I'm a traditional photographer that has habits. I shoot with a camera that has lenses and process what comes out of them. It used to be film in a wet darkroom. Now it is Lightroom Classic because SD cards don't fit the tank reels very well. But, the workflow is familiar. My images are stored in computer folders, by date instead of sleeves by date. They are still stored by date. I have a screen with thumbnails instead of contact sheets. Instead of an enlarger, I have an inkjet printer.

A week ago I decided to step outside the box. I shot with a phone and let it store in the cloud. I wanted some arty, black and white prints of routine "parts" from my new retirement resort campus. Think valves, chains, locks, sculptures, benches, etc. They are for the next meeting of the photography club where I am the newest member. The assingment was to shoot the "inner workings" of the place.

The prints are so good that I'm pissed off. I don't want to use a phone. I don't want my images in the cloud. I don't want so much automatic processing. But I think the results are better than if I would have stuck to my old habits.

Am I too old to change? Too old to learn a new workflow? Do I mothball my cherished gear? Do I use the phone and pretend the results are from a camera?

My frustration is intense.

I'm a traditional photographer that has habits. I shoot with a camera that has lenses and process what comes out of them. It used to be film in a wet darkroom. Now it is Lightroom Classic because SD cards don't fit the tank reels very well. But, the workflow is familiar. My images are stored in computer folders, by date instead of sleeves by date. They are still stored by date. I have a screen with thumbnails instead of contact sheets. Instead of an enlarger, I have an inkjet printer.

A week ago I decided to step outside the box. I shot with a phone and let it store in the cloud. I wanted some arty, black and white prints of routine "parts" from my new retirement resort campus. Think valves, chains, locks, sculptures, benches, etc. They are for the next meeting of the photography club where I am the newest member. The assingment was to shoot the "inner workings" of the place.

The prints are so good that I'm pissed off. I don't want to use a phone. I don't want my images in the cloud. I don't want so much automatic processing. But I think the results are better than if I would have stuck to my old habits.

Am I too old to change? Too old to learn a new workflow? Do I mothball my cherished gear? Do I use the phone and pretend the results are from a camera?

My frustration is intense.

I'm a traditional photographer that has habits. I shoot with a camera that has lenses and process what comes out of them. It used to be film in a wet darkroom. Now it is Lightroom Classic because SD cards don't fit the tank reels very well. But, the workflow is familiar. My images are stored in computer folders, by date instead of sleeves by date. They are still stored by date. I have a screen with thumbnails instead of contact sheets. Instead of an enlarger, I have an inkjet printer.

A week ago I decided to step outside the box. I shot with a phone and let it store in the cloud. I wanted some arty, black and white prints of routine "parts" from my new retirement resort campus. Think valves, chains, locks, sculptures, benches, etc. They are for the next meeting of the photography club where I am the newest member. The assingment was to shoot the "inner workings" of the place.

The prints are so good that I'm pissed off. I don't want to use a phone. I don't want my images in the cloud. I don't want so much automatic processing. But I think the results are better than if I would have stuck to my old habits.

Am I too old to change? Too old to learn a new workflow? Do I mothball my cherished gear? Do I use the phone and pretend the results are from a camera?

My frustration is intense.

I'm a traditional photographer that has habits. I shoot with a camera that has lenses and process what comes out of them. It used to be film in a wet darkroom. Now it is Lightroom Classic because SD cards don't fit the tank reels very well. But, the workflow is familiar. My images are stored in computer folders, by date instead of sleeves by date. They are still stored by date. I have a screen with thumbnails instead of contact sheets. Instead of an enlarger, I have an inkjet printer.

A week ago I decided to step outside the box. I shot with a phone and let it store in the cloud. I wanted some arty, black and white prints of routine "parts" from my new retirement resort campus. Think valves, chains, locks, sculptures, benches, etc. They are for the next meeting of the photography club where I am the newest member. The assingment was to shoot the "inner workings" of the place.

The prints are so good that I'm pissed off. I don't want to use a phone. I don't want my images in the cloud. I don't want so much automatic processing. But I think the results are better than if I would have stuck to my old habits.

Am I too old to change? Too old to learn a new workflow? Do I mothball my cherished gear? Do I use the phone and pretend the results are from a camera?

My frustration is intense.

First off, you need to stop thinking about pretending that your results are from a camera. No pretend needed. It is a camera, and a darn good one in most cases. It's just a different format. It's a camera that can make phone calls and surf the Internet. It could even save a life someday should there be an emergency. If a 'real camera' could be as useful, convenient, efficient and capable, would you hesitate to use it or be as troubled by it? Life is too short to sweat the small stuff. Use what works and enjoy life!

You should be happy, here you go, have a didely cheap-shit phone and it takes great pictures that rival what you get with your camera. So be happy that it works out that way! Maybe you're not shooting with a certain intend when taking a picture, I always do, I see something and when I decide to take a pic of it, then I have a certain picture of that in my mind, so that is what I'm shooting for! To get to that, I rely on all the settings that my camera allows me to do (a phone could never do that), so a phone would never work for me. Maybe that's the difference, a different approach!

I'm a traditional photographer that has habits. I shoot with a camera that has lenses and process what comes out of them. It used to be film in a wet darkroom. Now it is Lightroom Classic because SD cards don't fit the tank reels very well. But, the workflow is familiar. My images are stored in computer folders, by date instead of sleeves by date. They are still stored by date. I have a screen with thumbnails instead of contact sheets. Instead of an enlarger, I have an inkjet printer.

A week ago I decided to step outside the box. I shot with a phone and let it store in the cloud. I wanted some arty, black and white prints of routine "parts" from my new retirement resort campus. Think valves, chains, locks, sculptures, benches, etc. They are for the next meeting of the photography club where I am the newest member. The assingment was to shoot the "inner workings" of the place.

The prints are so good that I'm pissed off. I don't want to use a phone. I don't want my images in the cloud. I don't want so much automatic processing. But I think the results are better than if I would have stuck to my old habits.

Am I too old to change? Too old to learn a new workflow? Do I mothball my cherished gear? Do I use the phone and pretend the results are from a camera?

My frustration is intense.