Instagram photo lands on front page of the New York Times

A filtered portrait of Alex Rodriguez in a locker room bathroom was shot on an iPhone

Published March 31, 2013 8:18PM (EDT)

Instagram, the photo-filter app initially seen by many as a fad, has been"shuffling in a new era of paparazzi" and on Sunday got its journalistic due when the New York Times published an Instagram photo on its front page.

The photo is a portrait of baseball player Alex Rodriguez taken by photographer Nick Laham, who took it from his iPhone during a photo shoot in February 2012. From Laham's blog:

That was me in the locker room bathroom shooting portraits of the New York Yankees players with my iPhone. This was not my choice, I wasn’t given the option of studio or bathroom stall and decided on the latter. I joined the chain of photographers at 6am in the confines of the New York Yankees Spring Training facility in Tampa, and took what space I could get and worked with it. Below is a set of images shot with my iPhone and processed through Instagram (I shot others with an ”actual” camera, but these are my selects from my iPhone set).

Although Laham is a professional photographer, the Times' use of a photo that can be shared so easily (or seemingly could be taken by anyone with an iPhone) has been received with conflicting reactions, ranging from excitement to disappointment:

[embedtweet id="318443540743069696"]

[embedtweet id="318440857411940353"]

[embedtweet id="318439808416505857"]

[embedtweet id="318440497456742401"]

[embedtweet id="318410073636495361"]

[embedtweet id="318402994926395394"]

Laham's photo has been licensed through Getty Images.


By Prachi Gupta

Prachi Gupta is an Assistant News Editor for Salon, focusing on pop culture. Follow her on Twitter at @prachigu or email her at pgupta@salon.com.

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Alex Rodriguez Instagram New York Times Photography Twitter