On the Road is a weekday feature spotlighting reader photo submissions.
From the exotic to the familiar, whether you’re traveling or in your own backyard, we would love to see the world through your eyes.
Cheryl
Hello again! Today’s adventure is coming to you from Peru. My camera is an iPhone 8+
No cats this time though I could have since there is a cat park in the Miraflores district in Lima. This time we are going to consider the possibilities of taking just cell phone pictures on your next great trip rather than lugging around a lot of heavy camera equipment. Unless you are publishing your shots in the print version of National Geographic there is little need to carry the extra weight. If you’re publishing to the web then here are a few pointers. If you’re interested in seeing more photos from Peru, visit my site here
Happy hunting!
The classic shot of Peru! I had the advantage of being there very early in the morning on a rainy, misty day. I took pics for about 1/2 hour from different positions as the light and cloud formations changed. Take the time to patiently wait for good atmospheric conditions if you are not rushed….it’s so worth it!
Here is another from the same day….once I had my shots of the mountains and great city displayed below me I started looking for different angles and patterns that would make an interesting composition
It’s always fun to experiment with the black and white functions in your camera’s editing arsenal. These ancient Incan terraces are visually arresting in color but it seemed even more so in black and white
When I’m seeing a new place for the first time I concentrate most of my attention on people, places and things….the three main food groups for photographic consumers. I tend to not get up in the grill of a reluctant subject so I did not badger this fine woman to smile for the camera. I did like her decorative hat and her fine display of guinea pigs which, yes, they do eat in Peru. I, however, DID NOT!
This lovely creature was the daughter of our chef at a lunch spot we visited in rural Peru. Again, mugging for the camera is not necessary…..her bored petulance made a much more entertaining shot
Food is a huge component of any foreign trip….for us, it’s the main reason for going! Matter of fact, this was a food tour…..we visited markets and farms, took cooking classes and ate our way through the country. Peru maintains multiple heirloom species of corn and potatoes….someone told us that Peruvians regularly consume nearly 1000 different species of potatoes alone
I don’t generally take pics of my food in restaurants but sometimes I sneak one in just to remember the many new things I tried. This is a dish any American could love….it’s called causa and consists of layers of mashed potatoes and fillings, often crab or avocado or virtually anything that sounds delicious
You’ll probably spend a lot of time in markets looking at locally made trinkets and handicrafts. I don’t tend to buy very much on these trips as I don’t want to carry around a lot of stuff but I do take a lot of pictures. This is the place to practice letting color, texture, patterns and design tell your story. These exquisitely carved gourds were absolutely lovely!
Baud
You have a good eye.
Anyway
Mmmm cuy – tasted like chicken. Loved the food in Peru, So fresh and pretty (and delicious).
Thanks for the pointers. Last 5 years or so I’ve stuck to cell phone pics on my travels -with varying results.
J.
Fabulous photos! Amazing how good phone cameras have gotten, but you still have to have a good eye. And you do.
YY_Sima Qian
Awesome photos! Machu Picchu is on my bucket list!
Dorothy A. Winsor
Wonderful pictures!
lowtechcyclist
What are the specs for a cell phone camera that takes decent pictures? I have a Galaxy J3V, and its camera is really pretty crappy. It doesn’t have any optical zoom, and digital zoom just means you’re pushing the pixels further apart so your photos are all blurry.
I’m about due for a new phone, so I’d like one that I can take real pictures with, rather than always going, “dammit, I wish I had a real camera with me.” Any help?
BretH
Agreed, you have a great eye for photos, I enjoyed every one! I too am interested in thoughts about preferred cell phones with cameras as my iPhone 7 isn’t getting any younger.
There go two miscreants
Nice pictures! The one of the chef’s daughter made me laugh — such a classic little-kid expression! When I upgrade my cell phone next time, I will pay more attention to the camera quality. The best camera is the one you have with you at the time.
Wag
Great photos! I agree 100%. My cell phone has become my primary camera as well. All of my on the road posts of my climbs last summer were shot exclusively on my iPhone. Easy to take amazing photos with the new phones.
Another Scott
@lowtechcyclist: Just about any cell phone camera is going to be better if it is 2+ years newer.
DXOMark does lots of cell phone camera reviews
HTH!
Great shots Cheryl! Thanks.
