PHIL TEMPLES
Artist’s Statement
I’ve always been attracted to photographing in urban areas. I’m partial to back alleys, fire escapes, graffiti-strewn walls or store fronts. I don’t find nature shots of majestic sunsets or mountain ranges very satisfying.
A color photo, when rendered in black and white, sometimes will reveal hidden textures and subplots. Of course, that’s not always the case. Some images require the full range of color to bring out the magic and the message so I always shoot my scene in color then go back later and decide whether to apply a black and white filter.
I shoot using a smartphone in auto mode––currently a Samsung Galaxy S10e. Before that, I used earlier Samsung models. Before camera phones were readily available, I carried a little Canon PowerShot SD630 featuring a whopping 1200 x 1600 pixel resolution! The truth is, I’m too lazy to carry around my sophisticated Canon EOS 5D because it’s bulky and weighs a ton. If I did, I’m certain that I would end up missing all kinds of shots while fiddling with the controls.
Most of my shots are “spur of the moment.” Sometimes, they’re transient. (Or, I’m in transit.) The camera phone is the perfect instrument to render snap judgments on places and things that I feel are worth memorializing.
To quote from thesmartphonephotographer.com: “ Just as owning a DSLR camera and taking family holiday photos doesn’t make one a photographer, simply taking pictures with a smartphone or other mobile device does not necessarily make one a true mobile photographer.”
In my mind, all of these photos represent “art” but only because I claim they are. You can decide.
Phil Temples was born and raised in Bloomington, Indiana, but he’s lived and played in greater Boston, Massachusetts for over four decades.