MICHAEL MCWATTERSThoughts on digital design, and other nonsense.

Even snapshots take on a dreamy, nostalgic quality.

Do you have an iPhone? Do you like lomography? If so, you have to try the lomo app Hipstamatic.

Yes, there are other iPhone camera apps that will take images with that retro, time-worn, ethereal quality so popular these days. But Hipstamatic is by far the best app I’ve used in this category.

The Kaimal Mark II Lens

The basic version comes with several interesting shoot modes, allowing you to try different flashes, lenses, and film types. If you want to extend your experience, a variety of other options are available on the App store, and you can purchase them directly from within the Hipstamatic app iteself. In addition, Hipstamatic provides the built-in ability to upload your shots to services like facebook and flickr.

I have two nits to pick with the app, and one larger concern. The first nit is that the app is quick when set to the default 800×800 pixel mode, but dreadfully slow when set to high resolution. My second nit is that the UI, which is incredibly cool looking in the way it mimics an old-time instamatic camera, isn’t always intuitive, slowing you down when you might be trying to get your shot off quickly.

My larger concern is about the whole iPhone / digital / lomographic trend in general. While I love that I can create these sleepy, dreamy images without having to lug around old cameras, and while apps like Hipstamatic do a pretty amazing job replicating images from those old cameras — light leaks, crummy lenses and all — there is also something sad about the fact that you can now fake almost anything with pixels and digital technology. That’s why this week’s photo hunt will be done entirely with authentic, if crummy, film-based equipment. Look for the results in a few weeks.