The Internet is chock full of photography websites that often overreach to be unique in explaining all of the ins and outs of what affects the out come of a shot. And, if you aren't careful, you'll be lulled into the idea that anything written is the GOSPEL - an unwavering authority that certain aspects are good or bad.

Take "noise", for example. A simple search put this site at the top of the results, with the following open salvo of comments on it - "Noise is a grainy veil in a photograph, obscuring details and making the picture appear significantly worse. In some cases, photos can be so noisy that they are essentially unusable." With writing like that and as an amateur photographer, it's harsh enough to make you think if your photos have noise, you might as well give the hobby up and take up something more appropriate like hitting yourself in the head with random objects.

I disagree - photography is an art, which means any element in its creation is fair game to be leveraged if it creates the result I want. Including noise. This shot is an example of where it works - an eerie, out of focus shot of beach houses captured at night - it reminds me of one of the creepiest album covers I saw when I was younger...Black Sabbath's self titled first album.

Photography is a technology nerd's happy dance playground - there are WAVES of complicated elements, settings, hardware, hardware accessories, and software that allow somebody to go as deep as they want to perfect their craft, all while being elitist at mere mortals who simply, "...just don't get it." Interestingly, there's a correlation - I am also a fan of progressive rock, which shares a similar elitist trait in that some of its hardcore fans are known to haughtily dismiss those who fail to worship the shear genius of their favorite band.

I have different perspectives for my above observations, but will keep to my opinions about photography here, since this IS a blog about picture taking. I am beginning to think my phone is a better platform for the typ of photography I am chasing.

Take a look at the above picture - it is of my son's cat Alex, who was intently looking out the window of our screened porch to try and force her mental will on whatever she was wishing she could jump on and kill. How did I capture it? On my iPhone 15 Pro...not on my fancy pants DSLR. Some photography enthusiasts would scream and call me a heretic, but deep down inside, they know cameras in mobile devices have advanced to a point where they aren't just a replacement for older point and shoot camera, but can also get pretty darn close to pro-grade results that most consumers would appreciate. Really? Yep.

First - consider the convenience of a phone. Chances are good you have one within arm's reach of you as you read this blog. That ease of access can't be overlooked in comparison to what an amateur photographer would need with a DSLR to catch the same shot - a macro lens aligning with the camera body settings you HOPE are right when you set up to shoot. I am not advocating convenience trumps DSLRs for a professional who is getting paid, but I would debate a modern phone is fine for the other 95% of photo shooting needs. Oh, also - I didn't have to lay on the ground and contort my geriatric body to get my camera in position...I simply extended my arm holding the phone and caught it with minimal effort.

Second - surveying the scene before you push the capture button is TREMENDOUSLY easier, thanks to the phone having a much bigger and brighter screen than the claustrophobic viewer window on the camera, or the tiny LED screen that displays the shot on the DSLR after it was taken. Case in point - my last post where I ranted about misjudging the shadows - one of the sample photos I posted from the pier I was on has some focal length fuzziness in parts of the picture I never saw until I was working on it in Lightroom. If I had a larger screen to use pre- and post-shot, I would have caught it when I shot it.

I have a feeling I may be using my phone a lot more than my DSLR on some of my future shoots. Or maybe I'll use both and see which one wins over time. I still have a lot to learn and fiddle with as I keep refining what I do. Onward and upward with an open mind...

I continue to wrestle with shots that don't happen when the sun is at its apex. We were out for a hike yesterday and purposely chose a later time with the idea a higher hanging sun wouldn't wash things out like I had experienced in this post. I clearly misjudged things with my timing, because a lower fall sun ended up giving me shadows where I didn't want them - kind of an opposite effect from that other blog.

A lower sun and longer casting light may be fine for pictures of open areas like the beach or farmland, but it gets trickier when there are trees around.

I was flying earlier this year, and while I normally try for an aisle seat, I was relegated to one at the window. It ended up being a lucky break, since the moon made an appearance in the waning afternoon sun when we got to altitude...I think we were roughly at 35,000 feet when I got the shot. My only gripe is the moon has ZERO detail because I was using my iPhone with limited exposure speeds.

The brown and orange on the horizon have an ethereal quality - I could see how you could get vertigo up there if you aren't careful.

Modern, film-free photography benefits from the law of averages - meaning, if you take enough shots, one of them is bound to be good. A fun challenge in that framework...can you transform a throwaway picture to something worth keeping? This photo is a good example of it. I am sure many people who take pictures with their phones forget to wipe the lenses off before they do, and I am no exception. Sometimes.

We were visiting Sister Bay, Wisconsin back in June when I grabbed this shot of a sailboat in the harbor. And, while I would have been quick to toss it out because of smudge on the lens, I decided to give it a go with my trusty Lightroom tweaks to see what I could make out of it. I like the result and now take second looks at my shots before I delete them, since there is probably more potential in them than I realize.

I had a chance to take my new iPhone for a photographic spin the other day, and was not disappointed with the results. My wife was busy yelling at the Pittsburgh Steelers game while we were out for lunch, so I took some time to stroll around where we were eating, since the last place you want to be is next to a fan of that team when they're losing.

I grabbed a couple of wide angle shots and then decided to experiment with the isometric angles of the pier's railing where I was shooting. The lenses and sensor on my new phone have a noticeable improvement in the details they capture, and Lightroom did a great job accentuating the textures of the bench and the wood, as you can see in this shot. The funny part? This picture also looks like one that you would see on the cover of a high school text book - Practical Algebra for High School Students feels like a fitting title. If you are reading this and happen to be in the book publishing business...I'd be happy to cash the royalty checks for your using this one!

I mentioned in my last post that lighting is a real make or break for my outdoor shots. While I used to think having the sun high ion the sky to eliminate shadows was a good idea, it actually seems to wash out certain details or emphasize something just a little too much. This photo was captured back in the spring with the sun 45 minutes away from dipping into the horizon.

We have coastal lakes at the beaches where I live that sometimes stretch themselves into the gulf through channels the water forms in the sand. When you combine that geology with the setting sun, sometimes you strike gold - like the channel in this picture.

I like Manfred Mann's remake of the song this post is named after, despite having one of the most misheard lyrics out there - it's "...wrapped like a DEUCE, another runner in the night," and NOT DOUCHE. BIG difference that I am sure Bruce Springsteen, the songwriter, wishes it turned out a little clearer. Anyway, I am learning that light giveth and taketh away on outdoor shots. This one was from a hike to Anna Ruby Falls in Northern Georgia on a beautiful September afternoon - the weather and trail scenery was stunning.

Unfortunately, when I went to do my post processing, I noticed I had quite a few shots like this one where some of the details were washed out because the sun was almost directly above us. Lesson learned - I need to plan for it to be lower in the sky.

The title of this entry is a shoutout to a Pink Floyd song, but also nails it for describing what the sun seems to be doing here - slowly collapsing into the arms of a couple of condo buildings who are lowering it into the horizon. I have mentioned it here that sunsets in my neck of the woods all have unique personalities that are influenced by the season. This was a nice, hot, lazy July afternoon...pretty fitting.

The weather was suffering an identity crisis the day I captured this shot at the beach. It was not only foggy, but the temperature also shifted quite a bit in a colder direction pretty quickly, which made me kick myself for not bringing a jacket. Anyway, I am a fan of narrative conflict, and this one has "Man vs. Nature" written all over it - you have to admire the person with the paddle board ignoring the same temperature shift to see if things were calm enough to go out  for a cruise.