summer photography

 This summer, I took a lot of pictures with my iPhone. That thing is crazy. The camera itself takes great pictures (on the 4 at least, not sure about the other versions) -- and with cheap apps like PhotoForge, ProHDR, and SlowShutter, you can almost transform it into an SLR.

(Almost. My dad has a Nikon with about a million buttons and settings, so I'm the first to agree that the iPhone is a different (lazier, maybe) art form.)

But I got to thinking this summer about how easy it is too look like a pro photographer or pro photoshopper with a couple taps on the iPhone screen. Here are a few of my attempts at pro photography...

old books (b&w effect with PhotoForge2)

rusty chair outside a boutique (also PhotoForge2)

sailboat races on Puget Sound

sailboat races (b&w with DramaticB&W)

my favorite Seattle spot (with PhotoForge)

old minis at a car festival

almost an apocalyptic effect (?) at Golden Gardens (PhotoForge2)

sunset off Golden Gardens with SlowShutter

dramatic colors with ProHDR

the iPhone camera does its thing (Cascade Mtns)

This photography question made me think about writing -- how easy it is to become a published author through any number of online one-click publishing companies. And how this is a great thing for so many people, and how accessible it makes everyone's words. It reminds me of Ratatouille: "Anyone can cook." And I think that anyone should be able to cook, write, snap gorgeous photographs with ease -- but does change art form. What about traditional publishing -- will it be undermined by the easier, quicker options on Lulu or Createspace? What about traditional photography? Will it lose its magic because I can create an Ansel Adams black-and-white effect with a 99 cent app?

I have no answers. But I do like my iPhone camera :)