According to wikipedia an **interlocutor** is “a person involved in a conversation or dialogue”.&#x20;

I use the photo app in a stock smartphone for everything I do — and at some non-zero level this project is all about that. A smart phone is a basic tool of modern life. They contain the most used cameras in history. We buy them for our children because they need them. When the smartphone breaks it disrupts our lives. In spite of the fact that these devices are so central to our lives it is easy to dismiss the output of a consumer product - something that I did for much of the time I have used the iPhone. There is doubt that comes from working with a device that is in the hands of a billion people and using an app that ships with the phone. The doubt because I am not making my own tools. The doubt because I put too much value in the concept of reproducibility. It takes a lot to move past that point. Taking pictures every single day helped.&#x20;

In the way of all things familiar we accept that they behave in certain ways while ignoring how our lives now bend around them. I have spent many years of my life exploring the edges of the photo app for the glitches and weirdness that is present in all imaging software made by human beings. If you don’t take the intended use case for granted you are free to ask the software to do all sorts of ridiculous things.&#x20;

As a series Interlocutor is about both this internal conversation and my engagement with the contributors in developing the set of instructions that allow a person (with a certain subset of phones and some capacity for frustration and disappointment) to take a picture that will match other pictures taken using the instructions to a sufficient degree that these images will form a coherent collection. The interaction between the contributors and the set of instructions is another layer of the conversation. The contributed images form a counterpoint to the images I took developing the instructions.&#x20;

Interlocutor is an exploration of how the stock camera application of the iPhone can be bent to produce generative photography.  How the sampling and photo stitching engine in the panorama function can be used to sample light and texture. Inputs that are transformed by the software in the phone in ways that the designers of this software did not intend and in ways that the user of the phone may not have predicted.&#x20;

![](ipfs://QmPUFveT8EngE2uwVpFeiQ5BAHbbAUccj5nqAqsCb6JH2F)

***

# Framework

The are three things necessary for the completion of this work.

-   iPhone — The pano function of the iPhone is central to this process. This has been tested on iPhone 6s, iPhone 8, iPhone 11 Pro, iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 13 Pro along with an iPad.

+   LIGHT source — I like the sun but you should feel free to work with what you have. LED and other artificial light sources can be very effective.

-   INTERLOCUTOR — For our purposes the interlocutor is the medium that controls the light getting to the lens. This can be a finger, a plastic bag, a piece of film, a page out of a catalog, or a bank note.

My work generally integrates these three things but in a less systematic way.  The relationship between the movement of the interlocutor and the camera interact with the image processing engine on the phone and a final image is generated.  The nature of the final image is generally unknown until it shows up on the screen. With longer shots and certain movement and variations in lighting the shot can diverge substantially from anything recognizable as a photograph.&#x20;

The process needed to be systematic and reproducible for this project. The steps need to be organized in a recipe so that the process can be outlined step by step. For each step instructions are provided along with some element of context. In order to do that I looked back at the early Blood + Money photographs from July 2021 because those were built around a very short image capture period where the subject of the shot, the interlocutor, rapidly shifted between two materials.&#x20;

![Early Blood + Money image from July 14th 2021](ipfs://QmQ4tp8Xn8Z61Tvikh13Hr4gefdCHLUJkazgGcMTdjz6oV)

***

# Collection

The Interlocutor project is divided into multiple collections with the contributed works being distributed across multiple series.&#x20;

The first group of collections relate to work that I did in preparing for the project.&#x20;

-   [Interlocutor Prologue](https://objkt.com/collection/KT1FrKPBvXZKiGvMtm54GP3iZyvW2hpAhGE5)

+   [Interlocutor Prologue - Alien](https://objkt.com/collection/KT1PdSo9M7wGH7DG9Zw5TCb9sYCCsU5dJ18U)

-   [Interlocutor Prologue - Nicolas-François](https://objkt.com/collection/KT1FnKG6dyPLAa78BXGLB84Z9ke8tGT5bLGH)

+   [Interlocutor Prologue - Teia Editions](https://objkt.com/profile/celadoor/created?faContracts=KT1RJ6PbjHpwc3M5rw5s2Nbmefwbuwbdxton)

The second group is composed of contributions from people who approached this using the set of instructions that were developed in the prologue.&#x20;

-   [Interlocutor Series One](https://objkt.com/collection/KT1DHquYnmbx6ftR7uWkQcMcUmXR3BKZcUFS)

