Hey guys:
Long time no see!
This semester, I found a wonderful photographic tool: the iPhone. Besides the small size, it's easy to use, discrete and none intrusive. When I spend time on the streets, I like to appreciate the expressions of people, and I try to record them as authentically as possible. Two things stand in my way: my normal camera is so bulky and every shutter click makes an annoying sound. When I am getting close to my subject, more often than not, my presence makes their natural expressions go away.
An iPhone solves this problem. I can get close to my subject by pretending to be texting. Even better, the very existence of the front camera enables me to pretend I'm taking a selfie while actually taking a picture of my subject. You might say, "Oh, this is so creepy." Street photography for me is about documenting my perspective of this marvelous world. I want it as original as possible. When a tool gets in my way, my big camera in this case, I get rid of it and find a more suitable one.
Also check out this wonderful interview with Stephen Mayes, the director of VII photo agency, about iPhone photography: http://www.wired.com/rawfile/2012/11/stephen-mayes-vii-photography/all/ Hope you guys enjoy it.