I joined Google+ on the day that it became available, and have always enjoyed the service. I generally find the web interface to offer a nice, visual view that allows me to easily connect with and browse the work of other photographers. It’s a much nicer experience that some other leading social networks.
While the Google+ web browser experience was pretty good, their mobile experience (at least on the iPhone) was pretty bad. There was a lot of wasted space, navigation was cumbersome, and some serious performance problems made it an onerous task to do something as simple as post a status update or share a photograph. My mobile photo sharing continued to focus on other applications while I mostly ignored Google+ when I was away from my desk.
The lack of a good mobile app led me to question how much time I’d spend with the service in the future. I became skeptical.
And then last week, this happened:
An update to the iPhone app brings a new, beautiful photo-centric display which makes browsing a Google+ steam a very nice experience… arguably even better than the Instagram stream which now looks a bit plain by comparison. It’s easy to +1 photos (just tap on the + count), easy to comment, and the performance when posting new items is improved. In short, Google got this mobile experience right. Mobile photography is a big deal ($1 billion for Instagram, anyone?), and a beautiful mobile experience represents a big plus (pun intended) for Google.
There’s one big piece that’s missing (still): an API for third-party apps. My current mobile photo workflow involves using Camera Awesome to upload mobile photos to SmugMug and then cross-post to social services (sometimes Twitter, sometimes Facebook, sometimes Instagram). If I could post the images easily to Google+ as well, that would be a huge time-saver that could only increase my usage of Google+ while on the go.
I’m on the fence about switching to Google+ as my primary mobile social network (instead of Instagram). The API would make it easier, but it’s not too bad now with the new app. There’s a local Instagram meetup in a few days; I’m curious to hear what other Instagram users think about the new Google+ interface…
I just deleted a blog post draft that probably would’ve been published later today explaining how I was really enjoying 
The camera on the iPhone (or other smartphones) has become the point and shoot device of choice for many photographers. The notion that the best camera is the one you have with you means that a cell phone camera is almost always best. With the current iPhone 4, the process of creating a photo is:
The Mobile Photo Awards event is being run much like many traditional photo contests with images submitted in fourteen categories and a panel of judges selecting finalists and winners. Twenty five winning photos will be featured in a three-city gallery exhibition. All of the details are available on the website; check it out to learn more. This seems like a great opportunity to feature some excellent mobile photography work. If you’ve created interesting photographs from your mobile phone, consider submitting them for consideration of an award.
I’m not the first to sell iPhone photos and I’m not the first to do it with an Instagram photo. Portland photographer Craig Mitchelldyer recently noted an iPhone photo 
