Instagram Addiction

Chances are if you've spent any time with me over the last couple of months, you will be aware of my latest obsession - Instagram! I am a newbie to the whole smartphone phenomenon (got my first one - an iphone 3G - at Christmas) and this app was the first thing I downloaded. Having seen the results other people were achieving with it, I couldn't wait to get my hands on it and I can hand-on-heart say that it has surpassed my expectations and I totally LOVE it!

If you have no idea what I'm talking about - Instagram is a free application that allows you to add a pre-programmed "look" to photos you take with your iphone camera. As well as using it out and about to snap any wonderful things I see about my daily life, I have been using it to take pics for my blog posts and Etsy shop; it makes the whole process so much quicker and easier.

In a nutshell, it's a bit like Twitter but with images. 

You set up a profile (can be public or private) and images you take using the app will be uploaded to the web and seen by other Instagram users. You can hashtag your images to increase their visibility in people's searches and to participate in group activities such as #photoadayApril which I am currently enjoying being a part of! (thanks Fat Mum Slim in Sydney!) and of course you get to "like" or comment on each other's shots. I have formed some great new friendships already with some like-minded girls from all across the globe

I have always loved capturing imagery - I see the world as a series of inspirational 'shots' as I go about my day and have dreamed of having the ability to freeze that moment, that inspiration, that composition to refer back to whenever the mood takes me. At art college I had a manual SLR but it was too cumbersome to take everywhere and I never quite got the look I was after with my compact digital - that or I'd forget to take it with me. So the combination of the iphone with Instagram is suiting me just fine; in fact it will no doubt be the only reason I upgrade the phone... I've heard the camera capabilities on the iphone 4 are fantastic!

There are a few ways to view Instagram photos online, particularly if you don't have the app yourself (this one's for you Mum! xx) My preferred one is called Instagrid which, as the name suggests, allows you to view the images in a simple grid form and also to subscribe to the users of your choice so that you will be sent a weekly email with all their photos in. Sweet! Another is Followgram. 

If you'd like to keep an eye on my view of life here in France, of the places I visit and the things I create, you can check out my feeds here:
LisaPocklington on Instagrid
LisaPocklington on Followgram

There are also a number of sweet products you can have made from your Instagram photos, such as iphone cases, stickers and mini albums - Chantelle at Fat Mum Slim has done a great round up of them on her wonderful blog here

And talk about serendipity; I came across (and snapped up without a moment's hesitation!) a mint condition original Kodak Instamatic 100 camera this weekend at a local vide grenier (car-boot sale) for a mere €3. This is the camera that the entire application is based upon - I am so excited to run a film through it! weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee happy days!

Does anyone else have (or had) one of these originals? I'll be doing a little bit of research over the Easter weekend to find out more about the history of it and how to get the most out of it... but any hints or tips are welcome!

I'll let you know how I get on

Lisa x

{all images © Lisa Pocklington for Get Smitten taken with Instagram on iphone 3G}