Now that’s all very well and good for film-makers but as a photographer it left me a bit cold, a case of the tail wagging the dog!

Just what would I use it for?

Well that was until now…….enter the iPad! I know, I know, it’s got faults but I truly believe that it’s the start of the future in the way we view content and indeed interact with it. As far as I’m concerned it’s a blank canvas that’s just waiting for content to be poured in, and because it’s all touch, touch, touch, you’re much more involved in the content – a world apart from the click of a mouse!

So all this has got me thinking: how could a photographer use this new tech? I’m not going to rush out and start making short films or shooting a one minute advert – well not yet at least! But I do envisage still image-makers shooting a combination of still and HD video from the likes of the 5D.

I’m calling it “the long photo”. I’m still doing what I do best, which is lighting and composition to create what Cartier-Bresson would call a “decisive moment”, but with the added possibilities of the moving image. A good analogy is to enter Harry Potter’s world: think of the paintings in the corridors of Hogwarts or the images in the Daily Prophet newspaper – the point of reference and the frame is fixed, but the subjects move in and out of that frame.

I think it’s a bridge between a photo and a video/film. After all, when browsing, how many of us have tapped on a film to watch only to tap off after the first 30 seconds? So why not go for a moving still to draw in the eye? You will still get the the option to linger as long as you like over the image as per a photograph but with the added hit of movement.

It’s still very early days for me but I’m on the case. I’ve shot a couple of test clips on my iPhone, with a much more sophisticated shoot planned in the next couple of weeks using the 5D to capture. The principle, however, will stay the same using a mix of still images and “the long photo” to create a response from the viewer.

[vimeo

Rain 1 from Adrian Burrows on Vimeo.

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Here’s a small selection for this blog with the wider set on Flickr

Here’s a couple of images shot in tricky light conditions for a normal camera, let alone a phone!

The first is from the opening night at the new O2 Academy live music venue in Birmingham, with Editors giving a great show!  The shot is made up of around three images put together and then processed to give a nice B&W image.  I think the whole thing took about 5mins from snap to send via Twitter.

The second is just a walk over our local hills and an image shot at sunset.  Again, it’s two images stitched together and then given a levels tweek. This was all done on the fly on the phone.  I did, however, this time have my canon G9 slung over my sholder to avoid strange looks from other walkers – I thought better of the dog lead in the end!

Ps: I will blog some real work stuff soon honest! Just having fun with the freedom of not being bogged down with heavy kit!

Now I’ve gone off for a walk with my camera over my shoulder before but this time I opted for the iPhone as my camera with a view to shoot process in the apps and then Twitter them out to the rest of the world.

Now call me paranoid but the iPhone will go unnoticed as you walk along, normally a good thing, but this time I got the distinct feeling that people were avoiding me! I was no longer a photographer to their first glance due to the lack of a large pro camera hanging off me, to them I was just hanging around with no reason! No dog, no bike, no running shoes, no walking boots and most importantly no camera!

In the end I got some nice shots but still couldn’t shake the feeling of being the odd one out, so next time I’m going to have to hang my camera from my shoulder even if I’m not using it, or get a dog lead and occasionally shout “here rover…here boy”!!

I think my favorite is Rossetti’s Death of Beatrice,it’s a fantastic moment in time.

Now we had left it all a bit late getting into town so just managed a quick swish around photographer Nadav Kanders “Obamas People”, a collection of portraits depicting the members of Barack Obama’s White house staff. It’s a great piece of work and well worth a look as it tours around, but I’m pleased to say that Birmingham got it first!

Anyhow time got the better of us and so we headed home but unlike the grey skies that were with us as we arrived the sun had made a slight break through, just long enough to shoot a moody shot of the Town Hall on the iPhone.

I tried to give it a painterly feel in a sort of pre Raph style.

Well I did say sort of?

He was a really nice chap, full of energy and its was great to photograph him….thanks Levi!

Levi Roots

I quite like the results! Although the hanging around a carpark I’m sure should be course for concern at my age? I might have to get a skate board to blend in with the youth if I shoot any more…….!

Now if only Apple would just improve the quality of the camera it would become a great little set up, it’s just lacking a few mega pixles.

I’ve been stacked with work for the last two months (not that I’m moaning, it’s great to be working in these money strapped times) so have been looking forward to a weekend away.

I had been to Cardiff once before on the way back from a bike race and thought the whole bay area was fab and would make a great short break, so here we are, with good friends Clare and Richard.

Now I’ve left the nikon at the office so have just been playing around with lots of different apps on the iPhone, and I must say have been having great fun!

So I’m going to be snapping all weekend and posting an image blog of #4gomadinWales, as @clareedwards has dubbed it on her Twitter feed!

I shot it on my Leaf Aptus 65 high end digital back so had to do a few post production to try and give the image that pre digital slightly soft and saturated feel.  I used Alien Skins exposure 2 as a starting point and adjusted things from there.

I think it worked well in the end- right I’m off to fire up the quattro!  (An Ashes to Ashes quote from the Gene  Genie himself  www.bbc.co.uk/ashestoashes/ set in the 80’s the follow on from Life on Mars )