Hipstamatic‘s D-Type Plate is a daguerrotype-inspired black and white plate film that when combined with the distortion of the Salvador 84 Lens lends a unique texture and patina to photos:

http://instagram.com/p/W8KaozpfSg/

I am in love with this particular photo that I’ve titled “Flowering and Her Reflection”.  The sharp focus of the flowers on one stalk contrast with the hazy manifestation of the flowers on the other stalk reminding me of a shadow self, a self under creation, a self not yet manifested but near enough to hope.  The lack of overall sharpness and the leaning repose of the stem give this a tender and graceful feel. That same leaning salts the print with yearning.

Solo objects tend to work better with the Salvador 84 Lens simply because they are easier to understand once mirrored.

The Wonder lens with the D-Type Plate film gives a nice contrast without the distortion.  Here is “Vertiginous”.

http://instagram.com/p/W8PT2wpfa2/

Photographers routinely say that their black and white photos don’t get as many hits or likes or views as their color work.  Black and white does a fantastic job of revealing structure and of showing “the bones”. It is reductive since it takes out color.  But what it leaves is often ethereal and surreal.

Related articles

• Shooting from the Hipstamatic: how I wised up to my smartphone’s potential (guardian.co.uk)
• Weekly Photo Challenge: Love (jenniferhartnetthenderson.wordpress.com)
• Beauty in black and white (giadre.wordpress.com)
• The Oldest Known Photographs of a U.S. President (theatlantic.com)
• Weekly Photo Challenge: Beyond (jenniferhartnetthenderson.wordpress.com)
• Getting Hip to Hipstamatic (nomadicmainstream.com)