Hipstamatic

Over the summer I struggled with photography. I wanted to take pictures, but I also wanted to be involved what was going on around me. (I usually chose the latter.) When I did take pictures, I was never happy with them. They were bland, and didn't completely capture what I wanted. Hipstamatic got rid of my bored feelings toward photography, and got me to start taking pictures on a regular basis again. I like Hipstamatic because you never quite know what your results will be. It makes photography exciting, and makes everything completely beautiful.The application has encouraged me to want to photograph everything I encounter. It's made me much more aware of my surroundings, and has (I think) given me a new understanding of wabi sabi in that I now appreciate a lot of the "boring" places I used to overlook.
Recently my parents and I met up with some family friends I felt completely disconnected to. I hadn't seen them since I was very little, and only remembered one. When we arrived I sat quietly waiting for something to come along in conversation that I could contribute to. My mom brought up photography, and it turned out that one of the guys loved the hipstamatic. I ended up spending the whole "get-together" with him, as he showed me pictures he'd taken, and gave me advise on good film to use etc. He also showed me another application called the Tilt-Shift-Generator, which allows the photographer to add more depth of field to his or her pictures/let's the photographer chose and strengthen his or her focal point. It was so much fun to talk with someone who blatenly appreciated the app. as much as I do. I think it's great that so many people use the Hipstamatic because it gives quasi-photographers an outlet to have fun taking picutes, but also because--as I learned-- it can bring people together. (I know that statement sounds like total cheese, but I think it's true.)
While I love the application, I hate the name "Hipstamtic." I don't understand what makes anything (especially a photograph) hipster. To me, the whole idea of hipster just seems like another label people use to help them identify each other. It might sound lame, but  I prefer to think of Hipstamatic as a toy camera application. As with other toy camera's it's cheap, and the photographer still must make choices to get the picture he or she wants. Hipstamatic even has stimulated light leaks that occur often with normal toy cameras.