i.ma.gi.na.ção: Hipstamatic and (or versus) Simplicity

Wednesday, September 28

Hipstamatic and (or versus) Simplicity

Why do we take photographs?

I believe every one of us has a different answer for this same question.

Personally, I like images. I love to collect them. I get lost into them, my eyes wonder around it, look at details, shadows, contrasts, colors. I often get back to my own images or to other images that I like. I visit 1x every day.

I enjoy downloading my pictures, adjust them one by one, sometimes conscientious of what I am doing and other times on trance.

It is a way to relax.

But photography should be simple as well. Carry a camera around and taking snaps... this explains why Hipstamatic and look-alike applications are now so popular.

People want drama. It is not just having a snapshot of a moment. They want character. They want something that gives a plus to their normal images. And this is exactly what those Hip applications do: they run a program over your image. A couple of pre-defined steps which can be compared to an automated task on Photoshop or a preset on Lightroom. And they change everything: adjust colors, tune exposure, dump contrast in it (contrast overall, contrast on the edges), they split tones and color the highlights. And the shadows.

And so, you have something "different".

Some time ago, men would be quite happy with a TV that would show reality as it was. Nowadays we are drawning ourselves on 3D TVs and if you analyze that image carefully, you will see that it does not reflect reality. It goes beyond it and reflects a world of fantasy. A world that do not exist.

Here my favorite Hipstamatic images. The ones I like the most. They are "simple" and "pure" but have been so heavy manipulated by the Apps that I don't dare to say they are real. But I like them. And if I need to take a snap with my phone, I do it with Hipstamatic...