This recently-published photo of mine has generated a lot of favorable reaction from readers, the most in quite a while.
Clouds lay low over the Yakima Valley and Tieton River drainage while it's sunny above in the mountains of central Washington Nov. 20, 2011. The photograph was taken near the White Pass ski area. (GORDON KING/Yakima Herald-Republic)
Several people have asked me how the photo was taken, assuming I had lugged a bunch of camera gear up to the ski area for the photograph.
But, truth be told, those assumptions were way wrong.
I shot the photo with my iPhone 4S. And I took the photo only because I was experimenting with the brand-new-to-me phone. I was out backcountry skiing on a day off and I wanted to see how easy the phone/camera was to use for snow scenes , the ease of use out in bright sunlight and how the phone handled with gloved hands. I wanted to see if the phone would be a worthy substitute for the point-and-shoot camera I usually take with me on my backcountry ski trips.
My overall conclusion is this: the iPhone 4S takes terrific photos and seems to handle difficult lighting situations pretty well. However, the screen is very difficult to see in bright sunlight (which is why I absolutely refuse to buy a camera without a viewfinder). You can’t use the phone while wearing normal ski gloves (a definite drawback for outdoor use in the winter). Also, I can’t take a photo as quickly with the iPhone as I can with my conventional point-and-shoot camera (the ability to quickly take a photograph is paramount. I do not want to keep my ski partners waiting for me to take photos because the more time I take making photos takes away from their ski time).
So, while the iPhone is a great camera, it will be strictly an emergency, back-up camera for use in the winter backcountry.
That said, the iPhone is a terrific newsgathering tool. More on this in my next blog post.
–Gordon King
Picture This | seattletimes.com blog
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