I’ve been torn between continuing to take photos with my iPhone or going back to doing things properly and capturing moments with my Canon SD630. Since my iPhone purchase, my true digital camera has been buried at the bottom of my bag, unused.
I attribute my change in habit to convenience. I carry both gadgets at all times, but the iPhone just leaps into my hand and/or is already in hand more often because it is checking an email, sending a text message, or fielding a phone call. It’s just good at multitasking. My Canon, while superior at photography, clings lopsidedly to its one talent and is less likely to be within reach.
But, I think this is one case where ease of access shouldn’t preclude quality. I keep fearing that I’ll wish a photo were in richer quality or had more thoughtful composition but that it will be forever locked in a lesser version because of using the iPhone. You can never go back in time and really “recreate” a moment for photographing. Looking through past pages in my Flickr feed reminds me that these original opportunities for capture are careening past me daily without chance of repeat. A multitude of crisp, stunning moments that I don’t want to remember halfheartedly, much less forget.
So, I’m going to do better at reaching for the proper tool when photography strikes my fancy.
Pictured above: Union Square, 8pm or so this evening via iPhone. There’s a certain rich luster missing from the image that’s only achievable at richer resolutions. See below shot for comparison, which I snapped with the Canon SD630 — fireworks this past July 4. Much glossier, better framing, a lot more likely to be worth preserving.
