Tag Archives: Photography

Apple, Breaking News, iOS 15, iPhone, OS Software

iPhone 13 Pro live test, How to shoot in Macro Mode (hint: It Just Works…)

Gallery September 25, 2021 Danny Leeds

”It Just Works” is the basic how-to for the new Macro-Mode on iPhone 13 Pro

Steve Jobs was famous for repeatedly using this line to describe in product demos how something was so intuitive that no user manual would ever be needed. While this phrase has also often been used to try to help Apple accountable when something doesn’t “just work” it is a core design principal and an important part of the legacy of Steve Jobs, up until the current day.

The new iPhone 13 Pro (we are using an iPhone 13 Pro Max for photos and testing) has so many new features that it can be overwhelming to try and absorb, at first. Fortunately this one is almost completely intuitive to learn to use, if not obvious.

A short history of what the heck macro photography is

I will never forget when I was first taught about macro lenses and learned how to shoot extreme close ups. I was working with a professional camera operator (as a music video director) and I wanted to do a close up that would be so close as to be considered a macro shot.

Novice that I was at the time, I assumed that you could just keep pushing the camera closer and closer and focus on the tiny area desired, with no further ado. When my operator told me we would need a special “macro” lens adaptor (that we had not ordered as part of our kit), I felt a bit foolish and knew I would need to bone up on the macro ins-and-outs for the future shoots.

For traditional photography and film shooting there are macro lenses and adaptors that can enable super-close-up shots. These can be simple and relatively cheap or more elaborate and expensive for traditional film cameras and digital DSLRs. There have also always been lens attachments that can be used with an iPhone to get some macro capabilities.

Now, with the iPhone 13 Pro and Pro Max you have a built-in software enhanced macro capability that “just works”. Currently this feature is not supported on the iPhone 13 (regular) or mini.

Real world test shows some extreme possibilities that beg for more

As with many of the new camera features in iOS15, when using an iPhone 13 Pro, the macro mode is built-in and needs only be triggered by your behavior.

To shoot your first macro photo follow these steps:

Open the camera app and choose either photo or video (not cinematic or portrait
Move the phone closer to the object that you want to shoot a macro photo of. When you get close enough you should see a “jump-cut” indicating that you have automatically switched to macro mode due to the untra-close object in frame have been detected by the software. The macro range appears to be 14cm to 6cm according to specs.
Move camera into position (you might be almost touching the object if you want an ultra-macro-look) so that the object is in focus and shoot.

Some considerations: With large professional macro lenses, which are “slow”, extra light would be required to get the proper exposure. This is less true with the “computational photography” hybrid on the iPhone 13 Pro, but light conditions, as always, will impact the photo quality, a lot.

In particular, with a huge phone so close to the subject of the photo it is sometimes difficult to avoid shadows cast on the object being shot by the phone itself. It is also a somewhat surreal feeling, at first, to be shooting an object that you are almost touching with the lens.

Our live real world experiments (shown in the various photos above and below) are using every possible combination of lens and the automated software to see just how extreme the results can be. In a word, the answer is; very.

Above: Photo / Lynxotic: A reference photo to give scale, the two following photos show the extreme macro close up possible magnification

The future of computational and software manipulated imagery production using iPhone and iOS

Anyone who had initially learned about photo techniques based on the “real world” environment of glass, steel and celluloid will no doubt at times feel confusion, anxiety or even a sense of loss when confronted with software, AI and machine learning based computational photography.

And, yes, purists have commented and complained about the various trade-offs when images are produced with software manipulation during the shooting process.

But, as results here show, most of us will feel a sense of exhilaration at the visual and artistic potentials that are becoming possible – all using a device that is, pretty much always, “in your pocket”.

While a multi-thousand dollar high end professional lens, using optical grade, painstakingly engineered glass (usually from Germany), can be used to produce world class image quality, now and in 100 years, the benefits of computational hybrid photography techniques are already going in a whole new direction.

An important, and nearly infinite, benefit is that these enhancements are being improved, both through human based code improvements, and even more so, by machine learning and AI on a continual basis.

As we’ve discussed in previous articles, the fact that these improvements are inevitable and will potentially even accelerate, “while you sleep” is a mind-blowing concept that spills into all aspects of future potential for iPhone photo techniques.

The trade off is large, if you want to turn off these “artificial” enhancements, you will have to wait for macro mode (or use current work arounds) and then switch off night-mode and personalized filters and other beautifying add-ons in order to get a more “natural” or realistic look.

Apple, meanwhile, is 100% all-in with the idea of making iPhone photography intuitive and as beautiful as possible, even if, in some cases the “beauty” is enhanced beyond reality (!).

The photos and degree of magnification possible with macro mode on an iPhone 13 Pro, as seen in these rough test photos, is almost surreal. So much so that it’s easy to imagine that, not long in the future, a medical grade microscope could be possible. One that “just works”, of course, and usable by anyone, anywhere and all on a device that’s already in your pocket.

Pro 12MP camera system: Telephoto, Wide, and Ultra Wide cameras

Telephoto: ƒ/2.8 aperture
Wide: ƒ/1.5 aperture
Ultra Wide: ƒ/1.8 aperture and 120° field of view
3x optical zoom in, 2x optical zoom out; 6x optical zoom range
Digital zoom up to 15x
Night mode portraits enabled by LiDAR Scanner
Portrait mode with advanced bokeh and Depth Control
Portrait Lighting with six effects (Natural, Studio, Contour, Stage, Stage Mono, High‑Key Mono)
Dual optical image stabilization (Telephoto and Wide)
Sensor‑shift optical image stabilization (Wide)
Six‑element lens (Telephoto and Ultra Wide); seven‑element lens (Wide)
True Tone flash with Slow Sync
Panorama (up to 63MP)
Sapphire crystal lens cover
100% Focus Pixels (Wide)
Night mode
Deep Fusion
Smart HDR 4
Photographic Styles
Macro photography
Apple ProRAW
Wide color capture for photos and Live Photos
Lens correction (Ultra Wide)
Advanced red‑eye correction
Photo geotagging
Auto image stabilization
Burst mode
Image formats captured: HEIF and JPEG

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Apple, Entertainment, iOS 15, iPhone, Tech

Apple Video showcases creative simplicity to capture incredible portraits using an iPhone 12

Video August 24, 2021 Wiley Simms

How to take an iPhone camera and make the most of it using taste and talent

Apple offers “Today at Apple” to inspire and educate iPhone users to help them learn and be creative with their devices. The online videos range from music to photography and are centered around Apple’s latest technologies.

This most recent video teaches users how to get the most out of the iPhone in portrait mode, but really using all to the various power features that are already in the iPhone 12 and even 11.

For example, 3 lenses allow ultra-wide, X1 and X2 (tele) shots at any time just by flipping between each preset. And once a group of photos exists, simple creative cropping and framing has a huge potential to bring out the most attractive and interesting features of each shot, and can be immediately saves as a separate image.

Of course, with such a high resolution image capture in the first place, cropping retains enough image-data that even an ultra-close crop can retain beautiful depth and detail.

Learning how to use all the tools, and most of all a photographer’s eye

The five minute video features self-taught New York City photographer Mark Clennon. In the clip he shows and explains how he sets up, shoots and edits his images, mainly in-camera (that is to say “in-iphone-camera”) to capture his most powerful portraits.

With iOS 15 (released in public beta) and soon with the iPhone 13 (or what the actual name turns out to be) both expected to be revealed in early September, the potential for portrait mode will be added also, potentially, to video in addition to photos and many other upgrades and improvements are on deck.

Free and extensive software upgrades, along with the not free and not inexpensive new hardware are a yearly ritual with Apple since the very first iPhone was released in 2007. Recently, with Apple Silicon and the gradual merging of the functionality to MacOS, iOS and iPad OS the upgrades seem to be in overdrive.

We have cataloged some of the more interesting changes in stand alone articles but still have more to come as this years upgrades and changes are particularly extensive.

This video is an example of how it’s possible to take even one feature, designed to assist in one form of photographic expression, and dig deeper into it with talent and intelligent use of experience and take the resulting images to a whole other level:

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Apple, FaceTime, iOS 15, OS Software, WWDC2021

FaceTime gets Portrait Mode in iOS 15 to give the look of DSLR prime lens systems

Video June 7, 2021 Madison Santel

The “Pro-Vlogger” look popularized on YouTube now available to all…

Above: The stunning Portrait mode from the Camera app is now optimized for video calls in FaceTime.
Photo Credit / Apple

If you are a prolific FaceTime user or if you don’t use it as much as you would if the aesthetics were a bit better (read: more flattering selfie styles) you are in luck. In a twist which takes advantage of tech that was initially created to make portrait mode a reality in the iPhone camera app is now coming to FaceTime on iPhone and also on iPad.

The maturation of features across platforms is paying big dividends

Portrait mode was added to the camera app as a way to get a DSLR style “prime lens” look with “bokeh” which is a Japanese term for the beautiful background out of focus blur that a long lens focused on the subject in the foreground will produce.

The computational fireworks required to produce this effect are nothing short of…. well check out Apple’s description:

” It’s a depth-guided, people-focused segmentation mask generated from a proprietary Apple neural network trained to detect people. It separates an individual in the foreground from whatever is in the background, with greater detail and clarity than with the depth map alone. It achieves this clarity in part because the matte image has higher resolution than the depth map.”

