I use a camera phone now. And I love it.
Anybody who knows me well already knows that I loathe, or rather, I used to loathe camera phones. The entire concept just baffled me, and I saw no reason to ever carry a phone around that also took low resolution still photographs.
Let me tell you right now — there’s still no reason.
But it’s fun.
I’m going to put you in a hypothetical situation. Once you’re there, I’m going to ask you how you would handle the situation. Then, I’ll lead you through how I would handle the same situation. We’ll see if the two of us can see eye to eye on this.
You’re in a car. You’re the passenger, actually, and your friend is driving. You’re on the interstate, and there’s not much around. A song comes on the radio that you like, but the audio is low, and you can’t really hear it. You know that your friend is a stickler for details, and in the past, they have gotten a little touchy about passengers playing with knobs and switches in the car. What do you do?
Do you know what you’d do?
Okay, great.
Here’s what I would do.
I’d take a picture of my friend with my camera phone.
Let’s try another situation.
You’re on a commuter train, late at night. The few functioning lights above your head flicker on and off as the car bounces wearily along the electrified track. Something moves in the edge of your peripheral vision. Startled, you turn to look at it. You see a small, well-dressed, elderly man slumped over in his seat. He is motionless. You glance up and see a shifty looking, trenchcoated man working his way to the back of the car. You squint and stare back at the elderly man. You notice a large circle of blood, blotting uncontrollably through his poplin dress shirt.
What would you do in this situation?
Got it?
Okay. Let’s compare.
I’d take a picture of myself with the little mirror feature on the phone, that shows you what the camera sees on the outside display. Isn’t that a great idea?! Who comes up with these ideas?!
God, technology is so cool.