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Can I capture meaningful images with my smartphone?

A recent trip to northern British Columbia (Khutzeymateen Grizzly Bear Sanctuary Blog) was an amazing experience from a wildlife, nature and photography perspective. I took my full frame camera along with my 600mm 1.4TC lens and I was able to capture the bears and whales with incredible detail even when we were not able to get right up close and personal.

However, others on the trip did not have the same level of kit - their cameras ranged from bridge (compact with built in zoom lenses), cropped sensor with limited zoom lenses (300mm max) and smart phones. Don’t get me wrong - there is nothing wrong with having any of these options as long as your expectations of the types of images you can produce is aligned with the type of gear that you have. The problem comes when I think that I can get the same quality of images from my 600mm lens versus zooming in on my smart phone - it’s just not going to be the same.

After reviewing my images and editing a number of them (see galleries here) which I shared with the others on the trip, I started to wonder what sort of photographic experience I’d be able to share if I only used my smart phone images.

It was a good challenge and one that I thought I’d put together for this blog post. I think that I sometimes get too caught up in gear which I talked about in this blog post (got GAS) and I lose sight of the fact that photography is about conveying emotion which we do through use of light and composition along with focal length (i.e., being able to zoom in). What follows is my depiction of the trip through my smart phone.

How I use my smartphone when travelling.

I find that I often supplement my photography experience with my smartphone as it does a great job of capturing certain kinds of scenes. It’s useful for wide angle scenes where I’m not looking to be able to crop in tight and it’s also good for macro images.

If I hold my phone vertically with the camera at the bottom edge (upside-down from how I usually hold it) then I find I can get some interesting images with better perspective.

I also find that using the portrait mode is very useful for producing artistic images with a blurred background - which also helps to isolate the subject.

After retrieving the crab traps and finding them full of good sized crabs we had an amazing boiled crab dinner. Using portrait mode I was able to capture this image and I really liked the contrasting colours of blue gloves against the yellow sponge and bright red crab legs.

So delicious and I think that comes across in this image with the bright primary colours and blurred water and trees in the background.

This is an example of a moment where opportunity and a camera close at hand resulted in a great image.

On the water

I often take my full frame camera out in my kayak with me and I usually bring it in a dry bag and place it between my legs - it’s easy to reach when I see a good composition and I don’t risk getting it wet when paddling.

However I was a bit hesitant to bring it with me in an unfamiliar boat with no rudder system - plus we were wearing kayak skirts (covers over the cockpit to keep you warm and dry) which makes it awkward to bring a big camera.

I felt quite confident that I wouldn't tip the kayak, however the first few times out I left the big camera on the Afterglow and enjoyed a paddle with a few smartphone shots.

It was fun capturing Kory’s and the other group member’s paddling techniques as they explored the shorelines.

Then I ditched the kayak skirt and started taking my big camera out with me for some really fun photography - definitely challenging with no rudder on the kayak as the boat refuses to stay still.

Beach combing

There were opportunities for us to get off of the boat and do some beach combing which was fun and invigorating - it can get a bit much to stay on a boat for a week.

I took my full frame camera with me when we went beach combing, but there were times when a composition appeared and I wanted to capture it quickly before we moved on or before someone entered the frame etc.

One such instance was our first outing when we wore our rubber boots in the zodiac as we needed to get out into the water to get to shore, but a few of us opted to take walking shoes with us to change into - rubber boots can get hot and sweaty - besides they don’t have much support for walking.

I liked how we automatically lined up our boots in a row and as one tipped over I wanted to capture the incongruity of rubber boots in a wilderness location, so I pulled out my smartphone and captured this moment.

Using a smartphone for close ups and macros

I really like using my smartphone for detail shots or macro-like images. This allows me to get in close and capture small details in the images.

While beach combing I came across this pebble wearing a piece of cedar shrub like a hat. I really liked the composition and thought that it would make an interesting image showing the contrast of colours as well as the beach hat.

I turned my phone upside-down (vertically) with the camera at the bottom instead of the top in order to get a very low angle shot.

This particular image was taken in regular mode, but if there is moving water in the scene then I will use Live mode.

This allows me to activate slow shutter speed mode and get a blurred water image which is similar to what I can achieve with my full frame camera with a slow shutter speed.

Using portrait mode with a close up shot is another way of isolating a subject and really focusing in on some details.

In this next image my husband was communing with nature and connecting with an uprooted tree that had been weathered over time.

By focusing on his hand connecting with the tree I made a much stronger image than I would have taking a snapshot of him holding this branch of the tree.

Sometimes zooming in on a detail is more impactful than an overall or environmental shot.

One of the highlights of the trip was eating fresh caught pink salmon - four of the group were successful at their fishing attempts and Chris (our captain) made short work of cleaning and filleting the fish which we later ate barbecued.

I wanted to capture him preparing the fish, but it was quite messy and a bit gruesome, so I used portrait mode again and focused in on his hands as he filleted the fish.

This allowed me to capture the activity without the details of blood and fish guts.

I also felt that there was real artistry in the way Chris cleaned and filleted the fish - it was a bit of a dance with the fish and I wanted to capture his care and attention to the task - zooming in like this allowed me to get these details.

I also wanted to capture the beauty of our surroundings and I felt that it was interesting for Chris to have such a backdrop as he completed his fish cleaning work.

What a great work station! We were so fortunate to have beautiful weather and be able to spend so much time outdoors without rain jackets or heavy coats.

In this situation using a smartphone with a wide angle lens worked perfectly to capture the scene the way I wanted.

It was also easier to work with a phone than a large camera in the small space at the back of the boat with 5 other people moving around.

The last day we woke up to fog and very little visibility. I know a few people made a decision to roll over and sleep in (not mentioning any names of roommates - nope!)

I think others in the group thought I was a little odd to be so excited about the fog, but I know that there is a lot of creativity in mist and fog.

It is perfect for isolating subjects, but there is also the opportunity for magical light if it starts to lift - and that is what happened as we were about to set off.

A small section of clouds parted and the blue sky peeked through with some glorious light. A few seconds later the clouds closed in again and the light was gone.

Having a phone camera handy enabled me to capture this image - so again the portability and accessibility of having a smart phone camera can enable different images that might be missed otherwise.

Is it possible to capture the essence of a trip with a smartphone camera?

I actually think that it is possible to capture an epic trip like we had in the Khutzeymateen Grizzly Bear Sanctuary with a smartphone. I don’t think I could capture the close ups of the animals as the detail just isn’t there, however when I focused on the strengths of the smartphone I was able to capture some beautiful images.

Combining these with the images I got from my full frame camera made for a complete story of the trip, however looking at the smart phone images from this blog post - I can see that I did manage to tell a good story - especially the parts aboard the boat the Afterglow and our time spent in the kayaks and on beach walks.

There is a saying that the best camera is the one you have with you which is true, however I think it’s even more important sometimes to put all cameras down and just experience the experience in the moment.

What do you think? Did I manage to tell a story with my smart phone images and did I capture the experience well? Do you use a large camera or do you take a point and shoot or smartphone for your vacation photography? Or do you let someone else do the picture taking for you? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below or drop me a note using the Connect With Me button.

I hope you’ll come back soon, share a cuppa, relax and enjoy more of my musings.