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Clix Pix

macrumors Core
I can't believe I almost missed out on this! Ever since I bought the iPhone XS back in October I have been using it quite a lot -- much more than any previous iPhone -- for taking photos. Of course it's the "camera I always have with me," so to speak, and so it's handy to pull out when I see something interesting which catches my eye.

A Slice of Color (lightly edited in Luminar 2018):

A Slice of Color.jpeg
 

mollyc

macrumors 604
Original poster
Aug 18, 2016
7,802
47,107
This is now closed. I will be back in the morning with comments!
 

mollyc

macrumors 604
Original poster
Aug 18, 2016
7,802
47,107
So you all have really inspired me to try to use my phone camera more. I really must try. My husband even bought me a Moment lens for Christmas to change up my focal lengths, and I've only used it once in very poor lighting. Hopefully now that the weather is getting better I'll be more inspired. All the entries here really do support the theory that the best camera is the one you have with you. :)

@Apple fanboy - despite the ribbing from your male counterparts here, I really like this image. Graphical, minimal. I'm in awe of anyone who can see things like this and frame it well. My only CC is that your black and white conversion is a bit muddy, and I'd prefer to see it brightened just a bit.

@stillcrazyman - well if you haven't figured it out by now, I'm a sucker for anything pink and any flower, so a double winner for me! I think it needs to be brightened ever so slightly, but great focus and colors, especially for a phone image.

@inkmich - I love the leaves in the corner adding a bit of softness to an otherwise very angular image. I do think the clarity or something has been over applied as there is some blurring on edges that seems to overly smooth things. A great perspective and I love the reflection in some of the windows.

@akash.nu - A well timed sunset image with the bird flying overhead. I wish the little boater were right in the middle of the sun reflection, if you'd scooted over to the right a bit. I'd like to see the shadows raised just a bit, but from a phone that might add too much noise, so a bit of a tradeoff. Nice orange color.

@dmb8021 - Wow, what fantastic rim lighting on all the audience members and and the color is great. It also looks sharp with very little noise, despite the low light. You really feel like you are right in the action there.

@Robotti - Such a lovely color for a sunrise (or sunset, but it seems more rise-y than set-y). The photo is too large to fully show in one frame for me, which makes it hard to really see well, but I like the framing of foreground/middle/background. (Oh, never mind, it resized itself when I checked on my phone, so now I can see the whole thing.)

@oblomow - Nice framing and composition, with the leading line of the ski tracks. The snow has come off a bit gray and I'd like to see it brightened to fix that, but the overall effect is quite peaceful.

@Donka - I admit I am having a hard time making out what I am looking at. I'd say it's an airplane image looking down from the sky, but the pointy things on the right of the frame don't really indicate an airplane? (Although I do see your image title of "Se of Clouds" so I know I'm on the right track.) It does have a rather surreal feeling though, putting more into a fine arts category for me, which is not something I would consider shooting with a phone, so a bonus point for that.

@Somepix - A nice street photography image, something I really don't venture out into much, although I love the idea of the genre. I'm too shy to shoot strangers, but I love the implied story of the man proud of his catch (or at least sale of the fish).

@Stephen.R - Another winning sunset. Lovely colors. I see you edited to drop the blacks for the silhouette, but I'm curious what your original image looked like with the detail there. But I like you had a vision of what you wanted to create and made it work. I wish I lived somewhere with sunsets like that!

@Darmok N Jalad - A beautiful pastoral scenic, reminiscent of where I grew up. Brings back a lot of nostalgia. I miss the countryside. Lovely composition. I'd maybe warm it up just a smidge.

@themumu - Another lovely minimal scene, great use of shadow and light. I'd probably clone out that lone leaf on the foreground as it draws attention away from the dog-stick, but otherwise a very compelling image.

@redshifted - another surprising phone image, you have great dynamic range here. Another one slightly blurry from processing I think, and I'd love to see those red leaves drawn out just a bit.

@needfx - I like the toy camera effect, I always love Lensbaby photos, and this has that feel about it. The selective focus goes along with the swirling water and I like that my eye is drawn to the arch and back out to the water.

@tizeye - I do wish the entire dinosaur was in the frame, or at least all of his feet or all of his plates. But your framing does actually enhance the enormity of him, not fitting into anything human sized.

@Smartwatchlover - what a beautiful mural and lovely photo. Seems a bit smudgy from over processing, and I'd like to see it straightened so the brick lines are correct. But a very interesting photo overall.

@CmdrLaForge - a great composition here, with the leading lines of the abandoned posts. Thank you for keeping the horizon line straight!

