Technical Difficulties: 5 Realizations from a Broken Phone
My phone’s camera recently broke, and after a bunch of troubleshooting, talking to and visiting repair places including the Apple Store, I’ve come to a few realizations . . .
#1. I depend on my phone way more than I probably should.
Even a week or two without it is a major limitation to me doing my job, my calling, and staying on top of my duties at home. Especially now as we prepare for trips. The list of things I’d need to do or prepare for in being without a phone for that long was overwhelming and created more stress than it should.
#2. I’ve grown accustomed to a nice camera.
I often hear my friends asking why the photos I take look so nice, and I’m thinking it’s the camera that I specifically bought my phone for because that’s where I take photos most often. Telling stories through photos is so much easier when technology allows me to have more usable results—less blurry, better lighting, color correct, a variety of lenses and features to offset my shaky hands or low lighting.
#3. I’ve got to learn how to declutter all this digital content.
How do you choose which photos to keep? I have close to 32,000 photos on my cloud storage starting from the time W was born when I got a smart phone. I’m not sure why I feel the need to document everything; I’m very sentimental and like to hold on to moments. We can revisit each phase of life with our children, the places we have been able to see, the adventures we’ve had together.
#4. This is $$$$$$$.
Fixing the camera on the phone was basically the cost of a new phone- I don’t know how that makes any sense environmentally. And yet, defying all reason, replacing a camera is more expensive than replacing the phone. Digital cameras we already have or were considering buying were so far behind in quality, while the cost of a similar quality camera alone was $1,000+. The GoPro couldn’t take portraits or people up close- a disadvantage when my main subjects are people. And I’d still have the inconvenience of sifting through the photos, transferring them, and not having a functioning flashlight on my phone. After seeing the numbers, it was worth the $$$ to replace the entire phone with a working camera so that I can live life with little disruption, and continue to find joy in taking photos when it’s my main source of photography.
#5. If you can’t beat them, join them.
So I won’t be leaving my iPhone anytime soon; I might as well find ways to make it even more enjoyable for me to use my camera phone. I invested in a tripod / selfie stick so that I can try to be a part of some of these photos and have even more angles and possibilities if I so choose. It’s empowering and makes me feel like getting out there to take some pictures!
Love, Kat
Update: Check out the quality of these photos I took on our first trip after getting my new phone!
