The stories behind 8 stunning Nokia Lumia cityscape photos
A while ago we showcased a blog as passionate about mobile photography as us.
The brainchild of João (Jonas to his friends) Oliveira, The Mobile Photography Blog is a place where talented mobile photographers can share their work. Needless to say these include lots and lots of Nokia lovers.
Recently, Jonas showcased an amazing collection of their PureView photos and now the photographers have kindly agreed to show off some of their stunning lowlight cityscapes. What’s more, each of the photographers has shared the story of the image and how it was taken. First up, Mr Mobile Photograph himself, Jonas Oliveira.
João (Jonas to friends), 38, Lisbon, Portugal
How did you became a fan of mobile photography?
I always had a passion for photography and when smartphones appeared, I became passionate about those, too. Putting the two together was just a logical thing to do and I decided to give a larger meaning to it by creating themobilephotographyblog.com. Thanks to Nokia, my knowledge of photography concepts like ISO, exposure or shutter time can be put in practice in mobile photography.
Where was this photo taken and what inspired you?
I took this photo on my business trip to São Paulo, Brazil. This was the view from my hotel room on the 27th floor. The skyscrapers of São Paulo, the night lights that illuminated the sky in orange and the bustling city, all seen from my hotel room, was just a moment to be remembered. With the great ability of the Nokia Lumia 920 for lowlight conditions, I was able to take this shot that best describes the moment.
Which specific setting, technique or accessories, if any, did you use?
I didn’t use any specific technique but I did use custom settings. I set the phone with ISO100 (to avoid at max the grain from the photo) and used the night mode. Unfortunately I didn’t have my tripod at hand so I had to improvise by holding my camera on the windowsill (kind of scary to drop my phone from the height of 27 floors) to avoid any blur from camera movement during the exposure time.
Gergo Harcz, 26, Hungary.
How did you became a fan of mobile photography?
At first it was just my hobby, but later as I photographed more and more, I was getting better at taking photos with phones. I began to share them on forums and a lot of people liked them, which really motivated me. So I decided to buy a Nokia Lumia 920 because they are the best in imaging. Before that I used a Samsung, but I was not satisfied with it. I love to take pictures with my new phone and try to become better and better! I’m addicted! 🙂
Where was this photo taken and what inspired you?
In my home town, Nagykanizsa, Hungary, over the M7 highway. I wanted to try the new Nokia Pro Cam at night with a trial Nokia Lumia 925, so I shot this long-exposure image. By the way, I love it!
Which specific setting, technique or accessories, if any, did you use?
I used a long shutter speed of 4 seconds and ISO 100 with -2.3 exposure and a tripod. The weather was quite windy, but fortunately, the picture came out good.
Daniel Cheong, 51, Mauritius from Chinese descent
How did you became a fan of mobile photography?
As I am working for Nokia, I was contacted by the Nokia Lumia 1020 team to test the camera at an early stage. I became immediately impressed with the image quality of it and started to use it in parallel with my professional DSLR.
Where was this photo taken and what inspired you?
This shot was taken from a balcony on the 79th floor of the Index Tower in Dubai. This is one of the best views of Burj Khalifa and its surroundings, the view is breathtaking and indeed photogenic.
Which specific setting, technique or accessories, if any, did you use?
The focusing was manual (infinity), the ISO set to 100, I used Auto EV bracketing (5 exposures from -2ev to +2ev), and shutter delay. Then the 5 bracketed shots were combined in Photoshop to get the maximum dynamic range using a technique called Digital Blending. I also used a camera grip and tripod
Where was this photo taken and what inspired you?
This shot was taken from a balcony on the 85th floor of the Princess Tower in Dubai Marina This building from which I took the shot is currently the highest residential building in Dubai and has the best view of the whole Dubai Marina. And I was lucky that particular day to get an amazing sunset sky.
Which specific setting, technique or accessories, if any, did you use?
The focusing was manual (infinity), the ISO set to 100, I used Auto EV bracketing (5 exposures from -2ev to +2ev), and shutter delay. This shot is a Vertical Panorama; I shot the top part and the bottom part, and stitched the shots horizontally. I used a camera grip and tripod here, too.
