I ♥ Phonography

Whether you are sporting a Blackberry, rocking an iPhone, or living large with another type of smartphone, chances are you have already participated in phonography.  Simply said, you have taken pictures with your phone.  I used to watch you all with deep envy; I would sneak my dSLR into events that did not allow cameras and hope to not get caught.  You would boldly walk in, waving your phones around for all to see.  As I would get escorted out for having an “illegal” recording device you would snap pictures or film it directly on your phones.  How I loathed you.

But since I couldn’t beat you, I joined you.  I went out, signed a ridiculously long phone contract, got a discount on my phone and have been snapping pictures ever since.  According to my phone records, I take about 50 pictures for every phone call I make/receive.  I am sure as I get more familiar with my phone/camera that number will increase.

But why am I cheating on my DSLR with an obviously inferior camera?  Why would 5 megapixels, a fixed lens, and very little manual control cause me to leave my real camera on the shelf collecting dust?  A few reasons:

1)      I can carry this one in my pocket.  It sounds simple and you have probably read/heard this often: “The best camera is the one you have on you.”  How many times have I debated about bringing my camera with me when I go to work?  Do I bring my camera, meaning the entire backpack, with my “work bag,” and lunch in hopes of setting some time aside to shoot?  Do I want the hassle?  Or would I rather just grab my phone, which I would have brought with me anyways?  The convenience of having a small piece of technology rather than a backpack-full will win hands down on almost all occasions.

2)      Photo editing can be done on the go.  While I love to pour long hours over my pictures getting them just right, I just don’t have the time to do that to all the pictures I take.  I currently have a huge backlog of photos from months ago that I have not had the time to work on.  When I take pictures with my iPhone, I can add filters and effects almost immediately.  These modifications are very similar to actions in Photoshop combining filters, curves, color adjustments… the list is endless.  By selecting before I shoot or in “post-processing” I can do the majority of my enhancements with the slightest touch of my finger.

3)      Photos can be uploaded immediately.  While this may not be important to you (and I never thought I would care), I find it the height of all things cool to be able to update my pictures to my various social media and personal websites in real time.  My photographer and non-photographer friends get a great sense of satisfaction by commenting, liking, and admiring the shots others are taking.  Additionally, it is really practical; being able to upload a picture of something and then email it or post it for something else to see and if necessary, approve of, has already saved me many times.

4)      The fun factor.  Combine all these together and it equals good, wholesome, clean fun.  Well on certain nights maybe a little less wholesome, but it is fun nonetheless.  I felt like my photography needed a little bit of a change and this was it.  It gave me a much-needed shot of adrenaline and helped me not to take photography so seriously.  While photography is a very serious part of my life, phonography has given me ideas and made it a lot of fun.

This is not to say, my DSLR is history.  When I go out to take pictures you better believe it comes with me and my phone becomes a “toy” to backup my primary tool.  Where cameras are currently at, there will continue to be a need for high quality machines to take high quality pictures.  So, on all my photography excursions my tool-bag has one more item that I use.

In the new year, I hope to look more into phonography, the different tools and applications offered, and reviews in general.  If you have any questions or things you would like addressed, please leave a comment to let me know.  If you feel like being updated with daily pictures of my everyday via my iPhone follow me on twitter: @openthejarry.  See you in 2011!

All photos in this article were taken by Photo-Fenix.com, the majority of them on his iPhone4!