Thing # 7 Hipstamatic!

A phone camera is not the same as a dslr - not even close - but I've found myself using my iphone camera more and more this last year or so and really enjoying it. For one, it helps me try out things I don't feel comfortable yet trying with my Sony Alpha, like street photography. I feel intrusive taking pictures of people out on the street. I know others do it but it's something I have to learn and the iphone camera is helping me with this. For another, this is the camera that IS ALWAYS WITH ME! Chase Jarvis, a well known iphone photographer, has written a book called "The Best Camera". The title references his assertion that "the best camera is the one that is with you". There's a companion iphone app to the book, which brings me to the third reason I love taking photos with my phone. The apps! There are so many wonderful ones and many of them are geared towards retro photography, the kind of photography this camera really shines at.

My favorite app so far is Hipstamatic. It is based on a toy camera invented by two brothers in 1982. For some background history on the original hipstamatic, including the tragic story of its inventors, follow this link.

Hipstamatic for the iphone lets you try different combinations of lenses, film and flashes. There are a myriad of combinations. For a very helpful chart look here.  I have to confess that though I've tried several different combinations, I keep coming back to the John S. lens/Blackeys BW combo.

Here are some pictures I took in downtown Tulsa during a foggy day and in the park across from our church a few days later. "The Hat" was taken at Applebee's, of all things :-).