I was in Paris last week. Part work, but mostly fun. Eating, drinking, being merry, and of course, snapping photos my iPhone–as I do everyday–with no end goal beyond staying creatively engaged.
I was just now kicking through photos from the trip and stumbled on a couple of snapshots I thought were interesting for various reasons. I’ve posted stuff like this before and was really excited by the resulting discussion, so I figured I’d throw it out there again… These are of course just snapshots, but even snapshots have merit. AND these photos are VERY different from one another…. So, simply put, I thought I’d ask for your thoughts, which is better, A or B? And why?
Vote in the comments. Also love to know ‘why’ if you care to explain. 500 px wide images after the jump…
[ASIDE, since Paris reminds me of good food... if you like chasejarvisLIVE, I'm bringing in 2 special guests TOMORROW (Wednesday) at 12 noon pacific/3:00 eastern time. The goal is to combine a few of my passions and share them with you: photography, food, the internet. As such, join me tomorrow to welcome....
Guest #1 Penny DeLosSantos: Food/Lifestyle/Travel and National Geographic photographer Penny DeLosSantos (@pennydelosantos). Well talk about photo, food, and travel...photographing in the world's most suicide bombed markets in the middle east, travels to more than 40 countries, and the art of combining your passions into a career.
Guest #2 Barnaby Dorfman: Barnaby is a legendary tech guru turned entreprenuer who recently founded Foodista [@foodista] – the world’s leading online food encyclopedia/wiki and an overall amazing site. Combine food, tech, and storytelling and you get a thick slice of Barnaby. Hope to see you at http://www.chasejarvis.com/live tomorrow ….]
Now go vote on those photos below. Tell me what you think… (more…)
Seems like the more I listen, the more I hear people talking about the gear, the business of photography, the widgets. Let us not forget the simple love of photography.
I understand why there’s so much rhetoric in our industry about the business of photography and the gear and the gadgets. There is the common stereotype that most creative people aren’t good business people. There is fear. Gear is easier to talk about than vision. Exposures are exact, the camera dials have numbers. There is a ‘right’ answer to many of these questions.
But where is your love of pictures? Where are your actions that back this up?
Can you pick up a book of photographs and get lost in it?
Can you walk around with your iPhone or Android or your point and shoot or whatever and take 100 pictures knowing that they’ll never be for a client or a portfolio?
Do you love hunting for pictures?
Will you stay up late or get up early for pictures?
Do you sometimes ‘see’ life as a photograph?
It’s different for all of us, but when you can take a break from all the chatter, remind yourself–as often as you can–why you love photography.
At its root, this blog is about photographs. So here’s one I snagged last night with my iPhone at sunset from the always-epic Telluride, Colorado. Anybody spot the gorilla face in the picture?
[btw, As I mention the gorilla face... Photo gear is good, but vision is better. TODAY starting at 11am Seattle time--and throughout the weekend--a must see. Join us LIVE for FREE over at www.creativeLIVE.com as we bring you a masters-series weekend with David Duchemin, award winning photographer and author of the best selling photo books Within the Frame and VisionMongers. How to "see" pictures and pursue your dreams in photography isn't just something you're born with - they are skills you can learn. Register here now for free, join us all weekend long!]
UPDATE: If you missed our Sarah McLachlan video shoot/performance there’s a re-broadcast of the internet feed here on YouTube. Check it!
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First we kicked off chasejarvisLIVE, then creativeLIVE… so you figured out I really dig this LIVE thing. Well, today, I’m excited to share that I’ve also been working hard with a little coffee company down the street called Starbucks to help bring you StarbucksLIVE. To kick this off, I’m TODAY at 12 noon PDT (3pm NYC time) doing a LIVE photo/video shoot with multi-platinum, Grammy award-winning musician, Sarah McLachlan. Sarah will be performing live from a little nook inside the Starbucks headquarters here in Seattle, and we’ll have a few cameras and a few mics pointed at her.