+   Interlocutor Series One - Irregulars

-   [Interlocutor - Instructions](https://objkt.com/asset/KT1WVa24qmZcLruJQwwpogch7ae4caMFGSxP/0)

***

# Prologue to Interlocutor

This project started many months ago and altered and picked up speed after[ Proof of People in London](https://twitter.com/celad00r/status/1545136632235450368?s=20\&t=brOD4xUAkn03XhpVb4eWlg). I began to see a different path forward that would work across the different models of phone that I wanted to include. This started with the iPhone 6 Plus and continued through the iPhone 13.&#x20;

![](ipfs://QmX2yq1g8kWpYTZeCHGpAgHY3LUpisYDGMDgLx925kiDiZ)

The different collections that form the prologue reflect very different components of the project.&#x20;

Interlocutor Prologue is composed of sixty-four images culled from the thousands of images taken to refine this process. In some ways this was a very repetitive process. It was not possible to assume that it would work consistently in different lighting conditions or even on different days. The performance of the instructions across multiple models of iPhone needed to be evaluated. Early versions of the instructions were distributed to friends and family members. The instructions needed to be refined and in some cases sections of the instructions were abandoned completely. The final instructions can only be described as “mostly working” thanks to the iPhone 13 and ongoing software updates.&#x20;

The capture process is very particular even with a defined set of instructions. Some contributors have experienced the moment where the iPhone camera app just stops the image capture because a movement was a little too fast. The photo app will stop the shot if there is suddenly too much light. I am deeply indebted to everyone who worked through this process.&#x20;

The other sections of the prologue are composed of pictures taken on an Android phone. Up until this point all the photographs I have minted have been shot on an iPhone. These other collections in the prologue contain images captured on a Google Pixel 4A. Previous shots with the Pixel 2 and the Pixel 4A were not terribly interesting but my reaction was based on years of experimenting with the iPhone. Trying a completely different approach with the Pixel 4A this time around yielded some very satisfying results.&#x20;

Interlocutor Prologue: Alien is where I started on Android. It is interesting to me because this is where I made the phone create something that was not simply a capture of the object it was pointed at and yet entirely different than what I did on the iphone. The color related back to the Interlocutor but the geometry was generated by the movement of the phone and included what seemed to be a metallic pipe in the location where the horizon line on an iPhone would be. This pipe is reproducible.&#x20;

![Three pictures taken on a Google Pixel 4a](ipfs://Qmd4bKvva3epXzhQ4nDohMWG4xhzDhRQjjAFnk2X51VGru)

Interlocutor Prologue: Nicolas François is a creation generated by flattening the capsule from a bottle of Billecart-Salmon Nicolas Francois Champagne. The capsule was flattened because that made it easier to hold. In the processing of shooting test images I found a face in the ridges and shadows. A face that sometimes reminded me of Francis Bacon.&#x20;

One of my favorite Interlocutors during this process has been the capsule from a bottle of Champagne. I flattened this piece of foil thinking it might be interesting and I discovered a face that I could capture if the lighting was just right. Several GIFs will be part of this collection.

![](ipfs://QmXT55nc9j8VxH7123vUR7WebLZeidTTqRG5mC4NvKStYE)

I initially played with creating GIFs with some of the landscape images but Nicolas François lent himself really well to the medium and I expect to continue to play with this in the future. [Some of these GIFs became a part of the HENreunion and were minted on my original XxYxFk account](https://teia.art/celadoor).&#x20;

***

# Interlocutor or How to take a Celagraph

There is a difference between seeing your work through the eyes of another and seeing your process through the eyes of another. There is a difference between trying to explain what you do and settling out to offer a person a set of instructions that claims of allow them to duplicate your work. When I started the idea that I could systematize my process into a concise and clearly articulated set of instructions seemed reasonably achievable.&#x20;

“Reasonable” in this case being a term of art meaning that we exclude people who respond as if following these instructions is an unreasonable request - which it totally is BTW. I am in awe of every single person who agreed to participate and who followed a set of instructions that could plausibly be mistaken for a sobriety test administered by a bunch of absurdist comedians.&#x20;

![](ipfs://QmSyEKWGYufQTKiYDFRWocmiiu4Yedw7acNQWqUFLb9Lwh)

The final set of instructions revolve around a set of trade-offs. The iPhone 13 was incredibly unfriendly in 3x zoom so the instructions focused on the default 1x setting. The zoom is important because the camera is directed at an object that is intentionally too close to allow for proper focus.&#x20;

