Your Cell Phone is a Camera | Pt. V
Greetings, salutations and bienvenidos to Your Cell Phone is a Camera, revision five.
So far in this ongoing series we have reviewed a fair number of apps on both the Android and iOS platforms and hopefully swayed some subsequent app purchases in either the Market or App Store.
We return today for another heaping helping of app advice! Today's installment will focus again on the iOS platform. Follow me down the rabbit hole, ladies & gentlemen; click below to read more...
Hipstamatic from Synthetic
In short, Hipstamatic is hip. This little gem has about all you could possibly desire in an iOS vintage-inspired camera app; maybe even a bit too much. So much, in fact, that I have yet to truly put every feature, combination, social integration, et cetera, et cetera to the test. Hipstamatic boasts a lovely interface that is more-or-less simple to use in which the operator swaps film stocks, lenses, flashes and even camera bodies in ever-expanding combinations to create their own unique images.
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Synthetic seems to constantly update this app with additional 'hipstapaks' available directly through the app for $0.99 a pop and believe me, they're worth it. They often offer free bundles or paks as promotions as well; free is radical, duh.
One of the greatest features of this app [I have yet to utilize] are the multitude of social sharing options.
For example: One could order prints directly from Hipstamatic in oh-so-nostalgic square format splendor. One might enter their images into Hipstamatic contests; not sure to what degree this feature is supported but it's neat either way. One could also submit images to Hipstamatic's own 'Family Album'; Synthetic boasts 'sharing your prints in a whole new way.'
Even if you just utilize Hipstamatic for what it is on the surface -- a go-to iOS camera app -- it still shines. Capturing some faithfully retro and fantastically funky images via its plethora of gear combinations.
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Hipstamatic represents nearly all I have come to expect in my short time developing into a faithful Cell Phone Photographer; complete with social support and even a spiffy shake-your-device-and-see-what-you-get function. At $1.99 for the basic setup and $0.99 per add on, Hipstamatic is a veritable bargain.
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Grid Lens from Bucket Labs
I still can't recall exactly where I stumbled across this app; it could have been the ceaseless hours I spent zoning out with iPhone 4S in hand over my Christmas holiday in Mesa, Arizona or it could have complete and random chance. The important part it that I did.
Grid Lens seems to serve multiple purposes: one part sequential lens camera (a la the lomographic cybersampler or quadromat -- also captured digitally in Stepcase's Actioncam), one part 'tych' machine (you'll see what I mean in just a moment) and one part...well...one part vintage!
The interface is fun, simple and chock full of little animations and flourishes that even a hardened photographer such as myself can get down on; for shizzle. There are many 'tych' orientations to choose from and as you can see from the image below, you can even emulate the sequential lens look I know you all pine for.
There are a variety of looks built into the app as well that emulate a few different films, sepia and monochrome. All in all Grid Lens falls into my ever expanding quiver of super radical cell phone imaging apps that you should all explore yourselves.
So I suppose, in summary, it's worth mentioning that the New York Times Photograph of the Year was captured on a cellular telephone. Some inspiration and encouragement that great photography comes from the motivation and creative spark behind the photographer and not from the gear in their bag. On that note, get out there and shoot!
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Happy Shooting!
-Andrew
Andrew Paffrath - Image courtesy Taylor Mahoney // Day 2 Havasupai
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