National Geographic photographer Jim Richardson used an iPhone 5s as his only camera on a trip through Scotland, and he concluded that the latest phone from Apple has “a very capable camera” onboard.
Richardson took more than 4,000 photos with an iPhone 5s during his trip through Scotland’s highlands and islands and showcased some of the images on National Geographic’s Proof photography blog. The account was discovered and shared on Twitter by Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller, who termed it “iPhoneography.”
While Richardson initially struggled to make the most of the iPhone 5s’ camera, he said he eventually became more comfortable identifying what types of shots the shooter is best at capturing, and making the most of those shots.
“Cameras all have personalities. Or perhaps they have visual signatures. To some extent they always lead us around by the nose. Little by little we come around to taking the pictures the camera can do well,” he wrote.
Richardson noted that he didn’t feel like he was settling for second best with the photos, “They just looked good.”
The photog found the iPhone 5s’ color and exposure “amazingly good,” and praised the unit’s HDR capabilities, saying that it did a “stunningly good job.” He was also a fan of the native square photo capture ability, finding it saved time when transferring photos to Instagram.
Richardson saved his highest praise for the ability to capture panoramic images, writing that the feature is “nothing short of amazing—seeing a panorama sweeping across the screen in real time is just intoxicating.”
