The best camera is the one that's with you: iPhone photography 9780321684783, 0321684788, 9780321703354, 0321703359, 9788131750575, 8131750574

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THE BEST

CAMERA

IS THE ONE THAT’S WITH YOU

iPHONE PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHASE JARVIS

The Best Camera Is The One That’s With You™ Chase Jarvis New Riders 1249 Eighth Street Berkeley, CA 94710 510/524-2178 510/524-2221 (fax) Find us on the Web at www.newriders.com Find Chase on the Web at www.chasejarvis.com To report errors, please send a note to [email protected] New Riders is an imprint of Peachpit, a division of Pearson Education Copyright © 2010 by Chase Jarvis All photography © Chase Jarvis Editor: Ted Waitt Production Editor: Lisa Brazieal Interior Design: Chase Jarvis Inc. Indexer: Chase Jarvis Inc. Cover Design: Chase Jarvis Inc. Cover Image: Chase Jarvis Notice of Rights All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. For information on getting permission reprints and excerpts, contact [email protected]. Notice of Liability The information in this book is distributed on an “As Is” basis without warranty. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of the book, neither the author nor Peachpit shall have any liability to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by the instructions contained in this book or by the computer software and hardware products described in it. Trademarks Apple and iPhone are trademarks of Apple Inc. The Best Camera Is The One That’s With You is a trademark of Chase Jarvis Worldwide LLC. Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book, and Peachpit was aware of a trademark claim, the designations appear as requested by the owner of the trademark. All other product names and services identified throughout this book are used in editorial fashion only and for the benefit of such companies with no intention of infringement of the trademark. No such use, or the use of any trade name, is intended to convey endorsement or other affiliation with this book. ISBN-13 978-0-321-68478-3 ISBN-10 0-321-68478-8 987654321 Printed and bound in the United States of America

FOR KATE

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS A whole bunch of work went into making this little book and I owe many thanks to many people.The crew: Kate, Scott, Dartanyon, Mikal. Alex, you’re in there too. The page gracers: Mario, Scott, Kevin, Bob, Garnet, Snow, Cody, Vivian, Abbie, Andew, Will, Saba, Bill. New Riders: Ted, Nancy, Scott, Sara Jane, Lisa, Charlene. New agent: Nancy Stauffer. New friends: Kirk, Martin, Joe, Ubermind, Gary, Marita. To the makers of all the iPhone photo apps out there, especially the ones I played with the most: Photogene, CameraBag, TiltShift. To all of you who—through your pictures, blog posts, comments, tweets, Facebook messages, and emails—have contributed to this community. And finally, to my family and my friends: thanks for putting up with me.

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FOLLOW CHASE JARVIS ONLINE www.chasejarvis.com/blog www.twitter.com/chasejarvis www.facebook.com/chasejarvis

ABOUT THESE IMAGES & MY NEW iPHONE APP None of these images have been retouched or altered in Photoshop—or any other piece of software outside of the iPhone. They’ve all been edited exclusively with native iPhone applications. While there are a number of good iPhone applications that perform certain tasks quite well, in my experience none of them—individually or together—have met my need to create these images and share them easily. Until now. Introducing my own iPhone application called—appropriately enough—Best Camera. It has been in development throughout the course of creating this book. With this single application, you can creatively edit and share your iPhone images more simply than ever before. There’s a unique set of filters and effects that can be applied at the touch of a button. Stack them. Mix them. Remix them. Virtually infinite creative possibility with your photos. And what good is taking a picture if it’s not easily shared? Best Camera allows you to share directly via Twitter, Facebook, a host of other sites, and www.thebestcamera. com, a new online community that allows you to contribute to a living, breathing gallery of the best iPhone photography from around the globe. I am proud of the ecosystem we’ve created: this book, this app, and this community. Join us. I look forward to seeing your pictures. You can buy Best Camera ($2.99) in the iTunes App Store or by visiting www.chasejarvis.com/bestcamera.

