National Geographic photographer ditches website, turns to the iPad
Image © Michael Nichols.
Michael "Nick" Nichols has been a photographer for the past 40 years. He was a Magnum Photos member from 1982 to 1995, and since 1996 has been working for National Geographic. Last year, when came the time to update his personal website, Nichols made the unusual choice to ditch it completely and turned, instead, to the iPad.
Author: Olivier Laurent
Compiling more than 20 years of photography and stories, Michael Nichols' app features 15 photography galleries with more than 160 images, exclusive behind-the-scenes video, as well as links to buy limited edition prints and signed books. But most importantly, the Michael Nichols app, as it's called in Apple's iTunes, is now replacing the photographer's website.
Nichols speaks with BJP's news and online editor Olivier Laurent:
OL: Why did you decide to use the iPad as the publishing platform for your images?
Nichols: My website was built in 2001 and I hadn't updated it since its launch. So I spent months updating it: new galleries, new captions, stories and videos. It was an incredible amount of work. Right before I hit publish on the site, I realized that I just couldn't give it away anymore, I had poured my soul and time into it and while I don't care about making money off of it, I needed to be sure people would value it. I wanted to be the guinea pig for the rest of the photographers out there. So I scaled back the content on my website and decided to embrace the new technology of the iPad and build an app. This way, the audience views the photo essays with my voice behind them.
OL: What does this platform bring that's different?
Nichols: The app puts the control of the content back in my hands. I can sequence the galleries, the colour of the images always looks beautiful, and I can update and add to it as I produce new work. Its more like a book that I can add to than a website.
OL: Did you encounter any challenges in producing the app?
Nichols: The design process with Greg Harris at Daily Interactive was very interesting, we started with something kind of complex, but realized through the process of testing it that simplicity is always best. So we stripped the design back to the bare essentials and I think we found an interface that is easy to use and lets the images sing.
OL: What can buyers expect in the future with this app?
Nichols: I will release new galleries and behind-the-scenes stories with each update. In future updates, I would like to include video tutorials about how to use camera traps, how to work with wildlife, etc. as a resource for other photographers. The sky's the limit!
OL: Has the iPad changed the way you work and show your images?
Nichols: The iPad is the perfect way to share new images and stories with friends and colleagues. I really like that the color on the screen is true to the file. I also use it to for news and reading other magazines and books. While on assignment, we use it in the evenings to watch movies and play games and try to relax after a day of shooting. It also has a very low power consumption, much better than my laptop, and this is a big issue for us when we are in the bush. Its a great device.
For more information, visit michaelnicknichols.com or download the Michael Nichols app from iTunes ($3.99 / €2.99 / £2.49).
Image © Michael Nichols.
Image © Michael Nichols.
Image © Michael Nichols.
Comments
The conventional wisdom says that paywalls (which is, in effect, what this iPad experiment is) don't work. But maybe Nick can prove them wrong. ... I hope BJP will follow up with Nick in a year or so to see how it's going. (Good luck, Nick.)
I only know 1 person who owns an iPad, so I don't think that many people will see his work, or have I missed something fundamental??
I have android. In Australia android has around 45% of market but is almost being ignored for apps.
Android users don't buy apps. They want FREE.
Android is just NOT a good platform for anyone wanting to make money from selling apps.
Anyone wanting to make money on apps knows you have to create for the Apple iPad. PERIOD.
I live in the US, and I see iPads all the time, in Starbucks, on airplanes, at conferences, in people's homes. Obviously, penetration differs in different areas.
ipads ubiquitous in Austin, Texas
I live and work in Austin and in the ad community and the academic community almost everyone I encounter everyday has an iPad and uses it continuously. To not have an iPad here is analogous to not having a laptop five years ago.
It's the defacto method of presentation. I know of no one, personally, who has an alternate pad such as an Android.
Anecdotal for sure but......reality here.
Consider the facts behind the strap-line and forget the medium for a minute: he is earning 100K+ pa, employed, as he has been for many years, as one of only 5 staff photographers at NGM; ergo he doesn't need an on-line portfolio!
He has one of the most sought after jobs in photography. This move is a potential money spinner, so good luck to him. The idea of him being a test-mule is debatable; it's not like he needs a gallery to show-case or sell his work or services & since it's not his work to sell (which is presumably owned by his employer), he's looking at making some extra £$£ through the app. Clever.
Indeed as Tim points out. When is an advertorial not an advertorial?
BJP could be a little more incisive (and useful) with throwaway interviews of this type.
Its a pay to view blog, not a working portfolio.
A bunch say that they only know 1 or 2 ipad owners, the thing here is not general pubilc. You must ask, who is going to pay for my work (publishers, advertising, designers, etc) thats is the one thing to consider....if ts a good or bad move, depends only on your target
22 Million iPads are projected to be sold in the next two Quarters:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/briancaulfield/2011/09/26/piper-jaffray-reiterates-ipad-sales-estimates/
Consider also that OS X may well morph into iOS ... so that every Apple device would be exposed to the iPad app.
Surely it's time for someone to pop up with an app viewer for PC (Mac of course)? I can see no reason why my lovely matt legacy Cinema Display can't become a virtual ipad, presumably the OS can be embedded into the next OSX upgrade, providing, that is, software vendors have caught up with the last upgrade;)
Could someone be blocking the development of this logical progression?
I want to look at his new work, but I don't have an iPad. What should I do? I thought the goal was to reach the largest audience, not just fans of a particular brand of tech products.
With all respect, I love his work, but he's sounding like an idiot. It's like selling your work to a magazine that can only be read by certain eye glasses. It's sad when photographers who are artistic genius but technological morons make such a huge decision. iPad's are popular, yes. Does everyone have one? No. Would I buy one just because Nichols has a closed source portfolio on one? No, of course not. (...and it's not because I'm anti-Apple....I have a Mac Pro desktop and laptop, Apple TV, etc. I just don't need a tablet.
Definitely the image presentation trough the iPad is superb. Can't imaging with the upcoming high res release.If the app worth it personally don't care who makes it. Good for you Nick.
Salute!!
Harry
All those nay-sayers need to look at Apple's ad for the iPhone 4s. It shows you that the content of the future sits in the "cloud". The device, an iPhone, iPad, iMac, etc is simply a display of the data...in this case the photographers images. Using any device from anywhere one can load photos on an iMac in one country and they are available to all connected to the cloud devices.
I'm a fine art photographer and I think this is a brilliant idea.
Unfortunately, I can't follow suit, because the vast majority of my work is art nudes. Apple regularly censors stand-alone apps from depicting nudity.
Their rules are muddy at best, so I can't make the investment of time and money to pursue this and risk getting cut off at the pass.
I may consider an iBook, which has fewer rules, but even there, if they decide they want to ban your book from their store, there is little recourse.
I'm a total Apple fanboy (my house is full of their products), but this is my biggest beef with the company. Curation is good, but censorship is bad.
The reason the web is so amazing is that there has been a tradition of contributing content so that it is freely accessible by everyone. Apple are constantly chipping away at this model to make more and more profit and control over content. Imagine that everyone decides to follow the route of this photographer, so everything you want to look at costs you a few pounds/dollars etc.it's just not viable and cenrtainly not desirable to limit access by the ability to afford new toys and/or pay to view. I mean, come on, nice photos but pay just to see small onscreen images?
I am all for photographers making a living but not at the expense of wrecking the incredible resource that is the web.
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