The iPhone Camera

There has been a recent trend in photography away from the ever increasingly more powerful computer technology in our DSLR cameras and even computer chips in our lenses to let us take tack sharp images even if our hands are a bit shaky. Any modern digital SLR can take incredibly sharp, accurate images even in very low light. They are really wonderful.

The problem is that this gee wiz science has been muscling out the art aspect of photography. It's been a little bit of a sterilization of the media. People get caught up in the fascination with the technology and forget about the art.

The quiet movement is called "The Best Camera" as in the best camera is the one that you have with you. Nowadays we all walk around with cameras attached to our cell phones. The beauty is that you can almost always be quick on the draw with it. A DSLR on the other hand is a fairly big thing that you tend to have with you only occasionally. Photography is art and the whole point is to get people to be creative and create art.

I know that I have had a lot of fun with my handy camera. A couple of Fridays ago I was in my office, not really in the mood to do any office stuff. So, I popped off some of the keys to my keyboard and rearranged them so that I got the letters TGIF to be together. Then I shot it with my iPhone just for fun.

I also like it because as I get more serious about my photography, a DSLR represents more serious work. When I've got the big gun out then that means that I have a purpose. It might be a real shoot for a paying job or it might just mean to hone my skill a little bit more for when I am shooting for real. Kind of like Tiger Woods hitting a bucket of golf balls, if I dare put myself anywhere near his category.

Cell phones are also really little computers that, by the way you can also talk to people with. That means that you can also program them. There are some really powerful applications for the iPhone that are a blast.

One of my favorites is Hipstamatic. Hipstamatic mimics old film cameras. You can change cameras and films that it mimics and just have a lot of fun with it.

As far as editing goes, photoshop has an app that is very powerful for a cell phone application. The best part is that it is free. The Best Camera also has an app that is not free but has some cool tools to quickly punch up a photo.

All of the photos on this page were shot and edited entirely with an iPhone.


I encourage everyone to unleash the inner artist and try some of these things. You've got nothing to lose.

Click the badge below to see my whole gallery of iPhone photos.