During the shot the phone turns ninety degrees. The movement of the phone during the shot is described but only from the point of view of the right handed creator of the instructions. But the instructions can be reversed to work left handed and the phone movement works both clockwise and counterclockwise. The approximate duration of the shot is described but this can vary based on the model of phone, the ambient light, and the amount of jitter during the shot.&#x20;

The person taking the shot has a lot of flexibility in terms of the timing and environment but also the selection of the Interlocutor. Although it is entirely possible to use your fingers for the entire process almost anything that could plausibly be placed between the lens and the world could be selected. Although I imagined that most of these objects would be handheld a number of people selected things that sat on a table or were draped in front of the camera. People used things I never imaged (colored vinyl records) and items that had personal mean such as a child’s art.&#x20;

&#x20;I found all of the personalizations extremely gratifying and I learned a number of things as I went back and tried similar variations on my end. I was just as giddy to get a shot that looked like a photograph that I might have taken as I was to receive something that delivered a shot that was entirely different.&#x20;

The final set of instructions have been minted here [\[link\]](https://objkt.com/asset/KT1WVa24qmZcLruJQwwpogch7ae4caMFGSxP/0).

***

# Contributors

I want to thank the people who experimented with this during the time that I was developing the instructions as well as all the participants. The people involved early on endured revision after revision hitting their inbox. Some did not have iPhones but still helped things along by doing testing or by engaging with their android phones.

Thank you to Marcelo Soria-Rodriguez, Theo Horsmeier, Lucy Benson, James Clar, Ryan Thompson, Stu Sontier, @\_aaargh\_, julesk, CryptyNifty, Maia Mellier,  Sasha Stiles, Danielle King, Digitalcoleman, Fivos Doganis, @grasser\_alex, Blair Neal, Orange2Lemon, Marcel Schwittlick, Leston, Pixelform, Bjorn Calleja, Bsimon.tez, Al Keddie, aebrer, Aleksandra Art, Orfhlaith Egan, 0x3y3, Monokai, Joshua Clayton, AliaK, gammastop, Dina Chang, and rudxane, with further useful feedback from Syberweerd, Cruel Coppinger, and Merchant Coppola - note that order of names is based on RNG.&#x20;

![](ipfs://Qmc4zS5TvZjoAdbrfebyowESz9FEsXNrHRqgZt9SvQGo4u)

***

# INTERLOCUTOR

Here are some of the Interlocutors used by the contributors to this project

![](ipfs://QmVbr9JE22YKpAsPVntazW6jF2cCCUnm9kqQ9hArZVXgE7)

![](ipfs://QmV4SfkTvQVoFjkHwvpDCuoKbdBdFhbxiDDpY3CY5rUiUC)

![](ipfs://QmUbqSK7iNFwtsDByKdXqDTiiCGAPdbamgyh8GCSbXc24w)

![](ipfs://QmZKX5yiZqUp5XC8x3huUgu8XkgBPcTKqXeRkG9V2kRDZ5)

![](ipfs://Qme9yzHCcT4qTjbTA4Zo96jEf18trRDkwtcvpVrw1AyboQ)

![](ipfs://QmWQCfvVPBLHqV7dc2Xmc5qfGgHHPVW6X8oYMXvh1eWfNX)

![](ipfs://QmaQaxaZoyR2PiGxuPZNiX7M1wj4ZoFeVAT8XuvqRtp8LE)

![](ipfs://QmciM9f6HiHJeEN5QVS4oF28tztnK4WRkZHVBw7Di7Hede)

![](ipfs://QmVXX6eEZfTCRTWy5ZsZQqCwR8w7uFRUFYmsvjQcjMUa44)

![](ipfs://QmfFZc1Fvb9WTzJFWuYpYULptU8HMgHngipraCZgcrdB14)

![](ipfs://QmbPn8AxSxX7YuFNQwfQCeQLB85ghwYMnbkJYswdvb3VB4)


Interlocutor is a series about curiosity and dialogue that focuses on my use of smartphone cameras and stock photography apps to create generative photographs. The process is tied to using the apps in ways that the designers did not intend. This sometimes crashes the application causing glitches and "bad outputs".

The challenge of Interlocutor is to define a set of instructions that will allow others to create images that work within a collection. This series relies heavily on contributors and makes use of the Teia collab contract for those mints. 

Exploiter of accidental generative systems offering haphazard results with a maximum of frustration 

https://linktr.ee/celadoor

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