accessible by double-clicking the home button), and the “Photo Stream” feature on iCloud that insured your photos would always be safe somewhere.

I haven’t gotten a 4S myself yet, but I’m terribly jealous of all of you that have it!

THE WORLD’S FIRST MOBILE PHOTOGRAPHY CONFERENCE

It was bound to happen! Whenever there’s a growing community focused around one thing, there’s always a convention that pops up to bring these like-minded people together.  The 1197 conference (named after June 11, 1997 — the day the first camera phone photo was taken) was conceived by Nate Bolt & Jessica Zollman, who teamed up with Blurb to put together a one-day event in San Francisco. I won’t go into too much detail, as the MoPho blog already discussed attending it here.

While the conference was moderately attended (290 people showed up in person, 61 remotely), it was deemed a success — and as Koci Hernandez hinted in my interview with him, there’s bound to be more such conferences in the future. I, for one, can’t wait!

MOBILE PHOTOGRAPHERS…UNITE!

This was definitely the year for mobile photography “super groups” to assemble and join forces. Although the first major one that popped up in July — The Mobile Photo Group, of which I am a founding member — is not actually a group, but more of a “cooperative.” That’s an important distinction…and one that’s apparently caused some confusion to many. Yeah, yeah, yeah…I know what you’re thinking. Perhaps we should have called ourselves “The Mobile Photo Cooperative” instead — but that doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue…

The idea behind MPG was not to be “yet another” place for anyone who shot with a mobile device to share photos. It wasn’t an EYE’EM, or a Flickr Group, or even a certain secret group on Facebook. It wasn’t meant to be open to everyone, but it’s not necessarily “closed” either. It’s true that we were loosely modeling ourselves after Magnum Photos — whose co-founders included the likes of Henri-Cartier Bresson and Robert Capa. But Magnum is considered the most prestigious photography cooperative in the world, and I think many assumed that WE must have thought of ourselves as the most important mobile photographers in the world — which wasn’t the case. That didn’t stop the HATE from flying our way in the beginning. People took issue with the way our introductory text was worded, and felt it was dissing other photographers. That wasn’t our intention at all, but some people had hurt feelings anyway. Despite a few grumblings, most people “got” what we were about and gave us a warm welcome.

Many wondered if we were ALL good friends beforehand and agreed to join forces together all at once. Not quite. Some of us had been discussing the idea of such a cooperative for some time, but nothing had advanced beyond the talking stage. Then one photographer took the initiative and got the ball rolling. This person chose the initial roster of twelve, but some of us had never even communicated with each other prior to that point. And yet we quickly realized we all shared similar ideas and goals, and that if we didn’t take this member’s offer then, a cooperative — which we all agreed made sense — was never going to happen. So we decided to make a go of it!

Sure, there have been some growing pains, but that was to be expected. We’ve had many individual accomplishments since, but as a group MPG has been recently featured on Instagram’s blog and in a feature about photo apps in Apps Magazine, and is working on their first collaborative book for 2012. MPG also has every intention of expanding their membership…but very slowly, because something like this just doesn’t work when too many members are involved. Expansion will probably be 1 or 2 new members a year, tops. This isn’t to make ourselves seem “elitist”…FAR from it. But MPG is about promoting each other’s work and advancing ourselves as a cooperative — so careful consideration needs to be taken to make sure the group members “gel.” 

Before the end of this year, at least two other major mobile photography “super groups” were born: AMPt (Advanced Mobile Photography Team) and the (mostly) Seattle-based JUXT. They seem to be taking very different approaches than MPG, but I’m quite pleased to see both in action. Any time I see PASSION behind mobile photography, I get very excited. I’m really looking forward to see what AMPt, JUXT and MPG do in 2012. And who knows? There may be more “super groups” coming! There are certainly enough talented individuals in the mobile photography community to have more…

MOBILE PHOTOGRAPHY TAKES OVER PHOTOJOURNALISM 

More and more instances of photojournalists using smartphones popped up in 2011 than ever before. It’s no surprise: A device like an iPhone is much easier to use and quicker to take out when an event occurs. Since it’s also a phone and so many other things, it means less stuff a photojournalist has to carry. Plus, it’s much less intimidating to photograph actual people with a smartphone than a “real” camera, allowing closer, more intimate shots to be taken because people tend to feel more comfortable.

