Image Credit: Caleb Freese
For photography work, most people set their camera-equipped phone aside and start hammering away with their dedicated point-and-shoot or DSLR, but this isn’t always the case for New York City based artist Caleb Freese. Palm’s Facebook page points us the work of Freese, who splits his time between making art in Brooklyn and guiding rivers and mountains, has been doing some rather striking nature photography work using the Palm Pre alone. The phone’s camera is generally regarded as being good (just ask our forum members), but the thought of using it for professional work is an intriguing one indeed.
Why use the Pre instead of a dedicated SLR? “I’ve always thought carting a SLR detracted from my enjoyment of nature, so I’ve found myself relying on the Pre”, says Freese, continuing “What started as quite the accidental process ended up having stellar results. This also explains why all the cell photos are of nature”.
Like most brands of photography, you won’t arrive at these results using just the Pre alone, and Caleb sheds some insight into the methodology that makes his work look the way it does: “I take Panoramas. Between 2 and 20 photos will often make up a shot. I then stitch them together in Photoshop, adjust the contrast and call it good.” Beyond those tweaks, you’re not going to find any other kinds of touch up work. The reason? “I’ve found cellphones can provide a particular aesthetic, often exaggerating or producing an effect I’d describe as a less literal reproduction, but more mood or atmospheric”. Freese also touches on something that most Pre owners are familiar with, namely that the Pre excels in outside shots.
