A Photo a Week Challenge: Phone-tography
From Nancy Merrill:
“Cell phone photography is so prevalent these days, I figured it was about time I had a challenge where you pull out your phones and take a picture. There’s no theme other than a photo taken with your phone.”
I am not a fan of cell phones. The sound quality is pathetic and I can barely read the text, with or without glasses.
They aren’t good telephones and aren’t cameras at all, even though you can use it to take pictures. Photography is more than just capturing an image.
Last weekend, we went to a wedding in Boston and I did not bring a camera. In my defense, I was carrying an evening bag into which a camera would not fit. When we got to the event and I saw the view from the 33rd floor of 60 State Street. I wished I’d brought a camera even if it didn’t go with my dress. I had tucked the phone into my bag, so for the first (only) time, I took some pictures using the phone.
The quality isn’t fabulous, but it was the what I had available. I’m glad I got pictures because “not great pictures” beats “no pictures.”
Share this:
Categories: #Photography, Boston, Cameras, Photo A Week Challenge
SERENDIPITY - SEEKING INTELLIGENT LIFE ON EARTH 
Great shots and the quality is quite good – thank goodness for editing software. I use my phone a lot, but the battery is dying which is annoying when that happens when I am trying to get a photo. I usually have that on with me anyway, so I always have a camera – despite the photo quality. As you say, having photos is better than none.
LikeLike
Thanks! I had to do more editing on these pictures than on anything else I’ve done in a long time. The low resolution was one problem, but the reflections on the glass were worse. There were reflections from the lights of the room … and reflections from the sun outside. And a lot of straightening and skewing because the perspective was so distorted. It was worth the effort. That’s a view of Boston only possible from the upper floors of a very few tall building by the harbor. Or a helicopter!
LikeLike
Yay!! What wonderful shots. Thank you for bending your standards and grabbing these with your phone. As always, it’s great to have your contributions in the challenge!
LikeLike
Thanks, but I didn’t bend any standards. I just used the only thing I had available. I would have used an old Brownie box camera, if that were all I had. It was quite a challenge. Shooting under those conditions would have been tricky with ANY camera — so it was particularly interesting with a telephone. I was just glad to be able to get a few shots. I’m not sure I’ll ever have that opportunity again 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
The view was sensational.
Leslie
LikeLike
Yes, and if I had known, I’d have brought a camera with a better lens. Next time, I’ll look at a map before I decide!
LikeLiked by 1 person
My 2006 model cell phone takes crappy pictures, so I’ll be in your corner if nobody else!
LikeLike
I suspect mine is more expensive, but not necessarily better. The old Blackberries I had took better pictures than this new, much more expensive, Samsung.
LikeLike
Marilyn I think these photos are great! Especially seeing the distance they are clear and beautiful. It would have been a pity not to take such a wonderful view!
LikeLike
The view from the top of that building is phenomenal. There is NO way to not come out with something worth looking at. Quality is a different issue. You can’t see how much filtering I did to make it look that good … and if you saw it on MY monitor, you would realize that it appears sharp, but it isn’t really. Not only is my phone not all that great, but I was shooting at twilight through glass … with all the problems of reflection from the room behind me. Even with a great camera, I’d have had a lot of work to do to make the pictures look good. I took maybe 20 shots? 4 of them were — after a LOT of work — good enough to display (anywhere, even online) and none of them would have been good enough to print.
But you know, if someone is just taking snapshots and what’s important is getting Aunt Sally and Uncle Abe smiling at the party … hey, whatever floats the boat. I suspect you’ve passed that point in your own photography. Pictures that would have been more than good enough a year ago aren’t today. It’s the curse and the blessing of getting serious about photography. The better you get, the pickier you get.
But posting online? You really can’t tell the difference, so if the picture is pretty, it’s “good.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
It WAS a great view. And, so many (silent) planes coming and going from nearby Logan.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I know what you mean and totally agree. My phone just does not produce clear photos at a distance, and the editing can go on forever! Once I started using a “real” camera the more critical I became knowing the difference
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’ll keep getting more critical. Which is also how you wind up with more cameras. But it’s also fun and the only hobby I’ve kept for my entire life. You’ve come a long way and are doing amazing work. It will only improve.
LikeLike
I must confess (why?) I’ve never used my phone to take pictures. Heck, since I’m hard of hearing, I only use my phone for emergencies.
