T
he staff at NEBRASKAland
Magazine occasionally takes
some time off, and sometimes
we find ourselves staring at an
amazing photo opportunity without our
professional digital SLR cameras. A
few years ago, that meant we had no
chance of capturing it. Developments
in cell phone camera technology,
however, have changed all of that.
The sensors, lenses and software
that drives these cameras are capable
of creating images with quality that
can rival those from cameras costing
thousands of dollars. In addition,
enhancing camera phone-made images
with various filters, colors and HDR
effects have made them user and
viewer friendly.
However, these "phone" cameras
still have limitations. They don't have
the optical zoom of a digital SLR
or even a point-and-shoot. And the
digital zoom, which uses software to
zoom or simply crops an image, makes
them inferior for work that typically
requires a telephoto lens, such as
wildlife photography. The flash is also
a problem because of its small size and
location and relation to the lens. And
the lenses aren't as tack sharp as the
Nikon and Canon lenses of today or the
Zeiss' lenses from days gone by.
Yet, basic rules of photography still
reign supreme when trying to create
images with a camera phone. Having
nice light and a unique composition
can make images captured with a
phone just as interesting as those taken
with a digital SLR.
On the following pages are a few
images we've taken with our phones,
ones that each of us have no doubt
shown friends and families with the
same pride as we have with our long-
Phones have changed
in many ways, and one
of those that outdoor
enthusiasts can capitalize
on is their cameras.
Camera
Phones
By Eric Fowler and Jeff Kurrus
LEFT: Fort Atkinson State Historical Park
in Fort Calhoun hosts a period luncheon.
The meal was completely prepared by
open-hearth cooking. iPhone 5.
PHOTO
BY
JENNY
NGUYEN
22 NEBRASKAland • JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2017
n
