Hipstamatic iPhone Photos

I haven't added to this blog for many many months, but recently I was given a $15 gift card for iTunes and I spent it on a few choice applications. One of them was a highly praised digital camera, which simulated the old crappy photo boxes of yesteryear. Leave it to technology for us to stray away from those good old days because we weren't satisfied, only to come right back full circle to pay for our photos to be crappy (nostalgic) again.

I thought as I was paying $2 for this app, that it was probably going to be a waste of money, but after messing around with it for a very limited time, I realized this was good fun for the iPhone. The one thing that really bothers me about the iPhone is the appalling built in camera. With all the other things this phone does right out of the box, why can't it have a decent built in camera? Is that really too much to ask?

Hipstamatic might not make the camera better, but it definitely makes it a lot more interesting. I was very pleased at how it took black white photos of my daughter when she got off school today. They were clear and had an aura of being from 1980. I really think they pulled this application off. With 6 lens, 6 flashes and 8 kinds of film to simulate, this little app is quite powerful in it's variety.

Now of course this Application does have it's faults. It's not perfect, but it does exactly what it says it will. It creates simulations of old type cameras, lenses and film. Sure some of those old photos sucked and were blurry and this app does that too. It's like taking photos of a trip down memory lane. If it were halloween and you were dressed up like a hippie, you could use this camera app to take a perfectly nostalgic photo of that rare occasion.

Overall this application is one of my favorites for the iPhone. It's just kitchy enough to be super cool and the abilities it brings to the iPhone, make it something you can play with endlessly, without really repeating yourself. For $2, it's a definite win. If you want to buy ALL the instapaks that are available, like ALL the lenses, films and flashes, the grand total for this application is somewhere around $8, which to me is still a steal.

Bottom line is go out and get this app for your iPhone. If you like taking photos and changning things up, this is the application for you. If not, well you have a problem and shouldn't be reading a blog entitled, "Fanatic Photography." So go away!

Michael

The Boathouse

Imagine a place where you can take your family and friends. A cabin in the middle of nowhere and just close enough to home to make you feel comfortable. Well this is that place for me. I wish I could get there more often than I do, but even just knowing this place exists for me, is enough to keep a smile on my face.

In this photo I am trying to convey the serene feeling one gets while "up north". I know you ask yourself why would you want to live in Minnesota? I think it's mostly because of the changes we get to see each year. Of course it gets bitterly cold here in the winter and I get shut-in disease just about the time Spring pops up in my front yard.

I think this photo expresses everything that is Cabin oriented. The boathouse, the knowledge that there is a boat inside you can get into and tour the lake and of course the calm and solid looking water. When I look at this photo I can't help but smile. I hope you smile when you see it also.

Michael