So this effect, which has been in the iPhone camera app since iOS 12 is now, likely due to the ever beefier potentials of the proprietary Apple neural network can now, starting with iOS 15 and iPadOS 15 be applied to video. Live.

This, like so many other upgrades revealed today at the WWDC2021, is a great idea. High end YouTube videographers know it’s a great idea which is why they buy special DSLR camera with prime lenses just to get the very beautiful and flattering effect of a sharp subject in the foreground and a compressed, blurred “bokeh” effect in the background.

New features in FaceTime help users look and sound their best.

Not only visual but also audio upgrades are coming

They are also adding another obviously useful feature “spatial audio”, which creates the effect of having the perceived source location of each speaker match where they appear on the screen.

This is combined with “new microphone modes” which can reduce background noises and audio interference when in a chaotic sound environment and, alternatively when appropriate pickup an entire soundscape all at once.

All in all these improvements to both the visual experience, and the audio are a much needed change from the often ugly reality of bad-webcam zoom style meetings we all endured during 2020.

And with the front facing camera, lighting and software beautifications constantly getting better, we can, at least those with great internet and high end devices, look forward to a much more sensually pleasing level of FaceTime interactions.

Additional new upgraded features for FaceTime include, but are not limited to:

A new grid view that makes it possible to do a “zoom” like stack of equal size boxes.

SharePlay which is a somewhat odd sounding option to share “Apple Music, watching a TV show or movie in sync, or sharing their screen to view apps together”. Additionally, sharing can include anyone using an iPhone, iPad or Mac and if shared playback controls are active any of the parties that are sharing can play, pause or jump ahead.

Users can now share experiences with SharePlay while connecting with friends on FaceTime, including listening to songs together with Apple Music, watching a TV show or movie in sync, or sharing their screen to view apps together. SharePlay works across iPhone, iPad, and Mac, and with shared playback controls, anyone in a SharePlay session can play, pause, or jump ahead.

There’s an expanding list of sources that can be used, including, of course, Apple TV, but also third party services that opt in, and currently, according to Apple the list already includes: Disney+, ESPN+, HBO Max, Hulu, MasterClass, Paramount+, Pluto TV, TikTok, Twitch, and many others

https://www.apple.com/newsroom/videos/apple-ios15-shareplay-music/large_2x.mp4

FaceTime calls that use all of these new features will continue to be end-to-end encrypted, so privacy is not compromised.

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AI, Apple, Cutting Edge, Photography, Tech

AI, Machine Learning and Neural Filters Astound in Photoshop 2021

Video November 30, 2020 Madison Santel

Adobe has added some significant updates to Photoshop in the last 6 months. As a daily user in a digital publishing environment, we have been able to test and use many of the new features in a real-world setting.

By way of some general background. I was a user of the CS4 bundle up until 2013 when the Creative Cloud system first launched. At first the idea of paying a monthly subscription fee rather than upgrading only when “absolutely necessary” was not immediately a comforting proposition.

However, over time the improvements, along with the huge list of including software, in addition to Photoshop, won me over.

Adobe does face steep competition from Affinity Photo, which continues to have the “buy once-use-forever” model and also has free updates quite often.

We also use Affinity Photo and it is in many ways more user friendly than Photoshop – particularly if you are not already deep into the Adobe software UX.

At the same time, it appears that the competition has only done what competition is supposed to do: made both products better.

The world changed when the 99% of the labor disappeared from replacing photo backgrounds

That same competitive marketplace may even be the reason that, during the last year, Adobe’s upgrades have accelerated and become more than just ho-hum superficial changes: they are now mind-blowing, and that on a regular basis.

In our shop, it really started to get interesting with the upgrade to the “quick selection tool” in June 2020. A new button was added: “select subject” removed the need to painstakingly manually select a subject (such as a person or object) and the new “select and mask” option opens a fine adjustment window to fine tune the mask.

Very often no further adjustments are needed to separate a subject from the background and then begin background layering and various other typical uses for these features. Once again, the time of this upgrade seemed to coincide with competition: a web based platform (that also built a photoshop plug-in) called Remove BG gained some popularity in late 2019, apparently prompting Adobe to fight back.

“Beginning with Photoshop 21.2 (June 2020 release), Select Subject is now content-aware and applies new custom algorithms when it detects a person is in the image. When creating a selection on portrait images, treatment around hair area has been vastly improved to create a detailed selection of hair.”
— Adobe Support

And fight back they did. The new automated “select subject” system was pretty usable at first release. But the upgrades since then have been nothing less than astounding. Sometimes it seems like the performance of this new system gets better daily, as if stealth over-the-air upgrades are happening outside of the official ones. Probably not but the bottom line is this really reduces the time and effort to nearly zero.

Naturally, for complex or difficult photos, or for situations where an absolutely perfect high resolution separation (of, say, a very fluffy haired top model for a huge ad campaign etc.) the old, time consuming and labor intensive techniques would be required.

But for everyday digital news style creative collage applications and any situation where it just have to look realistic (or create a fantasy tableau) it is lightening fast and very very usable.

Neural and AI based updates have begun and will accelerate big-time in 2021

In October, 2020 Adobe introduced 8 new neural filters to the platform. In the video above you can see the general state of the filters around the time of the release. Without getting into granular detail in text, you can see the highlights and the carious methods of use in the video.

What I want to emphasize beyond the existence and fascinating implications for these new tools is the fact that they represent just a tiny hint at the potential for these and many more totally new functions and applications that are going to explode on the scene in 2021.

These kinds of new capabilities for photo manipulation software are likely to take years to be absorbed in to the workflow and toolkit of the millions of users across the globe. And, even as we “struggle” to learn how to benefit from the lack of expertise needed to achieve results heretofore either impossible or only realized with many hours of painstaking profession work, new even more mind-blowing upgrades are coming.

Some examples can be seen in the video below. Additionally there will be a new version of Photoshop available in 2021 to take advantage of the Apple Mac M1 chips and mac OS11 Big Sur.

These will accelerate even more the image manipulation and automated creation options within Photoshop and creative cloud. Honestly, it is now the user, with minimal effort, who will be using imagination and creativity, nearly in isolation, to create previous unimaginable images. Think = do. That’s where this is headed.

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Apple, Cutting Edge, Observation, Tech

How Apple Created the Tech Universe and it Finally Makes Sense

Video November 14, 2020 Danny Leeds

The Origin of Everything is Shrouded in Mystery – looking at Apple’s history yields many clues, however…

PART I of a 3 PART SERIES:

Given the sheer size, breadth and power of the various “Tech Giants” as they have become known, many, if not most would be skeptical if an assertion were put forth that all of them were a direct product or outgrowth of Apple.

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Although there is almost constant complaining that Apple is not the innovator it once was, or that they sell overpriced and overrated products, with more marketing than substance, tracing back through the history of tech a very different story emerges. Further, all the way to the present a pattern holds true that traces all big tech back to Apple in a direct route from at least 1984 or earlier.

The whole story is long and somewhat hidden; and it diverges from the accepted notions of how the massive empires of tech came about. In the end it is almost impossible not to see the behemoths now known as Microsoft, Google, Facebook and others as little more than incidental occurrences, spawned the wake of Apple’s growth and innovation.

Apple is an entirely different company from what it seems from the point of view of the masses & the media. For example, just as now we have Biden vs. Trump we once had Jobs vs. Gates. You can decide which is which. Perhaps today it seems like a stretch, but up until around 1998 the two were considered opposites and as compatible as oil vs. water.

https://video.twimg.com/ext_tw_video/1326262361900998657/pu/vid/1280x592/4NJDOGbF7eYtHJBu.mp4?tag=10

Above: vdieo Clip from the “One More Thing 2020 Event and Video Still Photo Collage / Lynxotic

There have always been a huge number of people who are offended by the high-price high-quality ethos that Steve Jobs created and that the company carries forward to this day.

Steve Jobs Steve Wozniak with the Apple 1 prototype

Much like Tesla owners are heckled by Toyota, Ford and Chevy pick-up truck owners, Apple has always had an army of detractors. And while for many years it was Windows / PC users now it is Android and Samsung. But if you set aside the Apple-derangement Syndrome, sister affliction to the fabled “Reality Distortion Field” there are some fascinating theories that could be put forth showing that Apple and Steve Jobs are the ultimate source of all tech since the Garden of Eden, or at least the 70s.

[Readers note: there are many accepted truths and fabled stories that will be addressed in this article. These are, at times considered “fact” and at other times questioned openly. If it bothers you when either of those choices are made to suit the narrative, you may, of course, opt-out at any time. All attempts have been made to remain true to historical fact, but no claims or guarantees are made of perfection.]

In The Beginning there was… XEROX?

In the beginning there was Xerox Parc. From that private think-tank of a copy-machine company emerged two incredible discoveries; the Graphical-User-Interface (GUI) and the Mouse (mouse). In the fable Steve Jobs is invited to visit in late 1979, to gather knowledge from the computer scientists and R&D gurus and later decides to “steal” everything he sees. Xerox, on the other hand, continues to believe that copy machines are the real future.

