Rediscovering Today’s Kodak Brownie...
Rediscovering Today’s Kodak Brownie...
I started learning the craft of photography, with my iPhone 7 Plus. It is a digital camera after all... At the time, I wasn’t interested in using a "real" camera. People were creating great images using phones, though most people, like me at the time, didn't have a clue about the fundamentals of photography and therefore created boring, ordinary and mundane images. You could shoot RAW, purchase lenses to enhance the quality, depth of field and and brilliantly adjust the shot in Lightroom or hundreds of apps to edit the photos, most of them free. You could say that the iPhone, in particular, gave the world access to image making, on a scale like never before... much like what the Kodak Brownie did for photography in the early 1900’s.
The small Kodak Brownie camera made photography affordable, portable and something anyone could do. It was no longer exclusive. You could take the camera outside the studio, to the streets, and take photos of your everyday life, much like today’s mobile phone cameras. Henri Cartier-Bresson, Ansel Adams and Vivian Maier grew their first interest in snapshot photography when they were young, with the camera from Kodak, “you could buy for a buck”.
I took photos on various iPhones for a number of years, enjoying the simplicity and ease of use and the relatively inexpensive way to capture moments in my life. But most were not memorable as photographs. Some memorable as moments in time, but pot luck in creating a good image.
In late 2019, I decided that I wanted to learn about iPhone photography and began a course with the https://iphonephotographyschool.com. Their promise is to have you capture photos you’ll love with the only camera you’ll ever need. They have helped a million people change their photography forever. The course is brilliant and highly recommended. It inspired a passion for photography in me, compelling me to take it further. This led me to digital photography with a dedicated camera system and as I explored the options and the kind of photography I wanted to pursue, the only choice for me was Leica, beginning with the Leica Q.
The more I immersed myself in photography, the more I stopped taking phone photographs, perhaps only for reminder shots or sometimes taking a quick snap. Phone photography felt flat to me. I was not inspired. All the apps and tweaks left unused in the App Store. A few weeks back, I received an email from https://hipstamatic.app/hello to say they are relaunching and refreshing their Hipstamatic channel. Hiptstamatic was one app I really enjoyed using and probably the app that inspired me to photograph and see the possibilities of photography. In fact, one year I took on a project, called The Gratitude Project, where I posted a photo a day to express what I was specifically grateful for that day. And Hipstamatic was the app that was my go to to produce interesting images. At least I thought so. Hipstamatic apps bring a nostalgic, analogue style, to phone photography. The idea is to bring the joy, quirk and randomness of analogue film photography to your iPhone. They have created a passport system to help you stay motivated to take more photos and rediscover the joy of shooting everyday moments.
And, it has worked... For the past 2 weeks, I have been picking up my phone and taking photos, choosing a look or style, posting and sharing by text my shots with family and friends. It’s fun. Just like a Kodak Brownie. There's also a digital Polaroid feel to it. It’s creative. It's available to most everyone. I like the images for what they are and it has had me rediscover what I think iPhone photography is about... It’s not a replacement for a dedicated camera... It’s a tool that with all the apps and technology available can provide a unique way of photographing that film or digital cameras cannot replicate. And it's the camera that is always with me...
“You'll be found, your nickels, dimes and Indian-heads fused by electroplating. Abe Lincolns melted into Miss Columbias, eagles plucked raw on the backs of quarters, all run to quicksilver in your jeans. More! Any boy hit by lightning, lift his lid and there on his eyeball, pretty as the Lord's Prayer on a pin, find the last scene the boy ever saw! A box-Brownie photo, by God, of that fire climbing down the sky to blow you like a penny whistle, suck your soul back up along the bright stair!”
~ Ray Bradbury, Something Wicked This Way Comes.
