the view from the iPhone - Rome, family portraits

I don't think either of us is this relaxed in front of a huge camera, the iPhone is different

the view from the iPhone - Rome, dogs

Yes, I know we've already done dogs... The phone is handy for the quick take. And able to reveal the character that is present in the human dog connection: those who go so fast in life it's hard to catch them, those who share a certain fine legginess, those who seem to hesitate and watch their steps.

the view from the iPhone - Rome, shops, windows

Wandering at night after dinner, you don't want the camera with you, but you do want to record something memorable, in this case the headquarters of Hare Krishna, near the entrance to the ghetto.

The garment under consideration is easily photographed.

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These two displays, one a whole small shop, the other a narrow window, show the capacity of the iPhone to capture precise images and with its slightly wide angle add a little of the surreal to the already somewhat weird, also compounding the artists' play with scale and depth of field

the view from the iPhone - Rome, the bakery

This shows the ability of the iPhone to work discreetly, this time approaching a very popular bakery

the view from the iPhone - Rome, vehicles

Whatever the size of the vehicle, the streets are, or become, very narrow...

of all the drivers and vehicles on this page, the young woman driver on her big bike above was distinct from the rest in aggressiveness. There is, in Italy (and contrary to the nonsense spoken about Italian drivers) generally a generous and sensuous slithering in the way people move their vehicles in small spaces; she was to the contrary.

The view from the iPhone - Rome, dining

You do have to try to be a bit discreet when photographing lunch or dinner...

the view from the iPhone - Rome, light and structures

See earlier comment on use of the iPhone's qualities and limitations.

The common feature in these photos is structures, streets, buildings.

The view from the iPhone - Soriano nel Cimino

Riding the Rome-Viterbo railway

The smile of life

Kicking up heels in the Bar Centrale

Evening in the piazza principale

The view from the iPhone - Florence night

There is a note at the beginning of the 'Florence day' entry about making use, deliberately or by relaxed exploration of the possible, of the iPhone's limitations. These are especially evident as it struggles for light at night...

the view from the iPhone - Florence day

The iPhone is limited as a camera, but also has many advantages over a camera in being discreet. It also, being slow and inflexible in exposure, able to produce some very interesting if you exploit these qualities, for example with slight (intentional or accident) movements of the camera while taking the picture. Its lens is also quite unprotected from sunlight or other sharp direct light, which has interesting effects. Admirably, though it lives naked in pockets and I give so little attention to the care of the lens, there are no signs of dirty lens, perhaps because it is pretty close to pinhole size anyway.

Here are some daylight pictures from Florence and getting to Florence. Some of the 'effects' are deliberate, some accidental.