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This fable / anecdote is often used to illustrate that Steve Jobs and Apple deserve no credit for the ultimate ubiquity of the software that emerged from the GUI concept and, the mouse that came about cause of the… mouse. It is also said, or at least implied, that Microsoft was fully justified in stealing anything and everything they could from Apple software innovations because “Steve did it first to Xerox”. These kinds of rationalizations are the reason why Apple is still, to this day, not recognized as the source for all tech in the universe.

The more accurate take on this origin story is that Steve Jobs was the first to recognize the ultimate importance of the GUI and mouse combo (after all Xerox never made any real commercially viable attempt to make and market the discoveries from its own R&D) and that the future of the tech world would be built on the bedrock of these early innovations.

“…In fact, turning expensive, hard-to-use, precision instruments into cheap, mass-producible, and reliable commercial products requires its own ingenuity and creativity. This marketplace intelligence is different from, but not inferior to, the intelligence of the laboratory; it just gets far less attention by journalists and historians. In the case of the relationship between the work at PARC and the development of the Macintosh, this blindness leads us to underestimate the originality of Apple’s own work, and the differences between the Alto and Macintosh. “
— Alex Soojung-Kim Pang, author of “Making the Macintosh“

Further, at the time Bill Gates was madly in love with the wonders of MS-Dos and in particular the money he could bank in licensing it to IBM and all bidders… It was only years later in 1985 when he famously decided to steal the GUI_ Mouse based system software apple was using, in spite of his promises to refrain from stealing when he was shown the secrets during his fabled meeting with Steve Jobs to discuss word and excel, early versions of which were already on the Macintosh. Hence the echos of “Steve did it first to Xerox” became the rallying cry for all those that seemed to justify the direct theft of Macintosh OS to create the clunky-named system called “Windows”.

20 years ago this week, Steve Jobs was on the cover of @TIME, thanking @BillGates for "saving Apple." pic.twitter.com/AhUnLnOZ8t
— Codecademy (@Codecademy) August 24, 2017

This story carried on throughout the 80s and 90s and, all the while, a 1988 lawsuit was pending resolution, which has at its center the accusation, by Apple, that Windows 1, released in November 1985, was directly copied, a.k.a. inspired by the Macintosh OS. In the end, in another famous fabled incident, the suit was settled out of court in 1997, by then obscenely rich Bill Gates, for $150 million, thus rescuing Apple from almost certain Bankruptcy.

Moral of the story? Windows, PC’s and everything Microsoft ever became, can be directly traced back to Apple. This is the most obvious of the various lines of creative attribution leading back to Apple and Steve Jobs.

The next saga: Google’s connection and the debt owed to Anti-trust and Apple, will be more subtle but all the more timely. Timely as in right now this minute. Stay tuned for Volume II of “How Apple Created the Entire Tech Universe and it Finally Makes Sense”

Check out all our Apple Coverage

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Books, Politics

A Literary Renaissance of Books and Photography related to Barack Obama, just in time for ByeDon Election

October 20, 2020 Eric Cho

A potent commentary on the Presidency — and our country

After a CNN documentary aired last Friday – centered on the official White House photographer during the Obama Presidency, Pete Souza; a funny thing happened on the bestseller charts.

Pete Souza’s #1 NYT bestselling coffee table book of photographs shot during his time in the White House, “Obama: An Intimate Portrait”, re-entered the charts at #3 and was followed by, not one but 2 other books at #1 and #22 respectively: the Hardcover (#1) and Paperback (#22) editions of “Shade”.

“Shade“, unlike “Obama: An Intimate Portrait” is a chronicle, not merely of the Obama years of yore, but a diary of sorts detailing the unfolding disgrace of the Trump years we’ve all endured since.

Having spent so many intimate moments with the Obamas, indeed years of close interaction and friendship, he is in a unique position to contrast the differences, not only of the personalities but also of the actions and acts of these two historical figures, and the vast differences between the two.

The virtually immediate and resounding success of the more recent, and more outspoken, tomes is a testament to how many of us share his frustration and outrage at what was, hopefully only temporarily, lost when Obama handed over the “keys” to the White House to its current resident. For a short time longer, perhaps?

Shade: A Tale of Two Presidents

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From Pete Souza, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Obama: An Intimate Portrait.

As Chief Official White House Photographer, Pete Souza spent more time alongside President Barack Obama than almost anyone else. His years photographing the President gave him an intimate behind-the-scenes view of the unique gravity of the Office of the Presidency — and the tremendous responsibility that comes with it.

Now, as a concerned citizen observing the Trump administration, he is standing up and speaking out. Shade is a portrait in Presidential contrasts, telling the tale of the Obama and Trump administrations through a series of visual juxtapositions. Here, more than one hundred of Souza’s unforgettable images of President Obama deliver new power and meaning when framed by the tweets, news headlines, and quotes that defined the first 500 days of the Trump White House.

What began with Souza’s Instagram posts soon after President Trump’s inauguration in January 2017 has become a potent commentary on the state of the Presidency, and our country. Some call this “throwing shade.” Souza calls it telling the truth.

In Shade, Souza’s photographs are more than a rejoinder to the chaos, abuses of power, and destructive policies that now define our nation’s highest office. They are a reminder of a President we could believe in, and a courageous defense of American values.

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Tech

CES 2020 in the Rearview: Highlights and Impressions for the Coming Year (and Decade)

Video January 19, 2020 Danny Leeds

https://video-lynxotic.akamaized.net/CES2020-LF.MOV

CES2020 Highlight reel / lynxotic

This was the year that a Real Path to Long awaited Trends Begins

CES, happening in Las Vegas during the first work week of the year, is touted as the launch platform for everything new in tech for consumers. In the days of CDs, DVD.s, Flat Screens and other 20th Century wonders, that was mostly true. New releases of better TVs or innovative ways to consume entertainment could change a lot in 12 months.

In recent years, along with the rest of the tech world, we have seen instead the constant incremental “iteration” based progress, from the gradual slowing of Moore’s law to the constant criticism of why the iPhone is still just an iPhone. Then there’s the ultimate non event of watching the same content on “HD” or 4K or 8k , or maybe next year 16k “ready” screens, and so on.

Looking to shop newest products featured at CES? Check Amazon’s Selection.
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Then, in the last few years the new new tech began to arrive. Ever evolving Drones, Robotics, AI software combined with new hardware for aquiring and processing visual information have all been a standard element and and represent an ever larger footprint at the show. Added to that are now transportation “concept” innovations and the “smart home” and iOT has morphed into the sustainable city and connected communities.

What was big this year is that these ideas, prototypes and start-up brands for the most part, are nearing the point where they could actually have a place in consumer technology and not just as a sneak peek at what might “someday” be possible.

Here are a few examples that caught our attention, by no means an exhaustive or comprehensive listing but just what stood out during a random sampling of what was on offer and display.

Sustainable Transport and Smart Cities as Upgrade to “Smart Home” products that are now Old Hat

At the top of the list from this category, admittedly to large to even start to dig into, is the “Personal Liberation Device” from Unagi which is a over achieving descriptor for an electric scooter to own, not rent. Especially if you are tired of the stacks of abandoned “Limes” or maybe are not a fan of everything in your life turning into an Uber for this and Air B&B for that, this is a truly realistic and attractive alternative.

Slim light foldable and boasting dual motors (like the Tesla Model 3) in the top model there’s a hellava lot to like in the design. Maybe steep at around 1k but this is a practical, durable (by all accounts) owned item to be cherished, not a rental to take your frustrations out on.

All of us who support green energy and a sustainable future can take heart in the progress made, in a single year, if not in the final breakthroughs, at least in the intention to take on bigger projects and issues, such as the various transportation and EV exhibits as well as a large hall dedicated to Smart Cities and how AI can improve and enhance lives, while at the same time exhibiting a zero carbon footprint.

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0173/9875/9488/files/handlebar_1.1.mp4

Blow-out clip of the internal construction by unagi

Robotics are Still not Quite Mainstream but getting Very Close

One odd feature of CES is that many of the same Companies are back every year and even occupy the same spot on the convention center floor. This makes it easier to find them, sure, but also jogs the memory as to the changes in what is being featured. Some seem to have tweaked and refined what is essentially the same idea or product, such as the Omron Robot vs. Human ping pong presentation. Even there you could see major improvements, meant to show the accuracy and versitility of robot arms and AI.

The applications for various robotics based products at a consumer or pro-sumer level is still an ongoing and developing area with the costs vs. the uses (often still not known as these products have not previously existed) being the primary obstacle. But very soon, as soon as CES 2021 there will likely be major breakthroughs in this category that you will hear about and even start using.

T9 Robot – World’s Most Advanced and Programmable Robot. T9 Is both vehicle and robot, transmuting instantly through voice or app control. Three intuitive and easy programming platforms make coding fun with T9’s advanced robotics and artificial intelligence

There were others that came with changes that seem like a new generation of capabilities and uses. In 2019 there were various companies showing “toy” robots that were meant to bring the science of robotics to the consumer level as a learning tool to help kids (and adults) experiment with programming and even building robots for home use and experimentation.

The cost of these, including the LEGO version of the idea, seemed to be a big impediment to wide adoption at the consumer level and a Prosumer market is not really a niche a significance in the space yet. What has changed, and this is a refrain across the show in general, is that the same relative high price points are producing much more capable and potentially usable products that could entice more engagement and interest.