Karsper or Yuan Ye in Chinese, 28, Beijing, China.
How did you became a fan of mobile photography?
Like most of my contemporaries, I’m full of enthusiasm for life and I like to share what I see with my friends. I think photography as a hobby can also make people more creative. I’m interested in documentary photography, because the street is a shining stage. A DSLR is too heavy to be taken with me all the time, and even MILC is sometimes troublesome. Thus I take my smartphone with me all the time, it keeps me curious about the world. It’s flexible and portable, and it can give me a superb quality image anytime. Especially when I take photos in the street, mobile phone is good at making you invisible.
Where was this photo taken and what inspired you?
It was taken at the Bird’s Nest in Beijing – known as the National Olympic Stadium, where the excellent opening ceremony of 2008 Beijing Olympics was held.After seeing lots of positive comments on Lumia 1020’s image quality on the internet, I wanted to find out for myself what kind of images it could take – even at night. If they were as good quality as DSLR photos, I would consider travelling without big cameras in the future to save energy and enjoy the trip more.
Which specific setting, technique or accessories, if any, did you use?
My key point 1 was to use timer shutter (when the shutter works several seconds after you tap the camera key to reduce device shake and keep the image sharp). Key point 2 was a piece of ND filter.
I took a series of photos at this scene. The background was too black with auto settings, so I set a low ISO (100) and used a tripod as the shutter speed dropped down to 1 second. This time the red light in the sky was captured a little bit but it was still too dark. I added a piece of ND filter and manually set the shutter speed to 4 seconds, so that the sky became a kind of grey and blue, in a cold/warm contrast with the light from Bird’s Nest. I saw there was purple around the Bird’s Nest, too, so I switched the shutter speed to about 2 seconds. I took the image with the ND filter at first, counted by heart and after a while removed the filter, and I was shocked at how fantastic and interesting the final picture turned out.
Aman, 38, Germany (born in Ethiopia)
twitter: @pureview1000
How did you became a fan of mobile photography?
I always loved the image quality of Nokia devices, especially the N95 8GB (still got it). My first Lumia was the 800, but I started serious mobile photography when I got my Lumia 920. I was thrilled when I saw the first low light pictures during the presentation in 2012. It was clear that was my next device. About 2 months later, I bought the Nokia 808 PureView with its incredible 41 MP sensor. Mobile Photography is my passion now. You can see my portfolio taken with the Lumia 800, Lumia 920 and Nokia 808 PureView on my Flickr account.
Where was this photo taken and what inspired you?
On the roof of my house. It was New Year, 01.01.13. I saw all the fireworks, all the explosions over the city and wanted to capture the moment.
Which specific setting, technique or accessories, if any, did you use?
I set the ISO to 800, no flash, held the device with both hands, half pressed the camera button to focus and took the picture just as I saw the explosion. I didn’t use any accessory, no grip nor tripod.
Johnny W Lam, 35, Brooklyn, NY (born in Canton, China)
How did you became a fan of mobile photography?
I became a fan, when technology was caught up to speed with the needs of novice to professional photographers on a mobile devices. But the Nokia Lumia 1020 gives me the control and capability to shoot like if I had a DSLR.
Where was this photo taken and what inspired you?
Brooklyn Bridge Park, N.Y.C. The pillars welcoming the water and the city in the background.
Which specific setting, technique or accessories, if any, did you use?
I used a 3 second shutter exposure, ISO 100 and Auto White balance. No special technique was used, just an understanding of how to do long exposure. I also used the Nokia 1020 Camera Grip and my Manfrotto tripod.
Where was this photo taken and what inspired you?
Brooklyn Bridge Park, N.Y.C. The warmth of the city lights at night with the sunset
Which specific setting, technique or accessories, if any, did you use?
I used a 4 second shutter exposure, ISO 100 and Auto White balance as well as the Camera Grip and tripod.
It’s not often you get stunning shots accompanied by such insightful commentary. We hope you were not only wowed by the photos, but learnt something useful as well. If you have yet more questions, please fire them off in the comments below.