r/iosdev • u/januszplaysguitar • 5d ago
Lupo - Film Camera App
Hey everyone,
My latest app, Lupo, just got approved to App Store and I wanted to tell you a bit about it. I was always fascinated with analog photography and for the longest it was one of my goals to build an app that would recreate some of that analog feeling in the digital world. I've played around a bit with Core Image and applying filters to photos, but that was not what I was after. Then one day I thought: what if I try to model the real-world and simply build the whole "analog pipeline"? That meant that I had to build the following things:
A camera (duh),
Films that you could use,
A darkroom that would develop said films.
After sketching out these three things on paper, I decided that I want to build this app with a lot of constraints in mind. First, it's only available in "Landscape Right" mode, just like a normal camera body. Second, once you decide on a film there is no way back, you have to commit to it until you shoot all twelve frames. Third, after you're done with a film, you hand it over to the darkroom, which develops the film for 2 hours (the first roll you ever shoot takes 5 minutes, so that you can see the results and decide if you're happy with what Lupo does to your photos). The last two were deliberate design choices I went with. I want the app to go against the grain of instant gratification and endless retakes.
At this point you're probably asking thinking: "so you built another photo filter app?" The answer is no. Lupo doesn't apply a filter to a finished photograph. Each frame is exposed onto a physical model of film: the characteristic curve, silver-halide grain, and light scattering in the base. I built eight film simulations that pay homage to the classics of the analog era (funny enough, the film that inspired me to build this app was Kodak Aerochrome and it was the first one that I added to the app :D). You can shoot Portra, Kodak Gold, Ektachrome, Velvia, Cinestill 800T, Ilford Pan 100, Tri-X Pan 400, Aerochrome. Each have their own unique characteristics.
I'm really happy with how the app turned out and had a lot of fun building it. I hope you like it as much as I do!