The magazine of the art-form of the photo-essay
“A free, really high quality photo-essay magazine. Fabulous!”
Stephen Fry. British actor, writer and film & documentary maker
Feb 2016 back issue
by Robert Herman
I began making photographs with the iPhone in 2010 and started taking it
seriously when I discovered the Hipstamatic App. Surprisingly, it was the
limitations of the iPhone /Hipstamatic that made it a compelling choice: the
square format, the fixed lens and the slow ISO. Unlike a DSLR that has a
five-shot burst, it forced me to slow down. With no zoom and no telephoto
at my disposal, I had to move. I felt closer to my previous analogue practice
than I had in a long time.
Using the Hipstamatic App gave me a seemingly exponential number of
lens/film pairings to choose from. After some experimenting, I found a lens/
film combination that pleased me. I wanted to echo my previous street
work with Kodachrome and Tri- X.
Using a clean “lens” and a “film” combination added warm saturated colors
to the image. For black and white, I used the same clean “lens” with a high
contrast, grainy “film”. Most of the photographs in this book were made with
these same lens/film combinations. Working this way, I hoped to create a
consistent body of work.
Although I’ve moved from shooting film to the DSLR and then to the iPhone, my method has remained consistent
throughout my thirty-five-year practice of street photography. I am drawn to the spontaneous, unforced event. I see
myself as a vessel, witnessing and recording a moment in time and space. I respond to the visual stimuli before me,
making decisions based on instinct and experience. In the past, there was always a part of me that found it slightly
inauthentic and artificial to go out with a camera and look for pictures. The iPhone allows me to put aside this artificiality
and shoot whenever and wherever I am. It is a joy to always have a camera with me when the muse strikes.
Marches Irréguliéres, Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris, France.
Une Chapeau Melon, La Concorde, Paris, France.
De Cinq á Sept, Le Marais, Paris, France.
Downtown Brooklyn, Brooklyn, NY USA.
Shadow of a Streetlight, New York, NY USA.
L' esprit de l’ escaier, French Quarter, New Orleans, LA USA.
Annie’s Table, Lama, Corsica, France.
Self-Portrait in a Snowstorm, New York, NY USA.
Les Pietons, Rue de Rivoli, Paris, France.
Woman in A Handmade Dress, New York, NY, USA.
Reflection, La Bourse, Paris, France.
Silver Rain, New York, NY, USA.
Seventh Avenue, New York, NY USA.
The Apple Store, New York, NY.
A Long White Dress, Paris, France.
Fog, Santa Monica, CA USA.