@Hughmac - another pink flower entry, with a bee. You know how to win my heart. If you were to edit it, I'd go in and add a very slight vignette to balance out the light on the edges and bring more attention to Mr. Bumble, but I have to say your HDR looks very natural and you dealt well with the dappled light.

@Clix Pix - another minimal/graphical image. Very clever. It took me a quick second to realize you were photographing a bag of clementines. Very interesting subject and really a great eye to see and frame this image.

And now for the moment that everyone just scrolls down to read first, my rankings are as follows:


3. @dmb8021 with the fantastic arena image

2. @redshifted with the trees and fog

And the (un)lucky winner for judging next week - @needfx! I love the lensbaby look. :)

Thanks to all the participants!
 

Donka

macrumors 68030
May 3, 2011
2,842
1,439
Scotland
@Donka - I admit I am having a hard time making out what I am looking at. I'd say it's an airplane image looking down from the sky, but the pointy things on the right of the frame don't really indicate an airplane? (Although I do see your image title of "Se of Clouds" so I know I'm on the right track.) It does have a rather surreal feeling though, putting more into a fine arts category for me, which is not something I would consider shooting with a phone, so a bonus point for that.


Thanks for the great judging and feedback as always.
With regard to my image - it was simply taken from my window seat in the aircraft so composition was strictly limited. I wanted to either crop out the wing trailing edges on the right to focus on the view or include more of the wing to add context but I couldn't do either successfully so left it as is.
 
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mollyc

macrumors 604
Original poster
Aug 18, 2016
7,802
47,107
Thanks for the great judging and feedback as always.
With regard to my image - it was simply taken from my window seat in the aircraft so composition was strictly limited. I wanted to either crop out the wing trailing edges on the right to focus on the view or include more of the wing to add context but I couldn't do either successfully so left it as is.
But what are the triangle things? I don't recall ever seeing that from an airplane window. But my kids take the window seats now, so maybe I'm must not able to see them when I smush them to look out the window. :D
 
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Donka

macrumors 68030
May 3, 2011
2,842
1,439
Scotland
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needfx

Suspended
Aug 10, 2010
3,931
4,247
macrumors apparently
So you all have really inspired me to try to use my phone camera more. I really must try. My husband even bought me a Moment lens for Christmas to change up my focal lengths, and I've only used it once in very poor lighting. Hopefully now that the weather is getting better I'll be more inspired. All the entries here really do support the theory that the best camera is the one you have with you. :)

@Apple fanboy - despite the ribbing from your male counterparts here, I really like this image. Graphical, minimal. I'm in awe of anyone who can see things like this and frame it well. My only CC is that your black and white conversion is a bit muddy, and I'd prefer to see it brightened just a bit.

@stillcrazyman - well if you haven't figured it out by now, I'm a sucker for anything pink and any flower, so a double winner for me! I think it needs to be brightened ever so slightly, but great focus and colors, especially for a phone image.

@inkmich - I love the leaves in the corner adding a bit of softness to an otherwise very angular image. I do think the clarity or something has been over applied as there is some blurring on edges that seems to overly smooth things. A great perspective and I love the reflection in some of the windows.

@akash.nu - A well timed sunset image with the bird flying overhead. I wish the little boater were right in the middle of the sun reflection, if you'd scooted over to the right a bit. I'd like to see the shadows raised just a bit, but from a phone that might add too much noise, so a bit of a tradeoff. Nice orange color.

@dmb8021 - Wow, what fantastic rim lighting on all the audience members and and the color is great. It also looks sharp with very little noise, despite the low light. You really feel like you are right in the action there.

@Robotti - Such a lovely color for a sunrise (or sunset, but it seems more rise-y than set-y). The photo is too large to fully show in one frame for me, which makes it hard to really see well, but I like the framing of foreground/middle/background. (Oh, never mind, it resized itself when I checked on my phone, so now I can see the whole thing.)

@oblomow - Nice framing and composition, with the leading line of the ski tracks. The snow has come off a bit gray and I'd like to see it brightened to fix that, but the overall effect is quite peaceful.

@Donka - I admit I am having a hard time making out what I am looking at. I'd say it's an airplane image looking down from the sky, but the pointy things on the right of the frame don't really indicate an airplane? (Although I do see your image title of "Se of Clouds" so I know I'm on the right track.) It does have a rather surreal feeling though, putting more into a fine arts category for me, which is not something I would consider shooting with a phone, so a bonus point for that.

@Somepix - A nice street photography image, something I really don't venture out into much, although I love the idea of the genre. I'm too shy to shoot strangers, but I love the implied story of the man proud of his catch (or at least sale of the fish).

@Stephen.R - Another winning sunset. Lovely colors. I see you edited to drop the blacks for the silhouette, but I'm curious what your original image looked like with the detail there. But I like you had a vision of what you wanted to create and made it work. I wish I lived somewhere with sunsets like that!

