Maybe if you think of it as a nice tidy compartmentalization? Like a closet for winter clothes and one for summer clothes?
That goes against everything my tidy OCD stands for, LOL.
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Time to vote for April Image of the Month (IotM). All MobiTog members are eligible to vote. Voting ends May 7.
The future of MobiTog in 2024
- Thread starter terse
- Start date
Sorry folks that I haven’t posted a comment here - been hectic over Xmas and New Year. Will make a comment as soon as I can.
Don't stress
The problem in the mobile photography world is that everything has been done… In other words, there are no new apps that really add to what we already have and if there are, who‘s going to pay a monthly subscription for the new ones? For me, subscriptions have killed any further experimentation. Also, some good apps have died along the way.
Secondly, phone cameras have advanced so much that, as WOTANICUS has said, who needs to alter them? Very few of the images I put up of my Arizona trip were even edited. Perhaps a crop and the occasional straighten. It used to be fun taking a not so good image and making something of it. We used to have an edge over other mobile users with our zoom lens attachments and macro shots. Who needs that now? I‘m still trying to decide whether I’m going to bother to buy a Moment case and insert for my iPhone 15. Even Moment has expanded it’s stock to more traditional cameras and accessories.
Along the way, all the good mobile photography sites have gone. Very soon after joining here, coming up for 10 years, a couple of good mobile sites died even then. I mean it can’t be long before the AppWhisperer is gone. Not much posted now. Mobile photography competitions have been hijacked by professional photographers or dedicated amateurs. We can’t compete anymore. I wish I had entered more competitions when they first started. We had a real chance then when everyday people were entering with everyday photos. Not shots on top of Everest. But now everyday users aren’t in the hundreds they are in the millions.
What about Mobitog?
Even here our real spirit of adventure has gone. We eagerly posted hints, tips and new apps. Now we hardly even bother to mention the apps we use because actually we hardly use anything these days. There are no discussions about new hardware - well we don’t need anything else but our phone. What’s left is the old camaraderie and social get together that has kept us here.
The Way Forward
The only way forward is to improve our photography. Putting up hints and tips about getting the most out of our mobile cameras. Understand lighting better in poor conditions. Using tripods. Understand aperture. Composition. Start looking at ways to further improve what we are now producing. Get stuck into the sort of knowledge that Fundy Brian used to impart. Have specialisations like macro or landscape.
Isn’t that really what everybody else out there now wants? The sort of tips that the iPhoneography School imparts.
BUT, is it what we are interested in? Many of us are here because the arty side of mobile photography lured us here. Even now a lot of the newer members are Hipstamatic fans.
I think if you want to keep going, we need to concentrate on photography. Have sections under a forum group such as Macro Photography with a mobile. Everything you ever wanted to know about getting an amazing macro shot: setting up, lighting, links to articles. Landscape Photography. Animal photography - the new zoom lenses makes a difference now. Change the website so that the Image Forum is up front.
Maybe have a two month specialisation (or whatever timescale). Right for the next two months it’s going to be all about Still Life. Go out and find as much as you can on it. Post it. Instead of a challenge it’s a ‘Our Best Still Life Shots’ which remains pinned to the top of the group. We could still choose a winner during that period. Hey, and if you aren’t interested in the current specialisation go to the ‘Our Best Street Life Shots’ and post there. Then you don’t have to wait for the right challenge to come along. Newcomers can look under a specialisation and find everything they want to know.
Experimental Photography
Quite a few of us got into ICM photography. Shouldn’t we have a whole section on this? Infrared photography.
I think we should have a Hipstamatic Revival too. I know that unfortunately excludes some of our Android members but I know many old members come looking when something Hipstamatic is posted. Maybe look back to some of the old great combos. Look at how Hipstamatic fits into the ‘new mobile world’. Hints, tips.
All this will put useful photography information under useful headings and make finding so much easier.
What do you think? Even this might get saturated after a while but it would be a great reference site that might encourage more people to take part or at least use the site.
