📸 Camera vs. Cell Phone
AI Generated
🧒 Childhood Photos… Minus the Heads
I’ve always loved looking at pictures. When I was a kid, Mom would mail off our film, and weeks later we’d finally get those photos back — and oh, the anticipation! I just knew I’d see all my cousins smiling back at me.
Except… we were usually headless.
Mom had a real talent for cutting off foreheads. Sometimes it was just a little off the top, but other times we were practically anonymous from the eyebrows up. And blurry? Let’s just say I wasn’t entirely sure if that was Cousin Cathy or a ghost hovering by the picnic table.
📷 The Rise of the Pixel Inspector
These days, thanks to digital cameras, I can delete the bad shots before anyone sees them — unless I accidentally post them first, which has definitely happened.
Now, Rick… oh boy. Rick is what I call a “Pixel Inspector.” He takes a picture, pulls it up on the camera, zooms in like he’s solving a crime scene, checks the corners, squints, maybe adjusts his glasses, then finally — finally — takes another one. And it’s always of a mountain or a tree. I swear, trees are his spirit animal.
🏃♀️ Shoot and Holler Photography
I, on the other hand, am more of a shoot and holler kind of gal. I take fast, in-the-moment shots. My subjects are usually running, talking, or wrestling over a marshmallow. I don't have time to check for focus — that moment's already gone. If it turns out blurry, well... it’s abstract art now.
🙅♀️ No Cheese, Please
I don’t do posed pictures. Don’t ask me to tell anyone to “stand here” or “put your arm around Grandma” and definitely don’t make me say “cheese.” That’s a cheesy picture.
Give me Aunt Ruby mid-horseshoe toss or Aunt Bea bossing people around the parking lot any day — those are the good ones! You can’t fake that kind of magic.
🤳 Sneaky Candid Skills
The grandkids used to let me take pictures with my digital camera… until they got wise. These days, the second I pull it out, they vanish like I yelled, “Time to do chores!”
But my cell phone? They never see it coming. I just act like I’m texting or checking the weather, then BAM — surprise candid. Works like a charm.
🦾 Stretch Armstrong vs. the Selfie
Let’s face it, our phones are always in our hands anyway. And they’re light enough that I can whip one around, aim it at myself, and snap a quick selfie without dislocating a shoulder.
Unlike my 35mm camera. That thing’s heavy. If I wanted a selfie with that beast, I’d need arms like Stretch Armstrong.
🐻 Bears, Buffalo, and Battery Packs
Still, there is one major perk with the 35 and a long lens — it’s fantastic for zooming in on Grizzlies and Buffalo… from a very safe, “I’d like to live” distance. That setup takes time though: changing lenses, setting up a tripod, whispering sweet nothings to the focus ring… meanwhile, the bear’s already wandered off or chased down a tourist.
When Rick and I drove through Yellowstone, I busted out my digital and slapped on a zoom. I got a few nice shots of some buffalo, but let’s be honest — they looked more like fuzzy cows compared to Rick’s monster lens with a 2x converter. His photos practically show you what that buffalo had for breakfast.
🎒 Rick’s Three-Trip Setup
Of course, it takes Rick three trips just to get his camera gear out of the camper.
One trip for the three different cameras (because apparently each one has a very specific purpose)
Another trip for the fifteen lenses (that all look exactly the same to me)
And a final trip for the tripods, battery packs, and whatever contraption he uses for night shooting — which, frankly, looks like it could launch a satellite.
At this point, I’m considering getting him a sherpa. By the time he’s set up, the bear’s usually gone and I’ve already snapped ten pictures on my phone and eaten a snack.
🥞 Covert Pancake Missions
Now if I wanted to catch Cousin Ron flipping pancakes at the reunion, I’d need to hide behind a tree with a telephoto lens like I’m on some covert pancake surveillance mission.
“Target acquired. Syrup incoming.”
🌐 Instant Upload, Instant Embarrassment
But the real reason I use my cell phone? I can upload those candid shots to Facebook in seconds — instant embarrassment! One minute you’re peacefully napping in a lawn chair, the next minute your drool’s got thirty likes.
📱 So Which Is Better?
So yeah, I’ll keep my cell phone in my back pocket for the everyday magic, and let Rick handle the National Geographic cover shots.
But don’t be surprised if you catch me crouched behind a bush at the next family BBQ —
I’m not spying, I’m storytelling. With pictures.
And maybe a little zoom. 😉
✨ Wanda-ism:
“Life isn’t always in focus — but sometimes, the blurry shots are the ones that tell the best stories.”