This inspiring post, from Antonio from Aisle One, got me thinking about the emerging relationship between people, their cameras, and the stories they tell. It boils down to this: as camera are integrated into nearly every mobile device worth using, and as those cameras increase in quality, two mega-trends will emerge:

› Everyone will become a photographer.
› The introduction of new camera/device technologies will allow people to express themselves via photography, in increasingly unique and innovative ways.

The first trend will occur when more people own smartphones with high-qulity cameras, who then take photos as part of a social activity. In other words, people won’t become photographers because they have a deep desire to improve upon the art and craft of photography. Instead, more people will take more photos because they have access to both a quality camera and photo-capable applications on their smartphone, and because they are excited to share.

After all, “sharing” is what the majority of people ultimately want to do with their photos. And smart cameraphones are uniquely positioned to make photo capture and sharing easier than dialing a telephone number. For example, in the time it takes me to write this sentence I could alternatively take a photo and share it with friends and family via my iPhone’s iChat or Facebook apps. My mother, who doesn’t own a regular camera, can just as easily do the same with her iPhone. I fully expect my infant daughter to be able to do the same (if I let her), within just a few years. Taking and sharing photos is made simple and easy on today’s best smart cameraphones.

Compare this with the burden and complication caused by cables, cords, software, and multiple items of hardware including the computer workstation or laptop, the point-and-shoot or weighty DSLR. The amount of dedication and commitment needed to share photos via the traditional, “non-cameraphone” mechanisms is, in comparison, a usability nightmare. In other words, the future of mass market photography is the smart cameraphone.

Now, the second trend is one that is a bit more elusive, and I’m only starting to see it emerge more recently. New apps like See This! from Boinx software and AutoStitch from CloudBurst Research are two examples of great photos apps that use the iPhone’s camera in conjunction with application logic to allow people to create expressive photo stories. Both apps require people to do a bit of set up in order to create something interesting, but the time invested in relatively small compared to the benefit of the end result.

For example, here’s a video clip that showcases the ease of use, and fun output of See This!

I for one look forward to more and better photo apps for smart cameraphones. There are so many interesting possibilities in this space. From harnessing geo-data, to leveraging the camera’s gyroscope, to embracing the benefits of multi-touch; there are many exciting directions. And the best part is that more and more people will be using these apps to create cool stuff as the march of the smart cameraphone continues.

It’s been a very slow blogging week for me. I’ve been recovering from MAX, and a nasty cold. Finally, I’m feeling better and this masterfull photo set of Obama on the campaign trail pepped me up more than a few notches. Take a peep, there are some truly moving photos in there.

Simply cool:

Photoshop Mobile Beta was released yesterday. Wonderfully, it syncs with Photoshop.com, one of my favorite examples of near pixel perfect Flex design - and a not-bad workflow to boot.

Some good friends worked on the design of Photoshop Mobile Beta and they did a very good job indeed, porting some of the core Photoshop.com interaction patterns and visual design into a smaller screen and 5-way navigation.

I admit that this post falls far outside the realm of what is usually tossed up on the web here, but bear with me. Not only is this project artful, and interesting from more than an Information Science perspective (where yes, Borges matters), but it’s fairly originally graphically designed. An image, and a quote, from the Infinite Library:

To reassemble two different books in ways that each second page of one book would be put together with each second page of the other, would result in two volumes of similar weight, though varying in content, both unique in their totality. If every book was to be taken apart and then combined with another, an infinite library of readable or unreadable volumes would emerge, a constellation of non-identical books establishing variant new systems and approximations through juxtaposition and replacement. If we were to imagine all books treated in this way (including their editioned copies), no book would be left untouched or unaltered. Dismantling and deconstructing all books would mean that their initial purpose and origin would be disturbed. There would be no categories; no science or fiction books, no religious writings or educational texts, but one homogeneous volume of books containing another kind of knowledge*. The knowledge found in this library would be vast and infinite, an ‘omnium-gatherum’ full of cross-references based on chance and the theory of probability**. The purpose of each book would simply be in its very nature, to be a book, containing possibility. There is no assurance that anything written in such book would be true, neither false, as this condition of becoming would be inhuman and coincidential, the authority coming from the book itself. Cencorship would not exist as authorship would no longer be valid.

There are a lot of young people in NYC who buy vintage clothing and don’t brush their teeth. They tend to start trends so if you’re interested in peering into this world for a moment, check out the photos up in Stillhouse, or better yet click on the links in this guys poetry verse.

I came across Felix Turner’s site when searching Word Press for photo plug-ins. I found it in his lightwieght and beautiful SimpleViewer. It’s an elegant Flash photo viewer, which thankfully integrates with both Lightroom and Word Press.

After finding SimpleViewer, I was drawn in to the other work and information on Felix’s site. All great stuff. Felix has a great intuitiion for motion, and a clean and efficient graphic design style.

Jonathan Harris’ latest work documents his experience preparing for and engaging in an Inupiat whale hunt. His stated motivations for the trip and project are to experiment with a new interface for storytelling, subject himself to the same incessant automated data collection process that he usually writes computer programs to do, and optimally present such a rich experience on the internet.

His second motivation is downright novel. It’s difficult for most people to grasp the nature of algorithms, or of the power of processing. It’s also difficult for most people to realize the efficiency that technology brings to our everyday existence. Jonathan’s whalehunt makes the idea of automation tangible, to a certain degree.

Now, because my goal in the blog is to raise awareness of good and bad design practice, I can’t help but provide critique of Jonathan’s work.

The Good

• Original patterns for photo presentation. Showing number of photos as a difference along a timeline is not new, but integrating it with a “heartbeat” metaphor is unique. This brings a sense of drama to the photo presentation.
• When rolling over the heartbeat, both a red indicator and a change in background wave conditions help orient the user’s attention. These dual motions complement each other rather than conflict.
• Content is king. Numerous controls are layered over the content in graphically intelligent ways that make it easy to visually differentiate the two. Because he places the controls over the content, Harris has the option of taking the expeirence full-screen - and this making it a trully immersive experience.
• The photos are beautiful. I want to take it fullscreen!

The Bad

• All the controls refresh with every pulse of the heartbeat. This makes it virtually impossible to target controls - they disappear right out from under my cursor!
• When viewing the greater set of photos, rolling over each shows a photo thumbnail. These thumbnails are so small they provide no information other than color value, which is meaningless in the context of the Jonathan’s greater goals.

The Ugly

• From a visual design perspective, there’s not much to critique without running the risk of being nitpicky. The various control background patterns are consistent, it’s easy to parse the experience, the typography is solid.

Check out the rest of Harris’s work.