WHAT YOU’LL SEE: In our typical style, the setting should be pretty relaxed. We’ve set up a baby grand piano, some basic lights and cameras and we’re going to make some great video images while Sarah plays from her new album, Laws of Illusion. Besides Sarah’s beautiful performance, the other thing you’ll see is me and my crew actually working. How bout that. This is the real deal. If you tune in a little early you’ll get to see us (more…)
I began posting portfolios of images shot with my iPhone more than two years ago now. And my love affair isn’t wearing off, it’s growing stronger. The best camera still is–and always will be–the one that’s with you.
I post iPhone snapshots everyday to my twitter, facebook, and www.thebestcamera.com, but I haven’t updated my iPhone portfolio page in quite some time.
Until yesterday.
I dug through a huge pile of images and completely refreshed the gallery with some new favorites. Scott and I are in a little disagreement as to which ones are hot and which ones are not. As such, I’d love some of your targeted feedback. Please visit my new iPhone portfolio page here and tell me in the comments below which image is your most favorite AND which is your least favorite image. We’ll did this crowd-sourced edit once before and it was really helpful. We’ll make some changes if a pattern emerges.
Since there’s work involved in your edit, I’ll give some shoutouts and send a signed book or three to some randomly selected people who are willing to lend a hand with editing thoughts. Thanks in advance for your time. (more…)
…that was in the couple days before and after launching The Best Camera ecosystem. But I loved it, because working hard to create stuff feels good. It’s not everyday that you get an opportunity to launch a book, or an iPhone app, or an online community, let alone all three. The experience has been exciting, humbling, scary and energizing all at once, and I owe a huge debt of gratitude to you.
…And since that first 24 hours, it’s been getting better by the hour. Wow. I am humbled. And I Thank you thank you thank you.
Launch is fun, but it’s where we want to go with this thing now that’s important in the big picture.
Overall, I want to continue to celebrate pictures. I want to continue to grow thebestcamera.com and the visualizer in the app, into a seriously remarkable place for viewing pictures. I am blown away by what I see there everyday as you’ve been choosing www.thebestcamera.com in the sharing menu. There are currently hundreds of pictures being added there every hour. If you haven’t stared at that thing, and if you haven’t been voting from your phone (ie giving the thumb’s up) to images you like, the community has been missing your input. Give it a shot…[click the 'continue reading' link below] –
For those of you who were rightly concerned about the Facebook captioning issue, apologies abound. It was an unintended hiccup that inserted a placeholder caption ‘uploaded with Chase Jarvis’ Best Camera’. We missed removing it during testing. You should know that we fixed it within 24 hours of launch and subsequently re-submitted the refreshed code to the app store for approval. Simple work arounds are listed in the FAQ’s.
For those who want to upload to Flickr: every Flickr account has an email addy for uploading. Send to that address from the share menu in the app. More elegant solutions soon
Of course there are a million ways for us to improve what we’ve created, many of which we’re already aware. If you’ve got ideas or suggestions, I want them. I am listening. That said, please don’t put them in the comments below. We’re collecting your ideas via the submission form on the support page.
While we’re gathering feedback, I don’t want to look too far into the future or into the past. After all this ecosystem is still only 2.5 days old. What I’m really hoping for is that we focus on using this shiny new toy. Just like your mobile phone camera has one button and you can have lots of fun and discover what’s possible with that one button, I’d love for you to crank on our version 1.0 of Best Camera and see what you can make it do for you. Have fun with it.
For those in this community who have written me asking how you might help this app further succeed, the answer is pretty simple: 1. tell your friends online and in the real world; and 2. rank the app and write a (hopefully glowing review in the iTunes app store. That’s in large part how other people in the world discover and buy apps.
And the same goes for the book….the initial rounds of The Best Camera Is The One That’s With You are beginning to arrive on your doorstep from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Borders. For those of you who sent email and asked to further help out…just like the app, please tell your friends and rate/review on Amazon, B&N;, Borders. Thank you thank you.
