Mike's Smartphone Photography - and occasional travel - Blog

Cast your mind back almost 5 years to when the COVID pandemic hit the world, to when your movements were restricted and dictated by those in high office, and you were perhaps seeking new ways to pass your time, became a priority. I know how I felt during early 2020 and, yes, finding something to do to pass the time and also to take my mind off what was happening around me, were things I seriously considered.  I upgraded my Amazon music subscription to Unlimited and invested in better quality headphones and earbuds. This move was partly driven by my love of music, but also because I really didn't know if and when I would ever be able to live a normal life again. I wasn't going out and I wasn't spending money. The basic Amazon Music package had been ok, but at £79pa for access to 100 million songs, most in surround sound, I didn't take much persuasion to upgrade. After a short time I went the whole hog and invested in not one, but two Echo Studios, which I connected toget...

OK, so you've read the headline and wondered if you've landed on some weird dental blog that's going to talk about getting your teeth straightened or, worse, having them whitened, or, much worse, travelling to Turkey to get that Instagram-perfect smile. No, you're at the right place if you want to learn some useful tips on how to avoid those annoying dental problems while you're off on your big trips. This isn't about those long weekends to capital cities or even a fortnight by a pool in Spain; no, I'm talking about those extended trips to parts of the world where health care, and in particular dental care, facilities are scarce or next to non-existent. What qualifies me to write about dentistry? Before I became a writer, historian, smartphone photographer, and blogger, I spent longer than I care to think about as a general dental practitioner, dispensing dental advice and treatment to those who chose to seek me out.  The prompt for writing this blog was the...

Hi! and welcome to my latest blog, which this week is a hack to create an intentional camera movement (ICM) look in your photographs without all the hassle of changing settings on your camera. Things are slightly different this week because I will be including some words and photographs from another Instagrammer. So what do we mean when we talk about intentional camera movement or ICM? Basically, it is all about creatively manipulating your camera during exposure to produce unique and abstract images. That's the 'traditional' method, but I want to show you another way. ICM isn't a technique I have used; I knew of its existence, but hadn't until now felt the need to use it. The hack I am about to show you has certainly brought it on to my to do list, and after you've read this blog, you may also want to add it to your photography techniques. Someone I follow on Instagram @mindfulsnapper444, and whose work I admire, has very kindly shared their ICM technique and i...

Hi! Welcome to my latest blog, which this week explores how to get the most and make the most from your smartphone camera. If you're like me, when you get a new device (whether it's a phone, PC, TV, Air fryer, or anything else you care to mention) I'm inpatient and just want to get the thing up, running, and in use. Smartphone cameras are no different. However, over the last year or so I have made a real effort to really got to know my phone camera. I recently participated in a smartphone photography workshop, where I was one of around a dozen attendees, and where the majority hadn't got to grips with their phone's camera settings beyond being able to take a basic photograph. So, based on what I  perceive to be a knowledge gap amongst people using smartphone cameras, I am going to run through the settings and various functions on my Google Pixel 7 native camera. Although this is about the Pixel 7, I suspect that other phones (not just Pixels) are similar. When I lau...

Welcome to my latest blog, which this week is where I talk about the accessories I carry with me when I go out on a photography expedition or shoot. You might ask why do you need anything beyond carrying your smartphone for taking photographs? You don't want to be lugging loads of gear around because that rather defeats the main benefit of smartphone photography, doesn't it? But I suppose the answer to how much gear you do take depends on how seriously you take your smartphone photography. Back in 2021 I took this photograph (see below) of my then photography accessories. You can see that at that time I had four tripods, a set of lens, a selfie stick, power pack and cable, wired earbuds, a telescopic lens, a Bluetooth shutter release device, and cotton buds and a lens cloth. Since then I have accumulated more gear, but have substantially trimmed down what I actually take out with me. Smartphone photography should be all about convenience and portability, and therefo...

Welcome to my latest blog, which this week is a deep dive into my favourite photo-editing app, Snapseed. I have been using this powerful app for around four years, but a bit like someone who has invested in an all-singing-and-dancing camera but has never got out of auto mode, it suddenly occurred to me that Snapseed had so much more to offer than the few tools I was using. A true light bulb moment. Before we get going, here's a short history of where Snapseed started. The app was originally developed by Nik Software, but was acquired by Google in 2012. It was initially released in 2011 for iOS devices and later for Android in 2012. Snapseed gained fame for its user-friendly interface and powerful editing tools, including filters, adjustments, and selective editing features. Google continued to update and improve Snapseed after the acquisition, adding new features and refining its capabilities. I think it's fair to say that Snapseed remains one of the most widely used photo-edit...