Secondly, phone cameras have advanced so much that, as WOTANICUS has said, who needs to alter them? Very few of the images I put up of my Arizona trip were even edited. Perhaps a crop and the occasional straighten. It used to be fun taking a not so good image and making something of it. We used to have an edge over other mobile users with our zoom lens attachments and macro shots. Who needs that now? I‘m still trying to decide whether I’m going to bother to buy a Moment case and insert for my iPhone 15. Even Moment has expanded it’s stock to more traditional cameras and accessories.
Along the way, all the good mobile photography sites have gone. Very soon after joining here, coming up for 10 years, a couple of good mobile sites died even then. I mean it can’t be long before the AppWhisperer is gone. Not much posted now. Mobile photography competitions have been hijacked by professional photographers or dedicated amateurs. We can’t compete anymore. I wish I had entered more competitions when they first started. We had a real chance then when everyday people were entering with everyday photos. Not shots on top of Everest. But now everyday users aren’t in the hundreds they are in the millions.
What about Mobitog?
Even here our real spirit of adventure has gone. We eagerly posted hints, tips and new apps. Now we hardly even bother to mention the apps we use because actually we hardly use anything these days. There are no discussions about new hardware - well we don’t need anything else but our phone. What’s left is the old camaraderie and social get together that has kept us here.
The Way Forward
The only way forward is to improve our photography. Putting up hints and tips about getting the most out of our mobile cameras. Understand lighting better in poor conditions. Using tripods. Understand aperture. Composition. Start looking at ways to further improve what we are now producing. Get stuck into the sort of knowledge that Fundy Brian used to impart. Have specialisations like macro or landscape.
Isn’t that really what everybody else out there now wants? The sort of tips that the iPhoneography School imparts.
BUT, is it what we are interested in? Many of us are here because the arty side of mobile photography lured us here. Even now a lot of the newer members are Hipstamatic fans.
I think if you want to keep going, we need to concentrate on photography. Have sections under a forum group such as Macro Photography with a mobile. Everything you ever wanted to know about getting an amazing macro shot: setting up, lighting, links to articles. Landscape Photography. Animal photography - the new zoom lenses makes a difference now. Change the website so that the Image Forum is up front.
Maybe have a two month specialisation (or whatever timescale). Right for the next two months it’s going to be all about Still Life. Go out and find as much as you can on it. Post it. Instead of a challenge it’s a ‘Our Best Still Life Shots’ which remains pinned to the top of the group. We could still choose a winner during that period. Hey, and if you aren’t interested in the current specialisation go to the ‘Our Best Street Life Shots’ and post there. Then you don’t have to wait for the right challenge to come along. Newcomers can look under a specialisation and find everything they want to know.
Experimental Photography
Quite a few of us got into ICM photography. Shouldn’t we have a whole section on this? Infrared photography.
I think we should have a Hipstamatic Revival too. I know that unfortunately excludes some of our Android members but I know many old members come looking when something Hipstamatic is posted. Maybe look back to some of the old great combos. Look at how Hipstamatic fits into the ‘new mobile world’. Hints, tips.
All this will put useful photography information under useful headings and make finding so much easier.
What do you think? Even this might get saturated after a while but it would be a great reference site that might encourage more people to take part or at least use the site.
Looking at Ted’s history thread. This exactly what we could do with a better structure concentrating on improving our photography. A Technical Group about printing, doing up old photographs, composition, etc. Would be an exciting project for us to get our teeth into.
Thanks for this, Ann. I'm still mulling over all the pieces, but one thing came clear to me. What would my ideal mobile photo site be? Right now, I think it would be called "Experiments in Mobile Photography." And "experiments" would mean not just appstracts or Hipsta shots or ICM, but also experiments in macro or still photography (and other types) and experiments with mobile photography combined with real world things -- analog collage and mixed media, solarplate block prints, restoring old photos. The emphasis would be heavily on experiments and less on finished products. Now that would get me excited all over again.
I think we are probably on the same page. Maybe you can improve the headings I have below.
What we need to do is group the info in such a way that it’s easier to find stuff. It’s not really that different from what we have currently. I just think we need to have more specific ’sub-forums’. Too much bundled up in the same place.
Nobody else seems to be interested in video and I see it has been retired. I really enjoyed looking back on the little there was.
