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. 

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STOP! You’ve read PART ONE of this interview with the fabulous Koci, right? If not, read it here. Otherwise, proceed with PART TWO…

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ANTON: You’re definitely considered one of Instagram’s “superstars” with tens of thousands of followers. What’s your take on photo-sharing apps like IG and Blurb Mobile, and what do you think they mean to the current and future states of mobile photography?

KOCI: Well they’re kind of essential! Nobody wants to create and then not share. I mean it’s the reason everyone creates. Even the artist that says “Oh, I’m creating just for ME!”…No you’re not! Get over yourself. You’re not. You’re creating for the world. You’re creating for other people. And that’s a natural human state, so we create in order to share. It’s very important. So if we got these wonderful mobile tools, it only makes sense, that we have easy ways to share, and communicate and be inspired by others, and give feedback to people. So for me it’s the foundation. Mobile photography would be nothing without the ability to share. That would be a like a world without art galleries or public spaces. I mean, if we didn’t have these outlets, where would we be? They are the modern day museums in some sense, for everyone. And that’s the wonderful thing — it’s a democratization. I mean…I can’t get into the SF MoMA. That world isn’t open to me, or the person sitting next to me on the bus, yet. But the digital museum is open, and you can BUILD an audience, and you can BUILD a set of followers to communicate and share your work with. And so to me, it’s absolutely essential.

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I first came across Richard “Koci” Hernandez when he reached out to my partner Sion Fullana about a possible project he was considering doing. Sion immediately said “Check this guy out!” and we watched a series of Lynda.com videos about Koci that blew us away. When the app Instagram exploded, we were happy to see Koci — known for his arresting, multi-layered work (as well as his penchant for capturing people with hats) — quickly becoming a superstar user with tons of followers who were just as enthralled by his images as we were.

I’ve since had the pleasure of meeting Koci in person when I visited San Francisco in October for my Hipstmatic gallery show and the 1197.is conference — the latter of which Koci was a guest speaker and presented an intensive workshop (along with Dan “Konstruktivist” Cristea), as well as an early-morning photowalk, to excited attendees. I was pleased to discover that he was just as awesome as I hoped he’d be and much more — incredibly smart, talented, funny, charismatic and unbelievably generous. He has an incredible passion for photography that’s deeply infectious — and all the MoPhos at 1197 were captivated by him.

With an impressive background that includes being a national Emmy award-winning video and multimedia producer, as well as a photographer for the San Jose Mercury News and currently a professor at UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, Koci is one of the busiest people that I know — but he was still excited to squeeze in some time for a Skype interview with me earlier this week.

And so…PART ONE:

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Last week the very first mobile photography conference was held at the Mission Bay Conference Center in San Francisco. Hundreds of attendees from around the world (some even as far as Australia) converged to learn more about the exciting and booming field of mobile photography — and MoPho was there taking notes!

The idea behind the conference had long been in the works between photographer Nate Bolt and Instagram’s new Community Evangelist Jessica Zollman, which in turn perfectly dovetailed into plans that Richard “Koci” Hernandez and Dan “kontruktivist” Cristea had of putting together an iPhoneography workshop for up-and-coming mobile photographers. Koci and Cristea have become well-known in the iPhoneography community for their re-imagined takes on street photography, their mastery of post-processing with multiple apps (called “app stacking”), and their fresh and original points of view on image-making. The pair have created a website at lofimode.com which features tutorials and other useful information to create truly arresting shots with your smart phone camera, and a live workshop was a natural extension of that idea.  Teaming up with Bolt | Peters and Blurb, the first ever 1197.is one-day conference was born — and certainly won’t be the last conference of its kind.

The day’s events began with an optional 7am morning photowalk with Koci & Cristea through the beautiful streets of San Francisco, starting in the historic Mission area and ending two hours later at the conference center. The walk was just a wee bit too early for MoPho to attend, but apparently it was quite a thrill for the 30-something attendees who braved the city’s early hours to witness Pulitzer Prize-Nominated journalist Koci in his “element” — taking shots at a breakneck pace, and with a keen eye for storytelling and composition.

Then from 9am-12pm, the action resumed at the conference center with a three hour intensive workshop with the lofimode.com duo, where the pair explained their philosophies behind shooting, and gave live demonstrations of how they create their eye-popping multi-app images.  After lunch and some prize giveaways, attendees were treated to several back-to-back presentations that began with Philippe Kahn, the inventor of the first phone camera, discussing “How the Camera Phone Changed the World.”  Other presentations included Zollman discussing “iPhone Photography: Why Should We Care?,” designer/programmer/singer Dan Rubin and author Dan Marcolina giving valuable tips on shooting AND processing mobile photos, photographer Lauren Lemon on “The Camera Phone & the Pro Photographer,” and finally freelance war photographer and Basetrack co-founder Teru Kuwayama on mobile reporting from Afghanistan. 

At the end of the day, MoPho learned a lot more about mobile photography and came away with numerous ideas of how to incorporate many of the great things that were discussed at the conference into the MoPho app.  A few lucky attendees got to see a beta version of the MoPho app in action, and got quite excited for what it could mean for instant prints or product creations using their own photos. After the app debuts in the App Store (coming soon, we promise!), be sure to see a heavier MoPho presence in upcoming mobile photography conferences. And if you get a chance to go to any of them and see us there, be sure to say hi!