Iphontography, and Jake!

So I am sure it is not news to anyone reading this that cell phone photography is quite popular.  You may not be aware that many “photographers” look down on these type of images and can’t stand that some people claim to be photographers when all these use to create pictures is a cell phone.

Personally I find that sentiment funny and a bit elitist.  I suppose you could ask the deep philosophical questions, “What make a photographer?”  Some would answer anyone who shoots and develops their own film and makes traditional darkroom prints.  Some may say anyone who uses a fully manual capable camera and chooses the setting themselves.  I am sure you could ask any number of people and get varying answers from all of them.  Me I think a photographer is an artist who creates beautiful images.  We don’t care what type of brush or paint the great painters used why should we care what tools a “photographer” uses, right?  There are many great photographers that didn’t develop their own film, shoot on fully automatic, don’t make their own prints, shoot digital.  What really is the difference between a point and shoot and an expensive SLR shot on fully automatic?  Basically the cost.  Do “real photographers” use the auto settings on their fancy cameras? Hell yes they do.  When I shoot my automatic cameras I rarely shoot on anything other the Aperture priority mode where I select the aperture and let the camera select the shutter speed.  There are plenty of instances where I will even use the full auto setting because I know the camera will choose the settings I would want and allowing it to take care of that frees me up to frame the scene.

So I ask what does it matter if someone calls themselves a photographer if they use a cell phone camera?  Yes the “quality” of the images will be different (read in general worse by any measure) than a fancy SLR, yes there are limitations to what you can and can’t capture.  But so what, if that is the look and feel you want then a cell phone camera is the right tool to create your art.

What about editing your images? Anyone who knows me or has taken one of my classes knows that I am a firm believer that the art of photography is a two step process.  Step one is capturing the RAW information using your camera (either on film or as a digital file), the second is brining your vision to life by post processing (using the wet darkroom or something like Photoshop).  Cell phones these days offer a range of Apps that allow you to quickly and easily post process your image.  I see these as no different than more traditional darkroom or Photoshop methods.  Yes they are more automated, but that isn’t to say you can create stunning images without learning a lot about what the various apps can and can’t do.  Just like the wet darkroom you need to spend time making images to learn what the limits are for creating an image.  Now don’t get me wrong I am not saying anything you can do in the wet darkroom or Photoshop you can do on your iPhone, rather they are different ways you can create images, but both produce photographs and in the right hands both can create amazing art.

So my answer to the question “Can you be considered a photographer if you use a cell phone camera?” Is of course you can.  But your images will still be evaluated the same way as any other images created with any other camera.  Much like toy camera photography once you get past the awe that the images were created with “inferior” equipment and the coolness of the effects of the camera used the images still have to say something, tell a story, instill emotions in the viewer, make an impact.

Personally I like to try and make photography a part of my everyday life, I always have a camera on me even if I don’t take a single picture.  I am always looking for images and having a cell phone on me means I can grab something if I see it.  I have unintentionally started creating a series of images of people on public transportation. 

I also use my iPhone to capture images of my new rescue, Jake!  Jake is a 4 year old lab/hound mix and he has had a pretty rough life from what I can tell.  He came to me with heartworms, intestinal parasites, a cherry eye and a few pieces of either BB's or buck shot embeded in him.  He recoils from certain movements like he has been beaten, yet he still is so gentle and happy to meat anyone and everyone.  All he wants is for you to scratch his ears.  Since Jake is about to undergo heartworm treatment and will be required to be crated almost 24 hrs a day for th next month I will post these images in honor of him.  Please keep me and Jake in your thoughts as we go through this difficult time.  Heartworms are nasty creatures and treatment once a dog has them is pretty scary and requires what seems to me an almost inhumane confinement.  I did the research and understand why he needs to be kept calm and confined, I understand that it is what is best for him, but he won't understand.  He is just now recovering from the intestinal parasites he came with and is feeling energenic and desperately wants to play.  I have only had him for 4 weeks now, but already he is part of my family, it never ceases to amaze me how quickly they become part of the family.  How anyone could have treated Jake like they did and allowed him to get so sick is beyond me.

"Waiting for Jake to come home"

iPhone 4, Hipstamatic App

"Jake on his bed"

iPhone 4, Hipstamatic App

"Do i really get a bed all to myself?"

iPhone 4, Hipstamatic App

"Big Paws!"

iPhone 4, Hipstamatic App

"Napping on the couch!"

iPhone 4, Hipstamatic App

"Four Paws!

iPhone 4, Hipstamatic App

"I Love Duck!"

iPhone 4, Hipstamatic App

"Dad, why can't I go outside to play?"

iPhone 4, Hipstamatic App

Iphonetography

Many photographers are discovering the iPhone camera as a potential creative tool. It is much maligned as a pretty terrible camera even for a cell phone. Many complain about the file size yada yada yada. A few have realized that the camera combined with the numerous camera and photo apps may actually be a tool to make some amazing images. Yeah you can't print these images very big, a few inches at max. But printing large is often the fall back of photographers trying to make their images have more of an impact than maybe their image really has. I mean everyone is impressed by giant prints, they cost more, and we all know that if it is big and costs more it must be awesome right? Well many people who know little about art do think this way, and if they happen to have lots of money then all the better :)

Anyway I hope the iPhone is showing us a glimpse of where digital cameras may go. Maybe you have seen that Polaroid has created a little Pogo camera that comes with a small printer giving you a digital way to recreate some of the experience of the old Polaroid camera with its instant film. Can you imagine that camera and printer combined with a few apps that allow you to visually recreate the old instant film? Or a digital camera and printer all in one with all of these iPhone style apps that allow you to edit in the field? Don't get me wrong I love film, but I love photography more than any aspect of it. Give me an iPhone camera with a few more megapixels and all of the apps and the ability to print anywhere in the field and I will use it.

I am going to make a regular part of this blog a sampling of the images I have and will create with the iPhone and all of the apps. I will do my best to list the apps used, but I am not going to go into the details of exactly how the images were created. Here is the first image. It was created by a composite of 3 separate images and a combination of the AutoStuch, Cool fx, and PhotoStudio apps.

iPhone
AutoStuch, Cool fx, PhotoStudio