Lastly, wanted to remind you that on Monday, September 28, I’m choosing my favorite picture that’s been uploaded to www.thebestcamera.com and giving its creator a brand new, unlocked (yes unlocked) iPhone 3Gs loaded with the Best Camera app. I’ll ship it anywhere in the world. Hope to see your photos there this weekend. –
Today I’m really pumped to share with you the results of many months of hard work, a whole lotta fun, and–in many ways–a dream come true. It’s a trifecta of projects that I’ve just launched moments ago:
Introducing:
1. Best Camera = An iPhone photo app that allows you to shoot, add creative effects, and share your images more simply and powerfully than ever before. Virtually limitless creativity, and the ability to share photos directly from Best Camera to Facebook, Twitter, via email at a new iPhone photo sharing site, www.thebestcamera.com. I’ve poured all my experience into creating this app, and I’ve partnered with my ubersmart software developer friends, Ubermind, to bring you Best Camera. Read more and/or buy it from iTunes here.
2. The Best Camera Is The One That’s With You = A book of my iPhone photography from around the world. The first of its kind. It’s both a playful celebration of mobile photography and a serious artistic endeavor. It’s the production of my ideas and the way I see the world. It’s real and it’s RAW. I hope you dig it. Learn more and/or buy it here on preorder now – should be shipping this week.
3. www.thebestcamera.com = This is the hub of this ecosystem and a new photo community. It gives you the how-to videos for the app, the nuts and bolts of the book and is the support and feedback center. But most importantly, it’s a living, breathing feed of images from around the world created with Best Camera iPhone app. From within the app share your iPhone work here at the first photo community of its kind. Buy the app, login from your iPhone and join the revolution.
That’s right–you’re getting the picture–each of these elements is tied together with that goofy-but-strangely-sticky phrase I inadvertently coined rallied a while back, “The Best Camera Is The One That’s With You”. This is the first ecosystem–app, book, community–of its kind, and I’ve put a heckuva lot of work into creating it. I’m dying to know what you think.
A complete video tour, some informative links and a free, unlocked iPhone 3Gs after the jump… [click the 'continue reading' link below] –
If you buy the app, book, or both and like what you see and experience, please consider doing the following things:
a. Tell your friends. Unlike my commercial photography, this is entirely a community-based endeavor and it depends on your patronage and good will to succeed. If you believe in this, please spread the word.
b. Rate the app and the book at iTunes and Amazon or wherever you purchase. Being in your favor is in large part an indicator of how good of a job I’ve done in creating this ecosystem, and it tells those who aren’t in your immediate network what you think. I want it to be fun and I want it to be good and I want it to evolve. Your feedback matters.
c. Participate in the community. Snapping photos everyday with my iPhone changed my life. I am more in touch creatively now than ever before. It’s contagious in the very best way, from professional artists to my 63-year-old mother. Take pictures and share them. It can change the world.
And here’s some fun that might get your attention: On Monday Sept 28th, I’m choosing my favorite image that’s been created using Best Camera and posted to www.thebestcamera.com , and I’m giving away a brand new, unlocked iPhone 3Gs, loaded with the Best Camera app. That’s right. I look at your pictures, I like one, and then give you an unlocked iPhone 3Gs loaded with my app. Can’t wait to see your photos.
Here’s a video tour of the iPhone app Best Camera:
Lastly, lots more details and behind the scenes to come this week. Until then, some helpful links:
[UPDATE: Martin has chimed in with more details and original photos...all info after the jump].
After reading the headline of this post and looking at the image, you’re probably waiting for the other shoe to drop. What’s the catch? Well, there isn’t one. Yes, my pal Martin Gisborne used only an iPhone 3Gs and a telescope to get this shot. He did some slight tweaking in Aperture, but no crazy-fancy space cameras, no Photoshop, no compositing, no gimmicks. Pretty impressive. The best camera is the one that’s with you.
