An early screenshot of The iPhoneography Blog as it looked in January, 2009 (Screenshot courtesy of the Internet Wayback Machine)
Today is a dark day for iPhone photography. Glyn Evans, the founder and publisher of The iPhoneography Blog, has decided to call it a day. I am gobsmacked.
Citing personal and other reasons, Glyn has decided to stop writing and publishing The iPhoneography Blog sometime this October.
“Writing the blog has been enjoyable, giving me the opportunity to meet people I would never had met, and a place to escape from the everyday hustle and bustle of life, although the past couple of years have been very stressful, both in my day job and my personal life (with my sone having some health issues, and more recently myself having a health scare). A little under a year ago the rot set in, when some of the more active members of what was then a thriving (albeit slightly fractured) iPhoneography community began calling ‘iPhoneography’ a ridiculous name/term. As you would expect from me, I (and a few others) defended the name, but many who I had supported and promoted over the years turned their backs. Added to the stresses of everyday life, this whole unpleasant period made me stop, step back and look at what I had been doing, and the reality was that my photography had suffered in favour of the spell checker.”
Glyn didn’t invent iPhone photography but he’s who we credit with creating and popularizing the phrase “iPhoneography.” As he tells the story, it’s a simple contraction between the words “iPhone” and “photography.” It’s a single word that started a movement.
Launched by Glyn in in November, 2008, The iPhoneography Blog was the first news source available online for the then-budding artform of iPhone photography. The blog has been the number one iPhone photography blog and the leading source of reviews and related news since. You can check out here where it all fits in the overall history of the art form.
When I got my first iPhone five years ago, there was very little information about iPhone photography on the Internet. I was an avid daily reader of The iPhoneography Blog months before I started writing Life In LoFi.
Glyn’s timely reviews were and are honest and candid. Sometimes harsh. As an iPhoneographer and an app hoarder, I’ve appreciated his viewpoints over the years, even as I would write my own reviews.
Throughout the years, The iPhoneography Blog helped to launch many worthy iPhone photo apps. Glyn’s reviews, testing, and feedback have helped to improve many other apps. The iPhoneography Blog was the first to call bullshit on lo-res, crap photo app scams.
Glyn and I have a lot of commonalities in our backgrounds. We both have a long history of analog photography. We shot with many of the same films and even some of the same cameras. We’ve both gotten our hands dirty with chemicals.
One of the things that I’ve always admired about The iPhoneography Blog is that Glyn approaches iPhone photography from the perspective of a photographer. This viewpoint (and the threat of being called out in a bad review on the blog) I think helped set a higher standard for photo apps, especially in the early days of iPhonegraphy.
Other iPhoneography resources have come and gone over the years but Glyn has always been the face of its champion. He’s worked tirelessly over the years to ensure the safety of the iPhoneography brand. Glyn, myself, and others agree that iPhoneography is a unique, nicheworthy segment of photography.
I’m going to miss The iPhoneography Blog very much. Glyn’s reviews and articles are accurate, honest, timely, and straightforward. A project such as a blog should be done out of joy. When it’s no longer fun, it’s time to move on.
Glyn is my friend and I understand why he did this. When he feels like sharing more details, I’m sure he will. He’s still got his iPhone, but he’s also got a sexy new Leica (a camera that I’d be intimidated to shoot. I would just put it on the mantle and fondle it occasionally). I look forward to the photos that he creates with his Cadillac of cameras. Did I say Cadillac? I meant Porsche. A Leica is a sports car.
As much as we don’t want them to sometimes, things change. And five years is a good run in Internet time.
Since 2008, Glyn Evans has helped and inspired countless iPhoneographers, myself included. I’m going to miss The iPhoneography Blog. Along with several other blogs and websites that Glyn has friended over the years, we’ll keep the iPhoneography torch burning. Thank you, Glyn Evans, for everything you do and everything you’ve done.
=M=
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Sent from my iPhone. In real life, I know how to spell.
