The FRAMES Photography App

For quite some time I have had mixed feelings about the sheer number of photos that are posted daily to the major social media sites. There is simply an incomprehensible number of images that are shared on-line each day:

• Snapchat users post 528,000 images per MINUTE (of course they thankfully disappear :)

• Instagram users post 47,000 images per MINUTE. That’s about 68 million photos a day; 95 million if you include videos

• Facebook users upload more than 300 MILLION photos daily (that’s a lot of look at what I’m having for breakfast shots :)

Of course, the vast majority of these are not meant to be ‘fine art images’, which can often get lost in the fray. But even if only 5% of the Facebook and Instagram images are meant to be fine art, that is still over 18 million of them a day. What does one look at? What does photography mean when there is that volume of images calling for our attention?

One thing we can do is accept that we must limit our intake. Nobody can see everything there is to see. In addition, wouldn’t it be nice if we could actually see the ‘good stuff’ without having to scroll, the act of which inevitably makes one spend very little time even the images we enjoy?

That is why I am so excited about the introduction of the FRAMES Photography App, the brain child of Tomasz Trzebiatowski, the founder and editor of FRAMES magazine. Oh no, not another photo sharing app you say! Ah, but this one is quite different. Worried about having to deal with hundreds of photos….no worries, there are only two photos shown daily. Questioning whether you will see quality images….don’t, the stream is curated with great photography on display. Worried about not seeing a wide variety of photographs….no need, the stream is rich with images from all genres. Concerned about having to pay to view or to submit images…..toss out that concern a well, it’s all free. And by free I mean free. No ads (you heard that right) and no ‘in-app purchases’.

And here is the best part. If you are spending some of the little free time you have looking at images on an app, wouldn’t it be nice to get something of value in return? YOU DO! In the form of education and inspiration. When you submit images for consideration to be included in the feed you are asked to answer the following questions:

• SHARE THE STORY BEHIND YOUR PHOTOGRAPH. Where and when it was it taken? What does it represent? Why did you create this image? Your thoughts, your emotions...

• BE A TEACHER. Help The Viewers Improve Their Own Photography. Share something of value (technical or inspirational) that will help the viewers with elevating their own photography skills.

• Equipment Used / Settings

The responses to these questions are printed with the displayed photograph, along with the contributors website URL or Instagram feed. These responses give insight into the photographers thoughts and motivations. Isn’t that refreshing!

The app, as I mentioned, is completely free for both viewing as well as for submitting your own photographs. It can be downloaded here for both iOS and Android systems.

FRAMES magazine itself is beautifully printed on thick fine art paper on a quarterly basis, but a subscription also includes 12 monthly ‘Digital Companion’ issues in pdf format as well as quarterly video Masterclasses with renowned photographers, and a subscriber only website and forum. You can find more subscribing information here (affiliate link).

Get new posts by email:

Subscribe