Shot with iPhone

[Manoli]

I think what Mark was trying to say is, does Lula wish to continue to stand out as something special and cherished by its users, or is it happy to be swallowed up by the current trend sweeping across the internet?
[...]
Lula is never going to be able to satisfy everybody all of the time, and so it’s up to you guys to choose who are the majority of people, that you do want to satisfy most of the time.

And ...
since when does it need to be mutually exclusive ?
since when does a separate sub-forum contaminate the site any more than CSC, FF and large format sub-forums do?

The whole argument seems somewhat blinkered and unnecessarily elitist,
IMO.

[Dave (Isle of Skye)]

And ...
The whole argument seems somewhat blinkered and unnecessarily elitist,
IMO.

Only if you think that remaining different from the rest of the crowd is the same as being elitist.

Dave

[Kevin Raber]

We cover all things photographic here at Luminous-Landscape.  Just about everyone shooting with a camera has an iPhone and shoots with it.  I run workshops all over the world and I see everyday photographers with big technical cameras and a Phase One taking the iPhone out and shooting with it.  Quite frankly some of the work being done with the iphone is quite amazing.  So, if you don't like iPhone photography then don't frequent this topic.  If we publsih an article on iPhone Photography and you don't like it then don't read it.  We are working hard to expand the coverage we give the craft of photography and we may venture where some may not think we should.  Photography is our passion and we will explore and share what we feel is revelant and of interest.

I shared my story of what I was able to do with my iPhone and I was quite pleased.  Another camera in my arsenal and the cool part is it is always with me.  I am all about trying new things, challenging myself, getting out of the comfort zone and more than anything else having fun taking pictures.

Kevin Raber

[Manoli]

Only if you think that remaining different from the rest of the crowd is the same as being elitist.

Which I do, if the answer to the " does it need to be mutually exclusive ?" (which you conveniently ignored, yet imply) is 'YES".

[Dave (Isle of Skye)]

Which I do, if the answer to the " does it need to be mutually exclusive ?" (which you conveniently ignored, yet imply) is 'YES".

No I didn't ignore it, because I have never implied it. I was simply making an observation about the direction of travel, rather than suggesting we should confine ourselves to a single route - as you seem to be reading it.

We cover all things photographic here at Luminous-Landscape.  Just about everyone shooting with a camera has an iPhone and shoots with it.  I run workshops all over the world and I see everyday photographers with big technical cameras and a Phase One taking the iPhone out and shooting with it.  Quite frankly some of the work being done with the iphone is quite amazing.  So, if you don't like iPhone photography then don't frequent this topic.  If we publsih an article on iPhone Photography and you don't like it then don't read it.  We are working hard to expand the coverage we give the craft of photography and we may venture where some may not think we should.  Photography is our passion and we will explore and share what we feel is revelant and of interest.

I shared my story of what I was able to do with my iPhone and I was quite pleased.  Another camera in my arsenal and the cool part is it is always with me.  I am all about trying new things, challenging myself, getting out of the comfort zone and more than anything else having fun taking pictures.

Kevin Raber

I totally agree with you Kevin and I am not arguing against that, I am simply stating that your clientele will reflect the direction that you choose to take them.

Dave

[kwesi]

I think what Mark was trying to say is, does Lula wish to continue to stand out as something special and cherished by its users, or is it happy to be swallowed up by the current trends sweeping across the internet?

Yes Jeff, I too have looked at Dan Burkholder’s work and it is truly outstanding, as I am sure some people will also think about Trey Ratcliff’s HDR work, but if Lula wants to continue to stand out as something different and above the instagram crowd, then doing exactly the same thing as the rest of the crowd, is probably not the way to achieve it.

Personally I am not against iPhone and iPad photography, or any other form of image capture, but I do also understand what Mark is trying to say and the old curmudgeon in me wants to agree with him.

I have thought for some time now, that the type of the imagery shown on the home page of this site, is also an advert to the type of photography one can expect to find within the site, which in turn will attract people who shoot that type of work to migrate towards this site and those that do not, to migrate towards other sites that do cater for what they like to shoot – fairly obvious really.

