Instagram - stand the test of time?

[Remorhaz]

Photojournalist Kenneth Jarecke wrote a piece yesterday titled, “Instagram, the Devil, and You.”

http://kennethjarecke.typepad.com/mostl ... d-you.html

As for you Instagramers, twenty years from now you’ll be sorry. You’ll be more sorry than I am when I look back on a picture I made twenty years ago with a 20mm lens when I should have used a 28mm.

Years from now, you’ll awake in the middle of the night and suddenly realize putting a fake border on a picture makes the whole picture fake. You’ll understand that the technical choices you made destroyed the longterm credibility of both you and your images.

Instead of having a body of work to look back on, you’ll have a sad little collection of noisy digital files that were disposable when you made them, instantly forgotten by your followers (after they gave you a thumbs up), and now totally worthless.

You’ll wish you’d have made those images on a Pentax K1000 and Tri-X (at the very least or most depending on your age and perspective), but the times you failed to record properly will be long gone.

But don't listen to me, listen to all your Insta-friends. They love you.

[aim54x]

I cannot objectively comment on this topic.....insta what??? GET A REAL CAMERA

[Reschsmooth]

Interesting. Given I have never used Instagram, have moderately used Hipstomatic and find I can't take decent photos with the mobile telephony device, I was finding I was agreeing with him.

Now, part of that is a function of the fact that many newspapers have abandoned photo-journalism and let their photographic departments die. Either the papers can't afford to keep them or they just see free reader content as preferable, or both.

It is also comes down to the fact that "we" illogically demand instant news, which means the use of instant still and video images trump properly captured photo-journalistic images. It also means that, as everyone has their phone cameras for duck-mouthed poses, we are now used to a flood of crappy photos.

Given all that, in their defence, that we all have cameras means that the papers will take a crappy image of an event happening rather than a great shot of the aftermath.

Does it justify a paper sending out their "photographers" to take these kind of photos with the Instagram filters and the like? I don't think so.

Anyway, my ill-thought out rant over.

[Reschsmooth]

I cannot objectively comment on this topic.....insta what??? GET A REAL CAMERA

Ok - wanna borrow my Cambo?

[aim54x]

I cannot objectively comment on this topic.....insta what??? GET A REAL CAMERA

Ok - wanna borrow my Cambo?

I would love to be shown how to use that magnificent camera.....but even my Nikon J1 is more of a camera than insta-what?

[ATJ]

I cannot objectively comment on this topic.....insta what??? GET A REAL CAMERA

You do know what Instagram is, don't you? Photos from real cameras can be shared on Instagram.

[aim54x]

I cannot objectively comment on this topic.....insta what??? GET A REAL CAMERA

You do know what Instagram is, don't you? Photos from real cameras can be shared on Instagram.

Of course I know what instagram is..and I am aware that photos taken with conventional cameras can be shared using instagram, the point of the article being that the average instagram user (ie smart phone wielding user that is taking advantage of the 'filters') will be sorry that they have not recorded their memories using other means, and worse still, the news media retrenching/replacing staff photographers with user submitted imagery (recorded with instagram + smart phone) and even worse, requesting staff photographers record events using instagram + smart phone.

I cannot objectively comment on this topic due to my strong bias AGAINST instagram, cameras built into phones etc.....my original comment succinctly explains my view with a warning of my biased stance on this topic. I dont know if you use Instagram, but if you do...keep calm and carry on.

[PiroStitch]

It really depends on how you view Instagram. Editors who rely solely on Instagram should look for other career options for their short sightedness.

This topic has multiple layers and shouldn't just be isolated to Instagram. It's an app at the end of the day that allows sharing. It's what Flickr should have thought of, or at least Kodak or even Polaroid. Heck, similarly this could even be compared to whether photography should be an artform versus painting or drawing? I think that discussion still exists even with the camera being over 150 years old. Within the subject of photography, the same discussion could be had as well across the multiple mediums - glass plates vs film, film vs polaroid, film vs digital (how many times have we heard the last one!?!?!?).

I think it all comes back down to whether images captured on a mobile should be deemed as art or a viable tool for image recording. On the surface, it does the job. No one can dispute that. It remains to be seen for longevity and posterity however. I've seen some great photos on Instagram and equally rubbish photos captured on cameras worth much more, most being my own . Will we ever see large format, fine art prints made using Instagram? Sure maybe for small prints, but for larger prints we probably need to wait for technology to catch up.

Would someone hire a wedding photographer who uses their mobile and uploads them to Instagram? Probably not. Equally for important shoots like editorials, I highly doubt it for the time being. That would make for an interesting social experiment, pun slightly intended.

For Hurricane Sandy, the BBC also did the same with asking for user submitted photos. An interesting thing was half the time the editors kept asking if the image was taken by the submitter and whether they could publish it with attributes on the site. It adds more work for the editors and I'm sure there will be questions asked whether it's worth it. User Generated Content (UGC) is here, solely for the purpose of getting the readers to submit and have a share of ownership, having the feeling of contributed something (yes this is very subjective!), then they'll tell their friends and family that their photo was on a global news site. This increases traffic to their site and allows the publications to generate the necessary ad revenue, etc. The ABC were doing this in a way, with Mr Edwin Maher and his weather forecasts. Viewers could submit their photos of areas around Australia and one would be selected for that night for the weather forecast, with name attributed. It was a way to get others to watch the news and "contribute".

What's interesting to see is that the camera companies are starting to look at how to include the social sharing aspect within the camera itself. We've seen this happen with DSLRs now with the ability to do in camera editing of the JPGs. With the in camera editing, should these be too? Similar with video being shoehorned into DSLR bodies. That's opening up another avenue to the discussion topic as well.

Personally, I use it as a visual scrapbook for things I see and want to record when I don't have my other gear with me. I don't rely solely on it. If I see a prospective location, I'll capture it on the phone then go back to the same spot with my other gear.

[chrisk]

I find it moderately amusing that a bloke writing a blog on the internet, (however famous and talented that bloke may be), sharing his thoughts instantly with the masses could be so scornful of people sharing their images with the masses. I think of it the same as the HDR discussion, too many people spend way too much time trying to decide for everyone else what is and isn't real photography. And further, seek to scornfully deride anyone who doesn't fit within their boxed definition.

[ATJ]

I think the problem here is Jarecke is applying his values to the other people. He believes he personally would be disappointed with the images in twenty years time so must the people using Instagram. Certainly, someone who starts their photography journey with Instagram and then goes on to bigger and better things would be disappointed.

The vast majority of the users are not going to move on in photography and don't really care about photography other than a way to capture memories. They don't care about lenses and lighting. The often don't even care about focus. They just want to share something they saw or somewhere they went.

I think the real problem with Instagram is actually the opposite. The users will lose interest in it and drift away.

[ATJ]

I find it moderately amusing that a bloke writing a blog on the internet, (however famous and talented that bloke may be), sharing his thoughts instantly with the masses could be so scornful of people sharing their images with the masses. I think of it the same as the HDR discussion, too many people spend way too much time trying to decide for everyone else what is and isn't real photography. And further, seek to scornfully deride anyone who doesn't fit within their boxed definition.

Yeah, that too.

[biggerry]

wot's instagram?

[aim54x]

wot's instagram?

Watch out you may get some condescending remarks......