LikeLike
It’s sometimes embarrassing to see how good a phone camera can be. the rest of us dragging around full cameras, tripods, extra chips (one never knows), and next to you is someone taking amazing quality photos with an instrument she can carry in an inner pocket. Oh yeah.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The camera function in a high-end phone will capture a sharp image and certainly is much better than nothing and probably a big step up from many of the cameras we used when we were young. But if you are trying to do anything even a little artistic, they are a big drag to use. I put a lot of effort into composing shots when I’m taking them. It’s why I’m so very slow and miss so many shots. I compose in the viewfinder and normally do very little post processing. I count on my eye, the camera and the lens to not merely get the shot, but to frame it the way my eye sees it. I know that for a lot of people, just snapping the picture is the beginning and end of photography and certainly, online publishing really encourages mediocrity. The “good enough for posting online” factor effects all of us. I know super high resolution is pointless when I’m only posting online. No one will be able to see the difference — especially since I lower the resolution to make pictures take up less storage space. At 72 dpi, does it matter how good the lens was? No.
But it matters to ME. Even if I’m the only one who can see the difference.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Now, now don’t go getting your nickers in a bunch many of us can see the difference but moderate our acceptance based on the fact that if we’d remembered to bring our real cameras, in the first place, we wouldn’t be in this predicament. Fact remains that phone cameras are better than we’d like to admit.., and I hate using mine.., but in a pinch….?
LikeLike
This was a pinch and I used it. Glad I did because I won’t get another shot at the view. I just disagree with the current belief that pictures taken on a phone are as good as a camera. No, they aren’t. The phone is convenient to have, but it isn’t a camera. Usually, I have a camera … but I was all dressed up. I had no idea there would be pictures worth taking. Live and learn.
LikeLike
I continue to be amazed at how good cell phone pictures can really be. They beat the crap out of drugstore box cameras by a mile and snap shots have never been this good. Some of my favorite snaps were taken with my phone with the only side effect of me feeling guilty that they came out as good as they did.., ya know ’cause I didn’t do it with my camera? That being said I really liked the shots you took with your phone. So remember the old saying “it’s not the camera, it’s the photographer” this is true even if you only have access to a pin hole camera.., your phone is a far cry from that.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Everything beats the crap out of the old drugstore pictures, which, by the way, I didn’t use once I knew the difference between in or out of focus. I actually used a real photo lab — which still existed back then.
The pictures you take on your cell phone are image captures. You can’t do much in the way of framing and the resolution isn’t good enough to do much with them after the capture. Sure, it will get the image … and if that’s your goal, your home free.
And yes, I have a decent eye, maybe even better than decent and that’s WHY I really dislike using phones as cameras.
LikeLike
Resolution on phone pictures, at least on my iPhone can be very good to excellent. I’ve taken some that prove it.
LikeLike
I discovered my cell phone for photos some time ago and am glad. I blog a lot and do not always have so much time to make the perfect photo. My mobile phone has a direct link to Flickr, my photo hoster so I can quickly upload and the photo is there. My good morning posts are almost exclusively done with my mobile. If I want a better photo for a photo blog, I use my DSLR nikon or Canon and spend time uploading and sorting them out and perhaps making a few manipulations on the quality. I delete the photos from my cell phone as soon as I have them online. Mr. Swiss is mainly taking his photos with his mobile, but does not delete them. Last week he had to, because there was no more room. His photos go automatically in my Flickr programme, but I mark them as being his. Cell Phones are improving in photo quality with each new development.
LikeLike
Cell phones are great for exactly this kind of thing … when it’s all you have. If by “photo quality,” you mean ONLY the sharpness of the image, then they are improving. But as a tool for creating art — which I still believe is part of photography — it isn’t going to get better because — it’s NOT a camera. It can capture an image. Depending on the quality of the lens and electronics, it can capture a sharp (or less sharp) image. But all of the other things that go into making a good picture are not controllable on a phone. It’s like having one of those old box cameras from childhood, but with a much better lens.
Those old Brownie cameras — you just aimed them, clicked, and what you got is what you got.
So — if you just want to chronicle something you saw as part of a narrative (which both of us do), the picture quality isn’t critical. Also, posting pictures online and never printing them lowers standards. Online is the where “good enough” rules the day and for those of us that post a lot of picture and write a lot, unless there’s some special reason to put in the extra effort, we don’t bother. I know I don’t, unless the picture is worth it.
LikeLike
The clarity is rather good actually, although I am sure you used your magic on them.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It required rather more filtering than I typically use, but the view was spectacular. I’m sorry I didn’t have one of my better rigs, but I’m very glad I got something. There aren’t many places in Boston where that panorama is available. It was breathtaking.
LikeLiked by 2 people
It is a great view.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, stunning. I would have greatly regretted not getting at least a few pictures, whatever the quality.
LikeLiked by 2 people