Robosen Robotics is an example, initially a successful Kickstarter project, now beginning a commercial phase with it’s T9 product that was presented. This T9 Robot also comes with included programming software and has a “wow” factor that was missing in some of last year’s products. Using voice or app control it is billed as the “world’s most advanced”.

T9 features more than 3,000 State-of-the-Art Components and 22 Proprietary Servo Motors

Camera tech combined with software and AI is beginning to get Serious

Chinese and US-China ventures are leading the way in the efforts to go beyond GoPro and Drone photography. For example, last year, a variety of 360º camera systems all seemed to be just “nearly there” and products in search of a use and market rationale. No more. An example is Pilot 1 from PiSoftTech that has increased the functionality of last year’s hardware product offering and, most significantly added free accompanying AI enhanced software and phone app which vastly extend the usability for prosumer and even consumer users.

An example is a function specifically designed to automatically produce and edit 3D virtual tours, such as those used for real estate web listings, at a very high quality just by doing the walkthrough with the camera running. No editing or post production required. There is also a use for carmakers and even aftermarket resellers for a 360º recording for your car that not only shows your surroundings but your own position as well.

All in all the updates in a single year on various 360º photographic products are impressive and most of the progress is due to software and AI contributions to the ease of use and power of production added.

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Photography

iPhone 11 Pro Max and iPhone Photography Award Series Highlights

Video November 15, 2019 Madison Santel

https://video-lynxotic.akamaized.net/PhotoAwards-1-M-final.mp4

ABOVE: SHORT VIDEO INTRODUCING OUR IPHONE PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS SERIES

iPhone 11 Pro Max: Leading the Way to the Future of Media and Photographic Innovation

iPhone 11 Pro Max: Night Mode for all and Elon Musk’s Cyborgs come to life

iPhone 11 Pro Max photo and video examples

iPhone Photography Awards Announced, Volume 9: People and Sunset

iPhone Photography Awards Announced, Volume 5: Children and Landscape

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Photography

iPhone Photography Awards Announced, Volume 10: Other and Series

Video September 6, 2019 Kat Lee

https://video-lynxotic.akamaized.net/PhotoAwards-1-M-final.mp4

Above: short video introducing our iphone photography awards series

In this, the Final Article in a Series Featuring all the Winners, See Photos of the Top Three Awards for the Categories: Other and Series

Pushing creativity to the limits of the imagination – or just taking what feels interesting and puting together later into a series. In volume 10, the final installment of our coverage, the categories that go above and beyond, so to speak, are shown.

Established in 2007, IPPAWARDS have featured the worlds best iPhone photographers and photos since the iPhone’s inception. The deadline to enter the next years program is March 2020, so, use these great images as inspiration to take your best shot. Who knows, it might be you taking the Grand Prize in 2020!

First Place Winner, Other : Neri Rivas

*First place Other photo shot in Busan, South Korea, on an iPhone X by Sari Sutton – IPPAWARDS*

”Sari likes to explore the intersection between the natural and human-constructed, industrial elements of the landscape through her photography. She has a keen interest in abstract composition and the conceptual. Her photographic practice includes art, landscape, street, social and environmental documentary. She is a member of the ‘Unexposed Collective’ of Australian women/ non-binary street photographers and her work has been shown in a number of group exhibitions.”

”I loved the playful surrealist symbolism of this modest painted building, visually merging architecture and nature, physical object and void, in an unpretentious yet conceptually very clever way.”

Second Place, Other : Kirill Voynovskiy

*Second place Other photo shot in Maryland, USA, on an iPhone 7 by Dyllon Wolf – IPPAWARDS*

”I am a 19 year old college student from Maryland studying Biology and Psychology at the University of Utah. Photography has always been a major interest of mine and I have been taking photos with my iPhone ever since I got my first one in 2013. I love using knowledge from my college classes to find and compose unique photos of ordinary things that I wouldn’t have found interesting before.”

”We received a large package with an absurd amount of this brown packing paper and my younger brother and I decided to get creative with it.”

Third Place, Other : Caren Drysdale

*Third place Other photo shot in Rancho Cucamonga, California, on an iPhone 6 Plus by Caren Drysdale – IPPAWARDS*

”My interest in Mobile Photography began several years ago when I purchased an iPhone 5. It is reassuring to know that I always have a camera with me, and I enjoy being able to quickly capture moments with my phone. I also find it amazing how much you can accomplish making art with your photos using all of the various apps packed into a mobile device.”

”I shot this photo in a local restaurant, I was captivated by the beautiful woman seated at the table across from us. She was preparing to leave, and her table was cluttered with dirty dishes, but I focused on the bright, shimmering fabric and the shiny gold sandals she was wearing.”

Third Place, Series : Larisa Baricheva

*Third place Series photos shot in Lobitos Beach, Peru, on an iPhone 7 by Larisa Baricheva – IPPAWARDS*

”I’m a Russian-Jewish woman and I was born 74 years ago in Moscow, Russia, but for the last 52 years I have lived in Peru. I love nature, its shapes and colors, its textures and combinations. I search tirelessly for beauty. I’m passionate about photography with my iPhone camera and I travel a lot through Peru, discovering a new world every time.”

”I live in Milan and during the weekend I often go back to the lake to spend time with my parents. One of my favorite things to do is to take the ferry boat across the lake with no definite destination. I spend hours going back and forth with the sole purpose of observing passengers. Series look capivated by the beauty of the landscape. In one of these solitary journeys of mine I focused on this man, as he reminded me of my father’s fragility.”

Second Place, Series : Dimpy Bhalotia

*Second place Series photos shot in Bombay and Tamil Nadu on an iPhone X by Dimpy Bhalotia – IPPAWARDS*

”Street photography may just be one way of seeing and capturing the world for many for us, but for Dimpy Bhalotia, it’s both the toughest and purest form of creative photography. It requires patience, a keen sense of observation, and perfect timing to capture the “decisive moment”. The stories captured are not works of fiction. This, she says, makes it the “most truthful art in the world.”

First Place, Series : Carol Allen Storey

*First place Series photos shot in Kaese, Uganda on an iPhone 8 by Carol Allen Storey – IPPAWARDS*

”A native New Yorker, Storey resides in London. Carol Allen-Storey is an award-winning photojournalist specialising in chronicling complex humanitarian and social issues. Her imagery illuminating people’s dignity and quest for survival reflects the unique trust and respect she engenders with her subjects.”

”These intimate portraits focus on how adolescents cope with being HIV positive. Amidst these chilling narratives, extraordinary stories of hope and glimpses of heroism in their quest to pursue their dreams emerged.

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Photography

iPhone Photography Awards Announced, Volume 9: People and Sunset

Video August 31, 2019 Kat Lee

https://video-lynxotic.akamaized.net/PhotoAwards-1-M-final.mp4

Above: short video introducing our iphone photography awards series

In this, the Ninth Article in a Series Featuring all the Winners, See Photos of the Top Three Awards for the Categories: People and Sunset

People and Sunsets. Two of the most loved categories for snatching photos while traveling or just in the neighborhood. Once again some incredible moments caught with humor and humanity and an eye for the aesthetic.

The top photos in these two categories are clearly extreme examples of being in the right place at the right time. But don’t overlook the “honorable mentions” either. The two mosaic galleries below show how high the competitive artistry was and how difficult it must have been to choose.

First Place Winner, People : Wei Xiong

*First place People photo shot in China on an iPhone X by Wei Xiong – IPPAWARDS*

”A mobile phone photographer from Huangpi district, Wuhan, China. Although Huangpi is a small town, it is the sky city of him. He lives, works and takes photos with his mobile phone here, to keep memory, time, ordinary life and simple happiness forever.”

Second Place, Children : Christine L. Mace

*Second place People photo shot in Cuba on an iPhone SE by Christine L. Mace – IPPAWARDS*

”Christine L. Mace is a New York City based artist, who has worked in fashion, film and graphic design. She received an undergraduate degree in Fashion Marketing and a MA in Fashion Studies from Parsons The New School for Design. Mace’s photography has appeared in many publications. Recently, her work was a part of the Furies, Fairies, Visionaries exhibition curated by Alice Gray Stites at Pen + Brush gallery in New York City.”

”Dominoes in Havana was captured at the Solar de Aguilar in Havana, Cuba. The building is a mere memory of what it once was, from the wrought iron curving around the grand stair case at the entrance of the building to the non-functioning fountain in the courtyard. Six families occupy the Solar de Aguilar and every afternoon the residents gather in front of the grand staircase to play dominoes. On this particular afternoon, I captured these four neighbors engaged in a friendly game.”

Mosaic Gallery, Honorable Mentions: People

[gdgallery_gallery id_gallery=”24″]

Third Place, People : Valeria Cammareri

*Third place People photo shot in Lake Maggiore, Italy, on an iPhone X by Valeria Cammareri – IPPAWARDS*

”I am Italian, born in Sicily , South of the Country, and raised in the North, in a little town on the Lake Maggiore where my parents still live. I currently live in Milan where I work as a pediatrician. I didn’t cultivate any particular interest for photography until 2012, when I bought my first iPhone . Since then I have been using it to write the visual diary of my daily emotions.”

