A New Appreciation For The iPhone Camera

While I sit in the airport lounge on a four hour layover, I thought I’d take a little time to put down some recent impressions on the iPhone.  You see, for the past two weeks I have been traveling without a camera.  As such.

Yet I still have my phone.  And I found numerous photo opportunities, and the only recourse I had was to pull out my phone.

As has been my experience with cameras (both film and digital) in the past, I have found that activating the shutter is only the second step in photography.  The first is composing the picture.  The third is developing the photo.

Right now, software developers are releasing next-generation photo editing programs, and it’s almost hard to keep up.  Just recently, new and beta versions of ON1 Photo RAW, Aurora HDR and Adobe Lightroom have seen updated versions with new features (and new licensing schemes, in some cases).  Both have released beta versions, and ON1’s beta is public, meaning anyone can download it for free!

My recent travels have taken me to major cities:  New York and Boston.  Armed with only my iPhone 6s and a laptop with photo editing software, I managed to capture some very nice photos.

Fort Point, Boston, MA at dusk

Taken from the Evelyn Moakely Bridge.

Artist Gianna Stewart created this foam “iceberg” that “floats” in the water.

In the photo above, I used Adobe’s new Lightroom CC (the old version is now named Lightroom CC Classic). When shooting a wide shot, Apple’s iPhone exhibits pronounced barrel distortion. I used the Geometry tool in Lightroom to straighten everything — with a single slide and a click!

Manhattan Skyline in Black and White from the original color photograph.

Another example of straightening (I may need to adjust this one a bit more).

Boston Financial District

Finally, an “arty” photo I snapped on the spur of the moment. What two streets typify New York City? (well, maybe Madison Ave. But you take what you can get).

Getting Right-Sized

Has it really been nearly six months since I last posted?  According to WordPress and my site logs, apparently so.  Time to rectify that.

The summer has been mostly work, work, work.  But I managed to get in some “me” time recently, and that’s what this is about.

I struggled to find a vacation that would address my interests, wouldn’t cost an arm and a leg, and which could be taken at a convenient time.  I searched and searched, considering trips to Alaska (still on my must-do list), a Mediterranean cruise, a visit to Machu Picchu, and other exotic travels.  Long flight times, added “single traveler premiums” and other disincentives caused me to pass on some otherwise very enticing possibilities.

Then, I happened to visit my Road Scholar account and saw that a trip I’d put on my wishlist was available, the single premium wasn’t too horrible, and addressed one of my interests directly:  A photo journey through Utah’s national parks!  I quickly booked it, and the die was cast.

In preparation, I took a day trip and drove to Blackwater Falls, WV to test my camera skills, hiking endurance, clothing choices and mindset.

Blackwater Falls, WV

Camera
COOLPIX P900
Focal Length
5mm
Exposure
1/640s
ISO
100
Camera
COOLPIX P900
Focal Length
5mm
Exposure
1/640s
ISO
100

Blackwater Falls, West Virginia

 

 

 

 

Camera

 

COOLPIX P900

 

 

 

Focal Length

 

5mm

 

 

 

Exposure

 

1/640s

 

 

 

ISO

 

100

 

 

 

I felt I was prepared.

A discussion of Road Scholar will have to wait for another post.  Suffice it to say that this was my fourth adventure with them, and each has been a very rewarding experience!

My first trip with Road Scholar was also to Utah, where I visited Zion, Bryce and Grand Canyon (North Rim) national parks.  This trip was a ten-day journey around a circle which included Zion, Bryce, Capitol Reef, Arches, Canyonlands, Monument Valley and Lake Powell/Antelope Canyon.  The difference:  Specifically intended for photographers.

The longest vacation I’ve taken to this point was seven days.  I wasn’t sure I would know how to handle a longer time frame.  Turns out I had nothing to worry about.

Scheduling made this trip different.  We would frequently arise early in the morning to do a sunrise shoot,

Bryce Canyon at Sunrise

Bryce Canyon at Sunrise

Camera
NIKON D7500
Focal Length
55mm
Exposure
1/80s
ISO
200
Camera
NIKON D7500
Focal Length
55mm
Exposure
1/80s
ISO
200
Camera
NIKON D7500
Focal Length
55mm
Exposure
1/80s
ISO
200

 

 

 

 

Camera

 

NIKON D7500

 

 

 

Focal Length

 

55mm

 

 

 

Exposure

 

1/80s

 

 

 

ISO

 

200

 

 

 

 

Bryce Canyon at Sunrise

and often would eat dinner around 5:00 p.m. so we could do a sunset shoot.

Panorama Point, Capitol Reef

Camera
NIKON D7500
Focal Length
26mm
Exposure
1/10s
ISO
200

 

 

 

 

Camera

 

NIKON D7500

 

 

 

Focal Length

 

26mm

 

 

 

Exposure

 

1/10s

 

 

 

ISO

 

200

 

 

 

 

Panorama Point, Capitol Reef

I love this area of the country.  In this day and age, where we measure the time of our lives in hours, days and weeks, the visible geology of this land shows how time is measured in millions of years!  The enormity of the rock formations, the petroglyphs etched thousands of years ago, all serve to remind me of how truly small we are in God’s tremendous universe!

Wow

 

 

 

 

Camera

 

NIKON D7500

 

 

 

Focal Length

 

60mm

 

 

 

Exposure

 

1/250s

 

 

 

ISO

 

200

 

 

 

 

Wow.

The capstone to the trip was Antelope Canyon. I have been enthralled by photos taken in this Navajo-owned marvel, and hoped I could come away with one or two “keepers.”  I shot over 250 photos during my 90 minutes in the canyon, and at current count, have at least 19!

Lower Antelope Canyon

 

 

 

 

Camera

 

NIKON D7500

 

 

 

Focal Length

 

18mm

 

 

 

Exposure

 

1/100s

 

 

 

ISO

 

2000

 

 

 

 

Lower Antelope Canyon, Page, Arizona

And guess what?  I have been invited to exhibit my photos!  This is a first for me, and I’m really flattered, excited and honored to be asked!

Lower Antelope Canyon

Lower Antelope Canyon

Lower Antelope Canyon

Lower Antelope Canyon