David Sorcher's PhotoWorld: Insta-Nots

Yes, i know, i know, i'm still not doing it right. After all, the smart phone photo is the Polaroid of the new millennium, meant to be shot and shared almost immediately. For many it is the immediacy of the Instagram that is one of its most appealing traits. But i still don't have an Instagram account and i find that images often tend to linger aimlessly on my iPhone for some time before i finally get around to sharing them on any social media platform. I recently uploaded over 1300 photos to my computer from my phone, only a few of them ever having seen a public viewing. So what's that about?
Master street photographer Gary Winogrand used to advocate waiting months before developing a roll of film in order to create a psychological detachment from the subject matter so as not to allow the mood of the day to sway his editorial decisions. He claimed he wanted to forget the moment the photograph was taken completely so that he would have no emotional connection to the image whatsoever. I can't necessarily claim that same intent in my iPhonography "practice", but find it an interesting approach to the editing process none the less.
The cell phone camera serves the function of the "camera at hand". It's always with me and as my eye is always seeing photographs, whether my DSLR is with me or not, it allows me to capture and express my vision where it might have escaped me otherwise. Often these are unintentional, slice of life moments; a play of light and shadow, a reflection or unplanned juxtaposition of objects caught out of the corner of my eye demanding closer inspection or a fleeting moment of nature such as a magnificent rainbow or sunset whose grandeur would fade by the time i managed to grab a "real" camera capable of making a higher quality image.
Of course good photography isn't always about creating the highest technical image quality possible. It is about the content and the intersection of that content with the moment. There have certainly been times when i have wished i had a better camera for some of these images. The dynamic range of an iPhone camera isn't the best nor can the resolution of the image hold up against a pro DSLR. Sometimes i have great frustrations trying to control the exposure and focus with a tool that is, for the most part, created for automatic operations for a less discerning user base. That said, there does seem to be certain subject matter and moments where the iPhone presents itself as the most appropriate medium for the image at hand. I have, in fact, been out shooting with my big camera and purposefully chosen the iPhone for an image idea. Sometimes this is for the novelty of the panoramic function that my DSLR just isn't capable of, but often it is purely the nature of the subject itself. I'm not sure i can actually put my finger on exactly what that ideal iPhone subject matter is, but when it presents itself it seems obvious at the time.

(Please click on images for an enlarged gallery view)