”I live in Milan and during the weekend I often go back to the lake to spend time with my parents. One of my favorite things to do is to take the ferry boat across the lake with no definite destination. I spend hours going back and forth with the sole purpose of observing passengers. People look capivated by the beauty of the landscape. In one of these solitary journeys of mine I focused on this man, as he reminded me of my father’s fragility.”

First Place, Sunset : Sreekumar Krishnan

*First place Sunset photo shot in Bangalore, India, on an iPhone 6S by Sreekumar Krishnan – IPPAWARDS*

”Sreekumar Krishnan is an award winning professional photographer and teacher of photography based in Bangalore, India. His work Indian Sunshine was digitally displayed at the Louvre in France and National Geographic featured his photograph, “the mystical birds of Bharatpur” as Shot of the day. His works have also been displayed at various art galleries in Bangalore. When he is not shooting, he teaches meditation.”

”The evening sky marred by some solitary clouds provided a perfect backdrop to this shot. This is the statue of Lord Ram, Hindu God, shot in the outskirts of Bangalore just before sunset.”

Second Place, Sunset : Shirley Xu

*Second place Sunset photo shot in the Baltic Sea on an iPhone 6 by Shirley Xu – IPPAWARDS*

”I am a professional photographer and photography teacher. Last year was my gap year, I left my job as an editor for a website and went to Finland, Norway, Sweden, Greece, Italy, Spain, The Czech Republic, Egypt and India. During this trip, I saw many beautiful views and took lots of photos, I also very lucky to see the northern lights many times.”

”While floating on the ice breaker I saw this marvelous sunset on the Baltic Sea.”

Mosaic Gallery, Honorable Mentions: Sunset

[gdgallery_gallery id_gallery=”25″]

Third Place, Sunset : Chuangcheng Jin

*Third place Sunset photo shot in Shantou, Guangdong, on an iPhone 6 by Chuangcheng Jin – IPPAWARDS*

”I’ve been passionate about mobile photography since 2014. My interest in photography brings me a lot of inspiration. I like to record the enthusiastic and moving parts of life by taking photos so that they can tell the stories of life.”

”This was taken by the river in my hometown of Shantou, China. The sunset passed through the leaves and reflected on the river, like a painting.”

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Photography

iPhone Photography Awards Announced, Volume 8: Still Life and Travel

Video August 26, 2019 Kat Lee

https://video-lynxotic.akamaized.net/PhotoAwards-1-M-final.mp4

Above: short video introducing our iphone photography awards series

In this, the Eighth Article in a Series Featuring all the Winners, See Photos of the Top Three Awards for the Categories: Still Life and Travel

Creativity comes in all forms at all times. Having a camera in your pocket and being able to follow the flow of your mood can bring unexpected results. Sometimes even brilliant unexpected results. In the Still life and Travel categories there are some results that are truly fortuitous, even surprising.

Don’t overlook the “honorable mentions” either. The two mosaic galleries below show how high the competitive artistry was and how difficult it must have been to choose.

First Place Winner, Still Life : Clarita Phiri Beierdoerffer

*First place Still Life photo shot in Germany on an iPhone SE by Clarita Phiri Beierdoerffer – IPPAWARDS*

Photo of Clarita Phiri Beierdoerffer – IPPAWARDS

”Clarita – Maria Phiri – Beierdoerffer, is a Zambia born photographer whose style centers on identity, bravery and emotional exploration. In her photography, Clarita works to reveal her identity and being seen simply as one is, or is not. Her abstract work often includes solitary figures and objects, magnifying her journey of exploration and soul searching.”

”This photo is one of a series where I wanted to document moments where I felt particular emotions and I took a picture whether I felt like it or not.”

Second Place, Still Life : Daniel Kafalas

*Second place Still Life photo shot in Manhattan, New York, on an iPhone X by Daniel Kafalas – IPPAWARDS*

”Coming from an advertising background, I am inspired by the creative New York City life that moves around me. Aways trying to capture the scene that is unseen.”

Mosaic Gallery, Honorable Mentions: Still Life

[gdgallery_gallery id_gallery=”22″]

Third Place, Still Life : Elena Bolshakova

*Third place Still Life photo shot in Russia on an iPhone SE by Elena Bolshakova – IPPAWARDS*

”For me photography is the magic of the process, thus it requires full emotional dive into the object, be it landscape or fork on the table. I’m inspired by extraordinary things that extend the frontier of the consciousness and create enormous amount of different meanings. It is very exciting to look around for such things in our daily routine, to hunt them, to expose them to light, and through photography to put your own emotions into them.”

”This is part of the “Theater of Dissapearance” exhibition by Adrián Villar Rojas in NYC MoMA. The surreal nature of the exhibit was very inspiring. I spent a long time walking around the exhibit carefully observing details of each sculpture, trying to imagine what it would be like living in their characters. The sun was projecting hard shadows on the sculpture of banquet tables making various items that were placed on tables to appear simple and complete. I wanted to keep this moment in my memory for a long time.”

First Place, Travel : Liu Bo

*First place Travel photo shot in Da Nang, Vietnam, on an iPhone 8 Plus by Liu Bo – IPPAWARDS*

”I started my career as a freelance photographer after my half year of travel with my iPhone. I like to observe this world and when I have something to say deep in my heart photography is the only way. It’s easy to catch those moments in my life with a small mobile in hand. I hope that my pictures let people feel what I feel when I press the shutter.”

”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.”

Second Place, Travel : James Cowlin

*Second place Travel photo shot in the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes on an iPhone XS Max by James Cowlin – IPPAWARDS*

”James Cowlin is a professional photographer specializing in landscape, nature and travel photography. He has traveled extensively in the western United States capturing images of the natural world ranging from broad panoramics to intimate close-ups. His current project is documenting US Route 89 from Canada to Mexico featuring seven of America’s most beautiful National Parks. He has been using an iPhone for several years as a vital tool in his photography practice.”

”The photograph was taken at the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes near Stovepipe Wells in Death Valley National Park. A bus load of tourist had just arrived and people were walking out into the dunes. The bright light of midday accented the dunes and the colorful clothes of the tourists.”

Mosaic Gallery, Honorable Mentions: Travel

[gdgallery_gallery id_gallery=”23″]

Third Place, Travel : Alfonso Ordosgoitia

*Third place Travel photo shot in Lake Cartagena, Colombia, on an iPhone 7 Plus by Alfonso Ordosgoitia – IPPAWARDS*

Photo of Alfonso Ordosgoitia – IPPAWARDS

”Alfonso Ordosgoitia is a New York-based / Colombian born artist and the founder of Goitia Studio, a multi-media art laboratory. Exploring different creative platforms – Photography, Music, and Video being its main focus – Ordosgoitia has developed a strong artistic identity that has led him to his most extensive and autobiographical project: Embodiment – an immersive body of work about time, space and energy.”

”In this photo that I took in Cartagena – Colombia, I was exploring the contrast between the colonial architecture of the city, next to a “Palanquera” : a Colombian touristic symbol that represents the group of runaway African slaves, now known for selling fruits on the streets with colorful dresses – A “costume” that disguises the episodes of slavery caused by the Spanish colonization.”

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Photography

iPhone Photography Awards Announced, Volume 7: Trees and Lifestyle

Video August 22, 2019 Kat Lee

https://video-lynxotic.akamaized.net/PhotoAwards-1-M-final.mp4

Above: short video introducing our iphone photography awards series

In this, the Seventh Article in a Series Featuring all the Winners, See Photos of the Top Three Awards for the Categories: Trees and Lifestyle –

With photo submissions from over 140 countries around the world it is no surprise that some amazing shots were captured in incredible locations. – Bayan Ulgi, Mongolia, for example – The authenticity of the subject matter is on clear display and there is something about the light…

Naturally, unbelievable photos can happen anywhere, anytime, which is the beauty of having a camera that is always with you. Don’t overlook the “honorable mentions” either. The two mosaic galleries below show how high the competitive artistry was and how difficult it must have been to choose.

First Place Winner, Trees : Christian Helwig

*First place Trees photo shot in Rügen, Baltic Sea, on an iPhone 6S by Christian Helwig – IPPAWARDS*

”My name is Christian Helwig, I am 51 years old, I was born in Hamburg, Germany. Living in Berlin, Germany, married, father of two. I am working as a technical consultant in the banking sector. I’ve been taking pictures since I was 16 years old, having used only SLR until my first iPhone, the 4s. I always liked the easiness, the handling, the always-with-me in the iPhone.”

”This was taken on the island of Rügen, which is a german island in the Baltic Sea. The spot where I took the picture is on the northernmost coast of the island, close to the little village Schwarbe. There was a strong wind from the sea behind me with some snow, and the wind and the flakes produced this kind of “shadow” on the “lee” of the trees. Everything was very black and white, except the smaller bushlike trees in the back that were a little brown.”

Second Place, Trees : Neil Bennett

*Second place Trees photo shot in Puglia, Italy, on an iPhone X by Neil Bennett – IPPAWARDS*

Mosaic Gallery, Honorable Mentions: Trees

[gdgallery_gallery id_gallery=”20″]

Third Place, Trees : Zhang Xiaojun

*Third place Trees photo shot in Songyang, China, on an iPhone 7 Plus by Zhang Xiaojun – IPPAWARDS*

”I am a travel planner and mobile phone photographer in Shanghai. I like to photograph the relationship between people and nature, and architecture and people during my travels. I think the best camera is your eyes.”

