a thousand words

“Cell phone camera quality” used to be the standard phrase for sub-standard photography. And even now, the nay-sayers complain about the iPhone’s camera: it’s only 2Mp, there’s no zoom and no flash.

But for me, it’s just another reason to love my iPhone. I don’t need the highest quality glass and controls; that’s what my DSLR is for. I need a camera that I can take with me wherever I go, and I always have my iPhone.

I used to carry my Canon G9 with me, and I still do every once in a while. But it’s no where near as slim as my iPhone, and I can’t just slip my G9 into my jeans pocket.

But how’s the image quality?

First, I would say that any image taken with the iPhone is vastly superior to no image at all. And if you don’t have a camera with you, you’re going to miss the image.

That being said, I’m very happy with the quality of the images from the iPhone. This image was taken on the balcony of my cruise ship stateroom, when my DSLR was fogged from being in a cold room.

Of course, an experienced photographer can take a good photo with any camera, just as most anyone can take a bad photo with the most advanced camera.

If you need inspiration or examples, there are several Flickr groups devoted to iPhone photography. To see some of the best imagery from the iPhone’s camera, though, check out the iPhone Photography Awards 2008 Winners.

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It’s always hard for us to let go of kitties. But, it’s time for our studio kittens to go to a new home. We found someone who was willing to take all six kittens and give them a home, which is much better than the no-kill shelter. Still, I’m sad to see them go.

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It’s already started. Mardi Gras is coming.

Last weekend, we photographed the first event of the season, the Selene Ball. This is last year’s Queen, as she greeted the Krewe.

It was a lot of work, hundreds of images and lots of fun, but the best part of the evening was dinner at Drago’s, and my introduction to charbroiled oysters.

Wow! These were amazing! They put them on the grill, slather them with parmesan cheese and garlic butter, and let the fire blaze up over them.

We sat at the oyster bar and watched the fire blazing and oyster shucking. The sizzle of the oysters and the smell of garlic butter was enough to almost make me drool. The cook gave us one to try, and we immediately ordered a dozen (and could have eaten many more).

Of course, with such dramatic cooking techniques (fire up to the ceiling), we photoswapped the entire time we weren’t stuffing our faces.

We may have to go back before next year’s ball.

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I saw two posts on major blogs today mentioning our Photoswap Flickr groups.  The first was from Boing Boing Gadgets:

An entire Flickr group has sprung up dedicated to NSFW PhotoSwap shots. There’s the usual assortment of sulfurous moon shots, a few oiled breasts, a rubbery schlong. It’s actually surprisingly uninteresting in an age of porn in which the only nudity still alien is pulsating, exposed musculature. More interesting and amusing is the SFW gallery, where gentlemen like the one to the right are on Katamari Damacy like display. I love you, King of Cosmos. You can share photos with me anytime.

The other is from the Wired Gadget Blog (“Photoswap Brings Out the iPhone Crazies”):

It’s been out for about a month now, but the free iPhone application PhotoSwap is worth noting for producing pretty wacky results. As its name implies, PhotoSwap has a pretty simple concept: You snap a photo, and in exchange you receive a photo from another completely random person using the app.

As you might imagine, some of the adventurous type (to say the least) have pushed the envelope with the app, even though the rules state you can’t post anything inappropriate. Enough people, in fact, to fill up a NSFW Photoswap Flickr gallery. And the SFW version of the gallery is pretty funny, too.

Our main Flickr group is now up to 115 members and 754 images. Woohoo!

Join the fun!

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My in-laws have found out that their home in Galveston is relatively damage-free. That’s wonderful news. They haven’t been able to see it yet, but a friend stopped by to check on it for them.

I can only stop to think, though, that they are starting down a long and arduous road. It’s been over three years since Katrina, and we still haven’t finished our journey to recovery.

It’s a life-changing event, and it takes a lot of adjustment.

Here are some of the things they can expect right away, when they’re able to return to the island:

First, the entire area will be permeated for months with the wonderful fragrance they’ll never forget: eau de stinky fridge. It’s impossible to describe and impossible to forget.

Stores — those that open — will have limited inventory and limited hours. The sound of generators will rumble constantly. Greeting a friend will change from "How are you doing?" to "How did you do?" Flat tires will become a way of life. Road signs will sprout up everywhere advertising semi-legal contractors using unskilled workers. Long-term plans will become meaningless, and it will become an effort just to make it through the day.

Having relatively little damage is good news, but it comes with a price: survivor’s guilt. There’s no such thing as “we’re all in the same boat”, because we’re not. Some people have lost everything. Some people can’t even find the street they lived on, because all the landmarks are gone. Some people will live in FEMA trailers for months or years, while others can sleep in their own homes.

Sometimes after Katrina, when the stress of everyday life in this war-zone was getting us down, we would think about our friends and neighbors who had lost everything. How could we feel sorry for our own situation when others were much worse? What was so special about us, and not-so-special about them? What did they do to deserve this? Why did we deserve to be spared? The guilt of being the lucky ones then just added to our stress, and it became a whirlpool of depression, fed by ever increasing guilt.

We tried to compensate by volunteering. Julie’s job no longer existed, so she spent many long hours working with Noah’s Wish, an animal rescue organization. I still had to work, so I did some publicity and fund-raising for them when I could.

Of course, seeing all the animals that were lost, abandoned, or just left behind didn’t help our stress levels any. (Please, take your pets with you when you evacuate!)

But they’ll get through it. It won’t be easy, but they’ll get through it. Then they’ll wall off those memories like we did, and carry on with their lives.

Good luck. You’ll need it. Just don’t feel guilty about it.

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The iPhone photoswap group on Flickr has grown to 52 members and 370 images. A Palringo group (photoswap) has also been created, albeit with just a couple of members so far.

If you’ve go an iPhone, join in the fun!

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I just donated to the Humane Society of the United States Disaster Relief Fund.

After Katrina, I saw this time and time again. People evacuated, leaving their pets behind to fend for themselves.

I just can’t understand that.

Owning a pet is more than just owning a possession. It’s a responsibility to care for that animal, to protect it, to commit yourself to the partnership you agreed to.

And yet, even after all the horror stories after Katrina, many pets were still abandoned during Hurricane Ike.  They were left in locked houses to drown or left roaming outside to be swept away.

Why do these people even own animals, if they care so little for them?

Luckily, there are some extraordinary people around who respond to emergencies like Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Ike to save the animals that have been left behind. Most are volunteers, taking time away from their jobs and families to save as many lost pets as they can.

Thank you, to the animal rescue workers of the Humane Society of the United States, Noah’s Wish, The North Shore Animal League, and all the other agencies who have committed to rescuing abandoned animals.

Please make a donation to help these folks out. And if you ever have to evacuate, take your pets with you!

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Photo Friday is one of the weekly theme sites that I post to regularly.  The other is VFXY Photo’s weekly theme.

This week’s theme at Photo Friday is "relationships", and this image is my entry.

Participating in weekly themed challenges is a great way to get inspired; inspired to either shoot new images to match the theme, or browse through your older ones and discover new gems.

Plus, the entry links back to my own photoblog, and it’s an interesting way to get more people to visit my site. Sometimes they stay and browse through my archives (and maybe even leave a comment or two!).

After all, images want to be seen. It’s why they exist. I’m just helping them along.

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Not sure if the quality has improved, but some are getting a little more interesting.

It’s amazing how many are asking for nude photos. Don’t they know you can find this stuff on the internets?

The Flickr group has more members now, but no one else is uploading photos. Come on, people, let’s share the really good and really bad ones!

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