This blog isn’t really a promotion for iPhone apps though I did end up spending my afternoon snapping photos of Hollywood Boulevard with Hipstamatic. I was initially giving the app the side-eye but my boyfriend Mike has ways of coaxing me out of my solitary shell — like the time he got me to drive his car for half a block to my mortification (but that’s a story for another time!).
It’s a fancy fun little application that acts as a vintage camera and “creates stylish (analog) photos without Photoshop.” You will, of course, have to purchase it at the store for $1.99 — I know, I know, I freaked out too because I never like to pay for any apps but if you really think about it, we wouldn’t think twice of paying hundreds for smart phones and expensive Starbucks coffees. (Revelation provided by The Oatmeal)
To my concerned dad who might faint at his credit card bill, yes, Mike will pay you those two dollars ha-ha.
In the app, you have the option of three lens to switch through and can pay a little more for each new lens. It automatically saturates, exposes, contrasts and frames your pictures and can be saved to your iPhoto library.
Being the snob that I am, I usually like to take pictures with a good camera and then tinker with them on a photo-editing software. Hipstamatic is all about nostalgia, it did remind me of when I used to play with these disposable plastic toy cameras.
The downfall with the app is how difficult it is to position the tiny view-square over your subject, which means it’s mostly holding your breath and wishing for the best after the flash. You also can’t take photos with the front-view camera, so if you plan on taking pictures of yourself — you’ll have to struggle holding up your iPhone backwards while posing for an awkwardly long time.
BUT Hipstamatic did prove to be rather fun and easy-to-use this weekend. We took a small tour around the Renaissance Hotel during the off-hours of the ACP 2011 convention, snapping photos of the El Capitan, Grauman’s Chinese Theater and the towering pillars at the centre from the set of D. W. Griffith’s epic film, Intolerance.
Even though I’ve already been to Hollywood Boulevard, the app actually made me enjoy the sights a little more when I came back to Los Angeles. I looked for famous names on the Walk of Fame and stared at the elephant statues with renewed interest. A simple task of finding things to photograph blossomed into a mini-adventure with Mike, turning Hipstamatic into my new favorite app.
What are your thoughts on Hipstamatic? Leave a comment below!
Read the The Campanil staff’s experiences at the ACP 2011 convention in Hollywood, Los Angeles on our website’s special blog page.
