Ramon Purcell, using a more traditional means of taking photos. You can view his work at www.rcpphoto.com.
Some of our best memories are made outside—on the go, on the trail, on the water, on the bike, on the roadside. Cameras can be a pain; high tech cameras create great images but they’re bulky and expensive.
Yet even the little digital guys pose a burden—they're just extra things to carry. So, until recently, the visual memoirs from our best adventures are relegated to the recesses of our minds. We only share them with others who were there or we relay the moments by explanation, struggling to find words to match the experience.
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That is, of course, until smart phones got so dang creative.
“When you’re active and out there, you can stop for a second, take a quick pic with your iPhone and then you’re gone,” says Ramon Purcell, who enjoyed a career as a professional surf photographer before becoming a creative, commercial advertising photographer. In fact, one of Purcell's recent seminars at San Diego City College covered iPhone photography tips.
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Purcell has travelled the world lugging heavy, cumbersome and ultra-expensive equipment. “That speed makes all the difference. You can shoot anything, anytime, anywhere. I go on [personal] trips and I don’t even bring a camera anymore. I just bring my iPhone. If you would have told me, years ago, that I’d be doing this on my Blackberry, I would have laughed at you.”
Here are some of his tips for taking really cool photos outside:
(Note: It's best to get a waterproof or sports case for your iphone if you're going to be using it to document your adventures.)
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Ramon’s Favorite iPhone Photography Apps
Camera Plus: “This is a big hitter for post-production stuff,” Purcell says. You can manipulate your images to look grainy or funky, ‘70s, whatever you want. It’s fun.”
AutoStitch Panorama: This app is great for hikers because it creates panoramas for you. “It’s really cool. You take frame after frame and make sure they each overlap by about 20 percent and then the app puts it all together for you,” Purcell explains.
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