This weekend, I amusing my Iphone X camera, I’ve put aside my Canon 5 D, the Monochrome 7 D,  my infrared, and just using the phone. The camera is excellent, and now, with a second portrait lens, the camera photos have more depth and dimension.

This is a good portrait of a dog. Dogs are hard to photograph close up, they don’t like to make eye contact, they are always moving. The Iphone X camera is fast (pretty much the same camera as in the 8) it captures detail, there is an image  stabilizer in the phone to prevent blurring.

The effect is to pull the viewer right to the subject and highlight what is important. Most digital cameras flatten out a portrait because everything is clear, the subject doesn’t always stand out.

Notice how it blurs the background, something any great portrait lens does.

I am having fun noticing people’s reactions to my having bought the phone. Almost everyone mentions the price. My neighbor scoffed at spending that money, yet is planning to buy a $10,000 lens to shoot wildlife without blinking. He thinks I’m mad for spending that much money (more, really, with insurance and Apple Car, a headset and cables and charging pads.)

We all get what is important to us.

I break up the response into four categories.

.Sensible people: Sensible people – my daughter, many friends – research their phones and get what they need, not what is cool or prescient or challenging.  There are things on the phone – face ID, talking Emojis – that they just don’t need and feel they wouldn’t use. An Iphone 8 is a smart decision for them. They are interested in the X and ask questions about it, but are clear and perhaps wise about their own needs.

.Luddites and snobs. They simply jeer at the idea of a new $1,000 phone, they see it as a useless toy and are proud of themselves for not getting one. A friend told me today he would never buy a cellphone at all, he is not the least bit interested in having his head invaded by what he calls techno-crap.  More information than he wants and needs and he is terrified about identity theft. You can tell  a snob from a sensible person, they reflect contempt and dismissal.

This group is proud of their almost political stance against new technologies. I suspect history is not on their side.

.Geeks. They must have everything new, dissect it, argue about it, analyze it. Many won’t like the Iphone X, but all of them will try it, some for years, some for a month or two. They live for new stuff. They’ll spent all year fighting about the notch at the top of the Iphone X, I don’t even notice it.

.Adventurers And Creatives.  I am in this category and there is nothing noble or superior about us, we are just a type. I want to understand what is happening in the world, and I am fascinated by the non-technical implications of technology on politics, creativity and every day life.  These devices are, for better or worse, the primary cultural and informational and social tools of the young. They are important, not just invasive.

It’s not that people who don’t want to spend $1,000 on a cell phone aren’t creative, quite the opposite. A significant part of the creative life is managing one’s life and money, and many creative people do quite well with simpler and cheaper devices. For people like me, this is a creative leap I need to take to keep moving forward with my work.

Artists, writers, musicians not depend on this kind of technology to create and store their work and earn a living. Creative tools have made my life possible, so I need them and care about them. Withou my computer and phone, I would no longer be a writer.

Technology is transforming our world, invading privacy, corrupting politics, causing great stress. It is also connecting people, spawning unprecedented creative freedom, and leading the new information revolution.

I want to understand it, and the Iphone X has the technology of the future in it, I can see it and feel it, even if I don’t understand it. So I see this as a creative tool and adventurer. Everybody does not need one, not everybody ought to get one. Nobody should ever have to apologize for their choices, we all know best what is good for us.

I didn’t hesitate for a moment.

The Iphone 8 is only a couple of hundred dollars cheaper than the X, yet people don’t go around saying $800! whenever they see one. The sensible people stick to what they need and can afford. The adventurers go for it. I don’t buy a new Iphone every year, I’ve only had one or two. When barriers are crossed  and great change comes, I want to understand as much of it as I can.

So this is an exciting change for me. More later.