Foreign Policy magazine ran a 5-part series in July showcasing the lives of U.S. Marines in the Helmand province in 2010 and 2011. Most of the images were shot with an iPhone, using the Hipstamatic app. The experiment, conducted by Teru Kuwayama and four other photographers who embedded themselves within a Marine battalion, resulted in a project called Basetrack. Damon Winter also garnered headlines for his war photography, also taken with Hipstamatic…which drew some controversy. Regardless, smartphones were poised to be the future of photojournalism…

At the same time, news agencies around the world have been firing many of their established photojournalists in favor of relying on user-submitted photos — most of which are often taken on smartphones too. CNN let go fifty members of their staff just last month. With “iReporters” sending in what they see for free, and the photos used being often uncredited, it’s opened up a huge debate about “the professional eye” and its importance in being able to cover news events effectively. This brings up mixed feelings for many who don’t want to encourage the firing of paid professional photojournalists, but who also don’t want to refrain from capturing and submitting a news-worthy event should it occur right in front of them. It seems like these news agencies are very aware of this quandary, and have got us right where they want us…

THE MOBILE PHOTO AWARDS

.

While not the first contest for mobile photography, the Mobile Photo Awards were certainly the biggest of its kind. Created by Daniel Berman (known to most as “Reservoir Dan”), the idea behind MPA was to have as wide a selection of categories as possible, and put known mobile photographers as the judges of whatever category they were best known for. Besides cool prizes (including a grand prize of a $500 Apple Gift Card), winning entries were also included in a multi-city traveling gallery show.

Initial reaction to the contest was mixed, as some people were put off by the entry fee for images. However, many didn’t realize that part of winning included being part of the exhibition — and some sort of fee is a pretty common practice for open gallery call submissions. The money would go towards not only the prizes, but the printing, framing, and other expenses needed to put on such a show. The fee also ensured that only serious participants entered the contest, and that the level of quality in submissions would be high. Check out the shortlisted categories here.

THE COMMUNITY COMES TOGETHER! 

The mobile photography community itself has had its share of ups and downs in 2011. While there were numerous debates and even heated arguments happening online in places like Twitter and Facebook, events in real life showed photographers peacefully coming together in droves to share their passion for picture-taking and to make new friends. Mostly sparked by the Instagram community creating “Instameets” worldwide, these real-world get-togethers keep happening at an increased rate…with many mophos even traveling around the world to meet their fellow photographers in person, and many long-lasting and tight friendships forged along the way.

One dark moment, however, came in July…with the tragic death of Nacho Cardova — one of the nicest individuals in the community and a truly talented iPhoneographer. Despite all the bickering that had been going on online amongst iPhoneographers, it was touching to see so many people put their differences aside to come together for a moving tribute to Nacho. 

WHAT’S NEXT?

Whew! That was a lot of stuff in 2011, and I felt like I barely scratched the surface.

With even more exhibits, conference and workshops planned, plus the much anticipated debut of the iPhone 5 (although isn’t it technically the 6th iPhone?), the coming year is sure to top this one in regards to mobile photography.

So what do YOU hope to see in the coming year? Drop me a line at anton@mophoapp.com and let me know!

1. cna-certification-a reblogged this from mophoapp
2. cheapest-contacts reblogged this from mophoapp
3. dprblog liked this
4. ouvrebouteille liked this
5. petezivkov liked this
6. kristinanoelle liked this
7. richseidelman liked this
8. noxdineen liked this
9. nathanrodger liked this
10. photourbanism liked this
11. briilikewii liked this
12. joannepeace liked this
13. mishobaranovic reblogged this from mophoapp
14. twistedcysts reblogged this from mophoapp
15. messyvignette liked this
16. awfulbliss liked this
17. tabiwallah liked this
18. stephanemahe liked this
19. maxsiphotos liked this
20. picturely reblogged this from mophoapp
21. algrega reblogged this from mophoapp
22. algrega liked this
23. mauriciotagliari liked this
24. mauriciotagliari reblogged this from davidcliffordphoto and added:

    mopho - mobile photo. new frontier.

25. maique liked this
26. davidcliffordphoto reblogged this from mophoapp
27. cungilerbabirocksial liked this
28. robertpauljansen liked this
29. losangelesfromaniphone liked this
30. mophoapp posted this