iPhoneography: An art form exploding at Macworld/iWorld
With better lenses being packed into tinier phones, photography has become something almost anyone can participate in now.
At this year's Macworld/iWorld, the convention is highlighting the explosion of photo-themed apps and gear that has come out for the iPhone. These “iPhoneography” sessions will teach attendees how to turn the iPhone into a mobile photography lab.
“It's becoming an emerging area of interest for Apple product users,” says Paul Kent, Macworld vice president and general manager. “It's one of the hottest areas for both products and what people are doing interesting things with.”
It's an art form that's beginning to explode, and in the last two years a flood of apps and equipment have sprung up to support it. That's why Macworld/iWorld is featuring a host of Tech Talks and showroom floor space devoted to iPhoneography, Kent said.
The photo theme kicks off Wednesday with a full-day workshop on the subject, called “iPhoneography: The Mobile Masters.” It features 15 speakers ranging from artists to Adobe's senior creative director to talk about all the photo possibilities on the iPhone.
The session will focus on the three things that make iPhoneography unique from other art forms: the ability to organically shoot pictures wherever you are, the tons of in-device apps to manipulate images and the ease of sharing photos.
According to speaker Daniel Marcolina, one of the strengths for iPhoneography is its spontaneity. Marcolina has been working in digital photography for 25 years, but has just been drawn into the world of iPhone art and recently published a book callediPhone Obsessed.
Marcolina says iPhone owners have a camera basically strapped to them all day, giving them the chance to casually capture moments they never would have found lugging around a big expensive camera.
But according to Marcolina, the iPhone's biggest advantage is the number of image manipulation apps that are available in the device. And for him, one of the best parts of having all these image apps is figuring new ways for them to interact with one another.
“It's a really flexible way, an organic way, a relaxed way of discovery,” he explained.
Marcolina employs an army of more than 100 different apps to color and tweak pictures just the way he likes them. Though he doesn't use them all at once. He likens the picture to a sculpture and the apps are the tools iPhoneographers can use to create a work of art.
On his website, Marcolina shows off how he uses apps to create photos that dance along the line from simple to surreal. And in his Tech Talk session “AppAlchemy,” he'll take students on a tour of all best image manipulation apps on the iPhone to turn iPhotos into iArt. Though if you miss the session, he also has an AppAlchemy book that will take readers on the same ride.
But Marcolina isn't the only iPhoneography enthusiast and there are plenty of experts and sessions exploring all aspects of the portable art.
On Thursday, mobile photographer Jack Hollingsworth will breakdown all the best accessories and gear for iPhone photo shoots. Emmy award-winning photographer Richard Koci Hernandez will talk about storytelling through the iPhone.
During the show, there will also be discussions on the fine art of iPhoneography and a round table with local artists who use the smartphone in their work.
Along with all the speakers and sessions, Macworld/iWorld will also host an iPhoneography lounge. It's an interactive digital photo gallery with some of the best examples of the craft to date. There will be tons of iPhone gadgets and apps on display too. Also in the lounge, attendees will be able to meet the “Mobile Masters” to ask questions and get feedback on their own art.
And for those with an eye for iPhoneography, they can even submit their own pictures to Instagram under the hashtag #mobilemasters, which may be streamed to the lounge during the show. The best images will also be included in a Mobile Masters iPad e-book that will be released after the show.
“It's a revolution and there's no denying it,” Marcolina said. “I would say that there's no doubt that this moment in history will go down as an important moment for photography, more along the lines of when color film came out.”
So join the revolution and check out all the iPhoneography events that will happen at Macworld/iWorld. And if you can't check them out for yourself, stay tuned and we'll bring you plenty more iPhoneography content throughout the show.
