iPhones are probably the ultimate in modern street photography.
Despite what many people like to think, expensive cameras do not create good photos. Expensive cameras cannot create a vision. Rather, expensive cameras may have special features or abilities which may enable a vision. Without a vision, there is nothing to enable.
There's an old saying - 'The best camera is the one that's with you'. Thus, iPhones are often the best camera, simply because, if you are like me, they are always with you. [Disclaimer: when I talk about iPhones, I am really talking about smartphones in general. iPhones have a good, solid camera, but many other smartphones have equivalent cameras.]
Perhaps one of the biggest attractions is that, when you pull out your iPhone, you immediately become one of the horde of tourists, selfie-takers, Instagrammers, curious on-lookers. Invisible in plain sight, a license to photograph with anonymity.
Some of my favourite photos I've taken on my iPhone. Occasionally it is because of the 'compressed' look of the photos, which I prefer over DSLRs in some situations. Mostly, however, it is because I saw something beautiful, striking, powerful, meaningful, and the iPhone was the only camera I had on me.
Here are some images I made using my iPhone while in Japan recently. They are all meaningful, creative works to me. Check out the #mobilemasterpieces feed on my Instagram account for more iPhone photos.
And a hot tip: next time you see a photographer with a big camera, please don't say 'That camera must take great photos!'
