I haven’t taken many photos with my iPhone. I’m a bit of a control freak – I like to set the exposure just so. Control the aperature for depth of field. Set the ISO. You can’t do any of that with the iPhone. I’m also an image quality freak. The iPhone image quality is poor, at least by “real” camera standards. But — I found a solution. Rather than futzing with fine-grained control, I’ve been using the (free) Polarize app to give up even more control. Instead of tinkering with the settings, I find an interesting subject, point, and shoot. Polarize crops on its own. It adds a vintage, retro color cast. Throws in a heavy vignette. Turns the contrast to eleven. And of course, adds the trademark Polaroid border (that can be cropped to suit). But being out of control is great for creativity, and the heavy processing hides (or maybe compliments) the iPhone’s image-quality shortcomings.

Here’s a gallery of my initial efforts – mostly abstracts around the office. (The gallery may look a little funny if you’re reading by e-mail or using an RSS reader. Long story.) Click on a thumbnail for a larger view.

Props to The Online Photographer for mentioning this great app. Major props to AP Photographer David Guttenfelder, who’s used the app for some greal, serious photojournalism with his iPhone.