”It was a forest around an old village. In the morning magical plants crept out of the earth, the sky got brighter and brighter, the green leaves were a little transparent and a new ray of sunlight was pouring into all the gaps.”

First Place, Lifestyle : Biao Peng

*First place Lifestyle photo shot in Wuban, Hubei, China, on an iPhone 6S by Biao Peng – IPPAWARDS*

”Biao Peng is a graphic designer from Hubei Province, China, graduated from Hubei Institute of Fine Arts, like write poems and photography.”

”A man fishing by the lake, it feels like it came out of the movie called “The Grand Budapest Hotel” and I wrote a poem at the time：半山融水雾，深树隐渔翁。君钓江中鲤，吾观落日红。”

Second Place, Lifestyle : Lenny Yueng

*Second place Lifestyle photo shot in Hongkou, Shanghai, on an iPhone 7 by Lenny Yueng*

Mosaic Gallery, Honorable Mentions: Lifestyle

[gdgallery_gallery id_gallery=”21″]

Third Place, Lifestyle : Hleb Drazdou

*Third place Lifestyle photo shot in Lake Bobruysk, Belarus, on an iPhone X by Hleb Drazdou – IPPAWARDS*

”I’m a instablogger from Minsk, Belarus and amateur photographer. I love to show our post-soviet reality at it’s best. In my blog, I tell about my life here in text and photos.”

”This is the former room of my grandfather in my grandparents’ house in Bobruysk, Belarus. Now he is dead and my grandmother has decorated it in his memory in a typical old soviet rural style which used to be chic and gorgeous when she was a child in the poor countryside after WWII. Nowadays we don’t have such interiors in our houses, and it is a kind of museum of those times: all those covered pillows, the abundance of carpets (on the walls as well), austere, neat and tidy.”

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Photography

iPhone Photography Awards Announced, Volume 5: Children and Landscape

Video August 7, 2019 Kat Lee

https://video-lynxotic.akamaized.net/PhotoAwards-1-M-final.mp4

Above: short video introducing our iphone photography awards series

In this, the Fifth Article in a Series Featuring all the Winners, See Photos of the Top Three Awards for the Categories: Children and Landscape

First Place Winner, Children : Neri Rivas

*First place Children photo shot in Los Angeles, California, on an iPhone XS by Neri Rivas – IPPAWARDS*

”Neri Rivas was born in el pueblo de Los Angeles, CA. With a passion for movies and comic books, Neri refined his pencil sketches to a love of graphic design to tell stories through single imagery.”

”This photo was taken outside a supermarket in Los Angeles. My son Jasper wore a raptor mask and a Dodgers hat and we made up a story about Jasper the Raptor, a dinosaur boy who was hungry and went to the grocery store.”

Second Place, Children : Kirill Voynovskiy

*Second place Children photo shot in St. Petersburg, Russia, on an iPhone 6 by Kirill Voynovskiy – IPPAWARDS*

”I live in Russia, in the city of St. Petersburg.”

”This is my daughter Olivia.”

Mosaic Gallery, Honorable Mentions: Children

[gdgallery_gallery id_gallery=”16″]

Third Place, Children : David Booker

*Third place Children photo shot in Peak Rail, Derbyshire, on an iPhone XS Max by David Booker – IPPAWARDS*

”I live in Derbyshire, England and have exhibited iPhone photography on a number of occasions in the UK and USA under the name of Blemished Eye – a collection of dark, somewhat alternative portraiture. Since the birth of my son just over two years ago I’ve shifted my attention to documenting family life but this is the first time I’ve shared such an image outside of family and close friends. I manage an independent bookshop – Scarthin Books of Cromford – and live with my wife, Eve, and young son, Gabriel and have a daughter, Sophie, who is at University.”

”My two year old son, Gabriel, totally captivated by his first experience of traveling by steam train.”

First Place, Landscape : Hsueh Isan

*First place Landscape photo shot in Umm Sayhoun, Jordan, on an iPhone SE by Hsueh Isan – IPPAWARDS*

”An architecture designer from Taiwan who enjoys capturing life.”

”An unexpected scene on the road to Petra.”

Second Place, Landscape : Erik Burdett

*Second place Landscape photo shot in Canyon, Texas, on an iPhone XR by Erik Burdett – IPPAWARDS*

”Erik Burdett is a freelance photographer and writer living in windswept West Texas with his two dogs Disco and Mary.”

”The photo was taken on one of my many hikes in Palo Duro Canyon State Park.”

Mosaic Gallery, Honorable Mentions: Landscape

[gdgallery_gallery id_gallery=”17″]

Third Place, Landscape : Guoxi Chen

*Third place Landscape photo shot in Lake Baikal, Russia, on an iPhone 8 Plus by Guoxi Chen – IPPAWARDS*

”I am a photographer of Humanities and scenery. I travel around the world with passion and eyes for beauty. Also, try to record the most beautiful moments of the planet with a lens.”

”Lake Baikal is frozen for thousands of miles in winter. Because of the ice, people can walk on the lake. On a snowy morning, I took a picture of Lake Baikal, using the lead wire on the ice as the foreground.”

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Photography

iPhone Photography Awards Announced, Volume 4: Panorama and Nature

Video August 7, 2019 Kat Lee

https://video-lynxotic.akamaized.net/PhotoAwards-1-M-final.mp4

Above: short video introducing our iphone photography awards series

In this, the Fourth Article in a Series Featuring all the Winners, See Photos of the Top Three Awards for the Categories: Panorama and Nature

A panorama shot on an iPhone is a special software assisted technique where the camera lens is literally swept across the scene to be photographed. It takes a special eye and a steady hand. The rest is software magic. This episode shows the skills of panorama shooters as well as nature photographers extraordinaire.

First Place Winner, Panorama : Vincent Chen

*First place Panorama photo shot in Senja Island, Norway, on an iPhone X by Vincent Chen – IPPAWARDS*

”I currently work for a metal company in Zambia, Africa. I like travelling around the world and taking photos with my phones. Surrounded by nature, landscapes became my first subject matter, and have stayed with me ever since.”

”Segla Mountain is a very identifiable mountain on the northern part of Senja Island. From Segla’s top I saw the amazing landscape of a narrow mountainous peninsula surrounded by two spectacular fjords. They looked really beautiful at sunrise.”

Second Place, Panorama : Garrine Tsang

*Second place Panorama photo shot in Monument Valley, Arizona, , on an iPhone 6S by Garrine Tsang – IPPAWARDS*

”Garrine Tsang was born in Hong Kong and moved to Canada in 1998. She started and fell in love with wildlife and nature photography in 2013. Garrine is an active member of the National Geographic YourShot community and a photo club member of Canadian Geographic. iPhone is a great companion to her during outdoor shooting due to its portability and versatility.”

”View from Artist’s Point in Monument Valley, where the ground falls away steeply and the flat land stretches ahead for many miles, punctuated by the peaks of buttes, mesas and pinnacles in distance.”

Mosaic Gallery, Honorable Mentions: Panorama

[gdgallery_gallery id_gallery=”15″]

Third Place, Panorama : Jessica Notelo

*Third place Panorama photo shot in Matera, Italy, on an iPhone 7 Plus by Jessica Notelo – IPPAWARDS*

”Jessica Notelo is a Cape Town born photographer who has experience in the commercial, fashion, automobile, and wedding industries. Although weddings are currently Jessica’s main focus, she has always been a lover of travel photography and loves spending time wandering new places taking snaps with her iPhone.”

”Walking the streets of this magical city, it’s so difficult to actually capture the spirit of the town. There are corners of quiet solitude where you find hidden gems such as an abandoned 1000 year old cave abode, and there are bustling streets in the city centre with scooters buzzing by on business, and the fresh smell of Italian coffee.”

First Place, Nature : Huei Jiuan Wang

*First place Nature photo shot in Iceland, on an iPhone 6 by Huei Jiuan Wang* *– IPPAWARDS*

”I’m an architecture professional and an amateur photographer based in Amsterdam. I move among different countries every several years as a nomad.”

”It was dark, humid and quiet inside the ice cave. I was climbing up step by step toward the light. The moment brought me to the scene as a newborn inside the womb of nature, ready to embrace the outside world.”

Second Place, Nature : Xiao Lin

*Second place Nature photo shot in Kaski, Nepal*, *on an iPhone X by Xiao Lin – IPPAWARDS*

”I am a programmer, and work in a company who develops educational apps for kids in Ningbo, China. I love taking pictures with my iPhone. My wife encouraged me to send those photos to your website after she saw them, I love my wife!”

”The picture is of Annapurna mountain in the Himalayans where I was walking the ABC trail. The view was so amazing, I will never forget it.”

