Chapter 21
Photography.
Take pictures and video of everything that might be of interest at all later.
Get close.
Use the flash or add light with your flashlight.
Stray dogs.
Possibly lost cats.
Fur on the grass or on fence edges.
Remains.
Coyote scat.
Fliers in the area.
Screenshots.
Save GPS tracks with screenshots.
Annotating pictures.
Editing for clarity.
Video for location clarification.
Video with narrative, case notes.
Remove background.
Checking crawl spaces. Looking over fences.
Calming Signals.
Organize your pictures as much as possible.
A top-of-the-line smartphone may be expensive, but the increased quality and functionality are worth the price.
A separate digital camera can be useful.
Wildlife cameras.
GoPro camera.
Drone.
Pictures of Luminol.
When I first started photography, in high school, I was using a nice camera that my grandfather gave me, using 35mm film. I was taking high-resolution pictures, and learning about composition and lighting and exposure. I think my grandfather would be amazed at the camera that I now carry in my pocket. For the most part, in most situations, my iPhone takes pictures that are better than or equal to pictures I have taken with the thousands of dollars of camera equipment that I have purchased between high school and today. Also, I have dropped my iPhone dozens of times and it still works perfectly. I never need to clean the lens or worry about scratching it. I can even drop it in water or use it in rain and not need to worry about ruining expensive equipment. My iPhone also takes high-quality video. In addition to taking great pictures, I can edit them and manipulate them right on my iPhone, seconds after taking them. I don’t need to develop film and go to the dark room and use the enlarger the way I used to. I have all of that in my pocket today.
The great advantage of photography with a smart phone is that you always have a camera in your pocket. Just in terms of aesthetic photography, or photography for fun or for beauty, many of the things that you want to take pictures of will change if you don’t capture them quickly. Having an iPhone in my pocket allows me to capture interesting and fun situations without having to lug around a backpack with a camera body and interchangeable lenses. Even if I had an expensive camera in my backpack, many situations and moments would evaporate before I got the lens cap off. Having a high quality camera in my pocket allows me to capture things that I might miss otherwise. Of course the other nice thing about my iPhone is that it is also a viewer, with a crystal clear screen, allowing me to see every detail in high definition. I can instantly verify that I’ve gotten a sharp image. I can view any of the 133,000 pictures and videos on my iPhone, and I can share them with anyone in the world in seconds.
In terms of helping lost cats and dogs, having a high quality camera in my pocket is not just a convenience or a nicety. It is a necessity, and proper use of a smart phone camera can greatly increase your chances of saving the life of a cat or a dog. My iPhone allows me to collect evidence and take notes about situations and possibilities without having to take extra time to lug around and manipulate a large, expensive professional camera. Plus, my iPhone can do all the other functions, such as texting, maps, voice notes, email, social media, weather apps, GPS tracks, and even comparing foot prints with examples on the Internet. Also, cloud storage means that any picture I take with my phone is instantly available on my other devices, like my iPad, so I can use that information, share it, and add it to the case file.
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