“Can you take a picture of us?” asks a young woman as she hands me her iPhone. I take the phone, aim at the couple, and try to get them perfectly in the frame. However, it’s dark outside, and regardless of whether or not I use the flash, the picture still comes out dark. It’s quite a shame – we’re in Quincy Market with its giant Christmas tree and the couple looks great and genuinely happy. Yet I can’t capture those feelings and beauty in a picture.
I hand the iPhone back. “I took a few, but they’re kind of dark,” I say.
“It’s ok, thanks anyways! Want me to take a picture for you?” she asks in response.
“Sure,” I agree and hand her my camera.
No, not a slick iPhone in a giant, square OtterBox case that weighs fifty pounds, or any other smartphone for that matter. I hand her an actual digital camera. It’s a camera I received as a graduation gift back in eighth grade, before I entered high school. It’s nothing super fancy; it’s not professional, nor does it have a large lens with extraordinary zoom powers.
On the other hand, it is a legitimate, high quality camera that I use solely for photos. It’s shorter than a phone but larger in depth and it has a nice brown color. It has more megapixels than an iPhone, an automatic, working flash, and various settings – night photography, portraits, snow, fireworks, candlelight, and so on. I usually carry it around with me in case I want to capture a special moment. The photos I take on it are always better in quality than any photos I have seen or taken on a smartphone.
The girl looks a bit shocked to see a digital camera. “Umm…” she starts and tries to figure out how to work that thing. I turn it on for her and tell her which button to press. I also explain that she first has to press somewhat slightly so a green square appears around the image, signifying that the picture will be in focus, and then press the button all the way.
Click! After she takes the photo, I’m pleased with the result. You can clearly see the faces of everyone in the photo as well as the Christmas tree, something that was compromised in the girl’s photo – it was either her or the tree, but never both. Everything is fairly vivid and colorful.
My fairly successful Quincy Market Christmas tree photo.
I tell this rather random story because I believe that we still need cameras. Cameras have come a long way in the last century; the quality of cameras today is insanely better than those of cameras even twenty years ago. Yet because it is easier to just use our phones, we tend to do that. We forget about actual cameras, designed specifically for taking pictures.
Additionally, I want to encourage you to take more and better photos in general. With the smartphone age also comes to the selfie age. While selfies can be fun in the moment, they don’t really provide you with a long lasting memory. I’d rather spend extra time and take a photo that captures the essence of a moment which I will want to revisit in a few years or show my future kids, instead of a really quick duck face selfie.
Take photos of meaningful memories, and make sure they are great photos by using an actual camera! That way you’ll also remember to save them somewhere instead of having them lost among other files on your phone. Capture the true moments in higher quality that you know you will want to cherish! Let’s not forget about our digital camera friend.
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