No filters here, or colors: Lenka highlights simplicity, elegance of black and white

By Chase Melvin June 23, 2014

lenka photo app uses colorless images header — The minimalist Lenka photo app only captures non-color images.

Despite the popularity, smartphone photography remains a very contentious subject among photography purists, though many are warming up to the idea – even embracing it. The various apps stores are teeming with different kinds of photo apps to download; many of them have similar features, but there are also apps that stand out from the crowd by offering very few elements. Lenka falls into one of those latter apps.

Lenka was made with “minimalist” shooters in mind: The app can only use your smartphone’s rear camera (making you work for that selfie), and it can only capture monochromatic images. The app has “normal” and “high-contrast” shooting modes depending on how you’re trying to compose the images, and you have the option of turning the flash on or off. And that’s pretty much it.

Lenka has simple management for your black and white images.

You won’t find any trippy photo filters or advanced adjustment tools with Lenka, and that’s exactly how creator Kevin Abosch envisioned it. A veteran photographer, Abosch wasn’t satisfied with the black and white photo apps already on the market, so he decided to go ahead with his idea for a bare essentials, straightforward app that highlights the beauty and simplicity of monochromatic photography.

Draft. — Lenka only gives you the most basic editing tools, such as the crop tool.

Lenka it is similar to the 1-Hour Photo App, since both give users a “traditional film” feel to shooting on your phone. Thankfully, you won’t have to wait 60 minutes to get your photos when using Lenka – you just have to shoot, review, and repeat.

The Lenka photo app is now available on the iTunes Store for $3. Since it is specialized for use on 4-inch screens, Lenka is best used with an iPhone 5, 5S, or 5C. Sure, you have to pay for it, but it’s far cheaper than buying a black and white digital Leica.

(Via PopPhoto)

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Chase Melvin is a writer and native New Yorker. He graduated from LIU Brooklyn where he spent 3 years as the News and Photo…

Photography

Meet Explorest, the photo-scouting app curated by real photographers

explorest

GPS-enabled cameras allow automated software to put photos on the map, giving photographers and travelers an idea of where to explore next. But automated programs will mix in those stunning landscapes with cat photos and duck-lipped selfies -- leaving lots of digging left to scout out the best views. One startup is aiming to change that by curating locations from real, human photographers. Explorest is a new iOS photo-scouting app that mixes the best views with photography tips and tricks from local shutterbugs and influential Instagrammers. After launching in Singapore in July 2017, Explorest expanded to California on April 24.

Several apps and websites already suggest photo locations by pulling photos from the web and using the GPS metadata to show exactly where the view was shot. Explorest is different, CEO and co-founder Justin Myers explains, because the app is 100 percent curated, from the suggested locations to the best times to shoot and even how to get there. That means the app is filled with only pro shots -- and pro recommendations.

Photography

RAW Power app means seamless iCloud integration for editing RAW on the go

RAW Power

iPhones have been editing RAW photos since iOS 10, but a new app is bringing that same power to the iCloud and Photo Library. On Tuesday, November 14, Gentlemen Coders launched RAW Power for iOS, the first iOS app that allows for both nondestructive RAW photo editing and seamless iCloud photo integration. The mobile app builds on the success of a program by the same name for desktop and brings those tools to a mobile platform.

While several apps allow the iPhone to handle RAW files, RAW Power integrates directly with the camera roll or the iCloud library, the developer says. Once images are edited using the app, those changes are synced to the cloud platform or to the device, while users can also turn cloud features off to keep images offline.

Mobile

Got an iPhone X? Apple’s Clips app now has a feature exclusively for you

Apple Clips

Apple debuted Clips, a video editing and storytelling app, earlier this year, and eight months later and it's already time for version 2.0. Clips 2 introduces a slight redesign, several new artistic effects, and animated stickers, but there's one new feature available exclusively on the latest iPhone X.

The idea behind Clips is to take those photos and videos you shot on vacation, and quickly turn them into a 30-second (or however long) video that's easily shareable to social media, or with friends and family. The redesign in the latest update focuses on making the tools in the app physically easier to access, by shifting things to the bottom instead of the top of the app, and by explicitly labeling what certain functions do.