Why the iPhone is a pretty good camera

My latest issue of Monochrome Mania is available from my Etsy site - Monochrome Mania No. 10, Pocketing Memories.  It’s a departure from most of my issues in that all of the b&w images were originally taken with an iPhone, not a film camera.  I’ll admit that I had some trepidation in putting this issue together, since it’s a departure from my previous issues -- but wait! Monochrome Mania is about the b&w image, no matter how it’s produced.  Having a tangible product and not an e-zine  is what Monochrome Mania is all about.  

 I purchased my first Apple iPhone in 2017, and it became a secondary image-maker, and a readily available photographic notebook.  I often shot with it to record exactly where I was, since the location data accompanies every image.  Many times, I use it to gauge how an image may look in square format, or in monochrome, and it becomes a tool that accompanies my film use.  Beyond that, however, it’s also a creative instrument that allows me to photograph a scene and see the result in real time, and store it away in my pocket until later.  My first iPhone was an SE model - smaller and less expensive than what is currently available.  It was replaced with an iPhone XR in 2019, which I am still using.  

There’s no doubt that camera phones have killed compact digital camera sales, since for many people, their camera phone does all that they need.  Always ready and easily pocketed, camera phones have sophisticated software to provide the user with images that probably are far better than they would have gotten with a compact digicam.  There’s also the idiom that the best camera is the one you have with you, and for many, it’s going to be a smartphone.

So, the latest issue has been curated to show a variety of images - some grouped by subject matter, and all have been taken since about 2017.  As you go through the issue, I have some commentary on Walker Evans, who totally embraced the then new Polaroid SX-70 as a creative instrument.  I think if you take his comments about the SX-70, they could easily be applied to the camera on a smart phone.  Of course, printing an image is important, and you can now purchase small printers that connect to your phone via Bluetooth and print your iPhone images as if you were using a Polaroid -- at a lower price point.  Something that I think more people should do with their photos.

You should also consider that you can take your smartphone images and turn them into b&w negatives in your favorite image processing program, and make digital negatives that can be used to make cyanotypes and other alternative-process analog prints.  

I have been very happy with the comments by readers of this issue.  In several instances, they were inspired to use their iPhone as a “real camera” and take time to compose and use the filter that matched their vision.  Others have told me that this is my best issue so far, in terms of the images and the presentation. 

Hopefully, you’ll read the issue and be inspired to use your smartphone or at least happy with the images that I present.  That’s what Monochrome Mania is trying to do - engage you in the world of black and white photography, in all of its facets.

Monochrome Mania No. 10, Pocketing Memories is 40 pages, including the covers. At $10 + shipping, it's still a bargain these days.