Mosaic Gallery, Honorable Mentions: Nature

[gdgallery_gallery id_gallery=”14″]

Third Place, Nature : Yingya Liu

*Third place Nature photo shot of the China Sea on an iPhone 6S by Yingya Liu – IPPAWARDS*

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Photography

iPhone Photography Awards Announced, Volume 3: Architecture and Animals

Video August 7, 2019 Kat Lee

https://video-lynxotic.akamaized.net/PhotoAwards-1-M-final.mp4

Above: short video introducing our iphone photography awards series

In this, the Third Article in a Series Featuring all the Winners, See Photos of the Top Three Awards for the Categories: Architecture and Animals

Although the cameras built into iPhones have been improving, every year since 2007 when the first iPhone was released, what these collections of the best photos shot on iPhone each year show is how composition and choosing the moment stand out, much more than the technical achievements of the built in cameras themselves.

This installment, focusing on Architecture and Animals, displays perfect examples of those qualities. Mostly still-life such as architecture and elusive living subjects, such as animals, either way, it is the framing, composition and capturing the perfect angle with the perfect light that separates a great photo from a merely good one.

First Place Winner, Architecture : Kuanglong Zhang

*First place Architecture photo shot in Jaipur, India, on an iPhone X by Kuanglong Zhang – IPPAWARDS*

I am a professional photographer and photography teacher. I teach many people mobile phone photography skills in China so that everyone can feel the fun of mobile phone photography. ”

”Janta Manta Observatory is very sci-fi looking. I captured the flying pigeon with the building to give the photo a dynamic feeling.”

Second Place, Architecture : Sally Ann Field

*Second place Architecture photo shot in Palm Springs, California, , on an iPhone X by Sally Ann Field – IPPAWARDS*

”Sally Ann Field is a commercial and fine art photographer who is influenced by human behavior and pop-culture. Sally is based in Hollywood, California, where she brings her art director’s eye to the viewfinder and the printed page.”

”I can’t get enough of the mid century modern architecture in Palm Springs, CA. This building is one of my favorites and I happened to be driving by mid day when the intense light, color and shadow caught my eye. The building does not have a bad angle, but for me it was the palm tree that made the composition complete.”

Mosaic Gallery, Honorable Mentions: Architecture

[gdgallery_gallery id_gallery=”12″]

Third Place, Architecture : Shuo Chen

*Third place Architecture photo shot in Xiamen City, Fujian, on an iPhone X by Shuo Chen – IPPAWARDS*

”After graduation from Victoria University of Wellington, I have become a professional photographer and designer from Xiamen, China. I’ m a contributor for many international photo agencies.”

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.”

First Place, Animals : Diogo Lage

*First place Animals photo shot in Porto, Portugal, on an iPhone SE by Diogo Lage – IPPAWARDS*

”My love for photography began years ago, with black and white film. Today I keep up that taste, including shooting the photos with the active black and white filter and only with rare exceptions do I revert to color. My background is in Art and Design where I always look for inspiration and references.”

”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.”

Second Place, Animals : Yoichi Sato

Second place Animals photo shot in Kisarazu, Japan, *on an iPhone X by Yoichi Sato – IPPAWARDS*

”Photographer active in Tokyo Japan. I was previously a camera module designer and now takes snapshots of daily life using the iPhone.”

Mosaic Gallery, Honorable Mentions: Animals

[gdgallery_gallery id_gallery=”13″]

Third Place, Animals : Deena Berton

*Third place Animals photo shot in the Bahamas on an iPhone X by Deena Berton – IPPAWARDS*

”Deena Berton has had an abiding interest in making images since high school. In college and business school she was a photographer and photo editor for her college newspaper, The Cornell Daily Sun. She creates images in many different media. Her current passions are mobile digital image making, painting exuberant abstracts, Nerikomi ceramics and mixed analog and digital media.”

”I was captivated by the giant fish tanks at a resort in the Bahamas where the fish seemed to be observing people, mirroring the people observing the fish.”

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Photography

The 2019 iPhone Photography Awards: Here are the Top Winning Photos

Video August 1, 2019 Kat Lee

iPhone Photographers of the Year and their Winning Images…

https://video-lynxotic.akamaized.net/PhotoAwards-1-M-final.mp4

Above: short video introducing our iphone photography awards series

In this, the first article in our 10 part series highlighting all the prize winners, photos from the Grand Prize Winner and the three runner-ups are featured.

There are nearly 1 billion iPhones in the world today and almost as many iPhone photographers. With that many people, and, obviously, some with extraordinary talent, you’d think there’d be some pretty amazing shots out there, captured all around the world at the most opportune and magical moments.

And you’d be right. The proof we present below, and in a series of articles chronicling the winning photographers and photos from the 12th Annual iPhone Photo Awards presented by the IPPAWARDS. The best of the best are chosen from thousands of photos from over 140 countries. In addition to the top prize winning photos below, there are individual category winners that will be featured in upcoming articles. The images are truly amazing so, stay tuned.

Established in 2007, IPPAWARDS have featured the worlds best iPhone photographers and photos since the iPhone’s inception. Awards are also given for the best photos of the year in additional individual categories. The deadline to enter the next year’s program is March 2020, so, use these great images as inspiration to take your best shot. Who knows, it might be you taking the Grand Prize in 2020!

Grand Prize Winner: Gabriella Cigliano

Grand prize photo shot in Zanzibar, Africa on an iPhone X by Gabriella Cigliano Photo Credit: Gabriella Cigliano – IPPAWARDS

”I’m Gabriella, I’m 23 and I’m from Napoli, Italy. When I was a little girl and people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, my answer was always “traveling!”. Now that I’m grown-up, I’ve realized that beyond curiosity about the world, one of the reasons why I love to travel is to share with others what I see. I do this through the photos I take, I try to show others the world through my eyes, with no filters.”

”Last year I spent a month in Wasa, Tanzania, teaching a class of young, curious and amazing guys. Before heading back to Italy we stopped in Zanzibar, where this photo was taken. I still wonder how could I capture that exact moment in all its beauty. I was just observing, a few meters from them, but they were probably more curious about me than I was about them, and that’s probably why the girl was looking at me. We couldn’t talk much, except for a few words in Swahili I had learned in the previous weeks, but those kids could definitely talk with their eyes. It was one of the most beautiful things I’ve seen in my life, and I’ll keep it in my memories forever. The best part was showing them and their mums the photos, for some it was the first time they were seeing their faces, and their excitement was unexplainable, unfortunately my iPhone was in their hands and I couldn’t capture that!”

First Place: Diogo Lage

First place photo shot in Santa Rita Beach, Portugal, on an iPhone SE by Diogo Lage Photo Credit: Diogo Lage – IPPAWARDS

”Sea Stripes was taken in Santa Rita Beach, Portugal where the striped beach tents are very typical and set the tone of the well organized and summery little villages. Playing along with this beachy mood, a bather in the distance embodies the spirit in a striped shirt.”

Second Place: Yuliya Ibraeva

Second place photo shot in Rome, Italy, on an iPhone 7 Plus by Yuliya Ibraeva – IPPAWARDS Photo Credit: Yuliya Ibraeva

”My name is Yuliya Ibraeva. I’m 30 years old, live in Moscow & work as a photographer, photo editor and media producer more than 10 years. Photograph is my passion and profession.”

”It was a hot summer day in Rome, Italy, even the asphalt was melting. We decided to escape from the city center to see the ancient trees of the Borghese Gardens and watch an Italian movie, but when we arrived the pouring rain began. We didn’t see the film, but I took wonderful pictures. It was great travel moment I’ll never want to forget.”

Third Place: Peng Hao

Third place photo shot in Nevada, USA, on an iPhone X by Peng Hao – IPPAWARDS Photo Credit: Peng Hao

”My name is Peng Hao. I am a film director and also a photographer.”

”I took this photo in the desert in Nevada, USA, at the Burning Man festival. I stood on a bridge and saw two people lost in a sand storm, but after a while, something very special came along, a huge silver ball.”

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AI, Photography, Tech

Can You Guess Which Celebs are in this Montage of AI Portrait Results?

July 23, 2019 Kat Lee

First is was the FaceApp that added years to your face with its app filter, in the FaceApp Challenge – with questionable issues regarding the origins (Russia) and terms of service agreement.

Now, from a more reassuring source, namely researchers in the US, including some from the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab, we have the opportunity to see our selfies (and celebrity snaps) transformed into pseudo-classical portrait styles.

The web site upload system, currently down due to massive demand, uses GAN (Generative Adversarial Network) results from 45,000 images in the art history archives to create a new photo based on the original plus the relevant data instructions from the scan.

“With AI Portraits Ars anyone is able to use GAN models to generate a new painting, where facial lines are completely redesigned.
The model decides for itself which style to use for the portrait. Details of the face and background contribute to direct the model towards a style.
In style transfer, there is usually a strong alteration of colors, but the features of the photo remain unchanged. AI Portraits Ars creates new forms, beyond altering the style of an existing photo.”
AI Portraits Ars Web Site

As can be seen from the montage above (and the version with names added below) the results are often flattering in an odd ancient sort of way. Also, some, such a Keanu Reeves, are obvious (?) whereas others you might never guess!

So below the results and thanks for playing!

The AI Portraits web site should be back up shortly, assuming the rush to try it out eventually slows!

