The digital revolution and the ubiquitous cellphone camera has given rise to a very visual culture. In this day and age, everybody is a photographer. Photography has been democratized, it is now available to everybody with a dirt cheap cellphone.
Where are we headed? Today the chief victims of the cameraphone are the manufacturers of point-and-shoot cameras. If the trend continues, and I think it will, the P&S cameas will follow the way of the Dodo.
Recently I purchased a mid-range smart phone since the Chinese-cloned Apple iPhone said, like Roberto Duran, “No Más…No Más.” I acquired it as a phone only, but after reading the manual, I discovered it also has a decent camera and was able to take pretty good pictures.
Below are some of main specifications of my Samsung Galaxy S III smartphone:
- Primary: 8 MP, 3,264 x 2,448 pixels, autofocus, LED flash.
- Features: Simultaneous HD video and image recording, geo-tagging, touch focus, face/smile detection.
- Video: 1,080p@30 fps (frames per second)
- Shooting Modes: Single shot, best shot, best face, sound and shot, face detection, panorama, share shot, HDR, buddy photo share, beauty, smile shot, and low light.
- Color Effects: Choose color theme for the photos such as: No effect, Cold vintage, Warm vintage, posterize, solarize, green point, blue point, red-yellow point, washed-out, cartoonify, black and white, sepia or negative.
Having all these great features at my disposal, it was only a matter of time before I was taking sample pictures using my cellphone as a portable camera. I’m glad I did, because the results exceeded my wildest expectations by a wide margin. Below are the first shots taken with this wonderful device. Here we go.
Snapshot of the Instituto Nacional, a regal education center in Panama City, Panama. Due to the large eagle statues on the upper section of the structure, it is called “El Nido de las Águilas”, (The Nest of the Eagles), thus the title of this blog post. Photo by ©Omar Upegui R.
Expect more images of the Instituto Nacional soon, but using another camera. It is such a jewel of architecture with a rich history. Many presidents of the nation graduated here during its prime days. I operated as a high school at this moment.
With the addition of this phone camera, I now dispose of four tools to take pictures. I’m so happy with these sample pictures that were better than expected. Now is the time to become a decent photographer without much hassle. (Kindly click on the images to enlarge and appreciate them better.) Good Day.
Lingua Franca 
What a beautiful building. You do have some real treasures there in Panama City. I think students there might learn more, just because of the building! I’m looking forward to seeing more photos of it.
Morning Linda:
In my opinion, this is the most beautiful building in Panama inaugurated on July 17, 1911 by the Italian architect Genaro Ruggieri. Steel, concrete, gravel and marble were imported from Europe to finish this regal structure. The construction took almost two years.
Stay tuned, there are more pictures of this gorgeous building in the pipeline. It is most probable, they will be posted tomorrow.
I’m glad you enjoyed the blog post. I love taking pictures of old structures, and we have plenty of them in Panama City, the oldest city in the New World. It was founded by Spain on August 15, 1519—almost 500 years ago.
Regards,
Omar.-