Making do with what's at hand

I almost always would prefer to shoot with a solid "professional model" DSLR, rather than a pocket camera or a cell phone. The first photo here is the interior of a magnolia blossom, shown larger than life. There are ways to do similar things with a smaller camera, but I wouldn't know how to get a comparable result with my iPhone.

On the other hand, when I see an opportunity, I'll make an attempt with whatever camera I have, unless I know it is completely impossible. A cell phone cam is not engineered to facilitate action wildlife captures, but the QuickPix app on my old iPhone4 allows pretty quick shutter response. With anticipation and a bit of luck, I managed this grab shot, which I cropped a little to optimize the composition.

Another magnolia shot, again with a full-frame DSLR. There's no action to stop, no need for rapid autofocus, but the big sensor captured subtle gradations in tone and color.

And finally two more shots of the mallards, done with the iPhone. These are the sort of pics that anyone can do with any contemporary camera. I like the personality exhibited by this pair. Note that the female is missing her left foot, but she hops and flies proficiently, and seems to be doing fine. Note also that it's the intensity of the sunlight that brought out the colors and textures, rather than a characteristic of the camera. For the "landing" shot above, the clouds had dimmed and diffused the light, just moments after the shots below.

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