A Venetian Comparison

iPhone Image

Holga Image

I spent 3 weeks in November 2011 wandering the streets of Venice. Late one evening on my way back to our apartment from dinner in San Polo, I walked passed the old entrance-way to Casa Goldoni. I had passed by this location many times over the years, but never payed much attention since the doorway had always been blocked with bars and a heavy door. That night in November was different ... the door was open. Upon peering inside I saw these ancient steps and what appeared to be a well-head. I thought the lighting was amazing. My camera was in our apartment and image-making was beckoning. What to do? Well, I whipped out my trusty iPhone, rested it on the iron bars that blocked the doorway and made a few exposures. Very cool, but typical of camera phones, was grainy and noisy due to the auto ISO that most camera phones utilize. ISO 1200 on an iPhone is not particularly smooth! By the time I ran back to our apartment and grabbed my Holga, the door was closed ... darn, missed opportunity ... oh well!

As it turned out, I returned to Venice in March 2012 ... just a few months later. On my agenda was to revisit Casa Goldoni with a "real camera." After dinner (3 slices of pizza), I headed back over to check out Casa Goldoni. Ah, the door was open and the lights were on. There was no way I could use a tripod due to the position of the iron bars on the doorway. Consequently, I placed my Holga on one of the cross-beams and held it snugly in place with my hand for several bracketed exposures. Got it!

Couldn't wait to see how much BETTER the film shot was in comparison to my iPhone photo. Boy, was I surprised ... same subject, same vantage point and basically the same lighting. Not the same aesthetics though. Check them out for yourself ... two totally different images.

Lesson learned ... sometimes the best camera for the job is the one you have with you!