Mobile Image Expertise (more emphasis on knowledge than just personal images)
Macro
Still Life
Street
Landscape
Night
Black and White
etc
Experimental Mobile Photography
ICM
Infrared
Double Exposure
Hipstamatic and Filters
Collage and Mixed Media
Other
etc
Technical Elements of Mobile Photography
Aperture, Exposure and Speed
Printing
Restoring Old Photographs
Backing Up and Storage
Photograph Organisation
Raw Mobile Photography and File Formats
Other
(it’s quite difficult to limit categories but I just feel Tech Talk is too broad)
etc
Mobile Hardware and Software (can’t think of a good category name for now)
Camera Apps
Other Apps
Phones
Lenses and Filters
Other accessories
Technical Issues
etc
Personal Projects
Off Topic
etc.
True - I only use Snapseed to edit now, maybe Retouch if I need to remove something, and Instagram filters.
For me, I don't have an interest in all the technical stuff - never really did. That's one of the main things that drew me to mobile photography. I could just make the photo easy peasy - no futzing with apertures and settings and having to think and plan and then perhaps miss the shot. And then if I needed to tweak the image I'd do it in an app, right there on my iPhone. Photography is pretty intuitive for me... the technical stuff kind of ruins my flow.
juryjone
MobiLurver
- Real Name
- Jerry Jobe
- Device
- iPhone 12 Pro Max
To me, the best balance includes two parts: the what and the how. The “what” is the idea part. That is present no matter the expertise level. “I like street photography, portraits, landscape, textures, macros, collage. This is what I’m trying to get.” The “how” part is the expertise. “I like the way this cyanotype image looks. How do I go about it?”
Both sides are equally important to me - new looks and new techniques. Plus sometimes I just like to know what everybody’s up to!
Me, too. I enjoy seeing lots of different stuff, even when it's stuff I don't have any immediate desire to do myself. And there's always the chance for the occasional "Oh! I never thought of doing that!"
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I have some misgivings about this. Not about the organization you outlined but about whether we've got the traffic to support the more detailed divisions or even the divisions we have now. Still life is a good example. We've had a sub-forum for that forever, but in 2023 it got only 4 threads posted (2 in May and 2 in December), in 2022 only 1 thread, and in 2021 only 2 threads.
So I'm in a quandry. I think that people, at least new people, are less likely to post images if they don't see where to put them. They could ask, but I think many don't. On the other hand, from my own experience, I'm not likely to post in a forum where nobody else is posting and nothing's going on. Why bother? That quandry would be resolved if we gained enough traffic, but I don't know what the best way is to get from here to there.
As to traffic... I've been poking around in the older threads here in the course of searching MobiTog's Attic, and it now seems clear to me that MobiTog has always had turnover. I see people who were very active for a few years and then disappeared, to be replaced by other people who got active and then disappeared in their turn, and so on. So I think people fading away after a time is a pretty normal thing. The difference now is that MobiTog doesn't have a matching influx of new people, and that, I imagine, has to do with the state of mobile photography as a specific separate thing. As you said, the good mobile-specific websites have died off, or are dying off, most likely for the same reason, leaving mainly sites trying to make money by selling courses and sites trying to attract traffic for ads by posting the most basic of tips and content-free news. (I'd say they sound like they are all written by AI, but I might be slandering the AIs.)
If I were going to condense it all to one sentence: MobiTog no longer has a good hook.
People who do get here one way or another and get involved seem to enjoy it, but whatever it is that people "out there" are looking for, we don't seem to be manifesting it, even if we already have it. (I could be completely wrong about this. No one should take my word as gospel on anything!)
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I was just thinking about some of FundyBrian's old threads and am planning to hunt them up for the Attic (and so we can see, in hindsight, how well they did or didn't work at the time).
For me, the most important part of learning new stuff is having a place to try it out, stumble around, and eventually get better. From my start here in 2013 or so, MobiTog encouraged me to try out things I'm not sure I would have had the nerve to put out in public otherwise, and as a result of doing that, I got better. So in providing information for improving photography, I'm thinking "workshop" rather than "course," some place where screwups don't matter.
