Who is the practitioner (what is their name?) and when were they practicing?
I have chosen to focus my attention on French iPhoneographer, Hannibal Renber, whose work has been exhibited since 2013. Despite having a prosperous photographic career making his own prints in a small make-shift dark room, Renber now only uses his smartphone to capture the streets of Paris.
Renber aims to use photography to be a reflection of the society around him. He wanted his photography to capture his emotions, and his humour in a particular moment in time. As described by him on his website, the photos he captures are of interest “only by the look the spectators takes to them.” He believes there is merit in the use of the mobile phone for its ability to set a moment and make a portfolio quickly.
Currently at 42.7k Instagram followers, Renber appears to capture life as it happens on the streets of Paris. He uses predominantly black and white images on his Instagram, focusing on the architecture visible on the Parisian streets, while simultaneously capturing human life and emotion on those passing by. In this sense, Renber very much utilises Cartier-Bresson’s concept of ‘the decisive moment’ (which you can read more about here) by capturing unique, fleeting moments. I have chosen to analyse his image (see second image above, or view it here) of a man using a visual assistance walking cane, passing a large framed image of a female model’s face. I chose this picture because of its simple irony. In a society consumed with looks, fundamentally it matters what’s on the inside, as some people are not able to view the outside. To me, this image de-necessitates the importance of looks.
What is the title of the photo or video you have chosen to analyse (can you provide a link?)
This image by Henber is not titled on his Instagram. Instead, it is accompanied with a large number of relevant hashtags such as #Paris #streetphotography. Like most of his other posts, it seems Henber uses relevant hashtags to reveal the location and sometimes the intent he was trying to capture.
With the photo or video you are examining when was it produced (date)?
As this photo was published on Henber’s Instagram alone, it is very difficult to know the date it was actually produced. However, due to the “faster portfolio” Henber believes using iPhoneography allows for, as well as the fact that Henber publishes a new photo almost daily, it is not unreasonable to believe that this photo was produced around January 5, 2019 – during Paris’ winter in 2019.
How was the photo or video authored?
It’s no surprise (if you’ve made it this far that is!) that this photo was authored with Henber’s iPhone. He makes it very clear both on his website and in his Instagram bio that he only uses his iPhone to capture these images. One of the main affordances of using the iPhone is that you don’t need connections in the photographic industry to get your photography through; as well as the iPhone being extremely accessible, as most people always carry their phone with them. This is also aids in capturing those spontaneous displays of human life which is what Henber’s Instagram aesthetic appears to be all about.
How was the photo or video published?
This photo was published on Instagram on January 5, 2019. The black and white aesthetic of many of Henber’s photos, and the sometimes grainy, bordered effects he publishes his photos with, give them a sense of being older then they are, and also representing a real, raw moment in life. While currently unknown, Henber may use Adobe Photoshop as one of his photo editing apps to make the images have this olden style and vibe.
How was the photo or video distributed?
Considering Henber’s large Instagram following and reach, it is unsurprising that this photo has been distributed through a range of different social media channels – but predominantly by his followers re-posting his work on their own accounts. His use of hashtags also allow his work to be more broadly distributed by Instagram itself. Due to the layout and interconnected-ness of Instagram’s features, each hashtags Henber uses in the caption of this photo (and there are roughly 25) then distributes his photo further into a collection of like-minded photos or images that utilise the same hashtags. Henber’s use of the hashtag is actually a very clever distribution tool as it makes his photo visible in more locations, but doesn’t overtly over-share his photo to his followers.
F i n a l t h o u g h t s . . .
“A photograph no longer moves in fixed and
linear fashion from a capture device (camera) to a
processor (darkroom or chemist) to a viewing context
(family album)—the camera has itself become a
viewing device and a mass communication platform. As
a result, images are in constant circulation, endlessly
multiplying.”
-Daniel Palmer, Mobile Media Photography, pg 245
When discussing digital photography, why use a phone?
A sense of immediacy may be evoked by the minimization of the barrier between the photographer and her/his human subjects.
Feedback is an important part of sharing within the iphoneography community. Once an image is uploaded, there are several ways for others to provide feedback instantly – often simply by liking or reposting a photo.
The iPhone brought a new kind of momentum in terms of how you can manage your data – liberating the amateur photographer by allowing them to delete things instantly.
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Sources:
Halpern, M & Humphrey L 2016, ‘Iphoneography as an emergent art world’. New Media and Society, Vol 18, no. 1, pp. 62-81.
Palmer, D 2014 ‘Mobile Media Photography’, in The Routledge Companion to Mobile Media, (eds) Goggin G., Hjorth L., Routledge, New York pp. 249–55.
https://www.hannibalrenberg.com/street-2
https://www.instagram.com/leoleoparis