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CONTENTS Airports 12 Animal 1 Animals 29 Beverages 38 Bodies of water 24 Cars 57 Chickens 8 Humans 6,419 Road signs 15 School buses 10 Shoes 19 Traffic cones 3 Words 2,888

INTRODUCTION What you’re holding in your hands is a chunk of me. My guts. My process. My study. It’s a look into the production of my ideas. These pictures, all taken with my iPhone, make up my visual notebook—a photographic journal—from the past year of my life. Though The Best Camera closes the door on this period, this ongoing study continues to fuel my curiosity and provide boundless inspiration. It is an invaluable reference and will continue to inform my future bodies of work. It is said that Rodin molded hundreds of hands in preparation for creating the hand of The Thinker, as he explored musculature, the folding of fingers, and on and on. Undoubtedly, each of those hands merits the label “art” in its own right. It’s in this same vein that I consider the images in this book. While each iPhone picture certainly contributes a thread to the overall fabric of my creativity, it’s of a deeper—or, perhaps paradoxically, simpler—interest to me that each iPhone image ultimately stands on its own. Two megapixels at a time, each photograph reveals how I process the visual information around me, how I see the world. These images remain a visual journal, but gathered and bound together this book becomes a stake in the ground. With it, I hope to underscore—perhaps help legitimize— the idea that an image can come from any camera, even a mobile phone. Inherently, we all know that an image isn’t measured by its resolution, dynamic range, or anything technical. It’s measured by the simple—sometimes profound, other times absurd or humorous or whimsical—effect that it can have upon us. If you can see it, it can move you. For me, the iPhone has been a dream come true. One button. Always with me. Incredibly accessible. There’s no losing sight of the work at hand by way of more complicated gear. Writers have notepads, painters have sketchbooks, and I have a camera that’s always with me. Chances are, you do, too.

If we allow it, photography can escape the technical trappings of so many other artistic endeavors. It’s accessible, nearly ubiquitous today. And it’s given us an opportunity— more than ever before in history—to capture moments and share them with our friends, families, loved ones, or the world at the press of a button. It’s the moment. The little snippet of life unfolding in front of your lens—whether that be glass, plastic, or a pinhole in a cardboard box. As an artist, I feel more free with the little camera built into my iPhone than I ever have with any other camera. I somehow recovered an innocence I’d lost, and I was able to see the world again for what it is: a beautiful, funny, sad, honest, simple, bizarre, and wonderful place. If taking pictures helps you see this, then keep shooting. The best camera is the one that’s with you. Chase Jarvis July 2009 37,000 feet, somewhere over Colorado

2

under the freeway, seattle

birds that ate my breakfast, kona

3

4

this is called a delineator post

a different kind of smokestack, nyc

5

6

boca juniors, buenos aires

post match exodus

7

8

bacon tastes good

swine, kurtwood farms

9

I began shooting iPhone photos as a means to both escape and yet stay connected to my craft. It was an exercise to hone my ability to better see

my world.

view from my hammock, seattle

11

12

dunton hot springs, telluride

noisy silence, chile

13

14

skylight reflecting on an amber pool

flooded dinghy

15

16

snowy roads, minneapolis

neon lights, o’hare

17

18

after the rainstorm, dubai

bent metal and a lamppost

19

20

garage door shadows

I don’t want more settings or buttons. I want less.

Less is the new black.

22

mostly snowy bench

mostly old deck

23

24

institutional apartments, denver

rusty blades of grass

25

26

april showers bring, seattle

yellow road sign

27

It’s not always about creating pictures. It can be about

finding ones that already exist.

come here often?

29

30

chain on brick

cat tail on zebrawood

31

32

goalposts, camano island

inverted icicles

33

34

mailbox perspective

street perspective

35

Kitsch makes for some of our culture’s

most interesting subjects.

taxidermy eagle with venetian blinds

37

38

cockie jar, salt lake city

wexley school for girls, seattle

39

40

pimp my shopping cart

classic vette, boulder

41

42

toy car collection, juneau

a giraffe and a school bus

43

The iPhone

can’t do everything.

unlucky, chicago

45

46

it’s a bird

it’s a plane

47

48

street lamp by day, nyc

street lamp by night, seattle

49

50

speed limit

frost on my car

51

52

commodities, seattle

garage sale 9 to 4

53

54

crusty boat hull

raindrop reflection

55

56

snail on a planter box

beached starfish

57

58

laser light show, o’hare

montlake bridge, seattle

59

60

stained glass window, sea-tac airport

digital display, sea-tac airport

61

62

expired tabs, camano island

chalk mural, sydney

63

64

shopping cart fossil, dubai

The first time I went to Dubai, it was at the apex of its out-of-control growth. Skyscrapers by the dozen going up like Lego castles. Bentleys, Gucci, industry everywhere. And a citywide attitude to match. A year later I returned and the city was paralyzed, in shock from the worldwide credit crisis. I spotted this shopping cart, discarded in the sand at Jumeirah Beach Park.

