Silver Award iPhone image
Today’s post will be an image I created from my iPhone 4s during a trip to Cairns.
It was a hot afternoon and I was wandering in Cairns by the outdoor open pool when the clouds started to from above the ocean. It was low tide and I could see a few yatchs quietly anchored on a waveless ocean.
I pulled out my iPhone 4s, framed the scene and took a couple of images. It wasn’t a particularly extraordinary scene but the elements within the image interested me and I wanted to twick it to show the majesty of the clouds.
Just to dodge and burn the clouds would make it look too cliche’ and I wanted something more to emphasis the scale between man and nature.
Above if the image as captured from my iPhone 4s and scaled down to fit this site. Click to enlarge.
For sometimes now I have been using a photo editing app that I really enjoy both the ease of use and the quality of the output, that app is Snapseed from Nik Software.
I’ve been using Sanpseed to edit images from my iPhone 4s and share them on my Facebook profile, under the folder iPhone Street Photography. When it does a good job for images to be displayed on the web, I wanted to give it a go in a printed situation where the image would be judged as an actual print of commercial quality.
For the finished images I used:
– I Cropped to recompose the image as I wanted it to look
– I pulled up the Details (and Structure) in the right hand side of the image to show what was happening in front of the mountain. I also added a bit of Structure in the clouds to make them more impressive. This has introduced a bit of grain, but it’s an effect that I wanted to add
– I added a bit of Ambience and White balance to warm up the scene
And that was it. Less than a minute touching the screen with my fingers, I was happy with the result that was showing on the screen. Because I know that the screen of the iPhone 4s, with its retina technology and resolution, there was enough details to be printed and hanged on the wall. I also uploaded a copy on Facebook to share my iPhone Street Photography with my friends and followers.
Back at home, when I prepare the prints for the EPSON AIPP Prints Awards 2012, I wanted to adde some edits using Photoshop, but once I opened it in Photoshop, I didn’t feel the need to ad or remove anything.
The iPhone 4s camera has an 8 Mega pixel sensor and it produced a big enough file to be printed for the awards.
I submitted this print in the awards with a bit of anxiety on how it would be received if the judges discovered it was taken with a phone camera. I did not put this iPhone image into the EPSON AIPP Prints Awards 2012 to upset anyone but just to prove to myself that cameras don’t take picture and even with a decent phone camera, anyone should be able to create an above average image.
The wait was not without stress especially I couldn’t attend to the judgement of the prints ont the day it happended.
Acouple days after the results were announced, I still had no clue on how my prints went for the Awards and especially my iPhone print. A few names and scores have been given out on a Facebook community page and there was no mention about my prints. My consolations were that if I didn’t do anything it was because my photos were taken with a phone camera. What would I have expected… To be honest, I expected more results out of my iPhone image than with my other images taken with “normal” SLR.
Another few days went by when I had a text message from a fellow photographer to let me know that she took down my print case and I could pick it up when it suits. With no big expectations, I went to pick it up. I didn’t even open the case till I got home, after dinner.
I was very nicely surprised, and almost stock, to read the score report that my iPhone image had scored a respectable 84 out of 100, a solid Silver Award, and was submitted for review for a Silver Award with Distinction. It didn’t make it to a Silver Award with Distinction but it is still a solid Silver Award and I was very pleased with that result.
Aside from my Silver Award for this iPhone image, I had my first Gold Award for another print in the Landscape category, two Silver Awards, one with Distinction, in the Wedding category and overall I was runner up in the Illustrative Photography of the Year 2012.
It is always a good feeling to know that your work, through your efforts, is regconised by your peers as a very high of quality and standard.
And let’s face it, the iPhone is an awesome smartphone and if it does more than make phone calls, isn’t it awesome?
Here is the iPhone 4s image submitted to the EPSON AIPP Prints Awards 2012 which scored a 84/100 and got a Silver Award in the Landscape Category.
iPhone silver award image by Thierry Nguyen Cuu. Click to enlarge.
