Through the years, photographers have often defined themselves by the gear they used. Early in my career, I’d often get questions like: “Where are the square pictures?”, “Do you use the ‘hass-lee-blad’?”, “Are you a ‘professional’ photographer?”

Ugh.

Advances in technology have made creating images more accessible and easier than ever. (I didn’t say “better” than ever…) Thus proving the dictum: “The best camera is the one you have with you”.

This group was made while on a trip to Savannah, GA a few years ago. I had a bag full of cameras but these were made with my iphone using the Hipstamatic and Snapseed apps.

Once again, here we go, searching the archives and bring the past into the present…

An often annoying character trait of many photographers is the obsessive need to discuss gear. Put more than one photographer in a room and before you can say: “Say Cheese!” there will be a conversation on the type of gear they’ve used in the past; what they’re using now; what they’ve sold to buy more gear that now they wish they’d kept; and what they’d like to buy in the future.

Ugh…

I don’t know why we do, but we do. I am occasionally as guilty as anyone else. Perhaps it’s because it’s bond we all share. Perhaps it’s because we have nothing else interesting to say. Who knows?

All i do know is, it just doesn’t matter.

The best camera is the one you have with you, and most often, it’s your phone. As convenient as that is, with all the apps available, it couldn’t be more fun to make pictures. Even when I’m carrying another camera, I will still use my phone if I think I might want to play around with the images later.

The picture above was made on one of those occasions. While out working on a project, I passed the abandoned farm house and after making several pictures with my larger cameras, I thought it might also be fun to make a few with my phone.

Generally, my go to phone app is Snapseed, mostly because you can make all your adjustments later, and if you don’t like them, you discard them. But I really love my Hipstamatic app and that’s what I used here.

So while technically, this IS about the gear, it was really mostly about the fun!