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Movies, Photography

Photographic Images of Vicarious Enlightenment

Video June 27, 2019 Kat Lee

Food for eyes, mind and soul

Occasionally we find a video post that we can feature and highly recommend for your viewing. “Between the Lines” is certainly one. This is a cinematic story following the photographic journey of Sacha Specker. It’s an intricate and rewarding relationship between man and the sea that evokes food for thought.

We all stare at the same ocean, however some of us choose to read between the lines.
– Jason Hearn

Produced, directed and shot by Jason Hearn, a highly regarded Director of Photography, born in South Africa, now operating out of London, viewing this short film one has a very strong sense that his heart and soul was put into the ideas, and moreover, the exquisite execution.

We’ve also included his Adventure Sport and Lifestyle Showreel where some of his professional work highlights can be seen.

Shot on iPhone XS — Experiments III: Cascade

Video June 23, 2019 Kat Lee

Apple releases 3rd in the “Experiments” series, this one by Donghoon Jun and James Thornton of Incite in collaboration with WET

The previous clip in the series was an excellent video showing what can be done using 32 iPhone XR cameras set up into a Bullet-Time” rig like the one used in “The Matrix”. As was the case with the previous release, a behind the scenes video is provided also, showing the techniques that were used to produce the effects in the main clip.

It can be seen immediately how much the lighting set up, creative experimentation and even the water resistant qualities of the iPhone XS all play a large role in finding the beautiful, mesmerizing, stylized results. The music, perfectly synchronized and a melange of watery sound effects and impressionistic electronica, is perversely flattering and enhances the visuals infintely. The water “rigs”, dry ice dispensers and various cylindrical plastic containers are, all by themselves, quite impressive and the art department that provided and produced those deserve much of the credit for the results!

All that being said, however, the quality of the images and versatility and range of the camera effects settings is impressive and hardly what comes to mind when one thinks of “smartphone” video.

Capturing Rainbows with Michael Shainblum: Special Effects Photography at its Finest

Video June 16, 2019 Danny Leeds

Ace Time-lapse Photographer Capturing a Beautiful World

Here at Lynxotic we have been following Michael Shainblum and continue to be astounded at his incredible prowess in capturing beauty all around the world. Time-lapses like these are our favorites but he also has world-class stills that can be viewed (and purchased) at http://www.shainblumphoto.com

Above: Another example of amazing location shots by M.S.

See more:

New York City Views

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Entertainment, Lifestyle, News, Photography, Tech, Travel

SuperBloom 2019; Beauty Meets Barbarism with a Digital Twist

March 25, 2019 Lynxotic News Staff

Unexpected Flower Explosion Leads to Traffic Jams for Instagram

After two years of unusually plentiful rain, even areas such as Ansa-Borrego Desert State Park, Death Valley and Lake Elsinore, CA are enjoying an exceptional phenomenon called the “Super Bloom”. This year’s model is bigger and better than 2017’s version, and it’s coming 8 years ahead of schedule since once in a decade is the historical norm.

Our climate is changing, and often, especially lately, it’s alarming. But, occasionally, we are also privy to unique and exceptional displays of beauty, caused by an out-of-whack Mother Nature.

This is a super charge of flowers blooming due to increased rain that has ignited dormant desert seeds into a beautiful bouquet of primrose, desert Lillies, poppies, Sand Verbena, and Bigelow’s Monkeyflower.

What was once a desert is now an array and an eruption of flowers, and the wildlife that feed on these flowers.

The SuperBloom 2019 has been spectacular to behold. But, in true 21st-century human fashion, the opportunity was nearly stomped out by the overzealous. Instagrammers and hikers from far and wide bombarded Walker Canyon (near Lake Elsinore, CA) with massive automotive and foot traffic.

Reports of selfie-sticks doubling as trekking poles, and people stumbling and falling through flower patches, became the norm. All for the glory of “the ‘gram”.

An event that started with affectionate terms like “Poppypalooza” and “Poppy Mania” quickly sprouted the hashtags #poppynightmares and #isitoveryet.

#AttentionResidents: the roads are really bad out there. Long waits for Central Avenue. We have called in more police services from surrounding cities to help. The freeway is not moving… https://t.co/KqEmMmc7lI
— City of Lake Elsinore (@CtyLakeElsinore) March 17, 2019

The phenomenon caused an estimated 66,000 people to flood the small California town (doubling its usual 60,000 population in one weekend). The normally sleepy metropolis couldn’t handle the congestion, which forced Elsinore police to “close everything”.

Local residents began to yell at people directing traffic, an exploring dog was bitten by a rattlesnake, and the gridlock became a safety issue (one hit-and-run was reported). The canyon is known for steep hills and the hillsides aren’t meant to have hikers.

Reports of photo-shoots in areas designated off-limits to tourists, and hikers in heels were common. Reports of selfie-sticks doubling as trekking poles, and people stumbling and falling through flower patches, became the norm. All for the glory of “the ‘gram”.

The Lake Elsinore website provided an email to make “complaints and suggestions”

The beauty, as captured in part by our photography crew above, remains, thankfully, and 2019 will likely be remembered as the year of the Great SuperBloom of Southern California.

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Movies, Photography, Tech

New York City Views

Video February 9, 2019 Lynxotic News Staff

Capturing New York City – Behind the Timelapse by
Michael Shainblum

Every once in a while we come across a really exceptional clip that deserves a wider audience. Michael Shainblum’s Capturing New York City is one such clip.

”It Just Works” is the basic how-to for the new Macro-Mode on iPhone 13 Pro

A short history of what the heck macro photography is

Real world test shows some extreme possibilities that beg for more

The future of computational and software manipulated imagery production using iPhone and iOS

Pro 12MP camera system: Telephoto, Wide, and Ultra Wide cameras

How to take an iPhone camera and make the most of it using taste and talent

Learning how to use all the tools, and most of all a photographer’s eye

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In this, the Final Article in a Series Featuring all the Winners, See Photos of the Top Three Awards for the Categories: Other and Series

First Place Winner, Other : Neri Rivas

Second Place, Other : Kirill Voynovskiy

Third Place, Other : Caren Drysdale

Third Place, Series : Larisa Baricheva

Second Place, Series : Dimpy Bhalotia

First Place, Series : Carol Allen Storey

In this, the Ninth Article in a Series Featuring all the Winners, See Photos of the Top Three Awards for the Categories: People and Sunset

Read More: 2019 Was a Huge Year for Apple: Here are some Milestones that will Lead to the “Apple Decade” in the 2020s

First Place Winner, People : Wei Xiong

Second Place, Children : Christine L. Mace

Mosaic Gallery, Honorable Mentions: People

Third Place, People : Valeria Cammareri

First Place, Sunset : Sreekumar Krishnan

Second Place, Sunset : Shirley Xu

Mosaic Gallery, Honorable Mentions: Sunset

Third Place, Sunset : Chuangcheng Jin

In this, the Eighth Article in a Series Featuring all the Winners, See Photos of the Top Three Awards for the Categories: Still Life and Travel

Read More: Nine Free e-Books for World Book Day 2020 Available Now

First Place Winner, Still Life : Clarita Phiri Beierdoerffer

Second Place, Still Life : Daniel Kafalas

Mosaic Gallery, Honorable Mentions: Still Life

Third Place, Still Life : Elena Bolshakova

First Place, Travel : Liu Bo

Second Place, Travel : James Cowlin

Mosaic Gallery, Honorable Mentions: Travel

Read More: 2019 iPhone Photography Awards: The Complete Collection Vol. 1-10

Third Place, Travel : Alfonso Ordosgoitia

In this, the Seventh Article in a Series Featuring all the Winners, See Photos of the Top Three Awards for the Categories: Trees and Lifestyle –

Read More: 2019 iPhone Photography Awards: The Complete Collection Vol. 1-10

First Place Winner, Trees : Christian Helwig

Second Place, Trees : Neil Bennett

Read More: “Wuhan Diary” reveals inside accounts of Coronavirus Lockdown During the Peak

Mosaic Gallery, Honorable Mentions: Trees

Third Place, Trees : Zhang Xiaojun

First Place, Lifestyle : Biao Peng

Second Place, Lifestyle : Lenny Yueng

Mosaic Gallery, Honorable Mentions: Lifestyle

Third Place, Lifestyle : Hleb Drazdou

In this, the Fifth Article in a Series Featuring all the Winners, See Photos of the Top Three Awards for the Categories: Children and Landscape

First Place Winner, Children : Neri Rivas

Second Place, Children : Kirill Voynovskiy

Mosaic Gallery, Honorable Mentions: Children

Third Place, Children : David Booker

First Place, Landscape : Hsueh Isan

Second Place, Landscape : Erik Burdett

Mosaic Gallery, Honorable Mentions: Landscape

Third Place, Landscape : Guoxi Chen

In this, the Fourth Article in a Series Featuring all the Winners, See Photos of the Top Three Awards for the Categories: Panorama and Nature

First Place Winner, Panorama : Vincent Chen

Second Place, Panorama : Garrine Tsang

Mosaic Gallery, Honorable Mentions: Panorama

Third Place, Panorama : Jessica Notelo

First Place, Nature : Huei Jiuan Wang

Second Place, Nature : Xiao Lin

Mosaic Gallery, Honorable Mentions: Nature

Third Place, Nature : Yingya Liu

Capturing New York City – Behind the Timelapse by
Michael Shainblum