[By contrast, last spring I was dorking around and also shot an image thru a telescope. My results were, er... let's say, less interesting. That image after the jump...] –
Here’s my laughable shot:
Not nearly as powerful a telescope…
[And here's Martin's addendum, just cut and pasted from his email to me...Thanks Martin!] …Here’s the scoop:
1) Exposure was simply controlled using tap to focus/expose. 2) The telescope was a modest 80mm William Optics Zenithstar II… only 545mm focal length. I used a 20mm Plossl eyepiece in a 2″ diagonal. 3) The iPhone was handheld – which was the most challenging part… getting the lens in alignment over the eyepiece without moving the scope. 4) The size of the moon in the frame came from using the 20mm eyepiece on the telescope.
This is the original frame from my iPhone… you can see that it’s not BAD exactly as it is:
This is the image cropped in Aperture:
This is the cropped image with Levels applied:
This is with Definition applied:
And, lastly, this is with Edge Sharpen applied, no external plug ins used:
Omar Shine, for this killer image here. Great composition, color, and story. Points for abstraction. Congrats Omar. Everyone please shower him with praise. Omar is from the great country of Canada, so it’ll be up north that I’m mailing my phone. (Omar, please contact me offline about getting it to you.)
IMPORTANT: in addition to Omar’s winning shot, there were 3500 images submitted in just a couple of days, with some absolutely stunning work therein. Seriously. As such, I have posted a gallery of my favorite one hundred images with photographer names on each. This gallery is REMARKABLE. Please pay a visit. A good chunk of this work stands up to a lot of the work I see in the industry, regardless of the the platform, mobile or otherwise. Pat yourselves on the back. And thanks for the fun.
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[And btw, a personal aside: I found out my mom and dad entered some spoof images in the contest too. Scroll back thru the whole Facebook gallery of submissions if you want to see images of a strange goat tied to a car and a cactus shaped like a rabbit. my parents are funny and cooler'n hell...] [Lastly, in case you missed it, this entry is the result of this earlier post.]
I’m the proud owner of a new iPhone 3Gs. That said, I’ve got my last iPhone, this lovely black 16GB 3G (pictured here), that I’ll no longer be using. Don’t get me wrong…I love this little sucker. I’ve lugged it over 200,000 air miles, literally around the world, and it’s taken all the daily iPhone pics that you’ve seen on my Twitter feed and Facebook fan page. She’s still in tip-top shape. It’s dear to me, but it’s time for me to give it to you.
In exchange, I want to see your photos (in the spirit, we’ll limit it to mobile devices only…iphone or any other camera phone – honor system here…) posted to my Facebook fan page. You’ve got till 12 noon on Tuesday 6/23, my time (GMT -8). On Tuesday the give away will close, I’ll pick my favorite image from all those uploaded and I’ll give that person my beloved iPhone 3G. Announced Wednesday 6/24.
To participate, you’ve got to: 1. ‘Become a fan’ on my Facebook fan page. (NOT my personal page, but the FAN page. Follow that link…) 2. Under the “wall” tab in the ‘what’s on your mind’ window atop the page, write your name and a url if you’d like. 3. In that same window, directly below where you just wrote your name, click on the ‘add photos’ icon. 4. Upload your favorite mobile image. No limit to the number of entries. Anyone can enter, from anywhere in the world. 5. When you win, I’ll send you my iphone in the mail. Easy peasy.
[I'd love to see some community love here. Don't be a miser. Please share this. It's really about pictures and not about the phone. Also, if you've got time, visit the Fan gallery and click 'like' to any images that inspire you. This isn't part of the giveaway, but it seems like a nice way to look at some pretty pictures and maybe make somebody's day.] [Lastly, images in my iPhone gallery, shot with the iphone in question, are here. Chk 'em.]
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