April 4, 2022 Craig Mod Kyle Chayka Camera Smartphone
In a response to Kyle Chayka piece on smartphone cameras I wrote about a two weeks ago, Craig Mod considers the camera as kind of tool in his latest newsletter.
(…) this is how I think of my camera: Quiet, a deliberate extension of the eye with a neutral gaze, allowing me to quickly define all aspects of exposure, satisfying to hold and use. A “true” tool that readily bends to the will of the artist/artisan/craftsperson.
This is exactly the point I was making about agency: A camera should get out of the way to let you, the user, do what you want to do with it as easily as possible. For Mod, there’s two ways of doing that: On smartphones, it’s software that does most of the processing for you, whereas on old school cameras it’s the hardware that’s singularly there to capture as accurate and “neutral” of a picture as possible.
(…) here is where I land for my “ideal” camera for the kind of books and images I’m looking to produce:
- A singular tool (it doesn’t shoot video, doesn’t browse the web, et cetera)
- Operates quickly, instantly — zero “boot” / shutter lag
- Light (easily portable) but well-made, waterproof, can be smacked against rocks
- Has a single-charge life in the thousands of photographs
- Captures as much data in as neutral a way as possible