📸 Our incredibly talented community always finds new ways to amaze us. With the VWFNDR+MBL app making its way around socials, we wanted to take a moment to get to know the team behind it a bit more. The app has quickly reached over 50,000 downloads and has a V1.1 already on the way. We sat down with Alvaro & Lucie to find out about the app and some of the ways they feel it connects to Nothing. Lets dive in!
What inspired you to make an analogue-focused camera app in today’s digital age?
MBL began with a simple observation: smartphones have become the camera most people carry, yet much of the photographic process now happens behind the scenes. We wanted to explore how a smartphone could become a more capable photographic tool.
MBL combines the convenience of a phone with the clarity and control of a dedicated camera. Photographers can customise the interface around the way they work, adjust core settings directly on screen, and see the impact of those decisions in real time.
Our goal was to create a camera that feels understandable and predictable. A tool that encourages intention, builds trust, and keeps photographers closely connected to the images they create.
For us, MBL explores what smartphone photography can become when it is designed around authorship, transparency, and genuine photographic experience.
In the VWFNDR+MBL launch video, we couldn’t help but notice you chose to use a Phone (4a) Pro to showcase the app (Great Choice!). What led to this decision?
Nothing creates products with a strong identity and a clear point of view. They look cool yet approachable, and feel enjoyable to use. That philosophy aligns closely with how we think about cameras.
The Phone (4a) Pro felt like a natural fit for MBL. It embraces technology while remaining human, playful, and intentional. Those are qualities we value deeply at VWFNDR™.
Also, coincidentally, the camera layout of the Phone (4a) looks similar to our UI. Perfect combo!
The app itself uses really unique controls, from dragging the aspect ratio across the display to changing the button layout right on the grid. What inspired some of these design choices and customisability?
One of our guiding principles was that photographers should be able to shape the camera around the way they work.
Every photographer develops different habits and preferences. MBL adapts to those differences, allowing photographers to arrange the experience in a way that feels natural to them.
Many interactions are intentionally direct. Controls live where they are needed. Allowing reduced friction between seeing and capturing.
“REAL PHOTOGRAPHY MUST REMAIN IN PEOPLE’S HANDS” is a tagline used on your website. In a world full of camera options, what does this mean to you?
Photography has always been about people making choices. Where to stand. When to press the shutter. What to include. What to leave out. How to interpret a scene.
Technology plays an important role in photography, and we embrace it fully. What matters to us is preserving authorship, intent, and trust throughout the process.
Photography becomes meaningful through the decisions people make. We believe those decisions should remain visible in the images we create.
This has been so well received in the community and with a few mentions of some future projects on your website, what can we expect next from your team?
MBL is only the beginning; our 1st available product after the concept camera KEIRIN. At VWFNDR™, we’re exploring new approaches to cameras, photographic tools, and the experience of image-making itself.
MBL allows us to learn from photographers using a real tool in the real world. Those learnings directly inform everything that follows.
Our focus remains the same: creating tools that make photography more enjoyable, more transparent, and more human. So please stay tuned; we are planning a new drop by the end of the year.
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🎉 A huge thank you to the entire team for taking the time to share these thoughts with us. Alvaro, Lucie, Mireia, Lucas, I’m sure I speak for many when I say we’re excited to see what you have in store later in the year.
If you want to find out give VWFNDR+MBL a spin, check out the links below.
Website 👉 VWFNDR.camera
Playstore 👉 Download here
What do you think about the VWFNDR+MBL app? If you’ve taken any photos with it then use this comment section to share what you’ve done!
