While driving through a local state park with my family, I saw this beautiful sunset and decided to take some pictures of it with my iPhone (I know, I left the real camera at home). I took a few shots and then realized that the scene did not quite fit the frame, so I put the phone in vertical position and took a few vertical shots using the same technique I describe in my “Panoramic Photography Howto” article. The only problem was, I could not lock the exposure or change white balance on the phone… So, here is the result:
iPhone Panorama
I stitched the panorama in Adobe Photoshop CS5, then brightened up the grass a little and slightly increased contrast. I think the result is OK, although the colors are a little out of whack…still not bad for a crappy phone camera (the new iPhone 4G is supposed to have a much better 5 megapixel camera). As Chase Jarvis puts it, the best camera is the one that is with you :)
About Nasim Mansurov
It still looks beautiful. And Chase Jarvis is right. Ha ha.
Thank you Peter! :) Chase Jarvis is great, love his creativity.
Great coulours.
Thank you Husnora!
Not bad for having no exposure control. You were is a state park without your camera? I’ve been there, that’s a very uncomfortable feeling! :)
Kent, thank you and sorry for a late response! Yes, it happens quite often with me – I go somewhere without a camera and see a beautiful scene that I can only capture with my mobile phone :)
By the way, you have a great blog, loved your pics and articles. Keep it up!
This photo is proof of article by Ken Rockwell “Your camera doesn’t matter”!
Bekhzod, I don’t agree with everything Ken Rockwell says, but I like to rephrase it this way – it is not the camera that takes pictures, but the photographer :)
Hi Nasim & others, I came across a new iPhone App that solves just the problem you described, locking your exposure and white balance. The App is called “Camera+” in the App store. I believe it is a paid app, but it is really worth it – it has replaced my standard iPhone camera app.
Hey Nasim,
Very nicely composited, dynamic, panoramic image. Just curious, If you were unable to lock white balance or exposure, how did you capture consistent images? Was the exposure already balanced across the scene?
Kent, I apologize for a late response – I somehow missed your comment. No, I did not lock white balance or exposure. The camera did all the work. Some of the images were underexposed, while others were slightly overexposed. Had to adjust them to look about the same in Lightroom, then Photoshop did the rest.
Nasim, great photo! Have you tried Photosynth for the iPhone? Works great, worth a look.
I just did an HDR test with the iPhone 4S versus my Nikon D90 and 14-24 lens. Not a very fair test, but I wanted to show a few of my Apple crazy friends that their phone does not take photos as good as a more expensive camera.
http://mike.heller.ca/2011/10/my-first-iphone-4s-hdr/
Mike, no, I have not tried Photosynth. Thanks for the link, I will check it out!
Checked out your page and flickr account – you have some great images my friend!
Thanks Nasim! Still have a long way to go, but it’s a lot of fun.