During my photographic adventures, I’ve found that the low-light capabilities of smartphone cameras like the Nokia Lumia 920 and the Nokia Lumia 928 make high-quality photos possible in very challenging lighting situations. As such, for this month’s Windows Phone Challenge we asked you to submit photos of your summer nights #reinvented. As usual, you guys delivered with some spectacular images from all around the world. Our favorites are below (click through for full resolution).
Unfortunately, many entries were excluded because they did not include the requisite 2-3 sentence story behind the photograph. Please include these for the next challenge, as they are frequently the best part of the entry! There were also many entries that weren’t of summer nights. But hang onto those photos, as I have a feeling our next challenge may fit the bill.
We’ll be back with another themed photo challenge soon. In the meantime, feel free to tag your Windows Phone photos on Twitter with the hashtag #WPphoto. We’ll highlight our favorites on our official handle. Also, feel free to check out our previous winners: Pets, Favorite Places, Happy Holidays!, Love, and Photosynth.
Judy Kwong: I took this picture with my HTC Radar Windows phone. I didn’t use any apps just the auto camera function on my phone. I have never been able to take any decent photos, let alone good photos of fireworks before my htc phone. What defines summer nights to me is fireworks on the 4th of July. I took this photo last year on the 4th of July at Aquatic Park, in front of Ghirardelli Square to see the fireworks over the San Francisco Bay. You can even see the people in the canoes and boats watching the show in the bay. This photo was taken toward the end of the fireworks show. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Loi Trinh: This picture was taken at Phu My bridge, HCMC Vietnam at 5:45pm. I stand on the top of bridge with my lover who i haven’t ever said that “i love you.” Taken with a Nokia Lumia 820.
Samitha W.: Summer evening on Hikkaduwa beach with family. Spent a great relaxing time while enjoying the sunset. My personal view is this is the best way to spent a summer evening and that is the reason for choosing this photo for this contest. Taken with a Nokia Lumia 920 in Hikkaduwa, Sri Lanka.
Jason Harmer: Iowa cubs AAA baseball game in Des Moines Iowa. 6/14/13. Night game was already postponed due to rain, and by the bottom of the 6th had to be called again. After they performed their fireworks show (after every Friday home game), the real light show happened courtesy of the storm. Taken with a Nokia Lumia 928.
Brett Loiselle: This photo represents summer nights simply! THE OUTDOOR FESTIVAL/CONCERT! There is usually ONE real big show that most people go to a year. And usually, it takes place in the summer. This picture was taken at the Orion Music + More Festival on Belle Isle in Detroit, MI, on June 9. Hands in the air, clapping in unison, chanting “now I lay me down to sleep” with Metallica as they blast through their hit “Enter Sandman.” Taken with a Nokia Lumia 920.
François Collardey: I’m from France. I took this picture with my Lumia 920, in New York City. It was a nice moment, at sundown, and I was just chilling after a tremendous day in the Big Apple. For me it represent Summer Night Reinvented because it is a nice melt between the fast pacing city and the calm and cool way of a boat. Hope you like it too!
Krisztian K.: We’ve build a terrace at home, when the weather looks suddenly very bad, after the last tile has been placed, big ice fell from the clouds and the sky was full with lightning! Was very beautiful and this could be captured thanks to Nokia and Windows Phone! 🙂 Taken with Blink.
Matthew Hockman: I took this with my Nokia Lumia 920. Other than Night setting and a square cop everything else is original. How I took it: I pointed my telescope at the moon, and carefully, with a steady hand positioned the phone in precisely the correct spot on the telescope’s viewfinder to catch the moon. I had to take at least 5 shots before I captured a perfect one in focus.
[Editor’s note: This last choice is unconventional, but we’re so blown away by the image and thrilled to see how Matthew reinvented his smartphone photography with a telescope that we had to include it.]