When I was madly in love with film, the zone system, and the smell of developer, my main camera was a Hasselblad 500cm. Sigh. The camera is fully manual, which means that based on what my mind was seeing, I would decide about everything, setting shutter speed and fstop. I kept a shooting and developing notebook, would shoot out rolls in similar light, and develop based on the content and quality of light. I loved all of this. I think it appealed to the scientist and the artist in me. (first bachelor's is a science degree, heavy on the chemistry and physiology...)
My fun camera was a Holga 120N. The Diana camera- the ancestress of Toy Camera photography - hadn't
been commercially reproduced yet. You could still find original Dianas on ebay- the ones that had been given out as carnival prizes, but they were pricey. Holgas were the best option. I had several - Holgas let light in through practically every seam, so I would load them in the darkroom and tape over the seams with black electrical tape. I'd even have to tape over the film counter window- making a ittle flap so I could peek to see if I had advanced the film enough for the next frame. I'd load three or four, tape them shut, and stuff them into my camera bag. There were no settings, although allegedly you could change the lens from 3 feet to 6 feet, or 9 feet or infinity- although, I really don't think that worked much... lol
I adored Polaroid, too. I liked transfers and emulsion lifts, but the spontaneity of their SX-70 and the 600 integral films really appealed to me. You could manipulate SX-70 prints to get wonderful painterly images, so I modified my favorite 600 camera (it had a self-timer) with a filter and a piece of cardboard to allow me to use SX-70 film, too. I just looked on line and 600 film is $245 a pack... I've got my fingers crossed for the success of The Impossible Project.
One of the things about Toy Camera, and Polaroid work, is that it is accesible- easy to make- no darkroom needed, no photoshop required. The cameras are/were cheap. Yes, the images are odd, quirky, low quality, but if you are all about seeing, then composition and vision come into play and fascinating things happen. Professional and art photographers loved their Polaroids and their Dianas for the serendipitious images that they could make. Even now, you can buy a Holga lens for your digital dslr that is essentially a Holga lens embedded in a camera body cap.
I've been missing my Hassy. I loved the film backs, loaded with 120 roll film, that attached to the back. I loved the clunk of the shutter. yes, clunk. I loved the weight of it in my hand, and looking in the large square viewfinder from the top. I loved the 2.25 inch square negatives. The top down view and sqaure format changes your way of seeing. Now, even if I still had my Hassy, I certainly couldn't be spending hours in the darkroom these days and sending 120 roll film out to be developed, have contact sheets made, and then order prints by someone who knows what they are doing is expensive. I considered using color 120 roll film in my Holgas, which could be sent off and processed, or even converting my Holgas for 35mm which could be processed locally. But, as much as I love the quirkiness of Holgas, Dianas, Lomos, Lubitels.... I didn't want to shoot just color 35mm film. So, I didn't...
Then, photographs taken with the iPhone started appearing on the web. Oh, boy! Did I covet the internet access? The intergrated iPod? the GPS? No, I coveted the camera and the Toy Camera app. But, it wasn't time for a new phone. The IPhone 3Gs came out, and I really started thinking... 32 GB, and a 3 megapixel camera that can also take videos.... and the Toy Camera apps- sheesh. Christmas was coming, it was time for a new phone, and the prices had dropped a great deal which sold me. Now I have a phone that is secretly a toy, thanks to all the apps available. So much so, that my littles pester me for my phone because I added things like pre-schooler books, a xylophone, a piano, a pokedex... The prices for these little goodies make them easy to obtain- most apps are a dollar or two, and many are free.
There are a couple things about the iPhone camera that I found helpful to know: 
- Hold still- the shutter is pretty slow.
- Hold the camera horizontally, if you need to increase your steadiness - use your thumb to press the button, while be conscious of not covering the camera with the fingers of your left hand.
- The shutter fires when you take your finger off the button.
- You can choose what you want to focus on in an image on the 3Gs by tapping on that thing.
You can find helpful info on the web, of course. Here are some links:
How to squeeze decent photos out of an iphone
How to get better photos with your iphone
Apple's iPhone camera how-to
But the truth of it, beyond these things, is if you want to to take a great quality image- good resolution, color, exposure... you are not going to be using your iPhone with its 2 or 3 mp resolution. So, just like photgraphers have made the most of what Polaroid, Holgas and Dianas can do, you can do the same with your iPhone. I think of my iPhone as a digital toy camera- and what makes it into this for me are the apps.
I haven't had as much time to play with my iPhone camera and my apps as I'd like, but I intend to change that right away!
Here's what I have loaded on my iPhone, and I'd love to hear what photo apps you have in the comments section:
- CameraBag
- Hipstamatic
- OldCamera
- LOMO
- ToyCamera
- bwCamera
- NightCamera
- Zoom Lens
- ShakeItPhoto
- QuadCamera
- TiltShiftGen (lensbaby-like)
- FishEyeFree
- PhotoBooth+
- PerfectlyClr
- FilterFX
- DXP
- PS Mobile
Some of these I love; some I feel so-so about. Read the reviews online before deciding.
There's a blog that specializes in iPhone app reviews-iPhoneography and you can google all the apps by name.
I've noticed a ton of Flickr groups sharing iPhone photos some are based aorund specific apps. So, if you want to see what is being done with a particular app, a Flickr search by groups can be useful.
Just so you know, I'm not suggesting that anyone buy iPhone. This post is about how my iPhone images are satisfying the part of me that really misses using my Holga or shooting Polaroid. I love that I can do quirky toy camera work and still have the minimal expense of point, shoot, download, and print...
If you have iPhone images that you have posted on your blog, please share your link in the comments.
