When a phone isn’t a phone…

There are times when subtlety is best, and a camera to your face really isn’t. Those are the times when a smartphone can be a better choice.

Capturing the title of a book to remember for later, walking through a store or somewhere else where you prefer not to draw too much attention to yourself. Capturing a scene in a street, or simply because it’s the only camera you have, and of course for those sometimes endless opportunities for selfies.

We all know our smartphones are really high tech now and are more and more a user’s preferred choice for capturing an image. There are many who use them to capture images professionally now too, shooting almost exclusively with a smartphone.

Walking through the Chertsey Book Barn just out of Christchurch, was one of those places although Im sure the gentleman onsite wouldn’t have minded if I used Big Nik.

The Book Barn is an incredible place and Im really happy we stopped in there.

A huge old barn, filled with pre-loved books on every almost every subject. Rows and rows or bookcases and book stands, trolleys and tables piled high with books, a maze of books with pathways leading up and around, through a doorway here, up to a stack of books over here.

Chairs interspersed along the aisles, inviting you to sit and take a closer look at any book you choose, to see if it captures you. A Harry Potter train station kind of bookstore, and definitely a place to play with a camera, and a more whimsical kind of image was definitely what I felt was called for.

Using the Slow Shutter app on my phone I had a ton of fun wandering around capturing images, recapturing at times to get the right kind of motion that felt right for each image.

Mixing the edits up in SnapSeed a little, one of my go-to editing apps. For myself usually less is best, although sometimes more suits the scene better. Interpretation of a scene or a moment captured is a personal thing.

Creativity is the spice of life, right? .The next time you go to take a photo with your phone, give it a try, mix it up, see how creative you can get.