Here at MoPho we take Mother’s Day quite seriously. So seriously, in fact, that we decided to slash 30% off orders over $50 for the occasion (just make sure to leave us enough time for shipping).

• Use Promo Code “Mom30” during checkout.

Moms have a tendency to get a bit sentimental at times. It might have something to do with all the blood, sweat, and tears it takes to raise a child. Or maybe it’s just to embarrass you. Whatever the case may be, a token of appreciation is in order. It doesn’t have to cost a lot; when it comes to mothers it really is the thought that counts. Frame a memory, or perhaps a small keepsake that lets her know that all of her hard work has paid off. Mom doesn’t have to know that your gift took just a few taps on your iPhone and only a minute of time. After all, it’s the thought that counts. 

The “Becoming a MoPho” section of this blog is about learning to become the best mobile photographer that you can be. While shooting with a mobile device is something that’s been around for years now, it’s still a “relatively” new medium that’s continuing to grow. Even the individuals who have mastered the medium still have new things to learn every day…we ALL do. The best way to approach it (as with most things in life) is to have an open mind.

This column will continue to feature interviews with today’s top mobile photographers (and we have some amazing names coming up!), as well as feature tips, tricks, reviews and news. But I also want to talk about some issues that have been on the back of my mind for a while lately, which I think are important to address for both newbies and pros alike. 

Since iPhoneography first began, there have been people saying it will be the death of photography, as well as its future. I obviously fall into the latter camp — it’s definitely reinvigorated a new love for taking pictures for countless people, and changed how we work with images and share them. But I also see the potential for mobile photography to move in the WRONG direction if we’re not careful, so I hope to start a dialogue that will steer mobile photography back on the right track…

“SO WHAT APP DID YOU USE?”

The original iPhone, with its meager 2 megapixel camera, was on the market for a full year before the iPhone 3G debuted (which featured pretty much the same exact camera). And yet, “iPhoneography” didn’t really blow up and become huge until AFTER the 3G’s debut, mainly due to the iOS App Store also arriving at the same time. So, in a way, we basically have APPS to thank for the success of mobile photography. With over 10,000 photo-related apps now available, there’s no question they play a key role with just about anyone shooting with an iPhone. I use several apps myself for shooting and processing (and sharing), and I’m always on the lookout for newer and better ones when they arrive.

However, I feel we’ve become TOO reliant on apps…to a fault. It’s not that people actually USE them that’s the problem, they absolutely should — it’s that they’ve become the MAIN focus in people’s discussions in iPhoneography, as if it’s the apps that are the most important thing that “makes” a picture interesting and nothing else. When someone sees a picture they like from an iPhone, the common question that I (and many other mobile photographers) get these days is usually “What app did you use?” No matter how emotional the pic may be, or what the subject matter is, or how it was composed, the questions are always about the apps first. I rarely get asked about what my intent was behind a photo, or what I was hoping to convey or achieve. 

 

          I used 6 different apps for both of these photos. No…I’m not telling you which ones. 

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So as I wrote in my year end review, 2011 was rather eventful as far as mobile photography goes. It’s clearly reached the mainstream, and that can be both a good and bad thing. 

Let’s face it — shooting with mobile devices is the future of photography. It doesn’t mean “traditional” photography is going away any time soon, or will become any less important. There will always be cameras specifically made to be just that…cameras (and no, they won’t also make phone calls and play Angry Birds). There will also always be new innovations made to cameras that may not be possible on a phone yet due to its size limitations, such as the recent introduction of the Lytro (where you can choose where the “focus” goes on an image AFTER you’ve shot it). But the fact remains that cameras on smartphones and other portable devices are going to continue to improve, and the “always with you” convenience of them will ultimately propel and advance “mobile” to the forefront of photography.

As the New Year begins, I can’t help thinking about where mobile photography is headed to next. But it’s also made me reflect on its origins…

So when did the birth of mobile photography REALLY start? Well not with Instagram, which, sadly, many people actually believe today. Heck, it didn’t even start with the iPhone for that matter. The technology to have a “camera on a chip” was actually developed by Dr. Eric Fossum while working at NASA in the early ’90s — but while it would become the basis for all camera phones to come, it would still be several years before it would actually materialize on working cellphone units. In 1995, a dozen years before the debut of the iPhone, Apple even experimented with a Videophone PDA that they showed at Macworld ‘95, which could have easily popularized mobile photography a good decade before it became a “thing” — that is, if the device had ever actually come out…

           Apple’s Videohone PDA that never was

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So today in America is “Black Friday”! 

It’s the day following Thanksgiving, which has become the busiest shopping day of the year as people get a head start on their holiday gift buying. As more and more people get involved in this annual ritual, the crazier and crazier the retail stores get with frantic shoppers fighting over merchandise like it’s the last holiday on Earth. It’s nuts.

Me? I tend to avoid Black Friday like the plague, and either do all my shopping at the very last minute (which is stupid, I admit), or, if I’m being smart, I’ll just buy stuff online. In fact, I like to buy gifts ON my iPhone whenever possible. And now you can too! So to celebrate Black Friday, I’m going to devote this week’s column to “Shopping For the iPhoneographer.” There are countless accessories available now to help iPhone photography enthusiasts take better pictures, but I’m going to talk about just a few here…

There are also a LOT of manufacturers making iPhone cases with lens attachments on them right now. It’s hard to wade through all the multiple offerings and figure out which ones might be the best. I haven’t tested them all, of course, but there’s one that I got to try out while I was at the 1197.is Mobile Photography Conference last month, and it’s from a company with an impressive history of producing high-quality camera & film optics.

Schneider Optics (the U.S. subsidiary of the world-renowned German optical manufacturer Schneider-Kreuznach) has been in the optics game for over 90 years. And now they’ve brought their expertise to mobile photography with the iPro Lens. What’s neat about the iPro is not just the superior-quality of the Fisheye and Wide Angle lenses that twist on and off with ease from the rugged iPhone case that’s included, but also the really cool pocket lens case that doubles as a universal tripod mount and also becomes a really cool handle that can provide steadiness for your picture-taking.

iPro Lens: $199.00

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