Betsy Nagler

iPhone Hipsta City

iPhone Hipsta City

BY BETSY NAGLER

Writer, Film-maker, Photographer

New York, USA

Part control, part kismet, Betsy Nagler’s images beautifully capture the graphic visual spirit that is the city.

The app “Hipstamatic” provides different effects that you can choose from before you take the picture, based on a variety of lenses, films, and colored flashes. These are essentially sets of digital effects that alter the brightness, contrast, colors, and border of the image to give it a particular look. Once you get familiar with the settings, you can get a sense of how the image will turn out, but there’s always an element of surprise. You never know exactly what the package of effects, with the particular combination of lens, flash, and film you’ve chosen, will do to your shot. It keeps me on my toes and reminds me of how much fun it is to experiment and play in my photography.

Twilight

Midtown office building, Manhattan. “Hipstamatic” app. Lens: John S. Film: Ina’s 69.

This is an example of what’s so great about iPhone photography: the camera is always in your pocket. This photo was taken while at work on a television shoot in an office building, with a view too incredible to ignore. The result, making use of the saturated colors and reflections, is a dream-like landscape which seems to exist in multiple dimensions. The rough edge added by “Hipstamatic” adds to the deconstructed feeling of the image.

Reflection 2

Midtown office building, Manhattan. “Hipstamatic” app. Lens: John S. Film: Ina’s 69.

Here, the John S lens really made the colors at sunset pop. The combination of reflection and reality— including using the interior ceiling as a frame around the cylindrical building outside—created an interesting composition.

Subway Tracks at Newkirk Station

Brooklyn. “Hipstamatic” app. Lens: Jimmy. Film: Ina’s 69.

Having the camera as a constant companion on the road changes the way I perceive the world; I’m always finding compositions, colors, and juxtapositions that I wouldn’t see otherwise. This image was taken on the subway platform that I stand on practically every day, but having the iPhone made me see the peeling paint as a graphic element. I used the Jimmy lens because it highlights yellows and greens, which was just right for the color palette.

Snow Day

Prospect Park Tennis Courts, Brooklyn. “Hipstamatic” app. Lens: John S; Film: Float.

This was taken on the day of the third big snowstorm of 2010. For this photo, we chose the John S lens, which is great for the way it saturates colors and increases contrast in often unexpected ways. We also use the Float film setting, because it gives the photo a misty, washed-out cast, to enhance the timeless look of the scenery.

Shoot at the Heliport

Downtown, Manhattan. “Hipstamatic” app. Lens: John S. Film: Blanko.

One great thing about working in film production is that we work at all sorts of interesting locations. Here’s another example of being on a job at the right time of day and having the iPhone with me. With the taxis and police cars working as props, this image was very much about my New York: a city with a film set in the foreground. The John S lens was used to increase color saturation and contrast.