"In old analog cameras, many such filter “effects” were a chemical byproduct of the film, so photographers became expert at understanding the unique powers of each. Fujifilm’s Velvia film, with its high saturation and strong contrast, attracts photographers looking to capture the vibrancy of nature, Instagram cofounder Kevin Systrom notes. But casual photographers rarely developed this type of eye, because they just wanted to point and shoot. What Instagram is doing—along with the myriad other photo apps that have recently emerged—is giving newbies a way to develop deeper visual literacy." The argument for filters.

There are so many parts of this introduction to John Stillgoe's book, based on a lecture course, that I want to quote that there's no way I can, and no way I can do it justice (not thank britta enough for posting it in the first place). If you want a synposis, it's about colour and light and seeing and exploring and the built environment and being a pedestrian and... magic. Look, just go and read it.

"Defined more carefully, slow photography is the effort to flip the usual relationship between process and results. Usually, you use a camera because you want the results (the photos). In slow photography, the basic idea is that photos themselves—the results—are secondary. The goal is the experience of studying some object carefully and exercising creative choice. That's it."