NB: We do have a few tutorials scattered around here and there, so we should probably collect them or at least reference them all in one place.
You're absolutely spot on. It's been this way since I joined.... until the last couple years.
Yes, we do already have a forum for Tutorials and Workshops and there's a fair amount of stuff there.
I was thinking of the mini-tutorials people like Anne have done here and there. It'd be a job to hunt them up, though.
Perhaps Anne could help with that.Yes, we do already have a forum for Tutorials and Workshops and there's a fair amount of stuff there.
If you take a look at these MobiWorkshop threads -- or if you were a participant -- it'd good to hear what you think. Were they successful or not? We've considered doing similar things, so it would be helpful to know what things worked and what didn't.
juryjone
MobiLurver
- Real Name
- Jerry Jobe
- Device
- iPhone 12 Pro Max
My goodness, what a daunting prospect. I did weekly tutorials for four years, and as time-consuming as that was, the prospect of keeping even motivated people engaged week after week kind of takes my breath away. Mine were designed more as a background resource to be consulted whenever, not as “let’s do this now“. I’m not surprised that FundyBrian couldn’t make it into the third month, but deep respect for the attempt.
Yes, but all the information we might have for still life isn’t actually under still life. It’s either under a still life challenge or it’s under an individual like dscheff. I‘m trying to think in my whole time at Mobitog whether I ever posted anything in the Image Forums and it might only have been Videos and Anything Else. There was no reason to go to these sections. We also encouraged people to start their own threads rather than post in this section.
Mobi-life has always rotated around challenges. If you want to research a particular subject, it would be nigh impossible because so much of it is under challenges within a completely different thread name. A still life ‘challenge’ should really be under still life.
Exactly. But is that what the ‘new generation’ want? We don’t even know what people want. We are still peddling what brought us here 10 plus years ago. If we want Mobitog to stay as it is, maybe it’s time to start, as mentioned previously ‘the small camera club’ of the existing members on our own little forum/site.
I’m going to be honest now, Catherine, you post more images on Instagram than you post here. Yes, you comment, but you don’t post much. Can’t quite understand why you are still interested in keeping this site going. Sorry, it’s brutal and not meant personally. I’m as much to blame too. In and out infrequently now. I can say the same for zenjenny . Comments but hardly posts. Whats the point? If we are only here for the social side then it’s not going to draw in ‘outsiders’. It’s not about mobile photography, we are making it about us.
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Couldn’t agree more and I don’t know how you find out. My suggestions are just a stab in the dark.
My Instagram page is my visual diary, so yes, I will be posting there the most. I'm there more than anywhere else because I can see things besides photography - travel stuff, recipes, animal sanctuaries, tiny house sites, etc. etc. My interests are varied.
I've been a member since 2011 - that's 13 years of my life - and most of that time I've been a staff member. I've made several real life friends here.
Here’s a MobiTog metric you may find interesting.
In my time here, I’ve participated in many challenges; represented MobiTog at a couple of NYC mobile photography art exhibits; organized and attended two MobiTog meetups in London; worked as a staff member almost the entire 13 years; hired the graphic designer and worked with him, Rog and Matt to redesign our logo and website color story; facilitated and participated in many long-running challenges; created and facilitated the worldwide “Where in the World is Dolly” event; made 62,000 + comments here… and I’m quite sure much more that I can’t remember.
I don't think I need to say much more about why I might be "interested" in keeping this site going. And this all may perhaps give you an idea of why I might be slowing down my pace a bit…
Not sure that's a bad thing, truthfully.
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rizole
It's not even my banana.
Dunno
There was an amout of stuff deleted but I deleted being mindful of:
- Currency or recency
- Resources/tuts
- Mobi-historical value.
Everything else was reorganised. Doing a search for iColourama in thread titles brings back many tutorials by juryjone amoung others, for instance.
Search results for query: iColorama
mobitog.com
If members want old threads brought forward and showcased I'm happy to do that, just ask. If there's a wider job of organising the library and curating resources, that can be done too. Happy to facilitate and support wider site projects.
rizole
It's not even my banana.
So no changes to be made then?
