Cellphone Photos–Low Light: Winner & Honourable Mentions!

As the sun sets, making pictures in low light can be tricky for photographers. It becomes even more challenging when using the cellphone’s camera. However, it’s not impossible, seeing that many of today’s cellphones allow you to control the ISO and shutterspeed. We challenged our readers to send us the best photos they have shot in low light. Here are the best images from the contest, including the winning photograph, which were published in the March 2015 edition of Better Photography magazine.

Nominees:

Photograph/Partha Pratim Saikia

Different Shades of Twilight
Partha Pratim Saikia, North Lakhimpur

What made me shoot this: There is a belief in my community that one should not remain empty-handed when viewing the new crescent moon. When I saw this man pointing at the sky, I knew that it was a good omen, and had to shoot the image.

What I learnt: Not all imperfections are bad. Like, the noise in the image lends to the overall beauty of the photograph.

Shot with: Nokia Lumia 520

Photograph/Husain Ujjainwala

The Rising Sun 
Husain Ujjainwala, Mumbai

What made me shoot this: A friend and I decided to visit Kalamb Beach in Nalasopara to make a images of light painting using steel wool.

What I learnt: When making such photographs, safety is very important. It can be dangerous if performed near inflammable objects.

Shot with: Nokia Lumia 1020

Photograph/Deepak Chauhan

At the End of the Day… 
Deepak Chauhan, Haridwar

What made me shoot this: I was attracted to the blue and yellow tones in the photograph.

What I learnt: It is never easy working with tricky lighting. This is why I experimented with different shutterspeeds and ISO settings, in order to get the perfect exposure.

Shot with: Nokia Lumia 1020

Winner:

Photograph/Vijay Karthick

Hanging by a Thread 
Vijay Karthick, Coimbatore

What made me shoot this: I was fascinated by how the light bulb illuminated the spider and the dense mass of web that it clung to.

What I learnt: I understood the significance of metering by shooting in a tricky lighting situation like this.

Shot with: Xiaomi Mi 3

Vijay has won himself a 4200mAh Godrej GP PowerBank, which he can use to keep his device powered during long photography excursions.

If you also want to win a portable powerbank from Godrej, then don’t forget to enter your best street photographs in the current cellphone contest, themed Street Photography!