Category: Photography

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Travelling with an iPhone

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My 1D X and three lenses were already packed for the trip to The Netherlands, but at the last moment, in fact, on the morning of departure, I changed my mind and decided to leave the DSLR in favour of an iPhone. It was a conscious effort to do things differently from my usual routine. Besides, I wanted to see if I would be able to still do photography, if I focussed on different aspects of it – namely, on documenting (nearly) everything I encounter and sharing it with my wife almost instantly.

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On the second day of travel, I can report that it is indeed possible to do a significant amount of travel photography with a smartphone. In certain ways, it is even easier than with a DSLR. Indeed, carrying just a phone, instead of a bulky camera and a backpack makes you more nimble, both physically and mentally. I found myself actively looking for photo opportunities not only after arriving at the destination, but throughout the trip.

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Also, a phone camera allows me toby much stealthier and sneakier while taking candid shots. the sound of a high-speed burst from a 1D X is as distinct as that of an AK-47, and has a similar (but not as lethal) startling effect on an unsuspecting person. Not only the phone camera is silent, but the smartphones are so ubiquitous, that it seems that people stopped paying any attention to them – I could be taking a picture of a persona meter away, and he won’t even notice it.

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There are a few issues with iphonography, though, compared to shooting with a DSLR. I am not talking about image quality – it is expected that a phone camera would have some limitations. The first thing I noticed is battery life. Shooting, editing and posting photos through the travel (two airports and a train ride) and then walking around The Hague for entire afternoon drained the battery completely and sent me beck to my hotel room (I must say that I was quite tired and glad to do it anyway).

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The second issue is storage. In my particular case, it is not the amount of storage on the phone itself – it is the capacity of my cloud account, where all the images are backed up automatically. My 50 GB filled by the end of the second day. The issue was easily resolved by deleting some old backups. I am sure that my workflow can be optimized, for example, by copying the photos from the cloud to a laptop at the end of each day. However, a camera phone does not completely free you from either a computer or a power outlet.

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Storytelling using a smartphone

Evernote Camera Roll 20160121 162348I am writing this post on the plane on my way back to Victoria from Milan, where I was attending a PhD defense and presenting a seminar on using flow visualization in fluid mechanics research. Usually, I try to combine these kind of work trips with photography, but taking some time between work to go on photo shoots. The last time I did this with a particular focus was during a trip to Shanghai.

For this trip to Milan, for the first time in a while, I did not bring a DSLR. The trip was going to be very short, so I thought that it would be appropriate to test the “nimble photography” mode (the term was coined by Derek Story, the author of the first photography podcast that I ever listened to). I brought just by iPhone 6 Plus, which has an excellent camera and, unlike my 1 Dx, allows instant sharing of the photos.
Well, I can report that I did a lot less less photography during this trip than I usually do. When I did take photos, they were mostly snapshots. Also, and perhaps most importantly, I found that I lacked the habit (and consequently, the skill) of instantly sharing the photos, so I didn’t make much use of the iPhones connectedness, other than sending snapshots of my dinner plates featuring risotto alla Milanese and other “produtto tipico” to my wife.
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Having said this, rapid communication is a skill, and I believe it is a matter of practice to develop it and turn it into a habit. I saw this in action when I went to see “Rigoletto” at la Scala on the last evening of my trip. Before the third act, Russell Crowe showed up with his entourage and proceeded to the Platea. As soon as he entered he took out his phone, snapped a few pictures of the interior of the concert hall and Twitted one of the ceiling with just a couple of words as a subtitle: “la Scala… Verdi’s Rigoletto”. He was very unapologetic and matter-of-fact about this, even though the “house rules” website of la Scala is explicit about not bringing phones to the hall. This is the rule that almost everyone, including myself, ignored anyway.
Thinking about it, I realized that what Mr. Crowe did was, legitimately, story telling. Granted, what he wrote was not “War and Piece”, but it was absolutely better than nothing. It is just like showing up for just the last act of the opera is better than not showing up at all.

Perhaps, we, as human beings, are evolionary, programmed to like storytelling, both as tellers and as listeners. I think this is related to being good at transmitting useful information, that enable survival of our cave-dwelling ancestors. So, regarding the tools of the visual storytelling trade (i.e. an iPhone vs. a DSLR), bringing a professional-grade tool compels us to take the picture-taking seriously, but can detract from the actual experience (e.g. I might have decided to go for a nigh photoshoot instead of the Scala if had lugged the backpack-full of photo gear half way around the world) and therefore limit the storytelling opportunities.
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