The iPhone has revolutionised the ability to shoot, edit & share your photographs on one device. For many photographers, both amateur & professional, this integrated process has given them the freedom to experiment both within & across photographic styles.
To show you what’s possible with the iPhone, I’ve put together a showcase of talented photographers who use the iPhone as part of their photographic process. The photographers are from all corners of the world & span different styles including: landscape, portraiture (self and street), nature and wildlife, architecture, travel, street photography (colour and black and white), conceptual and documentary.
Portraiture – Jim Darling
Since picking up his very first camera over 25 years ago, Jim Darling has been drawn to the faces and stories of people he meets. According to Darling, “using just the iPhone and any number of great photography apps, the stranger/street portrait enters a whole new level. I love the spontaneity and the quick relationship that exists between me and the subject.”
Landscape – Robert-Paul Jansen
Robert-Paul Jansen is a Dutch photographer who uses an iPhone to take magical landscape photographs in the countryside around his home in the small village of Gemonde. Jansen started shooting on his iPhone because of convenience “the camera I always have in my pocket has shown me more small miracles, more tiny details, than I ever thought possible.”
Nature and Wildlife – Kaisa and Stanley Breeden
Kaisa and Stanley Breeden, based in tropical far-north Queensland, Australia, are usually known for their incredibly detailed focus stacking photography, as seen in their books Wildflower Country and Rainforest Country. They have recently branched out into iPhoneography, inspired by the way the device and its many photography apps encourage people to look differently at the world around them.
Conceptual – Richard ‘Koci’ Hernandez
Richard “Koci” Hernandez is a national Emmy® award-winning video and multimedia producer who worked as a photographer at the San Jose Mercury News for 15 years. In 2007 after taking his first mobile photograph, he was hooked on the medium’s potential and immediacy, “not only is it the camera in my hand, but it’s the printing press in my pocket and more importantly, with the rise of social networks like Instagram, it’s become my satellite dish in order to instantly transmit, globally. I can share my vision at the touch of a button and receive instant feedback”.
Black and white street photography – Greg Schmigel
Greg Schmigel is not an iPhoneographer, rather a street photographer who happens to use an iPhone as his main camera of choice. Schmigel is inspired by a variety of photographers, both old and new, including: Garry Winogrand, Vivian Maier, Jules Aarons, Tim Cadman and many more. Schmigel was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, in 1969, but has spent the majority of his life in and around the Washington, DC, Metropolitan area.
AikBeng Chia – Documentary
AikBeng Chia wanders the Singapore back streets at all hours of the day and night looking for interesting people, traditions, and stories. According to Chia, he uses his iPhone as part of his documentary photography because “it phone helps your subject to be at ease with you. Most of the people I meet are amazed and curious that I use such a small device to capture photos instead of a DSLR or a rangefinder”.
Here are three images from AikBeng Chia’s “Will you still love me tomorrow” series about the dying art of Chinese Street Opera in Singapore.
Architecture – Dan Cole
Dan Cole is a Seattle-area photographer who is using his iPhone to take architectural photographs, which he shares on Instagram to his over 100,000 followers.
Dan was educated at the Art Institute of Seattle and University of Washington, and has worked as an artist in the game industry for over 14 years. He has been pursuing photography since 2005, and has been an engaged member of the Instagram community since October of 2010.
