iPhone, Too Smart For Its Own Good

A Cloudy Sky Made Me Pull It Out Of My Back Pocket

I know, I know, I’m the guy who is always touting the joys of using a real camera in full manual mode, including a manual focus prime lens.

And with this post, I am prepared to eat a few of my precious convictions. Or at least chew on them a bit.

And no, I am not a convert. Though that old saw about, the best camera is the one you have with you, rang decidedly true on this cloudy afternoon. So a brief explanation is in order.

For some odd reason, I threw my tried and true schedule to the wind this morning. I don’t know if it was laziness, or if I just wanted to prove to myself that I am still a flexible guy.

The fact is, I didn’t leave mi casa, until nearly two this afternoon. Then it was only to stretch my legs, and relax in a cafe with my morning latte, late as it was.

As I sat outside drinking said latte, I scrolled through Instagram, and watched the sky turning from cloudy blues, to dark grays. I knew then it was time to head for home, or get soaking wet.

As I was leaving, I noticed how the quickly changing light was dancing with some of my favorite subjects, across the courtyard. I was regretting that I had not brought my camera. Then I remembered, I have a camera in my pocket, and I figured what the hell. After all, in this moment, it was the best camera.

Now this experience will not make me a convert, far from it. Though I can say, when I look at these photos, I can only smile at breaking my own rules. That’s what rules are for after all.

All five of the images here are SOOP, as opposed to SOOC. You get the difference. Yes, I did tweak them slightly, but very slightly. For all intents and purposes they remain SOOP. And I will not hesitate to claim them as my own.

So the question is, can I really quibble with these renditions of my favorite models? Yes, of course I can, or at least I will. Even though I put the phone camera in ‘Portrait’ mode, they lack the out of focus areas and bokeh I prefer. A small quibble, I will admit.

Another small quibble is I prefer the 2:3 image ratio, over the phone’s 3:4 ratio. Though if I had to use this camera regularly, I could easily compensate and correct the 3:4 aspect ratio when editing.

I also find the color to be almost too saturated. This too can be corrected in editing. Though I chose not to do so for the images in this story. I also did not try converting any of these images to monochrome. Though I’m sure it could be done without much difficulty.

This is the view as I got closer to home. This image is in the standard, wide angle mode. In this instance I kind of like the tilting power pole. It seems to emphasize the brewing storm.

Luckily I walked in my door just before the heavens opened up. And I am grateful for the handful of new images from today. They will remind me of what is possible in those times, when the best camera is in my back pocket.

On a semi technical note, these images were made with an iPhone XS. I bought this phone shortly before coming to Oaxaca. It replaced the 6S I had used since 2015.

The 6S was the only camera I had for nearly seven years. And I made several thousand images with this rather simple camera. I will also say, it did not seem too smart for its own good.

I cannot say the same for the XS. Not only is it too smart for its own good, it is too smart for me, and my own good as well.

Thanks so much for reading, and looking. I welcome your comments, always.

Until next time, To wide open lenses . . . and wide open hearts. — G.E.