Collage of my 7 newest art pieces

StacyYoungArt.com
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Why I prefer the iPhone 5 to a DSLR camera.

I remember how excited I felt 5 years ago when I was about to purchase my first "real camera". The new Nikon D90 has just been released and I was convinced that THIS was the best bang for the buck... or at least that this camera would improve my photography skills and business opportunities making it a worthy investment. This was the decision I made after carefully reviewing all the DSLR cameras.

While still in the parking lot of the camera store, I had to put it all together so I could try it out on my drive home. I was so eager that I didn't want to take the time to read any of the instructions and I nearly broke the lens while mounting it on the camera body for the first time. For the next 2 years I lugged that beast around almost everywhere I went, which was really a big hassle but still seemed like my best option until I decided to get a Sony Cybershot which was very small compared to the D90. Since I was literally able to take my camera anywhere I went, the Cybershot gave me a lot more flexibility. I never had to miss a photo taking opportunity anymore and so this little camera slowly became my main camera of choice, just for the freedom that it offered. Soon, I practically forgot that I had the D90 and it sat on my shelf just collecting dust and showing some signs of jealousy from the relationship that I was forming with the Cybershot.

All during this time I was still using a "dumb" phone. This phone had a 1.3 mp camera that in no way even came close to offering the kind of quality to be able to take a decent photo. But by now, I had my eye on the newer iPhones and started seeing some pretty impressive photos being shot on these little devices. I finally got my first iPhone earlier this year. Suddenly the rest of the shackles fell off and I felt completely liberated. Not only did I always have my camera with me, but I always had it in my hand, always ready to get that shot. This camera was so fast that I could just click off the photos very fast, with what seems like no lag at all from the time I press the button until the photo has been shot. The ability to easily email or post the photos online was a nice effect too. I started to document the cool things that I saw and experienced as I could shoot, then post the better or more interesting photos immediately and all while hanging out of the car passenger window even. Posting my photos instantly to Facebook was something I did mainly to have a single place to keep these types of photos, sort of documenting my life. At least this was the main reason I started doing this. My secondary motive was as simple as finding some joy in sharing the beautiful and very interesting things that I experienced with the world... or just whoever happened to see them.

I will admit that I have from time to time read about some of the newer cameras, such as the Sony NEX series, which I've had my eye on since right after I got the brick camera, my D90, which I no longer have, btw... but that is for future post. I've even been offered the full use of a nice Nikon D80 and politely declined since I really seem to prefer to shoot with my iPhone 5. I do realize that some of the other smart phones now have better cameras and also have the capability of shooting better in low light conditions. I also realize that there are a lot of limitations when almost solely using a smart phone camera, such as a good quality zoom. But for now at least, I choose to have these limitations in return for the utter convenience and simplicity of shooting with my iPhone 5. (Almost) Everything I need on the go is now in the palm of my hand. Internet, email, useful apps... and the only camera I really need.

That 41 mp Nokia 808 Pureview looks interesting.... but it uses Windows 8. I think I will stick with my iPhone for now.

Take a look at some more of the photos I shot on the iPhone 5.

Here's a whole bunch I shot from a moving car a few months ago.
http://www.stacyyoungblog.blogspot.com/2013/07/oregon-countryside-lots-of-barns-farms.html

written by Stacy Ann Young
StacyYoungArt.com

Collage of some of my new slightly surreal Portland Digital Art

My digital art starts out as a photograph that I shoot, then is transformed into a piece of art as I repaint it with light, color, textures and filters adding many layers to the photograph and then tweaking it a little more... to finally become slightly surreal Portland Digital Art.

Soon, the store will be complete at Stacy Young Art and every piece of art will be available as prints.

I can't wait to share some of my other new pieces and experiments, which will include paintings on canvas and board and multi-layer glass paintings!

StacyYoungArt.com

Introducing my 3 new art sites!

I want to introduce some of my new art sites. 

The first one is StacyYoungArt.com

I can't wait to share some of my new pieces and experiments, which will include paintings on canvas, multi-layer glass paintings... and also photo and graphic art as well, which will be available with various sizes and materials. I'm also sharing some of my photo and graphic art on this site.

The next new site is StacyPDX.com. 

Here I post updates such as new art, photos, news and events that relate to both my photography and art sites, StacyYoungPhotos.com and the very new and extremely exciting StacyYoungArt.com

The last site, StacyYoungPhotos.com is actually my first site, but this one is now re-purposed, reinvented and reinvigorated. The primary focus of this site is to show my photography.