One Year Hipstography

Saturday December 29th 2012: it’s 7.30 PM… after weeks of surreptitious preparations I decide to delete the passwords that protect the site, and I release Hipstography into the world. The first person I send the announcement to is Chiun-Kai Shih, aka Chunky. He agreed to an interview two weeks prior, the first to be published on Hipstography. I thought he ought to be the first to know. I had been developing the site since October, but I had no idea what I was venturing into, let alone that it would literally turn my world upside down…

(Photo: Chiun-Kai Shih)

Sunday December 29th 2013: today is Hipstography’s first anniversary. For the past year, I have spent many hours, each and every day, tracking down the best Hipstamatic photos, contacting hundreds of people every month and publishing articles on a daily basis. It’s a huge workload but… the enjoyment is indescribable! What a pleasure to be able to publish stunning photographs, each one more beautiful than the last, to occasionally find that extraordinary one and to meet all these incredible people from all over the world whose only common factor seems to be a modest 1,59 euro app… I don’t know if there are other communities dedicated to a photo application, but I do know that the Hipstamatic community is one of a kind; it is unique in numbers, substance, creativity and diversity. The common denominator in it all is: Hipstamatic.

What more can be said about this application that has fundamentally changed the world of digital photography? Often imitated, but never equaled, it still amazes us every month with new Paks. Being able to experience that unique delight, every time you try out a new lens, a new film or a new flash, is truly a joy! The number of combos never ceases to increase and this incredible diversity allows everyone to find their own thing. It is, in fact, this diversity that I try to highlight throughout my articles. I just checked and I have until now published 825 articles, in two languages.

As far as the Awards go, I can’t really talk about my own personal favourites among those 825 articles, but suffice it to say that there are a lot of them! Exceptional photographs, incredible artists, astounding sensibilities and exciting encounters. These very often take place in the virtual world, but that doesn’t detract from the fact that they are ever so interesting… I’m reminded of the interview I did with Richard Koci Hernandez, which I published shortly after having launched the site… what a wonderful view on photography!

(Photo: Richard Koci Hernandez)

There were, however, also "real" encounters, particularly the one I had with the Hipstamatic team, last July in San Francisco. It turned out to be a great personal achievement, and certainly reinforced my dedication to Hipstamatic. .

So, in short, Hipstography has reached its first year, the Awards are in full swing and the adventure has just begun… I just want to say a heartfelt thank you to each and every one of you, for the tremendous support, the photos you provided for me to publish and your words of encouragement … without your cooperation this site would not be what it is today.
Eric

This post is also available in: French

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