The Best Camera Is the One That's with You: iPhone Photography

The Best Camera Is The One That's With You: iPhone Photography by Chase Jarvis showed up in the mail today somewhat unexpectedly. I started to leaf through it (it's small and nearly all pictures), and was quickly distracted from whatever it was that I was supposed to be doing. Jarvis makes the case that the best camera for a particular picture at any given time is the one you happen to have on hand. My DSLR is of little use if it's still in the camera case at home. He shows how you can take and enhance photos using nothing but the iPhone and an iPhone app called Best Camera. I normally don't buy many iPhone apps (in fact, all the ones I use to date are free), but I spent the $2.99 (yeah, I was feeling extravagant!) to check it out. Between the app and this book, I'm sold. In terms of looking for in-depth technical discussion on how the iPhone camera works and compares to other options, forget it. Jarvis doesn't go into *any* of that. Instead, he takes you on a photo exposition of normal scenes and images that you would probably overlook on a daily basis. But with some decent composition (closeup, blur, cropping), you can get images that are quite striking. Then using the Best Camera app, you can apply filters (vignette, warming, saturation, etc) that add that extra zing to the picture without taking it outside of your iPhone. Granted, it's not PhotoShop, but then it's not meant to be. The whole concept here is to use the camera you have to take the shots you'd normally ignore or miss. The images inspired me to do better, and there was one phrase that really caught my attention. Actually, there were a couple. "No longer do I tire of the lounge or the crappy food or the painfully long lines at the airport." With the iPhone and imagination, you should be able to entertain yourself for hours. "There are at least ten great pictures waiting to be taken within ten meters of where you are standing right now." That sort of goes hand-in-hand with the other statement. I always find myself looking for "the perfect picture", when in reality there are a lot of great pictures to be taken all around me. It's just a matter of opening my eyes, getting out of my normal mindset, and *taking the picture*! The Best Camera Is The One That's With You is a great little book that has me excited again about what I could do with stuff I already have with me everywhere I go... Disclosure: Obtained From: Publisher Payment: Free

This book is a brilliant demonstration of what a talented and creative artist can do with the most basic tools. Chase Jarvis gives us 200+ photos taken with his iPhone and processed only using iPhone-based tools (no Photoshop!). In a way, this is comparable to the kinds of exercises that are sometimes done in other artistic fields, such as painting a picture using only two primary colors or writing a novel without the letter E (both of which have been done) -- a conscious device to spur experimentation to discover ways of working with or around the limitation one has chosen to adopt. But there is a crucial difference here: the use of the iPhone is itself a solution to the problem of not always having a camera in hand and ready to shoot whenever a photographic opportunity presents itself. And this is the point of the book: that there are always such opportunities around us, and that you don't necessarily need an expensive camera rig to catch them. Jarvis writes, "There are at least ten great pictures waiting to be taken within ten meters of where you are standing right now." This book is his proof. Another inspiring aspect of the book is the way Jarvis sometimes takes advantage of the iPhone's limitations. It is not a high-resolution camera, nor are its optics any match for the better compact point-and-shoots on the market today (let alone any SLR), but Jarvis shows that this can be useful. Some of his pictures actually benefit from imperfect focus, digital noise, and limited dynamic range. In a few cases, I found solutions in his work to failed pictures that I have taken. I can see now that those pictures failed, at least in part, because the images were technically too precise. I played by the usual rules of photography (correct focus and exposure, etc.) when I should have broken them. "Louvers" on page 206 is one example of this. I shot a picture once very like this one, but it was too clear and too detailed; anyone looking at it would have said, "Okay, a picture of louver blinds, so what?" Jarvis' picture of the same subject is more mysterious, and therefore more interesting, due to blur and "incorrect" exposure. It becomes an abstract graphic design (and a good one) rather than just a shot of vertical blinds. I think anyone interested in photography should buy this book. You may not "get" it right away, and it may be best not to rush through the whole thing in one sitting; but over time, I think it will help your mental and creative gears to turn in new ways, and the pictures really are great in their own low-tech way.

Chase has done it again. The Best Camera is like visual proof that Jarvis' manifesto (the best camera is the one that's with you, and it doesn't have to be fancy) is right on the money. His images, and the way they've been curated into this mini-exhibit, are inspiring. It's not a how-to book, in fact it claims to be nothing more than what it is - a collection of images that re-examine the intersection of art and pop-culture. If you're looking for technique, move along. If you're looking for inspiration, this is a great reminder that the brand wars (Canon vs. Nikon) are irrelevant and that the camera really has so little to do with this art. I love this book and will pick it up time and time again just to stir the paint and poke the muse a little. Well done, Chase.

chase is the walking embodiment of the digital tsunami we are in the midst of. cool thing is he blends traditional ink on paper with an app that extends the reach and enjoyment of all this to lots and lots of folks, more than would just get a book, or just get an app. he puts himself at the middle of the wonderfully frenetic intersection where imagery meets and is augmented by technology with his talents and his generous nature....this book is just like chase...cool, in the moment, and visually smart.