Apple iPhone as a journalist's camera

BBW

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I just came across this article: Life During Wartime with photos by Benjamin Lowy in yesterday, Sunday October 23rd's New York Times Magazine section - the print edition. Happily, I've found it online here: Life During Wartime - Interactive Feature - NYTimes.com I haven't read it all yet, but was struck by many of the photographs and this photographers use of the iPhone and, I believe, the Hipstamatic ap. See what you think, if you're interested.
 
Yes, add me too. Thanks BB. After awhile as you shift through these photos you begin to forget what was used to take the shot and begin to focus on the scene in front of you. Powerful and very humbling to me. Now I am an iphone junkie but this takes precedence over my greed for a better camera anyday. All though I am getting the new 4s this week, I still have a place in my soul for the struggles of mankind and as Bill put it above, the triumph of the human spirit.
Have a great week all.....
Pete
 
Superb story and imagery, thanks for sharing this BB. Once again the Message trumps the Medium. Cameraphone are addictive, even the non Iphone ones!
 
Fantastic shots. I think a big part of these pictures (and a big part of what I'm missing in my own photography) is a clarity in vision, and an understand of post production. Some of saturation they're getting in those pictures is not native to the camera, and then of course, the crop, border, treatment and effects. But it's not post production for pp's sake. It's all related to their vision.

I begin to think the biggest issue that sets someone like me (technically adept, and capable of reasonably good composition) apart from a pro like these folks is their clarity of vision and what they want to achieve -- from being at the scene, to the moment it clicks, to post production -- it all shows a clear vision, and perhaps even one preconceived before the pictures. I've been thinking a lot about that lately. I usually wander about, and take pictures of whatever's in front of me, and I have 8 lens choices (6 primes and 2 zooms). No clarity of vision, and no idea what to achieve. These folks make these marvelous pics with a (presumably) fixed focs lens and tiny sensor. I love seeing work like this, and really see a pro who is achieving what they set out to do.

Thanks for sharing!
 
Fantastic shots. I think a big part of these pictures (and a big part of what I'm missing in my own photography) is a clarity in vision, and an understand of post production. Some of saturation they're getting in those pictures is not native to the camera, and then of course, the crop, border, treatment and effects. But it's not post production for pp's sake. It's all related to their vision.

I begin to think the biggest issue that sets someone like me (technically adept, and capable of reasonably good composition) apart from a pro like these folks is their clarity of vision and what they want to achieve -- from being at the scene, to the moment it clicks, to post production -- it all shows a clear vision, and perhaps even one preconceived before the pictures. I've been thinking a lot about that lately. I usually wander about, and take pictures of whatever's in front of me, and I have 8 lens choices (6 primes and 2 zooms). No clarity of vision, and no idea what to achieve. These folks make these marvelous pics with a (presumably) fixed focs lens and tiny sensor. I love seeing work like this, and really see a pro who is achieving what they set out to do.

Thanks for sharing!

Bill, I think you are too hard on yourself but I do get your point "I usually wander about, and take pictures of whatever's in front of me, and I have 8 lens choices (6 primes and 2 zooms). No clarity of vision, and no idea what to achieve." I am sure that a good 90% of us feel this way at times.

Again, glad to see you all are finding this article a worth while read/look.
 
I usually wander about, and take pictures of whatever's in front of me, and I have 8 lens choices (6 primes and 2 zooms). No clarity of vision, and no idea what to achieve. These folks make these marvelous pics with a (presumably) fixed focs lens and tiny sensor.

That's why constraints are such a good thing. By decimating options, constraints inherently create clarity, as there are only so few options left to take the picture. Constraints don't have to be technical or gear-realted, they can also be self-imposed, like this: Chased by Constraints | A Lesser Photographer

Or have a look at this video trailer: Charlie Waite 'Travelling Light' Trailer - YouTube
 
Bill, I think you are too hard on yourself but I do get your point "I usually wander about, and take pictures of whatever's in front of me, and I have 8 lens choices (6 primes and 2 zooms). No clarity of vision, and no idea what to achieve." I am sure that a good 90% of us feel this way at times.

Again, glad to see you all are finding this article a worth while read/look.

Thanks for the encouragement BB, but I'm not being too hard on myself. Nor do I want to hijack the thread for some pity-party. I'm not depressed by this, but rather enlightened. I'm still attracted by gear, but studying collections like this is helping me decide I want to find a "style" or a vision. Not sure where I'll end up, but it seems to me that we are all better off if we find individual vision strengths, and pursue that, rather than being wishy-washy all about with everything that's possible.
 
I'd never seen that Charlie Waite video before, though I've seen a similar one, and really enjoyed it. Thanks for both links - I'd read the Chased by Constraints the other day, and was impressed by that photographer, as well. Thanks flysurfer!

P.S. Bill, I hadn't seen your reply when I just posted. I really do understand what you mean. No pity party intended - I agree with you about clarification and figuring things out...and about us each finding our individual vision strengths.
 
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