“The mist settled around me, obscuring all sounds as whiteness swirled into the distance.” – Ed Lehming

This is a memory from peaceful day late last year when a thin fog had settled in the local forest. I had just received my new iPhone 12 Pro and was anxious to see how it performed. I thought the fog was less than ideal for this but ventured out anyhow. I also took along my Nikon D800 as a comparison and made the same shots with both cameras.

The intelligence built into the iPhone was incredible. It is essentially point and shoot whereas the D800 on auto-mode struggled to capture to colours and tones as well. Once I switched over to full manual-mode and took control of the settings the results were comparable.

What the iPhone can’t do, because of how it processes long exposures, is to produce a smooth ‘sweep’ when creating ICM (Intentional Camera Movement) shots. There is no ‘shutter’ per se to remain open and it processes the images as video. Since I like to produce single exposure, in-camera ICMs regularly I will continue to rely on my Nikon for those images. Each camera has its place in my kit.

So, there is the technical stuff out of the way. What did stand out for me that day, from both cameras was the subtle tones of purple in the shadows. I’ve really been enjoying re-imagining some of my traditional images and this one really lent itself to that same treatment, especially given the hints of orange to compliment the purples. The resulting, edited image has a soft haunting feel that almost looks like a watercolor painting. I find there is a depth and flow to this image that I really like and I have found myself returning to it several times over the past few days simply to enjoy it. I find it peaceful, yet slightly haunting as the gently rolling hills fade into the distance. The image brings me back to that particular day and I vividly recall the absolute silence as a stood and made this image, drinking in the stillness.

Nikon D800
Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD @ 70 mm
1/4 sec, f/18, ISO 640