66

the tallest building in the world, dubai

flag on jumeirah beach, dubai

67

68

moving walkway, tokyo

korean air flight attendants

69

70

electric tea lights

on my back in a hotel lobby

71

Each photograph is a

tiny invention.

warped world view

73

74

prickle

trickle

75

76

gumball-size hail, denver

traffic cone, nyc

77

78

nude french model

electronic touchdown

79

80

lotus frog

stoic cow, kona

81

82

ford pickup truck

angry guardrail, seattle

83

84

curves, minneapolis

straight, minneapolis

85

It’s like a chef. He works all night serving Rare Moroccan Spiced Squab with Chermoula and Orange-Cumin Carrots. When he gets home, what does he make for himself?

A grilled cheese. Simple.

under the pier

87

88

sunfish

aurora bridge, seattle

89

90

gasworks park, seattle

man on unicycle

91

92

have a weird day

The moniker “creative person” makes it sound like I always know where my ideas come from.

I don’t.

94

no digging

digging

95

96

spectrum

walking past a flowering hedge

97

98

dump truck taillights

l’étranger

99

100

kate on a rail

beheaded, nyc

101

102

brunch on the road, leadville

service station, salt lake city

103

104

where’s the beef?

the beef

105

106

vegan donut

decaf coffee

107

108

10-speed shadow

trashed, nyc

109

110

campfire remains

walkway remains

111

112

seawall

exit ramps

113

The gear you can’t afford is not the barrier keeping you from success. Gear has

very little to do with photography.

wilson range, telluride

115

116

mount index

acme rocket

117

118

burner

cactus

119

120

boardroom shadow

burlwood mirror

121

122

looks like the midwest

the midwest

123

No longer do I tire of the lounge or the crappy food or the painfully long lines at airports.

touchdown, denver

125

126

friday harbor

on approach, somewhere in alaska

127

128

southern alps mountain pass, new zealand

suspension bridge caution, chile

129

130

minivan

serial killer van

131

People usually ignore the camera that’s built into your phone because they consider it useless.

That comes in handy.

the blakes

133

134

what’s the jackanory, nyc

power outage, chile

135

136

happy hour

nappy hour

137

138

lloyd

kevin

139

140

manimal

animal

141

142

cropped

a robot may not injure a human being

143

144

mustache karaoke

chroma xl

145

146

i heart bbq

There are at least ten great pictures waiting to be taken within ten meters of where you are standing right now.

148

wheat grass, san francisco

icicles, park city

149

150

just looked down and noticed this, nyc

half a critter

151

152

wisdom

simple

153

154

neighborhood watch

antique, seattle

155

156

just missing one letter and then it would be really funny

parking lot, seattle

157

158

unsure which way is up

place of origin, seattle

159

I edged myself out over the pool from a balcony to grab this shot, and then I watched my sunglasses

disappear with a splash.

something seductive

161

162

paper delivery

random outside mirror

163

164

airport windows, grand junction

sunlight saddle

165

I was on location in Pucón, Chile. Instead of shooting, I was stuck indoors during a weeklong downpour. In turn, I downpoured local beers, ate the strangest bar-snack mix of my life (which destroyed my breath), and played endless racquetball on courts built in the early ’80s.

In that order. Every day.

cabin fever, chile

167

When you’re bogged down,

play.

heidi, camano island

169

170

i would pluck the eyebrows

stumbled upon a conehead

171

172

cody on sunday morning, palm springs

cody on friday afternoon, seattle

173

174

vivian

if i only had that new ‘bread’ application

175

176

favorite meal of the day, vashon island

The before shots

are sent to foodie friends. The after shots are almost always of some horrendous mess I’ve made at the table, or some cheeky sculpture I’ve created from my leftovers.