Lula is never going to be able to satisfy everybody all of the time, and so it’s up to you guys to choose who are the majority of people, that you do want to satisfy most of the time.  
 
Dave

Very well said.
Lets put this discussion in perspective by remembering that no one buys an iPhone because they are looking for a camera.

[digitaldog]

It's the image that is important, not the 'thing' that made it! I was rather surprised by the high quality reproduction I saw on the back of 'The Week', full page 8x11 of the eiffel tower. It's not necessarily a stellar image but difficult to believe it was from an iPhone 6. This site is about photography, I don't see the need to be prejudiced by the object that made the photo.

Having a pretty decent quality camera that's always in my pocket is fantastic, an image shot by one is far better than an missed opportunity lost because my 5DMII isn't on my shoulder.

[Manoli]

Lets put this discussion in perspective by remembering that no one buys an iPhone because they are looking for a camera.

Let us indeed, remember.
Except that I did - and not one ... but two.

[MarkL]

More recently when I visit I often wonder how the content of this site all hangs together: who the audience is, what the vision for it is or what LL’s core identity is now. I’ve never seen it as jumping in on the latest trends or trying to cover a large gamut of photography just as highly technical in depth reviews, lighting, sports, weddings/event, fashion and many other areas have never really been covered and are well covered elsewhere.

Sorts of content where LL excels and previously the ‘core’ content:

• Hands on reviews by actual photographers who are knowledgeable and experienced and cover cameras 'in-use’ (ie. not trying for dpreview sorts of reviews)
• Technical overviews on advanced techniques like landscape astrophotography, detailed look at stitching etc.
• Educated thoughts/interviews on the direction of the industry and future of camera tech from people who actually have links with camera manufacturers
• Articles on all aspects of photographing in interesting places around the world

Content that makes me go !?:

• Occasional but very skant/lightweight forays into video which leave me wondering who they are written for
• Sporadic oddly written philosophical topics
• Phone photography with pseudo vintage filters not as a one off interest article but promises of covering this new segment in detail in the future

I will continue to visit here and will of course read what I find useful but I worry it is starting to become a bit like generic photography magazine trying to all segments of the market and doing none of them in any real depth or particularly well. At the very least if so many different areas are to be covered by different people I think the site needs to be structured in a way that properly supports this.

[Telecaster]

IMO *anything* that takes a photo is worthy of consideration here and anywhere else claiming to be devoted to photography. Sitting on my desk right now is a new Fuji Instax 90 instant film camera. Just got it, plan to give it a workout this coming week. Should be fun!

Coverage of one new thing doesn't equate to neglect of other things. This ain't no Zero Sum Game.

-Dave-

[AWeil]

Well, I like to say thanks for including IPhone Photography.
I use it for some years now next to other techniques: Scanning film, a range of Nikons, some very new and one of the latest Fujis.
So what? IPhones (or Android Phones) are simply part of all the practical tools we are lucky enough to be able to use today.
Photography is about expression, capture the moment with whatever technology is right for the task.
And, contrary to some previous assumptions: I did indeed buy an I Phone because of the photo apps available.
Best
Angela

[AWeil]

Thank you for this link, it is the most beautiful work.
Best
Angela

[BJL]

I'll not get intp a debte about deliberately going out on a photographic e cursion with on.y a phpne-camera, but i am enthusiastic about to ability to seize unexpected opportunities. I do not carry my "big camera" with me when I go to work on rainy days, so I am glad that I got to record this intriguing road-side site.

[bernie west]

Very well said.
Lets put this discussion in perspective by remembering that no one buys an iPhone because they are looking for a camera.

