I may delve into photography but in reality, I’m not a photographer’s arsehole. Sure, I know my way around a few settings and possessing a creative eye for detail has provided me with a few wall hangers, but I’m easily distracted.

When it comes to fishing photography, it’s hard for me to give 100% towards capturing moments when a good portion of time and effort is aimed towards being an angler. A fisherman. A hunter.

Enter the mobile phone. Once designed to keep humans talking while out and about, it quickly took the world by storm by enabling the SMS or ‘text message’.

“Wanna go 4 a fish?”

Fast forward a couple of decades and it’s in the hands of the vast majority, enabling inter connectivity to reach levels never imagined.

You can book a flight, order your lunch, stalk your friends, watch a movie, buy a fishing rod, monitor your solar, turn the sprinklers on, record a song or listen to your favourite music (even live) all from the palm of your hand. I can also map an entire journey into the Western Lakes via GPS and pin point my location with great accuracy. A much more sinister side, is the ability for big brother to monitor us. The more connected we are, the more exposed. Oh… you can also talk to people! Remember that?

I digress. What really blows me away with modern smart phones, is the advance in camera technology. I’m not talking about those saturated filters or stupid bunny rabbit ears. I’m talking built-in wide angle lenses, slow shutters, low light settings, f-stop portrait settings and auto correct. I’m talking HD Film, 4K film, image blending, extreme slow motion and time lapses.

Some of the frustrating (yet rewarding) elements of digital SLR cameras, is managing light while maintaining focus, literally. Mobile phone cameras don’t solve this by any means, but their ability to automatically adjust to the lighting conditions is very convenient. Even still, with a touch of post-processing, you can pull back some highlights and bring out some shadows all at the swipe of a slider bar.

Add to this the stash-ability of a mobile in any pocket or chest pack, and you have the ultimate candid companion at the ready for any mission. Not just for grip and grin hero shots, but to capture that sunrise, film the eat or shoot that weird bug. Gone is the need for that kill shot on the kitchen sink, or the shot of a vertical trophy trout being gill-fingered in front of Nan’s agapanthus. Take a shot on the water. Capture the moment. Capture the mood. You can tell a genuine story, through images.

It doesn’t happen often, but on a couple of occasions, I’ve left my DSLR at home – content to capture what I need from my pocket. No bulk, no extra lenses, no tripod and no cursing the ISO settings! Phones won’t replace my expensive camera gear, but they’re a bloody good option. With that in mind, below are a number of images captured from a mobile phone… Catch ya L8R!