Cheers,
Scott.
sab
@Another Scott: Not true! My 10 years ago BJ calendar photo v my 2021 BJ calendar photos prove this. On the other hand I have a flip phone. The smart phones might have different parameters
ETA Those Machu Pichu photos made me a tad airsickly queasy. Very lovely but yikes.
MelissaM
Lovely pictures! Peru is on my dream list for a knitting / eating trip
Re. cell phones and cameras, I refuse to pay more than $200 for a cell phone, so I figure I’m stuck with a crappy camera, eh? Or not? I might go another $100 higher for a used cell with a good camera. But not this year. I’ll have to recharge the point-and-shoot for my upcoming trip.
Steve in the ATL
There are some seriously talented photographers here at B-J!
TinRoofRusted
Love the pictures here and at your site. We went to Peru in 2017 and it looks like we went to a lot of the same places. I only had an iPhone 6 at the time but it did the job.
J R in WV
Great photos from Peru!! I love the B&W of the terraced farm land most of all, tho the little kid being bored is really cute too. Always wanted to visit Macchu Pichu but I guess not in this life, way too old and beat up for that trip now.
Wife and I took our first European adventure many years ago on a great AIA sponsored trip to visit ancient cave paintings in Spain and France, led by a British scholar of the art. I preped with the standard voltage adapters for Europe, and had a super-zoom point and shoot Panasonic, looked like a 35-mm body with a big zoom, as well as a Google tablet, back when those were first coming out.
Some of our stuff would charge OK on 220V power, and I accidentally plugged the charger for the Super-zoom batteries into the high voltage, which fried the charger instantly. This was a week into the 2 week trip. Well, the tablet had a pretty good camera, so I used it instead, and was pretty well pleased with the results. I sent quite a few into On the Road not too long after the trip, esp of Notre Dame and catacombs, Paris, and an archeological site in NW Spain.
The tool isn’t as flexible as a Panasonic with a 24-400 Leica zoom, but they take perfectly good touring photos. Before you buy a new cell phone, Google for reviews of the camera included in the devices you are considering, if you’re interested in using the camera for much work.
Elma
I loved Peru. Best food I have ever eaten!! Causa OMG! The chef at our cooking demo made it and told us a long tale of how it became Peru’s national dish. We were served roasted guinea pig at a home hosted dinner. (Tasted like overcooked chicken.) One member of our tour who had guinea pigs for pets at home ran out of the house in tears. Just returned from the first trip where I did not take a camera, only my phone. It felt odd, but from a quick review, the pics seem ok. I’m not sure if I will continue to use the phone and ditch the Nikon.
WaterGirl
Amazing photos!
SkyBluePink
What a magical land!
Great photos!
Uncle Cholmondeley
Love the photos, thanks for sharing with us!
You said this was a food tour — interesting! How do you find specialized tours (food, birds, etc.)? Are there ways to search beyond just popping the terms into Google?
lowtechcyclist
@Another Scott: Thanks!
?BillinGlendaleCA
@lowtechcyclist: Cellphone cameras have improved quite a bit in the last few years. The iPhone lead that early on, but the flagship Samsung and Google Pixel phone are top quality now. But, if you want a cellphone with a good quality camera that does zoom, you’ll have to pay flagship prices.
I have a Samsung S22 Ultra that has 5 cameras(main at 108mp, superwide, telephoto at 3x zoom and supertelephoto at 10x zoom), it is expensive, but takes great photos.
Nice shots in the OP.
Cheryl
@BretH: The 8+ is the first in the series with the dual lens. With this you get good depth of field. I think most of the newer models have the dual lens or better
Cheryl
@Uncle Cholmondeley: We booked this through Intrepid travel….chosen specifically because they cater to more active travelers. They have a number of food tours worldwide. This is the first time I’ve ever done a tour, I normally just wing it. There are some places that are better seen with a tour and I though Peru was one of them. Maybe I’m just getting to old to wing it….it’s nice letting someone else work out the logistics
Cheryl
@Anyway: After we got back from this trip I fostered a guinea pig for the local humane society….we named her Cuy
Albatrossity
These are gorgeous! Thanks for sharing them, and the commentary on the trip.
Phone cameras are indeed amazing these days. But having the eye for composition, like you do, is not something that can be picked up on a shelf.