About a year ago I started noticing a couple of the folks I follow on Twitter posting some beautiful pictures. What I came to find out is that they were beta testing a camera app called Obscura. Obscura is amazing and has replaced the stock Camera app on my iPhone and iPad (yeah, sometimes I am that guy).
Every chance I get I like to talk to the people behind these incredible apps. The creator of Obscura, Ben McCarthy was nice enough to “sit down” with me and answer a few questions about his app and about photography.
Interview with Ben McCarthy
Ben, your photos are beautiful and I know Obscura took a year or so to make. What happened in that year?
Ben McCarthy – A little background…I’m a graphic design student and freelance photographer. My father is a portrait photographer and so I learned a lot from him. I started teaching myself iOS development early last summer, and I launched a game Agile.
Not long after that, I started working on Obscura (late July or early August I think). Then I was back in college in September and so Obscura only had my spare time here and there to work on it. And that was pretty sporadic for much of the year.
How has working with tips and in-app purchases worked for you so far? What made you choose to start with a free app?
Ben McCarthy – Working with the tip system has been interesting. I have the luxury that I’m still in college and I don’t need to make a living from this. That said, it hasn’t made as much money as I’d like, but the metrics are interesting. Ultimately I knew it was never going to make a huge amount of money and I knew I’d rather have a lot of people using the app, which would never happen if it was paid upfront.
Please note, since this interview Obscura is now a universal app for $4.99. You can find the download link at the end of this interview.
What’s the best photography advice you’ve ever received that’s made your photos better?
Ben McCarthy – To very little surprise, there’s only one real answer to that, and it’s practice. But practice doesn’t just mean taking lots of photos. It means putting the camera fully on manual and understanding what every decision means. It’s taking your time, and taking less photos but making them count. And it’s looking back over the photos you’ve taken, learn what works and what doesn’t. The editing and curation is an important part of the process.
Do you think Obscura could replace the stock Camera app?
Ben McCarthy – I don’t expect Obscura to replace the stock camera app for everybody. I certainly still use it from the lock screen from time to time, especially if I’m in a hurry. And of course it also has support for video and panoramas. But my iPhone hasn’t replaced my SLR. I use them both in different ways and I like to think Obscura sits somewhere in between the stock camera app and an SLR or mirrorless camera. I guess the goal is not to compete with the stock app but rather to offer something distinct, with it’s own set of benefits and tradeoffs. There’s room for third party weather apps, calendar apps and many more categories than Apple includes as standard. I don’t see why the situation would be any different with camera apps.
You can learn more about what Ben is up to at BenRiceMcCarthy.com and on Twitter.
- $4.99 – Download
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