Seeing the world through the Instagram lens
WASHINGTON DC. September 11. KAZINFORM Years ago, when legendary American photographer Ansel Adams labored in the darkroom with an enlarger and chemicals to create his beautiful black and white photographs, he never could have imagined that future generations would be able to capture pictures with mobile phones and create similar artistic effects within seconds. But thanks to the hugely popular photo-sharing app, Instagram, millions of people are are doing just that every day.
"Photography is changing constantly and Instagram is just one of those things that had an incredible overnight success for many reasons, due to its reach, accessibility of use, its appeal visually and it's a visual medium to share," said Astrid Merget, creative director of the World Photography Organisation headquartered in London, RIA Novosti reported.
There are now over 80 million registered Instagram users across the world using the app, which allows people to take photos with their iPhone or Android smartphones and then choose from a variety of filters that give the photographs a more artistic, creative look.
Acclaimed United States photojournalist Benjamin Lowy is a good example of how quickly the photography industry is changing and embracing new technologies. He assumed control over The New Yorker's Instagram account for two weeks to post pictures with his iPhone at both the Republican and Democratic National Conventions, instead of using a professional digital single-lens reflex camera.
"I use Instagram as a platform. It is an equivalent to Twitter. Instagram is like the social media platform for images rather than words," said Lowy, adding that once he posts pictures with Instagram, his images are also fed to his Tumblr, Facebook and Twitter accounts to maximize the audience.
The campaigns for the two main U.S. presidential candidates have also used Instagram as a way to get their political messages out to potential voters.
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