The iPhone photographer

[Allen Herbert]

"And yet you begin a thread with a rant about iPhone usage. Right, it’s all about the image for you. Haha." Sam

Why not? Woke you up. 

The iPhone is not some sort of Holy Grail that folks dare not say a word against. Don't be scared, Sam.

Indeed, among photographic tools it really does not even achieve Cinderella status. Maybe by bad boys to gain status.....my photos are very special because I only use a Iphone.

Hmm.

 

 

Edited September 30, 2023 by Allen Herbert

[samstevens]

21 minutes ago, AlanKlein said:

I'm talking about people who look like they're really all alone, on vacation traveling or whatever.

Over the last 50 years, I've taken many vacations alone. I've often chosen to take road trips by myself, because I love to do that, love the time to myself and being able to stop where and when I want and to take pictures when doing so without considering someone else's needs at the time. I don't know (or care) how I look to other people. Were I taking a selfie or were I to want someone to take my picture, I'd appreciate their offer and might ask them to take my pic if I wanted to. Whether I were a single male or female, and traveling alone, I would discourage strangers from ascribing loneliness to me.

21 minutes ago, AlanKlein said:

If the girl was with someone, they'd have their friend shoot them, or selfie both of them.

Why are you so quick to make assumptions about what others would do? You're a couple of generations and a gender removed from single young women (proven by your age, your gender, and the anachronistic use of "girl"). You are far from an expert on others' motivations or reasons for doing things that might be very different from a guy who is decades older and projecting what he thinks younger people's behavior means.

Edited September 30, 2023 by samstevens

[Allen Herbert]

" I've often chosen to take road trips by myself, because I love to do that, love the time to myself and being able to stop where and when I want and to take pictures when doing so without considering someone else's needs at the time. Sam.

Me too.

But in my world a difficult thing to do, but sometimes I get lucky.

.

[inoneeye]

[samstevens]

16 minutes ago, inoneeye said:

I'm assuming AI was driving, right? 😊

[inoneeye]

🤞🏽!. I was probably asleep at the wheel.

Edited October 2, 2023 by inoneeye

[Allen Herbert]

Seems like he had a good night out with the lads and thought he would take a photo to commemorate on that long and windy..

road..

 

Edited October 2, 2023 by Allen Herbert

[Allen Herbert]

"it is not so much the tool but the effort put forth" mjferon.

Hmm, try telling that to a bi plane pilot in world war 2.. Maybe not because they where all killed very quickly. 

But, nobody could accuse them of not putting effort in.

[Allen Herbert]

" Some of my latest entertainment involved video of a 400 ton steam locomotive in operation, taken with my iPhone"

Okay, you are a happy iPhone photographer. 

No need for name calling because you are offered a different point of view.

[Ricochetrider]

On 10/2/2023 at 1:23 PM, inoneeye said:

Is this The Road To Nowhere, Josh? 
Because……  😁

Nice shot btw. 
 

Anyway, aren’t we a bit far into the 21st century to be arguing about what people do with their phones? 
 

Then again, they do say history repeats itself, so I get it. I’m quite certain in fact that  when cameras came out, artists & illustrators were likely outraged. And no doubt complained vociferously about photographers- painstakingly hand scribing anti-camera rants using quill pen, India ink, and paper. I can almost see them sending written letters of complaint by mail (via carrier pigeon, pony express, & steam ship) to like fellows at all points on the compass! 
 

So yeah. 
 

But hey it keeps us out of beer joints, bingo parlours, and other dens of iniquity- well done, Alan! 

Edited October 8, 2023 by Ricochetrider

[inoneeye]

👍

 

Maybe you wonder where you are
I don't care
Here is where time is on our side
Take you there, take you there

We're on a road to nowhere

[mjferron]

On 10/5/2023 at 3:03 PM, Allen Herbert said:

"it is not so much the tool but the effort put forth" mjferon.

Hmm, try telling that to a bi plane pilot in world war 2.. Maybe not because they where all killed very quickly. 

But, nobody could accuse them of not putting effort in.

A bit different game is it not?

