fair play

I braved the heat yesterday and headed to the OC Fair with my husband. With all the bright colors and crowds, I was totally looking forward to getting some awesome pictures of the place. I slung my camera over my shoulders, threw a second lens in my purse, and even dropped in a few extra CF cards and backup batteries, just in case. And then I didn’t end up using the darn thing AT ALL.

See, here’s the thing… when I go somewhere with the intent of taking pictures with my good camera, the general routine consists of me walking a few feet, stopping when I see something cool, checking/changing the settings on my camera, snapping the picture, checking the picture, and then walking a few more feet. Repeat this a few more times, and whomever I’m with tends to lose their patience. I usually reserve these camera trips for when I’m with my husband, because he seems to have gotten so used to this over the years. However, even he has his limits… particularly when it’s after 2:00 and neither one of us has eaten lunch yet.

So, I compromised… and decided to challenge myself, as well.

I still stopped to take pictures along the way, but decided to do so ONLY USING MY iPHONE!

That’s right… ALL the photos you see in this post were from the camera on my iPhone, and the editing was done in-phone as well, with a favorite app of mine: “ShakeItPhoto.”

Besides sharing some SWEET images just for the heck of it, I’d like to use this blog post to dispel a myth that we photographers have to face ALL the time…

you don’t necessarily need the most expensive equipment out there to capture a great image;

AND

just because you DO have the expensive equipment, it doesn’t necessarily make you a good photographer.

I’d like to dedicate this post to all those people that are scared to pick up their camera and use it because it’s not the “best” and they’re afraid they won’t get the greatest shots… just DO it. Work with what you have available to you. Remember: you’ll always miss the shot you didn’t take.

And this post is is ALSO dedicated to all those people who have said to me and others: “I like that picture you took. What camera did you use?” Um, yeah… the camera doesn’t do all the work. Just because you push an expensive button doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll get a good image. There’s a creative eye behind that camera… and that creative perspective is what will win each and every time.

So here, to prove my point, are some more of my favorite  iPhone shots from the OC Fair: