All posts tagged Photography

When Instagram was released in October 2010, I remember downloading it on my iPhone and instantly falling in love. The app looked gorgeous, was easy to use, and the photos I produced could easily be shared with friends. The dominate photo app in this space, around that time, was Hipstamatic. I had downloaded Hipstamatic when it was originally released about 8 months before Instagram. At that time, I found the app to be a bit confusing to use. Although Hipstamatic kickstarted the retro digital photography trend, the app forced you to commit to a set of settings (i.e. lens, flash, film) before taking a shot, whereas Instagram allowed you to apply different filters post shooting. And that skeumorphic design irked me. I ignored Hipstamatic stringent nature and skeumorphic user interface and became a devoted Instagram user.

Two years later, I find the cumbersome and inflexible nature of Hipstamatic to be oddly gratifying. In fact, two years later, I no longer view it as being cumbersome or inflexible. Instead, Hipstamatic is arguably much more flexible than its Instagram counterpart. The user interface is skeumorphic, yes, but it’s also minimalistic and simple. More importantly, choosing a lens type, film type, and even flash settings prior to shooting a photo forces me to think about the shot even more before actually shooting a photo. I imagine this is what it used to be like during the analog days when it was normal to think about what kind of film you would be shooting with and not how many SD cards you have in your pocket.

The ease of digital photography makes us all a bit lazy, really. There’s no longer a need to think about a shot before taking it. It’s not unusual for me to snap hundreds of photos on a given hiking trip. Twenty years ago, this would have been unusual. Twenty years ago I’d actually have to think about every shot or else I’d be wasting a shit load of money on film and processing. Twenty years ago you needed to be a bit more focused when shooting a picture.

Hipstamatic, although very digital, brings back the analog qualities of taking a photograph. Hipstamatic forces you think before shooting. I like that and can appreciate that now.

Two years later, I find the cumbersome and inflexible nature of Hipstamatic to be oddly gratifying. In fact, two years later, I no longer view it as being cumbersome or inflexible. Instead, Hipstamatic is arguably much more flexible than its Instagram counterpart. The user interface is skeumorphic, yes, but it’s also minimalistic and simple.

All photos were taken at Hamama Falls by Ahante Lim.

Coty snapping photos with his not-so-analog-camera. Hipstamatic Setting: Kaimal Mark II Lens, Ina’s 1982 Film, No Flash. Photo by Ahnate Lim.

A shot of Waihe’e Stream. Hipstamatic Settings: John S Lens, RTV Film. Photo by Ahnate Lim.

Water in the stream. Hipstamatic Settings: Jane Lens, Ina’s 1969 Film. Photo by Ahnate Lim.

The Koolau’s in the background. Hipstamatic Settings: John S Lens, Ina’s 1969 Film. Photo by Ahnate Lim.

Open field. Hipstamatic Settings: Buckhorst H1 Lens, Ina’s 1982 Film. Photo by Ahnate Lim.

Flower. Hipstamatic Settings: Jimmy Lens, Ina’s 1982 Film. Photo by Ahnate Lim.

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