First, we gave some tips and pointers on how to make the most out of iOS 6’s panoramic photo feature, and then we asked our readers to submit their best shots. Boy, were we impressed! We received more than 300 entries for our latest Macworld contest, and were blown away with the beautiful photos we receieved. Beaches, sunsets, football stadiums, bridges, cities, and tons of gorgeous landscape shots flooded our inbox, making this a particularly difficult contest to judge.
Our panel of judges (three Macworld editors) narrowed down the pool and selected five winners. These photos really stood out as good examples of what the iPhone 4S and 5’s panorama feature is all about. The winners received a handful of iOS accessories from our contest sponsors, but we couldn’t resist showing off the work of other honorable mentions.
Our winners
Jack Johnson
Phone: iPhone 5
Additional editing: Aperture
Johnson snapped this photo during a recent trip to the Atacama Desert in Chile. We loved the subtle color changes that appeared in the sunset and along the salt flat landscape. The beauty here is all-natural. “I did nothing but hit the ‘enhance’ button in Aperture.”
Jack JohnsonAugust Trometer
Phone: iPhone 5
Additional editing: None
“I had had an absolutely miserable day at work, and, on my way home, I decided to swing by the beach for a walk to get some distance from the day. A crazy rainstorm was just moving out of the area, and the sun was setting. I caught the beautiful sunset and an amazing rainbow at the same time. My favorite bit is the lovely couple sitting on the sand, watching the sun disappear.” This photo was taken in Venice, California.
August TrometerMark Goldschmitt
Phone: iPhone 5
Additional editing: None
Goldschmitt’s photo works as both a stunning panorama and as a story. “My father lives in Long Beach, New York, which was devastated by Superstorm Sandy. This was a picture taken on the beach a few weeks after the storm. As you can see, the devastation was still evident weeks later.”
Mark GoldschmittCameron Thompson
Phone: iPhone 5
Additional editing: None
This is an excellent example of how the panorama feature can be used to capture non-landscape shots. This photo shows the vastness of this part of Park Guell in Barcelona; it brilliantly shows off the columns and their symmetry.
Cameron ThompsonXavier Rotivel
Phone: iPhone 5
Additional editing: Camera+
Rotivel took this photo in Paris, using the regular panorama feature in Apple’s Camera app. He then used Camera+ to convert the photo to black and white and do a little post-processing.
Xavier RotivelHonorable mentions
Glen Domulevicz
Phone: iPhone 5
Additional editing: Snapseed for image adjusting and frame
“Taken east of Sonoita, Arizona, with cattle grazing on grasslands, with the Mustang Mountains to the left and the Huachuca Mountains in the far distance to the right.”
Glen DomuleviczKevin Buterbaugh
Phone: iPhone 4S
Additional editing: None
“I took this photo while at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. No special settings and no edits—just a standard iPhone panorama photo.”
Kevin ButerbaughTimothy Larkin
Timothy LarkinPhone: iPhone 5
Additional editing: Adobe Photoshop CS6
Capturing a vertical panorama is no easy feat, which is why Larkin’s submission of a road in Caroline, New York, blew us away. Says Larkin: “I read in an article that the iPhone can be rotated to create a vertical panorama. The author showed an example with a span of 90° or so. I was curious of what effect would be created by increasing the span. I find the image to be a bit disorienting, in an interesting way, since the ground appears at both the bottom and the top of the image.” Photoshop was used to correct black edges that occur when the capture alignment is off.
Danny Irizarry
Phone: iPhone 5
Additional editing: None
“I took this photo while on vacation in Sydney, Australia. It was taken at The Gap Bluff and still gives me goose-bumps when I look at it!”
Daniel IrizarryMichal Skrzypek
Phone: iPhone 4S
Additional editing: Magic wand in Apple’s Photos app
“I took this shot of the sun setting over the Charles River Esplanade in Boston while riding one of the city’s Hubway bikes the day before the system was shut down for the winter.”
Michal SkrzypekA big thank you to our contest sponsors— Just Mobile, US+U, Sena, and STM Bags—for providing our winners with prizes!