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Toronto Sun’s Joe Warmington and Sun Media multimedia correspondent Marie-Joelle Parent are part of QMI Agency’s team on the ground in Boston. Both have been using strong smartphone images – posted to Twitter and Instagram – to tell the heart-wrenching stories of the horrific bombings that killed three and injured more than 150 people at Monday’s Boston Marathon.

I asked Warmington and Parent to share their thoughts on what it’s like documenting this tragedy through social media and how using a smartphone, versus a traditional camera, has changed covering major spot news events like this one.

Here’s what veteran journalist Warmington had to say about the feeling of being on the ground in Boston.

“Surreal is the best word to describe the feeling of being here. And in a state of limbo. The shock is fading here.  After a day of incredible emotion toward the innocent victims the mood nowis turning toward frustration. Boston was already under a soft seige from law enforcment and military following the Boston Marathon bombing. But it is tightening now –partially thanks to the president’s visit. But also thanks to the reality that there is a homicidal bomber still at large.  The tenor is also changing as the runners move out. It seems a lot of people may not have come in for planned conventions because downtown Boston feels even quieter today than it did on the day following the cowardly act. The security professionals have been very respectful but on a personal note when I see the war vehicles, rifles and firepower I think of my experience in Kabul and fear for freedom we may take for granted. One of these times, the terror might start to scare people away from public events.  When that happens there may be a domino effect on a free society.  When I am taking those pictures I also feel a sense of sadness as I reflect on the young victims. It also brings back the Newtown shooting and makes me wonder why there are people on this planet who could ever be so ruthless.”

I spoke with Parent via cellphone Wednesday morning about her experiences in Boston. Parent, who is based in New York City, also covered the Sandy Hook school shootings in Newtown and both reported on, and lived,  through Hurricane Sandy. She’s accomplished on both Instagram (5933 followers) and Twitter (19,687 followers). We spoke about the emotional challenge of covering a story like the Boston bombings and the ethics of reporting it via social media.

On posting photos to Instagram: “I always struggle (when covering a story like this). I wonder what I should post or not post. I know Instagram is primarily used as a network for positive things. I don’t want to post graphic things. I try to capture things that catch my eye.”

Parent said she tries to focus on inspiring images that offer people hope in the midst of tragedy. Her Boston pictures, posted to Instagram and shot with the app, capture what Parent calls the sidelines of the story; flags at half staff,  flowers and church services. “I feel people are very sensitive on Instagram to sensationalist photos and they get really mad if you post them.” Parent says she often uses Instagram’s filters when capturing secondary (sideline story) images but would never use one when shooting a hard news image, such as those taken during the bombings.

Parent said she often takes a picture with her iPhone5 first and then decides whether to switch to her Canon 5D for a higher quality shot. Shooting with the iPhone feels less intrusive, Parent said.

“I feel like I’m capturing the moment more with an iPhone. It’s very discreet. I feel like I’m capturing the essence of something.”

Whether it’s with a smartphone or an SLR, covering a story like the Boston bombings is never easy, she said. The extent of some of the injuries has been horrific, she said. “You meet people that will be forever traumatized, but you have a job to do and you have to focus on that.”