Getting a good shot using your cameraphone is usually a hit-and-miss affair, but as these 18 shots show, it’s absolutely possible to get a decent one. Check out the variety of results in this week’s shooting challenge after the jump.
Amanda Miotto
camera: Samsung GT-19000
lens: Standard Samsung Galaxy -S
ISO: Android
Story:- I was driving home and found this on one of the back streets near my neighbourhood.
Chris Burke
This picture was taken on Thursday evening, just as I was packing up my desk to head home I caught a glimpse of this amazing colour from the other side of the office, when I went to investigate I saw this beautiful sunset. Pretty sweet as it was the last time I was going to be in this office! The office is in Milton, Brisbane and I took it in such a way so you could for the XXXX logo in the bottom left hand corner. I also like the effect of the office lights reflected in the shot.
The picture was taken using my iPhone 3GS.
Dave Brown
Hi. I was cruising around the desert (for work) when I noticed this and got a little concerned about what was going on. Super desert storm or mushroom cloud? Very cool either way I thought. iPhone 4 as is. No HDR.
And yes I got drenched big time when it arrived in my locale:-).
Jack Lovell
My photo is simple, but I guess that’s what I was going for.
I was out skateboarding on my driveway after work when I started getting a bit tired (that’s what happens when you’re constantly jumping around for an hour).
So I laid down on the driveway and looked up at the sky. It was starting to get dark, and I noticed the clouds looked amazing.
For some reason I put my hands up into the air and made a diamond shape. Reminded me of when we were young singing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”.
And I thought it looked cool, so I grabbed my HTC Desire (standard settings), and laid it on my chest.
Using a timer, I was able to get my hands back in this position and take this shot.
It took a few goes…but I was happy with this photo. Gives you the impression that I’m flying around in the sky and not laying down on the ground.
And everyone dreams of being able to fly, right? Anyways…
Hope you enjoy it! Thanks for running this competition.
Kirsten Keightley
I used an iPhone 4 with the Pro HDR app to take this photo. I tapped automatic, crouched down and let the app figure it all out. The shot was taken at the SnowyHydro SouthCare helicopter base late in the arvo. I love the shot, as there is stuff to look at other than the chopper.
Reece Di Carlo
Camera : iPhone 4
Ben Ervine
Equipment & Settings: iphone 3GS using the hipstamatic app(chunky lens, pistil lens, no flash)
The photo was taken today(05/03/11) at the Dinosaur exhibition currently on at the Australian Museum in sydney, I drove up from canberra for the day just to see it, I’ve been a massive dinosaur fan from since I was a kid, so when i found out this exhibit was on it wasn’t even a question that i needed to see it. The trick to the photo came with waiting for the moving lights on the model to hit it at just the right time, to early and the background was really exposed and the model wasn’t framed as well as it is, too late and there was too much light on it and you couldn’t make out the details on the model from over exposure. As for the noise in the photo it’s a 3GS so there’s not a lot you can do to fix it but i think it adds something to it.
Daina Peet
I took this photo with an iPhone 4. I guess it is what you would call “abstract”. No effects have been used in this photo, it was just the light effect on the silver.
For this shot I just angled the phone and snapped! It turned out better than I thought it would.
Maks Steszewski
I took this with my iPhone 4, I love the way it handles light, especially sunsets. This photo is of 2 of my friends walking home from the beach in Perth.
Jeff Downing
My image was captured and edited with my iPhone 3GS. I used the iPhone camera while letting the camera expose itself without tapping to expose/focus. I then brought the image into the Mill Colour application, gave it a “Print Look”, which dropped most of the exposure values into a shallower dynamic range. I then brought both the original photo and the Mill Colour optimized version into the TrueHDR application for a wider dynamic range of light without disrupting the interior darkness or the exterior brightness. The light flicking across the rumpled blankets gives some texture to the image and the fur didn’t lose any detail loss during the editing process. There is a bit more noise along the wall than I would normally want, but I can tolerate it because I really enjoy this image and this captured moment.
This is my dog, Ella. She is a 35lb Shar Pei and Beagle mix, otherwise known as a Sharp Eagle. Since it has been warming up and the grayness of the cloud coverage seems to be dissipating, I’ve began opening the blinds daily. She has constant access to the backyard, but she enjoys being around my girlfriend and I. So, this is what she does to give herself a happy medium- stare out the window while being near one of us (me, usually) while I do work at my computer.
