Well-known local photographer Brad Nichol has started writing a series of iBooks on iPhoneography, on taking photos using an iPhone.
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It is a unique topic because, as he explains, no one else in the world appears to have studied the subject to the level of depth he has.
Mr Nichol said more people, including photography professionals and journalists, were using the iPhone to take photos.
“A lot of people, even professionals, are using the iPhone to take photos because that is the tool they have with them, to capture that moment they don’t want to miss,” Mr Nichol said.
“The cameras in these iPhones are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and I thought there was a need for a series of books so that people could get the best out of this tool.
He recently published a book on the iBooks store, called Ultimate iPhone DNG.
“It is on everything serious iPhone photographers need to know to shoot and process in the advanced DNG format,” he said.
“The book is over 400 pages and the first of six books in a series I am writing,” he said. “The others are well underway and the next one on iPhoneography composition is due out in late November with the other four to follow at three-monthly intervals.
“It deals with the DNG format, also known as raw format, that became available on the iPhone about 12 months ago. Most people are not aware of it.
“I am not one to blow my own trumpet, but it’s probably true that I’ve researched, explored and experimented more on the subject of iPhone DNG than anyone else in the world.”
Mr Nichol said he had basically put into practice concepts and methods that he had developed over the past 15 or so years working in the digital area and nine years in iPhoneography.
Mr Nichol said he had been an “early adopter” of digital photography.
“I have been working with raw files for many years,” he said.
Mr Nichol said iPhones usually saved photos as jpegs, whereas raw files were uncompressed. With raw files, you could uncover extra fine details in the image.
The DNG is an open source raw file format developed by Adobe and released in 2004.
Mr Nichol explains in his books the specific apps needed to take raw photos on the iPhone, because the standard Apple app does not allow the camera to shoot raw.
“But the difference in image quality is profound,” he said.
“You are able to get better detail in the highlights and the shadows, much better sharpness and colour, tonal quality.”
He has also created a dedicated website to accompany his series of books called iPhoneraw.com
“This is now starting to get solid traffic. I also have a YouTube channel and an Instagram page dedicated to this,” he said.
He has also had many articles on photography published internationally, including a 5000-word one recently published on Petapixel, one of the largest photo sites on the web.
He said other books in the series would cover commercial applications, lighting and advanced techniques.
“It will take me another 15 months to get the full series out,” he said.
Mr Nichol has been teaching digital photography for 17 years and is currently teaching at CIT as well as running workshops on iPhoneography.
Photography has been his passion since he was 15-years-old and he got his first wedding shoot when just 17. He started his own photography business at 22.
But in 1988, he developed an extreme sensitivity to darkroom chemicals and had to step away from his passion and concentrate on adult education until 1995, when he realised digital photography would allow him to return to his photographic roots.