To be honest, last night I was thinking that the next phone I get I will focus on its camera specs.  No doubt, I'm a minority, not least because I hate phones and only have a smart phone because it came as a deal with my internet package.  Although, since using the smart features of it (most notably google maps and the internet) I am enjoying the benefits of it.  The one benefit a phone has over a small compact camera is that it is a phone and you tend to carry it with you everywhere, even if there aren't any pictures to be taken.  Honestly, I wouldn't want to carry a small compact around absolutely everywhere AND a phone as well.  May as well combine the two as best you can and then you have a camera absolutely everywhere with you.  And as I mentioned in regards to myself, I see different photo's with my phone.  In fact, it's annoying me, as I get some decent shots with my phone, but they can't be blown up to any decent sizes.  I'm going to start training myself to look for the same shots with my dslr so that I can take advantage of the better resolution and quality.

[Ancient amatuer]

Cell phone attributes

1. Very handy

2. For the very small sensor, the pictures are good

3. Hard to use. I have seen many cell phones with cracked displays from being dropped. Cell phone photography increases the chance of dropping a pricey phone.

Attached picture made while on an exercise walk.

[bcooter]

But to ignore phone photography is to ignore a major future trend. If we want to stay relevant to the variety of styles photography and tools that people are currently pursuing would be to do a disservice to readers.


Michael

I think that sums it up well.    I don't dislike phone photos, but like Michael, kind of don't see the point unless you shoot something that the phone camera made better.

I thought that Apple Ridley Scott remote directed commercial was pretty  cool until I saw the behind the scenes with chapman cranes and about a gazillion dollars worth of production values, then you realize, ok, I can make an I pad look good, but if the crane weighs 2500 lbs, why am I using an I pad in the first place?

But I still think a phone photo section is a good idea . . . then again maybe not because I don't do the instigram and I don't do the facebook.   I do like tumbler but just for quick fun.

IMO

BC

[BJL]

... like Michael, kind of don't see the point unless you shoot something that the phone camera made better.

Fair enough, and I see just a couple of main cases where that might happen:

- the phone-camera makes the photo better by making it exist, because it makes little sense to be carrying a bigger "dedicated" camera at the time.

- hand-held panoramas: in-camera processing technology makes the continuous sweep panorama mode of my iPhone work better than the successive frames panorama mode of my EM5, and being able to do that image processing on the fly as the sweep is being done seems to have inherent advantages over the "record now, fix later" approach.  The key here is that some phones contain [or _are_] far more powerful computers than most cameras, so can do a few useful tricks with that.

[digitaldog]

I don't dislike phone photos, but like Michael, kind of don't see the point unless you shoot something that the phone camera made better.

Images I shot with my iPhone when I didn’t have my DSLR are better than the image I didn’t get with that DSLR.

[mezzoduomo]

Photography has more meaning, and has more impact on the daily lives of more people than ever before....especially young people. Call them millennials, or whatever label suits you: Photography is how they connect with one another, and it means something very important to them. Maybe less as 'art' and more as a way to communicate with one another and a way to express themselves...both socially and artistically.

The phone (and the attendant apps and social photo sites) made this possible. Content, feeling, capturing the moment, telling a story are all, and adherence to rules and convention are nothing.

Are we going to argue about our own subjective perspectives on concepts like 'legitimacy', or are we going to try to really understand how and why photography has blossomed into more meaning for a greater proportion of the human population than ever before?

[bcooter]

Maybe less as 'art' and more as a way to communicate with one another and a way to express themselves...both socially and artistically.

I don't disagree, but to me photography (considering photography is my profession and a major part of my life) , to me photography is more than showing what I had for breakfast.

Once again I don't disagree with anyone on this except I think we're not talking the same language.

Comparing most of the instigram and the facebook snaps and saying it's photography is like sending out a tweet and calling it a book.

Yes personal photos are how we communicate, I guess always did, but looking at most facebook pages I get the same feeling when someone use to pull out their photo album of their wedding, or my grandad made us look at his slide collection.   

I'll politely look, but I'd rather be doing something else.

Now in regards to having a camera in my pocket is better than no camera at all, sometimes that's true but in my case that would rarely rarely make any sense.

Today I called a friend.  He said he can't talk but sent me a succession of twenty text messages.  I finally just texted him and said I'm bored with typing on a phone.

Call me. it's more fun.

IMO

BC