178

coffee and cream

bunny and goose

179

180

curious

royal mirage on a down day, dubai

181

182

selected as america’s best beer in 1893

summer studio lunch

183

I got lost the other day in NYC. I just got out of a cab somewhere on the Lower East Side, and I didn’t read a single street sign. I wandered and took pictures until my iPhone ran out of batteries.

dribble, nyc

185

186

headline in a gutter, nyc

i had no idea

187

188

heels on subway station floor

converse on moving walkway

189

190

heels on white

saba, nyc

191

192

narrow alley with barbed wire, nyc

charles de gaulle, paris

193

This

is more than a project.

beautiful decay

195

196

inverted stop signs, boulder

train handles, san francisco

197

198

running man, frankfurt

running man, nyc

199

200

drive

classic porsche, la jolla

201

We came around a corner and met a cloud of dust, a couple hundred feet of skid marks, and a mostly upside-down VW in a ditch. No other cars in sight. We pulled over, called 911, and jumped out of the car just in time to watch the driver kick his way through a shattered sunroof. There’s an old adage in photojournalism: “f/8 and be there.” Now we don’t even have to

remember the “f/8” part.

first responder

203

The dirtiest secret in photography: shoot a hell of a lot of pictures to get the ones you want.

fortified

205

206

louvers

tea lights

207

208

jetway, frankfurt

ceiling lamps, frankfurt

209

If you don’t think you can take a picture of something with a certain camera,

you’re playing by the rules.

gulls in flight, puget sound

211

212

mercedes with a rolling shutter

sometimes an image only tells half the story

213

214

jetway, palm springs

fifth avenue monorail track

215

216

looking down on uplights

beach rocks

217

218

inverted sunset

independent celebration

219

220

red pulley

sea foam

221

Some pictures tell stories. Others ask questions.

prisoner, dubai

223

224

retinal scan, los angeles

dance floor, minneapolis

225

226

party

after party

227

228

yo

walk it off

229

Every photographer takes crappy pictures, every painter paints crappy paintings, and every actor blows their lines. What really matters is that you’re out there,

sending stuff into the world.

mario and scott, new zealand

231

232

industrial complex

aspens, aspen

233

234

five o’clock shadow

recycling

235

236

tree shadow on roadway

lamp shadow on sidewalk

237

238

altered states, nyc

cable protector and a guardrail

239

Shoot.

thank you

241

boca juniors, buenos aires

INDEX 10-speed shadow about creating pictures

108 28

6

brunch on the road, leadville

102

bunny and goose

179

burlwood mirror

121

acme rocket

117

burner

118

after party

227

cabin fever, chile

167

cable protector and a guardrail

239

after the rainstorm, dubai

18

airport windows, grand junction

164

cactus

119

altered states, nyc

238

campfire remains

110

angry guardrail, seattle

83

cat tail on zebrawood

31

animal

141

ceiling lamps, frankfurt

antique, seattle

155

chain on brick

30

chalk mural, sydney

63

april showers bring, seattle aspens, aspen aurora bridge, seattle bacon tastes good beach rocks beached starfish

26 233 89 8 217 57

209

charles de gaulle, paris

193

chroma xl

145

classic porsche, la jolla

201

classic vette, boulder

41

cockie jar, salt lake city

38

beautiful decay

195

cody on friday afternoon, seattle

173

the beef

105

cody on sunday morning, palm springs

172

beheaded, nyc

101

coffee and cream

178

the blakes

133

come here often?