@Darmok N Jalad - A beautiful pastoral scenic, reminiscent of where I grew up. Brings back a lot of nostalgia. I miss the countryside. Lovely composition. I'd maybe warm it up just a smidge.

@themumu - Another lovely minimal scene, great use of shadow and light. I'd probably clone out that lone leaf on the foreground as it draws attention away from the dog-stick, but otherwise a very compelling image.

@redshifted - another surprising phone image, you have great dynamic range here. Another one slightly blurry from processing I think, and I'd love to see those red leaves drawn out just a bit.

@needfx - I like the toy camera effect, I always love Lensbaby photos, and this has that feel about it. The selective focus goes along with the swirling water and I like that my eye is drawn to the arch and back out to the water.

@tizeye - I do wish the entire dinosaur was in the frame, or at least all of his feet or all of his plates. But your framing does actually enhance the enormity of him, not fitting into anything human sized.

@Smartwatchlover - what a beautiful mural and lovely photo. Seems a bit smudgy from over processing, and I'd like to see it straightened so the brick lines are correct. But a very interesting photo overall.

@CmdrLaForge - a great composition here, with the leading lines of the abandoned posts. Thank you for keeping the horizon line straight!

@Hughmac - another pink flower entry, with a bee. You know how to win my heart. If you were to edit it, I'd go in and add a very slight vignette to balance out the light on the edges and bring more attention to Mr. Bumble, but I have to say your HDR looks very natural and you dealt well with the dappled light.

@Clix Pix - another minimal/graphical image. Very clever. It took me a quick second to realize you were photographing a bag of clementines. Very interesting subject and really a great eye to see and frame this image.

And now for the moment that everyone just scrolls down to read first, my rankings are as follows:


3. @dmb8021 with the fantastic arena image

2. @redshifted with the trees and fog

And the (un)lucky winner for judging next week - @needfx! I love the lensbaby look. :)

Thanks to all the participants!


Whoops, that was seriously unexpected to be honest given the quality of the shots, sans the dust on sensor debacle :p ! Thanks for feedback - will revert with new contest pronto
 

Stephen.R

Suspended
Nov 2, 2018
4,356
4,746
Thailand
I'm curious what your original image looked like with the detail there.

It's barely discernible smaller details in the garden (a hedge, an umbrella): IMG_2112-orig.jpg

But I like you had a vision of what you wanted to create and made it work

I honestly only noticed how striking the sky vs the silhouette was when I looked at it on the computer. Also I think calling it "vision" does a disservice to those who have any clue what they're doing :p

But this was fun, thanks!
 
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tizeye

macrumors 68040
Jul 17, 2013
3,072
33,731
Orlando, FL
So you all have really inspired me to try to use my phone camera more. I really must try. My husband even bought me a Moment lens for Christmas to change up my focal lengths, and I've only used it once in very poor lighting. Hopefully now that the weather is getting better I'll be more inspired. All the entries here really do support the theory that the best camera is the one you have with you. :)



@tizeye - I do wish the entire dinosaur was in the frame, or at least all of his feet or all of his plates. But your framing does actually enhance the enormity of him, not fitting into anything human sized.


Thanks to all the participants!
Took our 2y/o granddaughter to Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University which is one of her favorite places. Prior years have packed my Sony, but this time intentionally only took the iPhone. True about the feet but wanted close to head to reflect how small it was. Hardest part was dealing with people, which wouldn’t be bad to reflect size, but still. Had to photoshop a few out who wouldn’t move (and waited for wife and granddaughter to walk behind a leg). Also, posted in photo of day were several mineral exhibits from the same museum.
 
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Clix Pix

macrumors Core
Thanks, Molly, for a fun topic, one which really shows the various ways people use their iPhones to capture their world! Congratulations to all the winners -- there were some terrific images here!

Mine was not shot specifically for this competition; I was in the grocery store in the produce section and the nicely-lighted display caught my eye with that wonderful, vivid color contrast of the blue packaging and the orange clementines trapped inside the orange netting. (Orange is my favorite color.) I was drawn to it from across a couple of aisles and just HAD to grab a photo! Didn't bother buying a bag, as I'd never eat all those clementines, so just took a photo right then and there because the colors appealed to me. Once I was aware of the competition here I thought, "oh, that bag of clementines I shot.....wonder if that would work out as an entry?" and air-dropped it into the computer for a closer look, and decided it would after a little gentle editing. Voila!
 