[mikemorrellNL]

Just my 2 (and many more) cts:

- I still (truly) believe that it's the photographer who makes the photo (with whatever equipment) rather than equipment that she/he uses; but I'm still heavily influenced by Michael Freeman's books on ' The Photographer's Eye' and 'The photographer's vision'. I have others, but these are the 2 books that first opened my eyes to 'photography'. Neither of these 2 books cover 'equipment'. Just 'vision' and 'composition'.

- Cameras of both Iphones and Samsungs are becoming ever more sophisticated. They both have higher digital sensor resolutions (48 Mb and 108 resolutions respectively) than most DSLR's. Including my  Canon EOS 5D Mk iv. Lenses are steadily getting better too. The latest Iphone has 3 lenses: an ultra-wide (13 mm),  a wide-angle (24 mm) and a 70mm lens. Samsung goes a step further on the zoom range and has a 230mm equivalent lens..

- Of course mobile phone lenses are less flexible than optical zoom lenses. But with such a large sensor size, even some 'digital zoom ' produces good quality hi-res photos.

- If you're a dedicated macro, sport or wildlife photographer, or require on-camera or synchronized flash, then a mobile phone camera is probably not (always) for you. But that leaves many other photography applications (walkabout, product, portrait, group, event) with which a mobile phone would probably work just fine with. You can dial in automatic or manual exposure settings and just go for it.

I've gotten into the habit of taking most of my photos with my trusty DSLR + lenses. And also taking some photos with my mobile phone. My 'mobile' photos sometimes turn out better than my DSLR photos.

Bottom line: whether you used an analogue or digital camera, to get get the best photos you a) need to envisage, plan and compose your photos well and b) know how to use your equipment. The same is IMHO true for photographers that use mobile phones as 'image capture equipment'. For them, the various components of 'good photography' (lighting, composition, exposure, etc.) remain the same.

See my references at amateurphotographer

[Allen Herbert]

"it is not so much the tool but the effort put forth" mjferon

A bit different game is it not?

I was responding to, miferon.  Effort is important but the right tool for the job is equally important.

Since the conception of photographic devices, the handling qualities have been of paramount importance to camera manufactures. Equally important today.

Sorry, but the handling qualities of a bar of soap ,without a viewfinder, and a device you cannot see in sunlight does not cut it for me.

[David_Cavan]

My screwdriver is way better than your screwdriver. That's what I hear when I see these threads trundle along. The hardware, the camera, is a tool. Sometimes, in some situations one works better. But it's worth about 30 seconds of consideration and then a real photographer would move on to doing their thing. And, BTW, the smartphone, and the smartphone user, do not care for a nano-second about our opinions about hardware. They are out there happily gathering pictures while we do this.

[Ricochetrider]

OK so in reality, for me personally, of course I use my phone's camera often. Many of the pix I post here are taken with it.  In my world the phone camera has its place. A phone is a great device for testing out compositional ideas. It's super easy to take a shot and post it online. Does the phone camera replace, 100%, a "real" camera? Not for we who consider ourselves "photographers".  But really, we are in the minority. Most people, especially younger folks, never have touched a camera, and possibly never will in their lifetimes. But perhaps a phone camera, will inspire some select few to explore photography in a deeper sense. IMO IF "photography" as we have known it is to survive. The best way to insure it does- or to help it surviive, is for us to make some effort to inspire others with our own work and our own enthusiasm for the art of photography. And one cannot denigrate and inspire in the same effort. Not saying we have to fully embrace this "new" technology, but one must certainly accept it as a "thing", and not only that, but as a "thing" that is very real- and as a "thing" that is here to stay. As I said earlier, History shows us that every new thing, technology or whatever, has its critics during the shift forward.  Pretty much across the board, the critics' voices are silenced as acceptance sets in deeper & deeper, andthe new "thing" takes over.  

So why put so much energy into reisisting the phore cameras? Let's face it, it's over; that horse left the barn ages ago! 

Wouldn't it be better to take a more positive approach, and put our energy into sharing our love of- and the joy we find in, creating photos. We are the generation who must carry the torch forward into the fray of alternatives to carying a bag full of cameras, lenses, lights, tripods, meters, and what not. One cannot inspire, if one is too busy talking down to people about whatever it is they're doing, or if one is so locked into the past that they cannot see through to the next phase of the game.  

