Facebook buys Instagram and why we should all appreciate its importance!

Well, here's a turn for the books, Facebook buying Instagram is a fascinating move for the social media phenomenon , this will hopefully bridge the gap between taking pictures and sharing pictures. It's leading the way in the revival of Polaroid, but in a digital way, not in film. Which is a fascinating concept, and something i wish them all the luck with.

For the full story on this revelation, please visit this http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/45215/facebook-buys-instagram-social-photos

However, this is not the main reason for my post today. I want to talk about Instagram as a medium and its relevance to us as photographers today. I've heard A LOT of moaning and groaning from fellow photographers about how it makes photography so accessible to every joe blogs in the street, to an extent where its become the new "Indie craze" something every teenager is taking part in. This has resulted in a lot of anger from Photographers my age who are striving for attention in the commercial world, but i don't see this as an excuse to slate it as a form of sharing images.
It is indisputable that Instagram offers an amazingly simple platform for young photographers, allowing them to train their eyes to see that decisive moment and to compose properly. Above all, it creates smiles :)
To be brutally honest, it infuriates me how us "photographers" get so naive and protentious when it comes to young people taking photos and wanting them to look cool. So be it if they want their images to be sepia toned, black and white, cross processed or whatever, let them carry on without this constant dark cloud of judgement, as one day, they might be the world known photographers of tomorrow...

I love photography, i breath photography, i consume photography, i appreciate photography. Don't all photographers LOVE photography do i hear you say? Well the simple answer is no.
Loving photography is reading books.
Loving photography is reading Magazines
Loving photography is going to exhibitions.
Loving photography is waking up at 5am to take pictures of the birds
Loving photography is carrying a camera with you every time you leave the house
Loving photography is is appreciating how spectacular moments all over the world like the Japanese Tsunami, the protests in Tahir Square and the 9/11 Bombings could not have been seen if it were not for people with their phone cameras.
Loving photography is laughing at the silly photographs that pop up all over Facebook of someone tripping on the curb.
Loving photography is nurturing young and old people into how amazing photography can be!


Not belittling the teenager taking photo's on his iPhone then putting them through Instagram, instead people who love photography encourage those people as they have just as much of a photographic voice as we do. Just because they're not shooting on the most expensive D-SLR does not make their images worthless. I've seen some spectacular images taken in Instagram.
And this is what warrants my anger, because this snobby approach to photography does nothing but reduce our personal stimulation of this beautiful art form which anyone can participate in, no matter how talented they are. If you give someone a camera, they will make something worth talking about, photography is a form of speech, everyone has something to say, you just need to let them be heard.



(Image sourced from http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5203/5234043713_7f31b88f31.jpg

(Image sourced from http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3564/5708187879_90cae2d3e0.jpg

(Image sourced from http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3655/5822334012_9776c5031c.jpg

(Image sourced from http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7022/6638192213_a2f9b330d5.jpg

(Image sourced from http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7042/6985989809_be96a833a6.jpg

(Image sourced from http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m040r7YSx01r4j2f0.jpg

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One Response to Facebook buys Instagram and why we should all appreciate its importance!

  1. Yes I fully agree with you! The only thing which I don't like with Instagram is a kind of formatted photography. I mean, it is more a picture from Instagram than a picture from John Smith. They too often look the same: square crop and most of the time retro-digital filters.

    The other thing which bothers me is the Facebook acquisition motivations: they don't give a s..t about photography, all they wanted was to acquire the mobile sharing expertise of Instagram's team. That's not good for the community.

    Otherwise, to finish on something positive, yes young photographers rock! (and I am no more a young one!) And so do new ways to take photography.

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