Yesterday, as part of my professional development day, I went to a talk by one of our school's photography teachers about picture-taking with a mobile phone. I thought it might give me some good tips on how to take better iPhone pictures, but unfortunately it mostly taught me that I need a new phone.
Apparently the iPhone 13 is now state of the art, and I have a 6s, purchased way back in 2015. I had no idea I was so behind the curve, but anyway, many of the teacher's helpful hints didn't help me at all because I don't have the features and controls available on the newer phones. Argh!
Still, it inspired me to gather some recent iPhone shots into a post -- so, here goes!
First, a discarded tabletop plastered with stickers, seen on my walk home yesterday afternoon.
Here's a phone booth where -- thanks to a discarded barstool -- you can actually have a (very wobbly) seat to make a call. Assuming the phone is still working, which is a big assumption.
Dave's grandmother stitched a needlepoint sampler when he was born, bearing his name, his parents' names and his birthday, among some floral and animal designs. It's been living in a cheap frame, poorly protected, and I decided to have it reframed as a surprise for Dave. (He doesn't know about it, and he never reads my blog, so he won't find out about it here.) Anyway, when the guy at the frame shop and I peeled off the paper on the back we found this -- apparently Dave's grandmother, in 1968, mounted the sampler on cardboard cut from a blender box! We're leaving the sampler on the cardboard in the new frame, because his grandmother glued it so securely -- so the blender will live on, a surprise to be found by future generations.
A van I saw in Broadstairs. Someone has a dramatic streak.
I see signs like this around town occasionally and I have NO idea what they're about. Anybody know?
Well, that's an interesting look.
Finally, Olga came home from her walk last night with a dirty face and eyebrow. It did not detract from her soulful eyes.
58 comments:
Really, if BT are to supply seating in public phone boxes, it could make sure they stood up straight.
What an interesting find in the picture frame. I expect Dave will be quite pleased when you give him his rejuvenated needlepoint.
I would love to see the actual sampler please.
I must say that the bunny girl's ass (English: arse) was a wonderful sight to behold. She turns round: "Oi! You takin' picture of my bum? What are you? Some kind of perv? My boyfriend's comin, now you are really in for it mate. Tyson! Tyson! I've got a perv followin' me!"... And so it goes on.
I look into Olga’s eyes (well, eye) and melt. The playboy sweatsuit, um, no. I’ve also found you can pick up a Haculla trench coat for over a 1,000 euros. Another, um, no. I’ll paint my own. The sticker-covered tabletop would make me a bit crazy (a bit MORE crazy). Dave’s grandmother was obviously born many years later than mine! What a fun discovery. The sight of a phone box knocked me off my bar stool. I can’t recall seeing one anywhere in town.
Yes, I too am looking forward to seeing the framed needlepoint sampler. And a picture of Dave's amazed, surprised and delighted face. Oh, that's right, Dave doesn't like being photographed, does he?
The best camera is the one that you have in your hand when the moment demands it!
The best camera phone I have ever had was an older Nokia with a Zeiss lens...
You see interesting sights and share them with us.. and we love them!
Olga has beautiful eyes
I agree with gz about the best camera which is why I like my iPhone that fits in my pocket.
I switched from a 6s to a 12 about 18 months ago I'm guessing. (Time has a way of getting by me on remembering purchases.) Honestly, I don't think there is a huge shift in quality in the actual picture taking between the two phones. The 12 does do much better in low light conditions and does take better video but for pictures in well lit outside areas, the difference is not a huge step. I think where the huge step comes in, is the difference in their ability to process the photos and correct things like contrast, saturation, etc. The processing ability in my 12 is a huge step above the 6s. What I'm getting at though is that you can get that ability with a photo editing software off the camera and not necessarily have to buy a new phone to get it.
I finally gave up my 6s because even after paying for a new battery, it was getting to the point where I had to charge it up two or three times a day even with light use and when I was gone long periods of time away from an outlet, it became a dead brick.
The best photography is not about features and apps. It's about the eye of the photographer. If you can balance and situate your subject, that's about 90% of it. A sense of design, harmony, balance, insight, humor are far more important. You already have those. A nice new phone would be fun, but it's not the technicalities that a good picture make.
I agree with Boud about your eye. You already have that. But oh, I do think you would have fun with a new iPhone!
There is something so magical about having a camera in the pocket, I think.
That is going to be a very sweet gift for Dave!
I don't know if I'd touch anything in that phone booth!
At first I thought you were saying Dave's grandmother needlepointed that blender ad and I couldn't understand why she'd do such a thing.
The bunny pants? No; that jacket? I love that!
And good to know Olga has an eye ion things.
Interesting photos, Steve. You seem to do just fine with the phone you have. I like the photo of the woman who is proud of her curvy body. I don't know if you were being snarky or nice when you took that photo...
You photograph the coolest things, Steve. I always love how you see the world, or how we see the world there through your eyes.
I've been wondering if I should get a new iPhone (ours is a 6s as well) and just give up on getting a new camera. I'm really just a point and click person so a high end little phone might be perfect. I'm looking forward to seeing what you decide to do.
Olga is such a cutie.
You have your own style of phone photos. You could probably give a course of your own. Technology moves very quickly and speeds up as time goes by. New technology makes the next generation happen much sooner.
what Bob said- i really like the idea of a needlepoint blender from the sixties. That would have been very clever to mark the birth of the Dave. Photos taken with cardboard pin hole cameras are just as intriguing as high rent $$$ shots. You have a talent for seeing and that is the main reason your photography is so compelling and wonderful. I kiss Olga's eye...
I upgraded my 7 to a 13 as a Christmas present to myself - my 7 would NOT stay charged & it was getting worse & worse. I'd had it for 5 years so I decided that was long enough. The 13's camera is a lot better, but I don't use all the features that I could because, unlike you, I'm not really a photographer. I think you'd really enjoy it!
I agree with everyone else ... there is nothing wrong with your pictures! They are sharp and clear and, so it seems, we all love seeing them!!
I have a 12 Pro and it does take great low light pictures. But I can still manage crappy photos because I have a gift for that.
I buy petit point now in thrift stores. Mum had one piece given to her by an old friend and I reframed it and hung it up. Now I keep my eyes open. Most people seem to get rid of them, not understanding how much work went into making them.
As for the trench coat, wow, ugly is expensive these days.
And Olga's eye, so lovely. I always wonder what dogs think about, other than food and other dogs' bums.
Even with a dirty face, Olga is still beautiful. I agree, that rabbit print outfit was rather interesting. Enjoy your day, hugs, Edna B.
Another great set of iPhone photos. That Playboy bunny suit is wrong in so many ways and that designer raincoat is just strange. I love phone box too. I got my iPhone in February of 2020 and it's the 11 model. I actually took a class to learn how to use all the features and I'm not sure I remember half of what they taught.
The long coat just looks awful. I'll be it was expensive.
My only advice on taking photos with your phone is to never zoom in for a shot. It's better to just crop down the original photo. Something about pixels and quality. (I don't know all the correct terminology)
When I see people like that woman in the Playboy Bunny outfit, I just tell myself how nice someone can be so self-assured.
I just upgraded from a Moto X (a decade old or so) to an iPhone 11 - holy cow, what a learning curve! I need a 5th grader to mentor me. Decided I didn't need to spend hundreds more for the latest and greatest. Several commenters are right, you have a photographer's eye, which is the most important part of the equation. Only you can decide whether the fun of a shiny new camera-phone is worth the $$. Ed makes a good point about off-camera processing leveling the playing field.
Crocuses up here, and tulip leaves; no sign of daffodils yet.
Olga has a soulful eye indeed.
Chris from Boise
Oh those lovely eyes!
If that two-piece with the bunnies is supposed to be a Playboy Bunny outfit, something has gone frightfully wrong.
I confess that I still use a real camera. I like your photos.
Lovely photos, all of them. My phone doesn't take good pictures and I'm not buying a new one, it works fine for calls and texts, just as a phone should. I'll take my camera if I want photos.
I hope so! I'm eager to see what it looks like when finished.
I'll post some pictures when it comes back from the frame shop.
Yeah, I think if she'd known I took that picture she'd have beaten me up. I would have lost a fight against her, hands down.
Yeah, the prices on that Haculla web site are...well...out of my league!
Phone boxes in London are uniformly filthy. I wouldn't use one unless it was a matter of life and death, and I am not very squeamish about such things.
Yeah, Dave hates having his picture taken! So you may have to settle for the sampler alone. :)
It is true that having a camera handy makes all the difference.
OK, good to know! I did hear that low-light pictures are much better, and you can do a lot more with depth of field. My phone battery is weaker than it used to be but it still holds out OK, so I'll keep plugging away with the old phone for now.
Well, thanks! It IS true that the user makes the biggest difference. A lousy photographer with an amazing camera isn't going to take good pictures. But a photographer who knows what they're doing can take much better pictures with a quality camera, I think.
Our phone company has said we're eligible for an upgrade. I hate to get rid of my existing phone just to get the new technology, because where does THAT end?!
OMG -- that would have been AMAZING if she'd needlepointed the blender!!!
Yeah, I wouldn't touch anything in a British phone booth.
I wasn't being snarky about her curves but I WAS being snarky about her fashion choices!
Honestly, a phone can do SO much these days. I think for people who aren't trying to do specialty photography a phone would work fine.
It IS amazing how quickly things change these days. Digital cameras now are so different (and so much better) than cameras even 15 years ago.
I do too! I SO wish she'd needlepointed the blender! Pinhole camera shots are fun for their novelty but they're often not the greatest shots in terms of quality. But I get what you're saying.
Yeah, I think when the phone itself is going then it makes sense to upgrade. I'll probably need another one within a year or so.
Thanks! :)
Hey, that's a skill as well! LOL!
(I've seen your photos on your blog and I would not say they're crappy!)
I think a dog's brain, much of the time, is like a TV screen with no signal. Unless sensory input is happening they're on standby mode.
She's self-cleaning, too. That dirt was gone within a few hours!
There are a lot of editing features on these modern phones. I can see how it would take some time to figure them all out!
I bet so too! I wonder if he knows the artist. (Or maybe he IS the artist?!)
YES! That I DO know, through my own trial and error. Zooming in on an older phone just reduces the available pixels and makes the photo very low-res. (I think it's different with newer phones which have a true zoom function.)
An 11 would be a huge step up from where I am! But you're right -- most of a photo happens in the photographer's brain.
Aren't they mesmerizing?!
Ha! I think those ARE indeed Playboy bunnies. (Whether she's aware of that or not is another question.)
Nothing wrong with a real camera! I like mine but it's just so HEAVY to carry around.
Makes sense! We only have to make ourselves happy in the end!
I forgot about that. Yes there are more depth of field options but I rarely play around with those for some reason.
I like all the photos you took and I couldn't see dif on the blog. But I know what you mean. My phone is not a camera, even though it claims to have one. It's good for a record but I wouldn't use it for anything that really mattered. You have a wonderful eye, though.
Olga has such dog eyes. I love those eyes.
Olga has such dog eyes. I love those eyes.
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