Sometimes I write, sometimes I draw, paint, or photograph. Sometimes I try to invent games or imagine the motions and angles of the earth. And sometimes these things just go on a to-do list that makes me feel stressed. But when I successfully complete something, I feel really really good.
image at top, Steve Armstrong, Sky with Clothesline, low resolution jpg from an unmanipulated iPhone image
image at bottom, Steve Armstrong, Inside Looking Out, low resolution jpg from an unmanipulated iPhone image
As someone who started taking photographs in the 1960s, I continue to be amazed at the capabilities of these small devices. The automatic exposure, focus, and colour temperature are truly remarkable. The resolution and depth of field are also impressive for such a tiny lens.
The only thing I miss is the wonderful flattening of planes into virtual layers based on distance from the camera that occurs with a telephoto lens. But I suppose that could be simulated through a photo-shopping process if I had the skill and inclination.
But I see a photo-shop simulation of focal length as a conservative resurrection of an artefact from a previous technology, a choice that’s blind to the implications of the medium. That’s fine for advertising and popular entertainment I suppose, but it's downright sentimental and inappropriate for art. That’s not my current interest in iPhone photography.
But I need to add a qualification because Sky with Clothesline flattens out very nicely. It seems to have about four layers, all on account of the hardware and software in my phone, things beyond my control.
I have no intentions to buy lens attachments for my phone or return to an SLR, because I believe the pleasures of an art-form are enhanced by the limitations of the tools. I can do all that without buying any more stuff.
iPhone photography is a constrained thing, just like a sonnet or a Polaroid. The product is an image on a screen, and as a commodity, it could be an NFT. At the moment though, NFTs have fallen on hard times because of the scams, bubbles, and rug-pulls in their first years. More on that another time, this is only the photo credits, even though it has developed into a small manifesto for a very particular art-form.
