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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
The Phone Book
by Robert Herman
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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.
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