Landscapes
These landscape images were taken all around the country, from Seljalandsfoss in the south, all the way through to the loneliest corners of the Westfjords. The iPhone’s ability to shoot RAW, wide angle, and in low light provided the tools needed to capture some dramatic moods and perspectives.
Portraits
The iPhone 13 Pro in particular has an impressive dynamic range, and allowed us to shoot some portraits that would highlight the dramatic landscapes of Iceland. The IP68 water resistance gave us confidence to “get in there” in some of the wetter situations, and even provided some rather epic lens flare on occasion! The front facing cameras also have great clarity and we captured a few happy selfies when the cameras weren’t pointed the other way.
Aurora Borealis
The Aurora Borealis is one of nature's finest offerings, and something that had eluded all three of us before this trip. The very seed of this expedition was hunting the Northern Lights. Both iPhones performed admirably well capturing long exposures, both handheld and from a Peak Design mobile tripod. We were astonished to see these images come out of a phone camera. We witnessed the lights in Höfn, South East Iceland, and the northern town of Ísafjörður in the Westfjords.
Food
Great fish, brilliant baked goods, and some tasty lamb snacks to keep us fuelled. Even the fermented shark wasn’t too bad!
Land Rover
Horrible to drive, uncomfortable to sit in, inefficient. BUT, the 1993 Land Rover 110 is incredible to look at, a great photography platform, and was our home away from home for 12 days. We had a love hate relationship, broken windscreen and all.
Behind the scenes
Joy, beer, camp stoves, tents, camera equipment, and even some furry friends! We enjoyed and pushed through some of the most scenic and contemplative drives we’ve ever taken. Not only did we bask in the Northern Lights opulence, but we found rugged landscapes, hair-raising drives, wonderful snacks, and many hot springs all around the Icelandic ring road!
I expected the culling of our 5'000 iPhone photos to this selection of 130 to be an easy and straight forward task. In my previous experience of phone cameras, you maybe get 2 or 3 keepers out of every 10 photos, compared to 9 or 10 with my full frame mirrorless cameras. With the iPhone 13 Pro, I found my keeper rate to be closer to 6 or 7 out of 10. That's quite an astonishing improvement from my previous iPhone 11 Pro. While that phone can take great photos, it is more of a consideration and requires significantly more effort to create what I would consider a professional quality photo, particularly when compared to my comfort using my full-frame set up. To be able to pull a 240g camera out of my pocket, shoot RAW and create compositions like those above is truly impressive. I had to "um" and "ah" when choosing which photos to curate for this piece, that's a good problem to have!
Is this going to replace my full set up? No. But it is the first time in my career that I consider my iPhone a genuine tool in my photography and film making arsenal. In my eyes, it has earned its 'Pro' moniker, and it performed admirably in a rather hostile environment. I love the fact that I now can rely on my iPhone to help me create professional work at a moments notice.