Give monkey a camera, it can produce some very interesting image, so give human being a iphone camera, he/she must be able to shoot some interesting dance photos.

Iphone 4 back camera has 5 meg pixels, selective focus, and a large display for you to preview. It even has a tiny flash. The best part is that it is always with you.

(Daiane and I ran into this huge ink painting outside of Shanghai modern art museum. Thanks to the constant availability of iphone, we were able to quickly snap these shots, the light is very harsh and strong, I don’t think a professional SLR will do much better in this situation. Unless you use flash fill. Daiane, the most beautiful Chinese girl dressed in traditional Qi Pao, was very inspired by this painting. An on-site improv was not unavoidable.)

With iphone camera you can’t adjust aperture, shutter speed, and you can’t prefocus. Also 5 meg pixels is obviously over kill for that tiny lens and sensor. And of cause, the low light performance is no where near adequate, unless the moody motion blur is what you are after. But after seeing every photo displays the same blur, you kind of want to have to an option of getting a clear shot.

When Paco Gomes & Dancers did a on-site performance in Jao Jou Saloon in Oakland, we need to take some photos, but I didn’t have a “real” camera with me. So again, iphone was there to save the night. With some experiment, I was able to get decent percentage of sharp shorts, at least look sharp at iphone screen resolution.

I actually appreciate the simplicity of iphone camera. By limiting your technical options, it forces you to compose and plan more creatively. It makes everything more spontaneous.

Iphone camera is unique because it is always available, produces decent image quality, encourages spontaneity,  and it has a lot of limitations. I think it deserve some serious exploration for using in dance photography.

Very often, a limitation is also an opportunity for something fresh and creative. You just need to approach it with an playful mind. Like a monkey.