I recently got a new phone, a Pixel 9 Pro, which is supposed to have a pretty decent camera with a 48/50 MP sensor. This is one of a series of test shots I took at Vasquez Rocks Park at the end of November 2024. I just used the Android Camera app that came with the phone. I could list the exif info from the image, but I just used the automatic mode, so the app made all the decisions.
Post processing was done in Photoshop 2024. I did some initial exposure/color adjustments in a Camera Raw filter as well as a light dehaze. I did some spot saturation enhancement of some of the foliage. I then cropped the image to 16:9 and added a light warming filter.
I do have the Open Camera App which gives a lot more control as well as saving the raw images. I’m going to give that a shot next to see what it comes up with.
2 comments posted
Larry Treadwell
On occasion a decent cell phone image can be captured and this is an example of such an image. It appears sharp and well exposed and the well saturated colors. For me the issue isn't the phone but the composition. I feel the twin rising rock formations are in competition with each other with neither one actually winning. The subject has to be dominant. Perhaps eliminating the formation on the left and cropping off some of the "big sky" from the would make the right side formation feel more dominant. Perhaps a lover camera angle might 'lift" the right formation and make it more dominant. That stair case on the left may make a good leading line. Posted: 01/12/2025 18:47:00
Michael Jack
It is getting difficult, if not impossible, to determine what equipment was used to take the image. I have seen some 40 inch wide prints from an iPhone image that had incredible detail. This image appears to me to have sharpness, shadow detail and accurate color. I like your crop up from the bottom. I tend to agree with Larry's comment about the formations. One is bright and one is in the shadows. If you had the opportunity to move way to the right to bring the formations closer together, I think that may have worked. Posted: 01/12/2025 23:44:57