Nick Karras
Taken on an iPhone 4 with no flash or hdr at midday. The rose was actually in the garden of a church carpark and i rather liked it’s nice size and vibrant red colour.I was about 30 cms away from it
Victor Bhandary
Oxford st sydney. Walking to my local coffee shop for morning coffee . One of the homeless in the glare casts a striking silhouette on the lonely stidewalk. The camera at hand my iphone 4
Wade Muller
Here my mobile photography entry. I used an iPhone 4 with no HDRI.
Being a commuter I get to see every sunrise. And in the spirit of mobile photography this was captured on a train on the way to Sydney from Gosford.
The thing about these shots is you have to be quick. There are trees whipping past. And you can’t use HDRI as it will ghost the image.
There is something peaceful about seeing every sunrise, I feel like I live every part of the day.
Georgie Shaw
Camera: iPhone 4 with HDR on.
Taken: Sunday morning in the Horden Pavillion under the mirror cube.
Blurb:
I’d been trying all day to get an ‘arty’ shot, especially in the morning at my cousin’s wedding. My phone’s filled now with kind of boring shots of the back of a boat and close-ups of a wedding dress. By the afternoon I was volunteering at the Mardi Gras parade and thought this would be the time – something with feathers, a poignant portrait of a drag queen maybe. But no, nothing worthy. At the after party there was lots of dancing being had in amongst the laser lights and under a very artistic mirror cube – which features heavily now in my photo library but wasn’t really that interesting in a photo once I stopped dancing. By 3:30am I’d genuinely given up. I saw a guy with a saying on his T-Shirt (one of the few people still wearing one) that I knew I’d forget by the time I got home, so I asked him if I could take a photo. The laser must’ve hit the mirror cube and the HDR ‘jumped’ the photo – I like the combination that looks a bit ghosty, a bit infrared-camera-green and like I’ve fiddled in photoshop for too long. In hindsight – next time I just won’t try as hard.
Damian Desoto
I was out having lunch at a winery in the Yarra Valley, and could see so many beautiful photo opportunities to take, but every time I sighted up and shot something that would be easy on my DSLR, it turned out pretty badly. This photo was the best result of a few shots, trying to force the iPhone’s metering levels by pointing its focus at various spots in the metal mesh up top of the image.
Camera make : Apple
Camera model : iPhone 3GS
Date/Time : 2011:03:05 14:36:15
Flash used : No
Focal length : 3.8mm
Exposure time: 0.0011 s (1/918)
Aperture : f/2.8
Simon Reidy
Mobile Phone: iPhone 4
Software: Camera +
Exposure: 1/20sec
F-Stop: f/2.8
ISO: 80
No Flash
No filters or post processing (other than reduction of size in Photoshop)
Additional Equipment: PhotoJojo Macro lens (magnetic macro lens attachment)I just bought a cheap macro attachment lens kit for my iPhone from photojojo.com and was actually pretty sceptical about the results I’d be able achieve. However for $20 it’s actually an awesome buy; as you can see it enhances the iPhone 4’s macro abilities significantly. When paired with Camera + (which gives you the ability to independently control exposure and focal point) you can achieve some pretty cool results. The photo is simply my aging HP laptop with my favourite key in focus 🙂
Steve Brady
I took this picture on Sunday evening at Henley Beach in Adelaide as my girlfriend and I were sitting down to eat fish and chips. I was enjoying the sunset when the thought hit me, DUH, mobile photo competition!
I saw some people walking in front of us and I thought, hmmm a silhouette might be interesting. So I whipped out the trusty Nokia E75 and this is the result.
I used Picasa to straighten the horizon, and make me ”feel lucky” and cropped and reduced it to 800 px wide. It’s a bit hit and miss taking pics into a sunset with a mobile phone but I am pretty happy with the result.
Jonathan Ward
My photo for this week was quite a lucky shot. I was driving to uni, and liked the light that was coming from the clouds as the sun rose. So as i was beginning to cross the ANZAC bridge, i whipped the iPhone out and took a snap while driving in the traffic (which is completely safe as far as i can tell). I didn’t get to see what it amounted to until I arrived at uni. The rays of sun perfectly silhouetting the ANZAC memorial, and the bridge rising up to the right, i was amazed by my luck. I left the photo completely unedited, just to add to its validity 😛 hope you guys like it!