Last night saw the launch of FLTR, Apptitude Media’s new smartphone photography magazine, at the Apple Store in Regent Street, London.
A good crowd turned out despite the poor weather to hear FLTR editor and associate editor of British Journal of Photography, Olivier Laurent, photographer Anastasia Taylor-Lind and smartphone photography consultant Oliver Lang discuss the impact smartphones have had on their lives and work, and the impact of these devices more widely on photography.
[bjp_ad_slot]Laurent opened the discussion with an introduction to the new weekly magazine, which is produced by the team behind British Journal of Photography. He spoke about how the introduction of the iPhone and other smartphones revolutionised the way we think about and take pictures.
“Massive changes are happening in this industry, but it’s not negative change,” Laurent told the audience. “If you use a smartphone in a smart way, if you incorporate it into your work, it’s just another tool. It doesn’t really matter what you’re using as long as the story is there. That is what matters.”
VII photographer Taylor-Lind gave a presentation about how she used her iPhone on her latest project Negative Zero, which takes her across Europe. She spoke about how she views her iPhone as a sort of diary and how it has enabled her to give people an insight into the way she works while travelling.
“I bought an iPhone two years ago… because of the camera,” Taylor-Lind said. “I was inspired by my colleagues at VII who were using iPhones and found that, of the images on their websites, people were most interested in the behind-the-scenes pictures. For the last two years I’ve been using my iPhone and sharing images through Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to give a behind-the-scenes look at what it’s like to be a photojournalist.”
Lang, a smartphone photography consultant, spoke about how smartphones had fuelled his interest in photography, and how they have encouraged people to interact with each other, which has led to a “culture of sharing”.
“I’m not a photographer by trade but in 2008 I bought an iPhone and got into shooting… The interactivity [of smartphones] changed my perspective and made me hungry. Interactivity is so important, which is why so much photojournalistic multimedia is about an immersive experience. I’d like to see more people enjoying photography and that is really coming about.”
As the discussion drew to a close, Taylor-Lind commented on the need to embrace change in order to move forward. “There will always be people who complain about things, but that’s because there will always be people who feel insecure and threatened… If we don’t experiment and if we aren’t open-minded about opportunities that crop up in photography, we stagnate.”
FLTR, a weekly publication, is designed to be an authoritative voice within the worldwide community of smartphone photography. Featuring exclusive interviews with both amateur and professional photographers, FLTR will highlight the latest techniques, apps, devices, trends and accessories in smartphone photography, and chronicle the huge changes that are happening in the way we take pictures.
Issue one is available now to download from Apple’s App Store. The first five issues are free as part of our ‘no-commitment’ subscription offer.
Download FLTR now on the App Store. You can also follow FLTR on Facebook and Twitter.