The iPhone: a Stream of Consciousness Sketchbook

Expanding on yesterday's post praising the iPhone, today, I walked a portion of the Wild Pacific Trail with the iPhone as my sole camera. As I walk, I tend to keep my eyes on the right-side of the trail, concentrating on one side in order to maximize what I can glean in the way of graphic elements. (By doing the same thing on the way back, I rarely miss any of the treasures that nature conveniently places along my path.) If something catches my eye, then it triggers the thought loop I go through:

• Is it worthy of capture?
• Is there a good composition to be had?
• Is the lighting sufficient for a good exposure?
• Can I capture it with the equipment I'm carrying?

For the most part, all this is automatic now, and with the iPhone, very simplistic in that I'm working with a fixed 35mm perspective and I know I can only focus so close. At this point, the capture becomes simple mechanics. As i mentioned yesterday, I use an app called ProCamera 7 to capture my images as it allows me to easily set and lock focus and exposure separately as can be seen in the screen-capture below. The yellow circle is the point I set for exposure, and the blue square shows my focus point.

Using the iPhone and this app allows me to have a virtual sketchbook that I can use to quickly and easily capture what I see as I walk the trail. I can then process the captures later at my leisure.

This morning it is raining lightly and intermittently, the moisture making the forest's verdancy pop out even more vividly, leaves shiny with beads of water like jewels scattered by Mother Nature. As I walk along, a gust of wind off the ocean dislodges a cascade of fat drops from the overhanging foliage, drumming a tattoo on the top and bill of my baseball cap.

I follow the trail slowly, not wanting miss the bounty set before me, while other hikers seem to hurry by, intent more on reaching the next stretch where the ocean is once again visible. I greet them as they pass, and either relish a moment of comradly satisfaction when they answer in kind, or wonder what's in their minds if they don't reply.
A flash of colour catches my eye and I pull out the iPhone and find an angle that gives me a pleasing composition, juxtaposing the colour against a darker background.

Now the trail winds past an ocean lookout and I watch an an eagle chases a seagull that has offended it somehow, then turn to capture the scene before me.

Along the shore at one point is a small beach, and on it, there are the remnants of shellfish that have been strewn into the foliage at the back of the beach, a treasure box of shapes and colours that provide a rich feast for the roving eye.

The Salal bushes offer a rich palette of succulent berries, each tiny globe covered in minute globules of rainwater.

As I pass a rotting log, I spy a 5-inch Banana Slug, surfing slowly along a trail of slime, waving its eye stalks to and fro.

Every now and then, the sound of a Tree Frog Dopplers by me as I walk past. I've yet to see one, but I hear them nonetheless, and it's enchanting. I see, and capture a spray of lichen, its brightness contrasting against the branch it resides upon.

The overcast skies provide a lovely, even light against which to showcase the rugged beauty. The subdued palette of greys, blues, browns and greens is quintessentially Pacific Northwest.

My little iPhone sketchbook is the perfect tool to capture the feel and look of what I see and experience. I love technology!