That’s a question I’ve been pondering as phone-based cameras have improved to the point of excellence. Sure, “real cameras” have bigger sensors, better optics, autofocus engines that allow you to capture things like hummingbirds in flight, and are much nicer to hold and use…

… but… wow are phones convenient. We always have them with us. Photos immediately go into databases where we can easily share and even edit them with capable software if we’re so inclined. And the computational wizardry compensates for the lesser tech and, even more importantly, the lesser photographer by automatically adjusting images to add background blur, improve exposure, highlight faces, and then some. AI has elevated this wizardry to new heights.

Ask anybody in the camera industry what cellphones have done to corporate sales and R&D budgets.

People prefer convenience, and now that this doesn’t equate to compromise… why then are there some of us still carrying around said real cameras? After all, the thrill of the chase is gone. And the hard work and investment of time and money that once signified commitment and passion in a craft seem less valuable than they once did.

Yet when the light is just right and the colors begin to saturate the landscape, I reach for a camera… and not the one that’s already in my pocket. I hold it up to my eye and slowly consider everything that lies within a simple three by two rectangle. I spin the aperture dial hoping to maximize sharpness through the frame even all the way to the far edges. I consider exposure. I own the result. I try hard. I work at it. I sub in for the computer’s wizard.

I create. I’m the one doing it.

That’s why.