Tomcat5133 Loc: Gladwyne PA

From North Korea to Baltimore, Instagram Is Fostering the Next Generation of Photojournalists
Marjah, Afghanistan. A troop-carrying helicopter drops acclaimed American photojournalist David Guttenfelder into the front lines of the then-biggest American air assault in the war against Al Qaeda. Seeing the Marines that surround him snapping photos on their smartphones, he drops his DSLR, reaches for the iPhone 3G (his first) in the pocket of his flak jacket, and begins shooting photos, hoping to mimic the intimacy of those the soldiers were sending back home.

This happened a few years ago. And was reported again on the great site artsy.com today.
I have to admit I didn't get the surge of instagram.com. My granddaughter is 10 and posts images often.
I was told that I have to put my work up on instagram to continue pushing for some income.

We discuss the machines that make images and art here. And I didn't realize that immediate online publishing
of your work is a must. And that is why the smart phone is taking over.

rmalarz Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Tom, admittedly, cell phone photos have a place in the realm of news, as you stated. The images are small, instantly available, etc. However, I'm not so sure how suitable they are for sizeable enlargements, framed, and hanging on museum walls.
--Bob

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Another reason I'm glad I'm not working. I don't have to keep up with anything.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

What Bob said!

CPR Loc: Nature Coast of Florida

We often forget, It's not what we have to sell but what the client wants to buy - that is important.

Tomcat5133 Loc: Gladwyne PA

Great response from my friends here. Jerry I was thinking the other day why do
I have to maintain facebook, youtube and now instagram and the social networking
monster. I do a very mediocre job of keeping new stuff and imagery updated.

rmarlaz you are so right. I am trying to put a collection together to display and sell prints.
And now realize what I have been doing for a few years is not great for some prints.
I made 50 test prints on 8 1/2 gloss paper and posted them on a wall in my office.
Have to made prints for years. Going to change that.

Darkroom317 Loc: Mishawaka, IN

Expediency in news photography has always been an issue. Smartphones are great for this.

https://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/253740/how-to-transmit-news-photos-by-wire-in-1937/

There is increased pressure for journalists to get content out immediately. This coupled with increasing job demands spurring from consolidation and layoffs, leads to many errors and lower quality news. Reporters are now asked to write, blog, take photos and shoot video.

https://petapixel.com/2016/11/03/chicago-tribune-sun-times-covers-world-series/

Another major issue for journalists particularly in war zones is that they have become deliberate targets. A large DSLR is a giveaway for foreign journalists whereas a person with a cell phone could be anybody.

sjb3

I think it's safe to say that the majority of the UHH members' primary interest in the art of photography is aesthetic rather than commercial, i.e., art for art's sake, not necessarily what they can make out of it or get publicly recognized for. The folks here know full well that the very best smartphone isn't the equal of even the most modest DSLR.

I could well be wrong (and often am) but to me Instagram is just another of the ubiquitous social-media-share-with-everybody-and-his brother sites. With the huge numbers of people who use it, there's undoubtedly plenty of genuinely good if not great work mixed in with all the crap. But if nobody on Instagram sees my stuff because I didn't post anything there, so what? I'm my own most appreciative viewer and my own severest critic. I just like taking pictures.

All that being said, I mainly meant (by my comments here) to address the part about smartphones taking over. I'm not a photojournalist, and have no interest in professional status, though I wonder how those photos that Mr. Guttenfelder took with his 3G Smartphone played with his clients, at least some of whom expected to print them in their magazines(?)

Tomcat5133 Loc: Gladwyne PA

I think I told this story before. When the Pope came to Phildelphia I was watching on TV him in his
popmobile. As he sent slowly down the street almost everyone was recording him a few feet away.
They had to be looking at the phone screen. Look at the Pope. Please enjoy the moment.

I was in china and Nelson Mandela's car stopped at the gates of the Forbidden City and I would
never think of using a cell phone to take a picture of him. He looked back and knew I was in awe.

rjaywallace Loc: Wisconsin

Tom, you would be better advised to teach your granddaughter about the images of war.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

"Instagram Is Fostering the Next Generation of Photojournalists"

"I have to admit I didn't get the surge of instagram.com. My granddaughter is 10 and posts images often. " My 16 year old granddaughter does too.

And ordinary photographers too. A big part of it is showing your work. It is hard for us traditionalists to get it. But the habit of the darkroom print hung on a gallery wall is fading. Having your friends, family and also "followers" join you through imaging communication requires some more rapid work flows.

All the traditionalists' favorite camera brands now have apps. Touch your phone to your camera, the app pops up, grabs the stunning image you just took and you put it where people you care about can see it right now.

Upcoming photographers still concentrate on light and composition. Not on their list is buying a printer or using a print service.

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

OMG, Jerry, we ain't dead yet.

You can post on "Instie" all day long without using your phone's camera. Take a look at mine. You get a lot or looks from established and respected Photographers.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

How do I find your Instagram connection?

Darkroom317 Loc: Mishawaka, IN

I've used Instagram to make connections with other artists worldwide. My Instagram feed is mostly filled with film and alt process photography. I also used it to find grad schools by following department accounts, professors and current grad students. It is a great resource for finding galleries too

Rongnongno Loc: FL

There is an important missing part of the puzzle here...

Social sites, even photo sites are not about photography but about 'look what I am doing, what I ate, what I saw'. It is about self-exhibition.

While it appears to be 'photography' it is more a social comment then anything else.

The imagery offered is ephemeral despite being semi-permanent (until the site goes down). A contradiction in terms while true. No one cares about what someone else has done today or yesterday. The images are seen once or twice and quickly forgotten, replaced by the next one on the pile. Take the time to check a single individual post and you will see the pattern as well as boredom, worse than having to sit for a full 'last vacation' in slide with the 'you should have been there'.

The real concern, for me, is not what is posted, excellent, good, bad or ugly, it is that folks are losing human contact. Even the doting old aunt recounting her youth time and time again has more warmth and offers more opportunity to love than a flat screen, however small it has become.