29

commodities, seattle

52

bent metal and a lamppost birds that ate my breakfast, kona boardroom shadow

19 3 120

converse on moving walkway

189

cropped

142

crusty boat hull curious curves, minneapolis

54 180 84

flooded dinghy

15

ford pickup truck

82

fortified

205 126

dance floor, minneapolis

225

friday harbor

decaf coffee

107

frost on my car

51

garage door shadows

20

a different kind of smokestack, nyc

5

digging

95

garage sale 9 to 4

53

digital display, sea-tac airport

61

gasworks park, seattle

90

160

a giraffe and a school bus

43

discarded in the sand

65

goalposts, camano island

32

do everything

44

a grilled cheese

86

disappear with a splash

dribble, nyc

185

gulls in flight, puget sound

drive

200

gumball-size hail, denver

211 76

dump truck taillights

98

half a critter

151

dunton hot springs, telluride

12

happy hour

136

electric tea lights

70

have a weird day

electronic touchdown

79

headline in a gutter, nyc

186

heels on subway station floor

188

heels on white

190

exit ramps expired tabs, camano island

113 62

92

f/8 and be there

202

heidi, camano island

169

favorite meal of the day, vashon island

176

i had no idea

187

fifth avenue monorail track

215

i heart bbq

146

first responder

203

i would pluck the eyebrows

170

five o’clock shadow

234

icicles, park city

149

flag on jumeirah beach, dubai

67

if i only had that new ‘bread’ application 175

ignore the camera

132

lost the other day

independent celebration

219

lotus frog

industrial complex

232

louvers

institutional apartments, denver into the world inverted icicles

24 230 33

184 80 206

mailbox perspective

34

man on unicycle

91

manimal

140

inverted stopsigns, boulder

196

mario and scott, new zealand

231

inverted sunset

218

mercedes with a rolling shutter

212

it’s a bird

46

the midwest

123

it’s a plane

47

minivan

130

jetway, frankfurt

208

montlake bridge, seattle

59

jetway, palm springs

214

more than a project

just looked down and noticed this, nyc

150

most interesting subjects

36

just missing one letter

156

mostly old deck

23

kate on a rail

100

mostly snowy bench

22

kevin

139

mount index

194

116

korean air flight attendants

69

moving walkway, tokyo

l’étranger

99

mustache karaoke

144

nappy hour

137

lamp shadow on sidewalk

237

68

laser light show, o’hare

58

narrow alley with barbed wire, nyc

192

less is the new black

21

neighborhood watch

154

little to do with photography

114

neon lights, o’hare

17

lloyd

138

no digging

94

looking down on uplights

216

noisy silence, chile

13

looks like the midwest

122

nude french model

78

on approach, somewhere in alaska on my back in a hotel lobby

127 71

sculpture i’ve created

177

sea foam

221 112

painfully long lines

124

seawall

paper delivery

162

see and study my world

parking lot, seattle

157

selected as america’s best beer in 1893 182

party

226

serial killer van

131

pictures tell stories

222

service station, salt lake city

103

shoot

240 204

pimp my shopping cart

40

place of origin, seattle

159

shoot a hell of a lot

play

168

shopping cart fossil, dubai

post match exodus power outage, chile prickle prisoner, dubai raindrop reflection

7 135 74 223 55

simple

10

64 153

skylight reflecting on an amber pool

14

snail on a planter box

56

snowy roads, minneapolis

16

something seductive

161 128

random outside mirror

163

southern alps mountain pass, nz

recycling

235

spectrum

96

red pulley

220

speed limit

50

retinal scan, los angeles

224

stained glass window, sea-tac airport

60

a robot may not injure a human being

143

stoic cow, kona

81

royal mirage on a down day, dubai

181

straight, minneapolis

85

running man, frankfurt

198

street lamp by day, nyc

48

running man, nyc

199

street lamp by night, seattle

49

street perspective

35

rusty blades of grass saba, nyc

25 191

stuck indoors

166

stumbled upon a conehead

171

unsure which way is up

158

summer studio lunch

183

vegan donut

106

sunfish

88

view from my hammock, seattle

11

sunlight saddle

165

vivian

174

suspension bridge caution, chile

129

walk it off

229

swine, kurtwood farms taxidermy eagle with venetian blinds

9 37

walking past a flowering hedge walkway remains

97 111

tea lights

207

warped world view

73

ten great pictures

147

wexley school for girls, seattle

39

tells half the story

213

what’s the jackanory, nyc

134

thank you

241

wheat grass, san francisco

148

the rules

210

where my ideas come from

93

the tallest building in the world, dubai this is called a delineator post tiny invention touchdown, denver

66 4 72 125

toy car collection, juneau

42

traffic cone, nyc

77

train handles, san francisco

197

trashed, nyc

109

tree shadow on roadway

236

trickle under the freeway, seattle

75 2

under the pier

87

unlucky, chicago

45

where’s the beef?

104

wilson range, telluride

115

wisdom

152

yellow road sign yo

27 228