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Apple fanboy

macrumors Ivy Bridge
Feb 21, 2012
55,255
53,001
Behind the Lens, UK
So you all have really inspired me to try to use my phone camera more. I really must try. My husband even bought me a Moment lens for Christmas to change up my focal lengths, and I've only used it once in very poor lighting. Hopefully now that the weather is getting better I'll be more inspired. All the entries here really do support the theory that the best camera is the one you have with you. :)

@Apple fanboy - despite the ribbing from your male counterparts here, I really like this image. Graphical, minimal. I'm in awe of anyone who can see things like this and frame it well. My only CC is that your black and white conversion is a bit muddy, and I'd prefer to see it brightened just a bit.

@stillcrazyman - well if you haven't figured it out by now, I'm a sucker for anything pink and any flower, so a double winner for me! I think it needs to be brightened ever so slightly, but great focus and colors, especially for a phone image.

@inkmich - I love the leaves in the corner adding a bit of softness to an otherwise very angular image. I do think the clarity or something has been over applied as there is some blurring on edges that seems to overly smooth things. A great perspective and I love the reflection in some of the windows.

@akash.nu - A well timed sunset image with the bird flying overhead. I wish the little boater were right in the middle of the sun reflection, if you'd scooted over to the right a bit. I'd like to see the shadows raised just a bit, but from a phone that might add too much noise, so a bit of a tradeoff. Nice orange color.

@dmb8021 - Wow, what fantastic rim lighting on all the audience members and and the color is great. It also looks sharp with very little noise, despite the low light. You really feel like you are right in the action there.

@Robotti - Such a lovely color for a sunrise (or sunset, but it seems more rise-y than set-y). The photo is too large to fully show in one frame for me, which makes it hard to really see well, but I like the framing of foreground/middle/background. (Oh, never mind, it resized itself when I checked on my phone, so now I can see the whole thing.)

@oblomow - Nice framing and composition, with the leading line of the ski tracks. The snow has come off a bit gray and I'd like to see it brightened to fix that, but the overall effect is quite peaceful.

@Donka - I admit I am having a hard time making out what I am looking at. I'd say it's an airplane image looking down from the sky, but the pointy things on the right of the frame don't really indicate an airplane? (Although I do see your image title of "Se of Clouds" so I know I'm on the right track.) It does have a rather surreal feeling though, putting more into a fine arts category for me, which is not something I would consider shooting with a phone, so a bonus point for that.

@Somepix - A nice street photography image, something I really don't venture out into much, although I love the idea of the genre. I'm too shy to shoot strangers, but I love the implied story of the man proud of his catch (or at least sale of the fish).

@Stephen.R - Another winning sunset. Lovely colors. I see you edited to drop the blacks for the silhouette, but I'm curious what your original image looked like with the detail there. But I like you had a vision of what you wanted to create and made it work. I wish I lived somewhere with sunsets like that!

@Darmok N Jalad - A beautiful pastoral scenic, reminiscent of where I grew up. Brings back a lot of nostalgia. I miss the countryside. Lovely composition. I'd maybe warm it up just a smidge.

@themumu - Another lovely minimal scene, great use of shadow and light. I'd probably clone out that lone leaf on the foreground as it draws attention away from the dog-stick, but otherwise a very compelling image.

@redshifted - another surprising phone image, you have great dynamic range here. Another one slightly blurry from processing I think, and I'd love to see those red leaves drawn out just a bit.

@needfx - I like the toy camera effect, I always love Lensbaby photos, and this has that feel about it. The selective focus goes along with the swirling water and I like that my eye is drawn to the arch and back out to the water.

@tizeye - I do wish the entire dinosaur was in the frame, or at least all of his feet or all of his plates. But your framing does actually enhance the enormity of him, not fitting into anything human sized.

@Smartwatchlover - what a beautiful mural and lovely photo. Seems a bit smudgy from over processing, and I'd like to see it straightened so the brick lines are correct. But a very interesting photo overall.

@CmdrLaForge - a great composition here, with the leading lines of the abandoned posts. Thank you for keeping the horizon line straight!

@Hughmac - another pink flower entry, with a bee. You know how to win my heart. If you were to edit it, I'd go in and add a very slight vignette to balance out the light on the edges and bring more attention to Mr. Bumble, but I have to say your HDR looks very natural and you dealt well with the dappled light.

@Clix Pix - another minimal/graphical image. Very clever. It took me a quick second to realize you were photographing a bag of clementines. Very interesting subject and really a great eye to see and frame this image.

And now for the moment that everyone just scrolls down to read first, my rankings are as follows:


3. @dmb8021 with the fantastic arena image

2. @redshifted with the trees and fog

And the (un)lucky winner for judging next week - @needfx! I love the lensbaby look. :)

Thanks to all the participants!
Great feedback for everyone Molly.
Well done everyone.
On to the next.
 
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