In focus: Real-time photos by @MichaelBolden
At Skylines, one of the things we’re interested in are real time photo trends, which we analyze and feature on our homepage. Last week, #OccupyDC was a popular subject for photos: Over 1500 pictures were posted to Twitter, showing the world what is happening at the protests in Washington. We noticed a lot of pictures were part of a photoseries by one single Twitter user, consisting of over a hundred pictures posted within approximately 24 hours. Meet @michaelbolden, the development and transportation editor for The Washington Post.
Why did you take the series of pictures from OccupyDC and what are you using them for?
“When I realized there was a story unfolding right down the street from our office, I recognized I had a unique opportunity to contribute. My tweet stream was actually posted to The Washington Post’s Website, allowing our readers to follow events almost in real time as they were happening. This is why I took so many photos. It also allowed me and others to instantaneously share images from the scene with a vast audience on Twitter, both through retweets and using the #occupydc hash tag”. Which platform/tools did you use to post your photos to Twitter and why?
“I took my photos using cellphones, namely an iPhone 4 S and a Verizon HTC Thunderbolt. The iPhone was the primary tool, because it takes quality pictures. I actually did the posting using Twitter apps on both devices”. What do you think is the impact of real-time photos?
“I view the use of social media as an important tool for extending the reach of news. It allows the media — and the public — to quickly communicate news of events and to share images with the world. It is one sign of how small the world is becoming, and these innovations are as important to the evolution of our society as the printing press was”. Michael’s series are a great example of how real-time photos can provide a detailed impression of what is going on at an event happening elsewhere in the world. Skylines continuously organizes photos of events such as Occupy DC to create a visual overview of what is happening. See the photos by Michael here.
“When I realized there was a story unfolding right down the street from our office, I recognized I had a unique opportunity to contribute. My tweet stream was actually posted to The Washington Post’s Website, allowing our readers to follow events almost in real time as they were happening. This is why I took so many photos. It also allowed me and others to instantaneously share images from the scene with a vast audience on Twitter, both through retweets and using the #occupydc hash tag”. Which platform/tools did you use to post your photos to Twitter and why?
“I took my photos using cellphones, namely an iPhone 4 S and a Verizon HTC Thunderbolt. The iPhone was the primary tool, because it takes quality pictures. I actually did the posting using Twitter apps on both devices”. What do you think is the impact of real-time photos?
“I view the use of social media as an important tool for extending the reach of news. It allows the media — and the public — to quickly communicate news of events and to share images with the world. It is one sign of how small the world is becoming, and these innovations are as important to the evolution of our society as the printing press was”. Michael’s series are a great example of how real-time photos can provide a detailed impression of what is going on at an event happening elsewhere in the world. Skylines continuously organizes photos of events such as Occupy DC to create a visual overview of what is happening. See the photos by Michael here.