Almost Insta-Instagrams

©David Sorcher 2014

Okay, so i finally folded and got myself one of them new fangled "space" phones. I had been nursing (and despising) my old flip phone for some time and the opportunity to step up presented itself. I have always had a reluctance to embracing new technology and i'm usually slow to change. My decision to move into smart phone tech was not, however, fueled by any strong desire to text, instagram, monitor my email or any of the myriad of mind-numbing games and activities one can engage in to zombify one's existence in this modern age. In a world where personal, eye-to-eye conversation with friends is quickly becoming passé (even when standing in the SAME room) i remain solidly opposed to following the sheep herd with its face stuck firmly in its phone screens while real-time life is going on all around them. 

So what did fuel this drastic step? Recently i took an Enquirer assignment and just before the event i was asked if i could send a photo of the crowd immediately from the scene. I realized that i just didn't have the tech to do that. Without a guaranteed hotspot i would not be able to send the photo from my computer. Without a phone capable of taking a reasonably good quality photo i couldn't even send that from the phone. So as with most of my technological leaps this one was driven by the simple need to be capable of doing the job.    

©David Sorcher 2014

Of course as a photographer i would be silly not to explore the photographic possibilities of my new "space" phone. Honestly, i am very hesitant to opening an Instagram account and not fully convinced that i really need to join that culture. This is not a slight of Instagram per se. Like any visual medium there is both good and bad out there. It is a new format on the photo scene that creates its own niche through its limitations, immediacy and presentation style. I kind of liken it to the SX-70 polaroids of the new millennium. I have at least one friend that i have regularly encouraged to create a book of her Instagrams because they are just that good. She has mastered the form. Still, i'm not sure that instagramming is for me anymore than, say, large format photography.  

©David Sorcher 2014

I call these "almost insta-instagrams" because i have emailed the shots from my phone to myself and then run them through photoshop before posting them here. That certain takes a bit of the "insta" out of the equation. It also sidesteps the mandatory square format of Instagram and takes the use of the pre-set filters off the table. I actually find the camera in this phone (iPhone 5c) quite impressive for what it is though i have my doubts that it can truly serve as the compact everyday camera i've been searching for to do my street work. But it can certainly serve in a pinch when an image presents itself and no other camera is available.

©David Sorcher 2014

©David Sorcher 2014

The camera's automatic features do seem to handle difficult lighting situations such as in these backlit shots fairly well. 

©David Sorcher 2014

The little lens in this thing if pretty sharp and shows nice texture and detail. Of course this is all in good light. I don't have high hopes for great results in low light situations. 

©David Sorcher 2014

I wonder is there is a certain kind of subject matter that suits cell phone photography well. It occurs to be that mundane objects photograph well with this format, especially when presented in filtered Instagram form. No filter here, of course, but hopefully that makes sense to someone out there. 

©David Sorcher 2014

Geometric forms of light and shadow are the obvious subject here. This is an image i might try to reproduce with the D4 just to have a higher quality file of it. It worries me that i might want to do that with every "good" image i take with the phone. The files are certainly good for internet use, but it would be silly to compare it to what you can get out of a full frame DSLR when it comes to making prints. The phone actually handled this high contrast situation well, probably because my white house acted as a giant reflector to open up the shadow areas a bit. One of the obvious downfalls of the camera is no manual control and very often shadow detail gets lost in high contrast situations like this. But then, it is really a phone in the end, isn't it. 

©David Sorcher 2014

And sometimes that lack of shadow detail works well for an image, as in this shot of Jack emerging from the darkness. I'm still not sure what this will all mean for my photography. Sure, i will be able to visually express myself now in those times when i have left my big DSLR beasts at home, but i don't really feel like iPhone photography is a viable option for the vast majority of my serious work. But the phone will certainly help me with other aspects of my job such as providing a mobile hotspot for file transmissions as well as allowing me to make a quick photo grab of a scene when necessary for immediate emailing. As for signing up for an Instagram account…well, i think i'll leave that decision for another day.