Chase Jarvis says “The Best Camera is one that is with you” and I completely agree.  In the age where digital has made taking a picture just another button, where did the art go?  I can remember not too long ago,as a photographer, you were very specific of what you took photos of.  Film and development are expensive. You wanted to make sure the shot was what you were looking for and that your camera settings were correct.  There was no screen to look at to see if you set it correctly. I have talked before about the time I spent with my grandpa developing pictures and learning the basics of photography, and never once did he go out and “just hope” he got the shot.  Yes, even with film photography there was post production work that was done and adjustments you could make to correct for highlights and lowlights but photography was photography.

As photographers, we have become complacent with our skills.  With cameras that shoot 11 frames/sec and can shoot in almost no light at 25,600 ISO we just assume we’ll get the shot and rely too much on the camera.  “Spay and Pray” is one of the terms given to what I am talking about.  Well….. we’re right to a point.  My Nikon D3 can help me avoid making a mistake or missing a shot on a photo shoot every time, but it can’t tell me what to shoot. It can’t frame the image for me. It also does me absolutely NO good when I’m out with my wife for dinner or shopping or just taking a walk, if I don’t have it with me.  This is where the whole “Best Camera” idea comes in.  Todays camera phones can take great quality photos and they are almost always with you.  In fact, if your like a lot of people, it’s probably glued to your face most of the day.  You may even be reading this blog on one. I have my iPhone with me all the time and now I have one more reason to carry it.  I started taking a ton a photos with it and posting them to this blog and Facebook.  Not really for anyone but me, I do this mainly to keep my “vision” so to speak.  It helps me record ideas for future shots, special moments and just random junk.  Will I use my iPhone for a customer shoot…. probably not, but I would use it to scout ideas for one as I said earlier.

Technology is a great thing, it has opened a lot of doors for photographers.  We just need to remember to keep it as an extension to our skills not a crutch.

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