The Best Camera is …

I was in Brentwood, TN last week for a technical class. Prior to leaving , I had packed the Ricoh GR in hopes that I would have an opportunity to take a few photos in between bootcamp sessions. Sadly, the only time I had to do photography was during lunch while walking (or driving) in the direction of food. It was slim pickings.It wasn’t a total loss. The image above is of a little house for sale on a side street across from the hotel.On the way back to Memphis, I happened to be following this nice looking Chevrolet truck with two giant black dogs in the back. I must have followed the truck for two miles before I came to a stop where the scene was worthy of a snap shot.Nailed it! I take the Ricoh GR with me all the time. It’s my go-to emergency camera when I’m feeling lazy.It was in my camera bag a couple weeks ago when, on my way home, I passed a set of trees that I had been eyeing for a good while. I pulled over to the side of the road and took several shots of the trees. I even fired off six to ten shots on the Leica. This one is an 11×14 going in the living room soonIt would seem that the answer to the statement “the best camera is…” would be , for me, Ricoh GR. The truth is, these photos weren’t taken with the Ricoh, or the Leica, or the Fuji X. They were taken with my phone. A simple 13 megapixel sensor the size of my fingernail, sandwiched into a smartphone by Motorola flying the flag of Google Nexus 6.To be fair, if I had only one camera, and the phone wasn’t an option, my Ricoh GR would be it. I can fit it in my pocket, it has built in effects, crop features, and can run on one battery for eons.But the best camera is the one you’re carrying with you. Of course, it could be argued the worst camera is just that, too. And I’m also not going to pit my Nexus against even the most basic DSLR and kit lens, but I have seen some amazing photography on some of the most ridiculous plastic marketed as a “camera” , just check out anything labeled “lomography”.It’s the convenience of the smartphone that makes it a great standby. Once relegated to the ” selfie” genre, smartphones are becoming something of a phenomenon in the photography world.It turns out the best camera could just be the one I’m blogging on, the one you’re possibly reading this blog on, and the one you’re listening to your mp3s on.