This story begins in St James’s Square, Grimsby, after a family bereavement, and ends three and a half years later on Cleethorpes Pier, photographing a future member of the House of Lords.
In February 2022, grieving a close relative, I left my cameras at home! Walking from the car park, I heard what sounded like karaoke, a moment later, around the corner appeared a man on a converted mobility scooter, complete with fake piano and candelabra, belting out Elton John songs. It was, I later learned, “Elton Wrong” a street performer. Visually stunned, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, but remember instinctively reaching for my camera, only it wasn’t there. All I had was my battered old iPhone.
Until that day, my phone had been just that, a phone. I was a dyed-in-the-wool DSLR user. That one incident schooled me in the old saying “that the best camera is the one you have with you.”
In 2024, having upgraded my phone, I was then working for my local weekly newspaper, the Louth Leader. I began using my phone for quick reference shots, social media images and videos. Out of the blue, the Daily Mirror commissioned me to go to Hull and photograph a Paramedic. I took a quick phone shot as a record, before switching to my DSLR and flash. Back home, I shortlisted half a dozen images including, unknowingly, the iPhone shot. I then uploaded them to the newspaper. When the story appeared, the Mirror had run the iPhone photo, three-quarters of a page! That’s when I knew an iPhone was more than capable of being used for newspaper work.
Fast forward to March this year, again commissioned by the Mirror, this time to photograph Jason Stockwood, owner of Grimsby Town Football Club and a candidate in the Lincolnshire mayoral race. Wanting to capture him within his community, I chose Cleethorpes Promenade as our location. The day was bright but with a bitterly cold onshore wind. In fact, it was so cold my hands began to freeze up handling my heavy DSLR. So I quickly switched to my iPhone—and within two minutes had the shot that eventually ran in the paper. I managed to include Cleethorpes Pier, a local landmark in the background. Six months later, Stockwood was appointed Minister for Investment and elevated to the House of Lords as Baron Stockwood of Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes.
Because they are so common place, I believe people tend to relax and look more natural when I use a phone camera rather than hiding behind a DSLR and flashgun. The Phone is often better in marginal light having image stabilisation built in is another plus. They’re not perfect for distant subjects, but for anything within a 10 feet, they’re a powerful, pocket-sized camera.
The views expressed in this column are not necessarily those of Amateur Photographer magazine or Kelsey Media Limited. If you have an opinion you’d like to share on this topic, or any other photography related subject, email: [email protected].
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