COMPETITIONS,  News

Apple Shot on iPhone Challenge – The 2019 Winners – Announced

iPhone photographers around the world shared their best photos for Apple’s Shot on iPhone Challenge, capturing remarkable moments with the world’s most popular camera. The 10 selected winners will be featured on billboards in select cities, in Apple retail stores and online. The winning shots came from a range of models, from iPhone XS Max to iPhone 7, showcasing the quality of cameras across the line.

The top 10 winners came from countries including Singapore, Germany, Belarus, Israel and the US, highlighting the global community of iPhone photographers that participated. These photos capture colourful city scenery, curious animals, creative reflections, the beauty of the ordinary and more.

The international panel of judges includes Pete Souza, Austin Mann, Annet de Graaf, Luísa Dörr, Chen Man, Phil Schiller, Kaiann Drance, Brooks Kraft, Sebastien Marineau-Mes, Jon McCormack and Arem Duplessis — each one also writes up a little about why they selected the shot.

Many congratulations to all the winners including: Alex Jiang, Robert Glaser, LieAdi Darmawan, Bernard Antolin, Andrew Griswold, Elizabeth Scarrott, Dina Alfasi, Nikita Yarosh, Darren Soh, Blake Marvin and Alex Jiang.

Alex Jiang (US), iPhone XS Max

Chen Man says: “This is a photo filled with lovely color and sense of story in the composition. Zooming in, you can see details of each family and their unique touch. The basketball hoop is placed right in the middle of the photo, adding more stories behind the image.”

Annet de Graaf says: “The narrative in architecture. There is actually life behind the surface of an average apartment building in an unknown city. Vivid colours and a perfect composition with the basketball board right in the middle! Great eye.”

Blake Marvin (US), iPhone XS Max

Austin Mann says: “This image took a lot of patience and great timing … with the iPhone’s zero shutter lag and Smart HDR, we’re able to see both the raccoon’s eyes and the deep shadows inside the log … something that would have previously been nearly impossible with natural light.”

Phil Schiller says: “The stolen glance between this raccoon/thief and photographer is priceless, we can imagine that it is saying ‘if you back away slowly no one has to get hurt.’ A nice use of black and white, the focus on the raccoon and the inside of the hollow log provides an organic movement frozen in time.”

Darren Soh (Singapore), iPhone XS Max

Phil Schiller says: “A reflection that looks like a painting, two worlds have collided. You are compelled to think about where and how this photo was taken, the bird flying in the corner provides the single sign of life in an otherwise surreal composition.”

Chen Man says: “Distortion and reflection at a strange angle — this photo creates a fantastic feeling.”

Nikita Yarosh (Belarus), iPhone 7

Austin Mann says: “I love how accessible this image is: You don’t have to travel to Iceland to capture something beautiful, it’s right under your nose. The way the lines intersect, the vibrant color, the sense of old and new … this is just a great image.”

Luísa Dörr says: “I like the simplicity of this image, the composition, light, details, everything looks good. Then you see one small line that looks wrong and makes me think what happened, where is this place, who was there. For me a good image is not only one that is strong or beautiful, but makes you think about it — and keep thinking.”

Dina Alfasi (Israel), iPhone X

Sebastien Marineau-Mes says: “Love how the heart shaped water puddle frames the subject, capturing a glimpse of the world as the subject hurriedly walks past.”

Brooks Kraft says: “A unique perspective and a new take on the popular subject of shooting reflections. I like that the subject is evident, but you are not really sure how the photo was taken. The puddle is the shape of a heart, with nice symmetry of the subject. The depth of field that iPhone has in regular mode made this image possible, a DSLR would have had a difficult time keeping everything in focus.”

Elizabeth Scarrott (US), iPhone 8 Plus

Brooks Kraft says: “A portrait that captures the wonderment of childhood in a beautiful setting. Great composition that shows both the personality of the child and the experience in the surroundings.”

Pete Souza says: “Nice portrait and use of background to provide context. The placement of the child’s face is in an optimal place — lining her up so the background directly behind her is clean and not distracting. The setting is a familiar — I’ve probably stood in this exact spot. But the picture is not like any I’ve seen from this location.”

Andrew Griswold (US), iPhone XS

Jon McCormack says: “This image is very well thought through and executed. The background pattern holds the image together and the repeated smaller versions of that pattern in the water droplets create a lot of visual interest. The creative use of depth of field here is excellent.” 

Sebastien Marineau-Mes says: “Very unique composition and color palette, playing to the strengths of iPhone XS. What I find most interesting is the background pattern, uniquely magnified and distorted in every one of the water droplets. I’m drawn to studying and trying to elucidate what that pattern is.”

Bernard Antolin (US), iPhone XS Max

Kaiann Drance says: “Looks like a simple scene but a good choice of using black and white to elevate it with a different mood. Helps to bring out the dramatic contrast in the clouds and the surrounding landscape.”

LieAdi Darmawan (US), iPhone XS

Luísa Dörr says: “I feel like this landscape was treated like an old portrait. The texture of the mountains evokes an old wrinkled face. Portraits and landscapes are the oldest way of creative representation by humans. There’s something about it that belongs to the realms of the subconscious mind, and this is mainly what appeals me of this picture; the part that I’m not able to explain.”

Robert Glaser (Germany), iPhone 7

Kaiann Drance says: “Gorgeous dynamic range. There’s detail throughout the photo in the meadow, trees, and clouds. Beautiful deep sky and pleasing color overall.”

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Joanne Carter, creator of the world’s most popular mobile photography and art website— TheAppWhisperer.com— TheAppWhisperer platform has been a pivotal cyberspace for mobile artists of all abilities to learn about, to explore, to celebrate and to share mobile artworks. Joanne’s compassion, inclusivity, and humility are hallmarks in all that she does, and is particularly evident in the platform she has built. In her words, “We all have the potential to remove ourselves from the centre of any circle and to expand a sphere of compassion outward; to include everyone interested in mobile art, ensuring every artist is within reach”, she has said. Promotion of mobile artists and the art form as a primary medium in today’s art world, has become her life’s focus. She has presented lectures bolstering mobile artists and their art from as far away as the Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea to closer to her home in the UK at Focus on Imaging. Her experience as a jurist for mobile art competitions includes: Portugal, Canada, US, S Korea, UK and Italy. And her travels pioneering the breadth of mobile art includes key events in: Frankfurt, Naples, Amalfi Coast, Paris, Brazil, London. Pioneering the world’s first mobile art online gallery - TheAppWhispererPrintSales.com has extended her reach even further, shipping from London, UK to clients in the US, Europe and The Far East to a global group of collectors looking for exclusive art to hang in their homes and offices. The online gallery specialises in prints for discerning collectors of unique, previously unseen signed limited edition art. Her journey towards becoming The App Whisperer, includes (but is not limited to) working for a paparazzi photo agency for several years and as a deputy editor for a photo print magazine. Her own freelance photographic journalistic work is also widely acclaimed. She has been published extensively both within the UK and the US in national and international titles. These include The Times, The Sunday Times, The Guardian, Popular Photography & Imaging, dpreview, NikonPro, Which? and more recently with the BBC as a Contributor, Columnist at Vogue Italia and Contributing Editor at LensCulture. Her professional photography has also been widely exhibited throughout Europe, including Italy, Portugal and the UK. She is currently writing several books, all related to mobile art and is always open to requests for new commissions for either writing or photography projects or a combination of both. Please contact her at: [email protected]