There are tools and there are rules. The delineation for use, in the physical realm, is straightforward. A hammer to cut wood? Dumb. A saw to hit nails? Useless. Laws rule, and you can’t break what physics controls. The digital world, though, works with more nuance. A smartphone and a social app? Guidelines, at best.
Snapchat, the fastest-growing social network among Millennials, exists with few restrictions. And, in the recent years of its proliferation, the majority of the social media world dove face-first into selfie filters and ironic stickers. But that is not the only way to use the platform. It can also be leveraged not only to offer a “raw” take on behind-the-scenes life (in its own irony, often carefully considered), but to be approached in the same way artists have approached tools for years: considering the constraints and working with them to achieve an overarching aesthetic vision.
“I don’t like giving it away; I don’t want it to show everything that I’m doing. I like little hints.”
In the eyes of Neave Bozorgi, a photographer based in Los Angeles, Snapchat is not a cesspool of self-infatuated individuals sharing mundane moments. It’s an opportunity for awareness — concentration. Bozorgi considers the app a disposable camera. A low-res, simple, straightforward tool, and one that requires, through its limitations, user concentration. As such, the challenge becomes conveying beauty through the simplicity of the tool. That arises from framing, perspective, and an eye for what surrounds the user. Snapchat as concentration, not distraction. The result, for Bozorgi, is an uncluttered narrative of a 24-hour period told in compelling photographs and videos, conveying his aesthetic sensibilities. They’re miniature films, miniature slide shows. It’s not the only way the tool can be used, but it is an elevated way to approach it. To further explain how Bozorgi uses the app (and his iPhone 6) to his artistic advantage, he elaborated on a few key points.
Don’t think of it as Snapchat. “The approach that I have with Snapchat is treating it as a disposable camera. I’ve been going through this thing for the past year where I’ve been trying to set aside my phone more. So as soon as I see a thing that I like, I take a picture of it, then put away my phone. For me it’s about observations; it’s about becoming more aware of the present and taking a photo of something that would normally go unnoticed in my life. And so I’ve been trying to capture more of those.
“Snapchat doesn’t have much technology, so it’s kind of like using a film camera on your phone. You literally have to make do with what you got, and I like that challenge a lot. Snapchat lowers the resolution, it doesn’t have much freedom, and as soon as you zoom in, it’s pixelated. So, it’s a weird and challenging channel to try to capture beautiful things.”