[samstevens]

5 hours ago, Ricochetrider said:

We are the generation who must carry the torch forward into the fray of alternatives

I wonder if we are actually the generation who will witness younger generations carry torches forward. We have much wisdom to offer younger generations. Some of that wisdom might be our recognizing our own limits to determine future behavior and to understand that younger generations have many different wants and needs than we do. Speaking of the wisdom of older generations—in this case ancient ones—Socrates noted that wisdom is knowing what you do not know. I tend to interpret that as wisdom requiring a degree of humility. 

[inoneeye]

As usual like your attitude Tom👍

[Ricochetrider]

4 hours ago, samstevens said:

I wonder if we are actually the generation who will witness younger generations carry torches forward. We have much wisdom to offer younger generations. Some of that wisdom might be our recognizing our own limits to determine future behavior and to understand that younger generations have many different wants and needs than we do. Speaking of the wisdom of older generations—in this case ancient ones—Socrates noted that wisdom is knowing what you do not know. I tend to interpret that as wisdom requiring a degree of humility. 

Yeah, agreed there’s definitely wisdom in knowing which battles to fight, and when to let it go. I see photography (with cameras, digital and film) as an artful endeavor tho- which in my own mind carries enough merit to make efforts to insure its survival worthwhile. 
That said, it makes zero sense to try to force people into a thing they’re just not into, and will never understand a need for.
So referring back to picking your battles… 

[Allen Herbert]

"But it's worth about 30 seconds of consideration and then a real photographer would move on to doing their thing." David Cavan.

And yet here you are. Not sure what the definition is of a " real photographer is" I will have to ask my mate Freddy, he is very clever. Just a chat really, little else. 

[Allen Herbert]

Thanks for the link, David.

Interesting journey.

[Allen Herbert]

" younger generations have many different wants and needs than we do" Sam.

Indeed, but nevertheless the wants and needs of humanity have rarely changed. Maybe less patience and their needs/wants to be more quickly fulfilled.

"That said, it makes zero sense to try to force people into a thing they’re just not into" Rico.

But, without a understanding of what they are not into: how would they ....

[David_Cavan]

1 hour ago, Allen Herbert said:

Not sure what the definition is of a " real photographer is"

I assume it's someone who takes photographs. With whatever they have at hand. 

[je ne regrette rien]

More and more I’m looking for photographs that make sense. And never inquire whether the sense of the photograph is in any relationship with the type of camera used: large format, medium format, a sporty mirrorless or a fancy viewfinder.

The sense of a photograph is in the work itself, not in anything else. And therefore depends on the photographer.

The practicality of the instrument is purely subjective: a craft mastered by those who can, and a phone camera makes no exception.

[samstevens]

The expression of a photograph can be in the photo itself. However, I think there can also be an important expressive relationship between photo and camera used, photo and type of film used, photo and context in which it’s seen, photo and presentation (screen, print, book, gallery, home wall …), and other variables. I think of photos as more than their content, not to minimize content, of course. There’s feeling in the quality of the colors, the texture of the medium it’s shown on. The content will have a different impact when seen as a Polaroid one can hold in their hand or seen as a large fine print hanging on a museum wall. The craft aspect of any art goes well beyond the narrative content of the subject matter. Photos are not just taken and shown. They are constructed (of imagery and paper and colors and textures …) and presented. The same play on a Broadway stage may well elicit different emotional nuances in a seedier off Broadway playhouse, sometimes the off Broadway venue feeling more appropriate to the material. Ragtime played on an old upright piano has a very different impact and “voice” than when played on a concert grand.

Among the five photographers in the article below, there’s one quote talking about choice of Polaroid from the standpoint of its use (and I’d maintain that one can see what he’s talking about in the Polaroid photos he took) and another more directly from the standpoint of the photos it produces …

“That was exactly what was exciting—the spontaneity, the speed.” —Helmut Newton

“There’s something about this camera that makes the person look just right.” —Andy Warhol

https://100asa.com/blog/instant-photography-most-notably-polaroid-was-a-creative