By Ian Hollidae, 2026/04/13

"In the past, we thought smartphones should be good enough because everyone's taking photos on smartphones, right? But apparently, it was not the right prediction because many people started to have different tools: smartphones in one hand and a camera in the other hand, and they decide which one to use depending upon the use case.

...

So they started to find the joy of using cameras. When they choose a second device after the smartphone, are they going to use the mirrorless camera? Possibly not, because it's a bit large and also it's pricey as well. That's why the compact camera is there for their choice, so this is a totally new need we see."

-- Go Tokura, Executive Vice President and Head of Canon's Imaging Group (CP+ Expo)

This seems to sum up my current photography situation. I started a beginner project with the hope of getting better at taking pictures. I've come to the conclusion my current path has run its course. The next step is obviously a dedicated camera which was always part of the plan.

But are compacts a better natural step forward?

Until now, I assumed I'd take the mirrorless, interchangeable lens route. The one thing holding me back is I'm not ready to shell out money for lenses. I guess the question is what's the gap between mobile phones and compacts regarding things such as image quality and control features. If there really is a difference, why not look at compacts. After all, might as well consider every option.

By Ian Hollidae, 2026/01/04

It's safe to say that copyright reform in the digital age has been underwhelming. So when I saw the news regarding the Visual Artists Copyright Reform Act of 2025 (VACRA) that is being considered, I took it as a positive step. It also appears the bill has substantial support, including the ASMP:

"VACRA breaks down the barriers that prevent so many creators and photographers across the country from being able to protect the fruits of their life's work and passion...These sorely needed and common-sense reforms are long overdue and are a first step in bringing so many artists back into the very copyright system that is designed to support their efforts in the creative economy. ASMP applauds Senator Blackburn and Senator Welch for their leadership and support of VACRA, and the far-reaching effects this bill will have on photographers and all visual creators in this country."

-- Thomas Maddrey, ASMP CEO

The main goals of VACRA is it increases limits for group registration submissions, allows for deferred registrations, and introduces subscription models and third-party registries.

I'm sure there will be the usual "will this be effective" or "it doesn't do enough debate". But at this point, even small steps forward is probably good news. I'll take it.

By Ian Hollidae, 2025/09/06

I've been reevaluating everything related to my photography project for past couple of weeks. Mainly, I've been asking questions about the future direction I want the project to take, including the question of what have I learned from my experience. It's probably the type of evaluation one might expect from a relative beginner.

Thankfully, I've come up with a few answers.

What I primarily learned is that I don't have to be bad at photography. Constant practice makes a far bigger difference than simply soaking up YouTube tutorials. In the early days of the project, I took a lot of photos. Over time, I took fewer and fewer photos but not because I didn't find anything to shoot. I stopped filling up my allotted photography time taking random pictures with filling up the time trying to see shots. The spray and pray approach became inefficient.

Another thing I learned was that having your own space to post photos is a big benefit. I do have a Flickr account, and briefly had an Instagram account, but the social media aspect of photography hasn't been what I originally hoped for. One of the main goals of my project was to gain some real feedback on what I was doing. More often than not, what happens is a few "Nice shot" comments which are appreciated but aren't all that helpful. There might be some forum out there where deeper interaction happens, but so far, I haven't found it. So I decided if I'm not getting extended feedback, I might as well get rid of other things such as format and compression restrictions. Everything posted here is displayed exactly as I want it. No need to compromise.

In the end, the biggest lesson learned is that regardless of standard rules or conventions, the end result is all that matters. Obviously, the rules are time tested and exist for a reason. But after all the effort of taking and editing a photo, if you can view your work with some level of satisfaction, that might be the most important thing anyone can have.

For now, I'm still happy with the current project direction of learning photography.

By Ian Hollidae, 2025/08/14

I'm not sure if this statement is any more true now than previous end-of-Kodak statements but here's what they're telling Wall Street (via DPReview):

In its earnings report, the company warned that it doesn't have "committed financing or available liquidity" to pay its roughly $500 million in upcoming debt obligations ... "These conditions raise substantial doubt about the company's ability to continue as a going concern"

-- Kodak CEO Jim Continenza

Kodak is the one company that should have thrived in the era of digital photography. If they really do fold, I doubt it would have any effect on the photography industry. But could we say it doesn't matter?

UPDATE: Kodak has apparently responded to initial reports of its demise in a press release.

By Ian Hollidae, 2025/06/11

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Apple is holding its annual developers conference and there have been plenty of announcements, including updates to the Camera and Photos apps.

However, there's one feature I've long thought should be included in Photos but remains missing. It's the ability to view individual bracket exposures within a shot. Several months into my photography project, it became increasingly apparent this feature could be useful. Since the Camera app can shoot HDR, it clearly makes sense that Photos should be able to edit each individual exposure. This just seems straight forward.

I realize there are editors that have this feature, mostly pro-level apps. But from a simplicity standpoint Apple, who prides itself in having all of its software and services work seemlessly together, this seems like a basic miss on the company's part.

By Ian Hollidae, 2024/09/30

A couple of years ago, I got a notice that AT&T was upgrading their network. no big deal. Upgrades happen. However, the upgrade would require me to get a new phone. Up until then, I hadn't really jumped into the higher end smart phone market. There simple wasn't a need. But I decided to conduct a due diligence and realized iphone had done a lot to improve their camera capabilities. Some were saying the iphone camera was approaching DSLR level performance. Not sure I bought into that at the time, but it's quite a statement.

So why is any of this significant?

For a long while, I had wanted to give photography a second try but I didn't want to spend a ton of money on equipment only to have my interest fade. Since I needed to buy the phone, I saw an opportunity to start a photography project that I had sketched out. I set up a few ground rules so the project wouldn't just drift aimlessly. The main framework of this project revolved around the following guidelines below.

Use only an iPhone

This would be my "primary" camera. Nothing fancy. No lenses, no equipment bags, no tripods. Nothing. My effort at "good" photography would be limited to whatever iPhone could capture.

Take photos in mundane areas

Since I didn't have the time to travel around to the interesting locations you see on photo sharing sites, and only had an iPhone anyway, I decided to keep it simple. The idea was to capture photos from places that weren't photogenic (office parks, playgrounds, walk along the street, etc). If everyone (photographers) ignored the place, that's where I would go. And if I could get decent shots under this condition, I could probably get them anywhere.

Shoot regardless of light or weather

Countless Youtube tutorials will tell you to shoot only in good light. Occasionally, there are tutorials about shooting in less than ideal situations but they seem to be an exception. The goal here is to just deal with whatever light is available.

Basic editing only

This is about keeping it simple. Apple photos, ocassionally GIMP. It also means i would have to focus even more on composition upfront as opposed to rescuing the shot in post-production.

Do this for six months or more

Since I would have this phone for a while (I tend to hang on to phones), it gave me plenty of time to practice and learn.

Once I worked out the guidelines, it was simply a matter of finding the time. Initially, I set aside two total hours a week. Then I started getting in shots time permitting. I started this project in spring of 2022 and ended it summer of 2023. Unofficially, I'd say it's still going on. And while I've yet to commit to buying a "real" camera, it seems pretty inevitable at this point.

So Now What?

I think the next phase of my photography project, beyond sharing the photos, is to share the learning experience. For whatever reason, there aren't a lot of outlets simply for photography discussions. I can't be the only one learning and wanting to hear other peoples learning experiences. I do have a social media account but another one of my other projects is to start moving away from it in favor of a dedicated website.

Hopefully, my future posts about this project is helpful to someone.