Why you are lame and instagram isnt.

[dipstik]

I'm with Single on this one. If you think instagram is lame, you need to revisit it and follow better people.

Here is why I'm into instagram:

1. It gets me looking at hundreds of pictures every day: some good, some bad. Either way it keeps the creative juices flowing. If I'm standing in line at the DMV, instead of reading People Magazine, I can be looking at pictures from around the world.

2. It's changed the way I approach photography: there is no place you can't bring an iPhone, so I shoot a lot more because of it. This summer I've shot a ton of mountain biking that I otherwise wouldn't have lugged my dSLR out for.

3. Shooting on a smart phone forces me to be creative, and forces me to keep it simple. No high speed shutters, no pocket wizards, no telephoto lenses. Just a camera.

4. Sharing is caring. I have so many great images sitting on hard drives that have not, and probably will not ever see the light of day. Instagram changes that.

5. It makes photography fun again. 'Nuff said.

Here are a couple favorites from my instagram feed the last couple weeks:

[TahoeJ]

Are you a ten year old girl Tahoe_J?

Nope, not your type I guess.

Anyway, I'm actually not that big of an instragram fan, but the hatred some people have towards it is just as fucking dumb as they think instagram is.

[mtngirl79]

Why do people have to hate on everything that isn't there thing? I have a dumb phone, so no instagram for me.

[The AD]

Why do people have to hate on everything that isn't there thing?

Why do people use the term "hate on?"

[Eldo]

New-to-photography hipster progression:

B&W, amazing!
Documentary pix of derelict houses/homeless people!!
Short DOF prime lenses!!!
The soul of film!!!!
Medium format film!!!!!
Instagram!!!!!!!
Pinhole cameras?

[Fuzz]

Can you create your own presets/filters on Instagram? May/Most of the filtered shots I see through Instagram (around the internet or on my Facebook) are way too heavy-handed for my taste (strong vignetting + desaturation) -- as noted, that may be because the shots I'm seeing are the bad examples.

My Blackberry has a crappy camera so all my shooting is with my DSLR. With a better camera phone + subtler effects, I might give it a go (although I do like sharing a whole series (e.g. from a trip) instead of one or two shots at a time).

I think the sharing aspect of Instagram is overshadowed by the often crappy filters/effects, which is where the disdain/hate comes from.

In terms of following creative photography/photographers, I've been enjoying 500px, but I don't think it is as "portable" or easy to share to (i.e. directly from a phone).

[single]

Fuzz, I edit in apps called snapseed and vscocam. Filters are used sparingly once otherwise edited. The only IG filters I use anyway are Sierra and Valencia. The other ones are too intense for me.

And Eldo, you forgot lomo and large format. And at least for me, pinhole cameras were my introduction to b+w. now I'm moving on to a digital rangefinder.

Regardless of the ignorance of your post, a lot of people have made great art with any one of those mediums. Some of the most renowned photographers made careers of documenting the homeless and derelict. In fact, most professional fine art (and even a few documentary) photographers I have ever interacted with go through almost that same exact process. It usually ends in digital though. Apparently hipsters can be good at art. Whodathunkit?

[powdork]

one thing to think about is the very near future and right now. right now instagram is the easiest social media network to work with to upload cell phone pictures. very soon it, or something like it whether it's fb or something new will be the easiest media to upload your professional dslr pictures in basically real time as that functionality will become the norm. At the same time cell phone cameras are are producing much higher quality images. It's another social media that has a lifespan but we still seem to be on the good side of it. Otoh, it seems like facebook should be nearing its demise soon, or is it too big to fail?

and fuzz (and systemoveradvres cuz she has some ghetto shots that remind me of you), my daughter (who I once made the mistake of getting into photography) has a 500pix site. just got a job taking pics for her college paper too.

[bad dancer]

So my daughter carries around her iphone all day like all kids. Shes actually 22. Still a kid in my eye. She instagrams constantly. Kind of drives me crazy but it sure is fun to "follow" her around while she is out and about doing the stuff that she does. Is it "fine art" photography ?
I don't know, but she takes pretty good shots and kind of documents this as they happen.
She was just accepted into our local university of design " Emilly Carr" .
I know that it is very difficult to get in and as far as I am aware, a huge part of her entrance portfolio was "instagram" stuff. Who knew ?
I'm old !! so I have not bought into the social aspect of it yet as a lifestyle. It's called instagram for a reason. It's not called "take your dslr around then download onto your ipad and process at 11 pm before you got to sleep and post them on the interwebz."

[Eldo]

And Eldo, you forgot lomo and large format. And at least for me, pinhole cameras were my introduction to b+w. now I'm moving on to a digital rangefinder.

Regardless of the ignorance of your post, a lot of people have made great art with any one of those mediums. Some of the most renowned photographers made careers of documenting the homeless and derelict. In fact, most professional fine art (and even a few documentary) photographers I have ever interacted with go through almost that same exact process. It usually ends in digital though. Apparently hipsters can be good at art. Whodathunkit?

Whoosh! You completely missed the joke.

My post was referring to people who took up photography a couple of years ago, then quickly ran through all those stages as they "discovered" them. Hence hipsters.

I'm in the city for work and had lunch with some photog buddies yesterday and mentioned Instagram. We had a good laugh and came up with that photo hipster progression. My one colleague who now teaches photojournalism at the college where we both studied 25 years ago said he gives an automatic F on any student assignment that comes in with a hint of an Instagram-filter effect.

Relax, so you like Instagram, others don't. It's no big deal.

[single]

Whoosh! You completely missed the joke.

My post was referring to people who took up photography a couple of years ago, then quickly ran through all those stages as they "discovered" them.

Whoops! Fair enough. It was a late one last night.

[Eldo]

Haha. No worries.

I think it's great that instagram encourages people to take and share photos. Personally I'm not a fan of the filters some people use, but it would be a pretty boring world if we all liked exactly the same things.