They say the best camera is the one you have on you at the time and, for many of us, the camera we keep on us all the time is an iPhone. Capable of producing images rich in image quality, the best iPhone photography is recognised each year thanks to the annual iPhone Photography Awards.
Now in its 12th year, the competition sees thousands of entries and this year included submissions from over 140 countries. This time around, the Grand Prize Winner and Photographer of the Year Award went to Italian photographer Gabriella Cigliano her entry, entitled; ‘Big Sister’.
Taking First Place in the Photographer of the year category was Diogo Lage from Portugal, who took the honour for an image entitled ‘Stea Stripes’, which captured on Santa Rita Beach in Portugal using an iPhone SE.
Diogo Lage also took First Place in the Animals category for an image entitled; ‘The Proud Peacock’, which was also taken with an iPhone SE. Diogo commented; ‘What made me take this photo was the unexpected balance of the composition that reinforces the sense of pride, place and charisma of this peacock. In this public garden, seeing these wild peacocks is one of the most exquisite experiences people can have, they are truly the lords of the garden.’
First Place in the Abstract category went to Jiangying Guo from the US for an image entitled; ‘Blue light’. The image was captured in Mexico using an iPhone 7 Plus and Jiangying commented; ‘A beam of sunlight shined on a swimming pool at 9:32am, when I was visiting the house designed by Luis Barragán.’
Picking up the First Place honours in the Architecture category was this colourful frame by Chinese photographer Kuanglong Zhang for an image entitled; ‘Janta Manta Observatory’. Using an iPhone X to shoot the photo, Kuanglong commented; ‘Janta Manta Observatory is very sci-fi looking. I captured the flying pigeon with the building to give the photo a dynamic feeling.’
This jaw-dropping image by Shuo Chen was awarded Third place in the Architecture category with a spectacular photo entitled; ‘Here I come’, which was captured with an iPhone X. Shuo commented; ‘This image was taken in the Xiamen, international shipping center. I was trying to create a futuristic battle scene of Star Wars (I’m a huge starwars fan). When a friend told me about this location, I thought it would be very good to shoot something like this with a lightsaber and two characters fighting. The lighting that afternoon was great, and we waited for the best natural light of the sun to light up the place.’
Placing Third in the Floral category was this stunning frame from Chuangchen Jin entitled; ‘Flower in the Dark’. Captured on an iPhone X, Chuangchen commented; ‘During a trip to Shenzhen, China I was captivated by these volcanic rock steps hidden in a secluded corner, embraced by strikingly red flowers on both sides.’
Taiwan-based Hsueh Isan took First Place in the hotly-contested Landscapes category for spectacular frame entitled; ‘Petra Wadi’. Shot on an iPhone SE, the view is of Umm Sayhoun in Jordan.
Full of eye-popping colour, this image by Shirley Xu took Second place in the Sunsets category. Entitled; ‘Sunset on Baltic Sea’, the impressive shot was captured using an iPhone 6S.
Winning the Travel category was this intriguing image by Liu Bo, which is entitled; ‘Lonely Boat’. Captured using an iPhone 8 Plus, the photo was taken in Da Nang , Vietnam and Liu commented; ‘It was a cloudy day. I noticed a man with a small boat floating up and down in the sea when I was walking on the beach. Something occurred to me in that moment, I thought, I want to get closer so I walked in until salty seawater flooded my chest. The man, the boat, and me. I felt a connection in that moment, people are so small between heaven and earth.’
