Once in a while, whenever I have the opportunity to take photos, I try to capture as many as I can. I don’t really think too much at the moment. I just take the shot, move around, try another angle, and then later on, I simply pick the best ones in my opinion. I think that’s one of the fun parts of casual photography. Not every photo has to be perfect, but sometimes, among many random shots, there will be a few that really stand out.
The past few weeks, I managed to take some random photos from different places and different subjects. Some are flowers, some are koi fishes, and some are public artworks around the city. They are not exactly connected to one another, but somehow they represent the kind of things that usually catch my attention whenever I wander around.
Although I don’t have a dedicated camera that can really do macro photography, I do have a phone that can emulate a macro camera quite well. That’s the amazing thing about smartphones today. They are so handy, but at the same time, they are becoming very powerful. Sometimes I still feel surprised that a device I mostly use for messaging, browsing, and navigation can also take photos that look quite decent.
The flower photos are probably some of my favorites here. I like how the phone was able to focus on the small details of the petals while making the background blurry. The pink plumeria looks soft and almost dreamy, while the orange tiger lily feels more delicate because of its tiny spots and slender petals. These are the kinds of subjects that make me want to slow down for a moment. Flowers may look simple from afar, but once you get closer, there are so many details to appreciate.
It also made me wonder about the future of smartphone cameras. What kind of camera technology will be developed next? We already have wide-angle, zoom, portrait mode, macro mode, and Live Photo. But what if, in the future, our phones can capture a subject in 3D?
Wouldn’t that be amazing?
Sometimes I look at my photos and wish I could rotate the subject like a 3D model. This is especially true for the koi fishes. I took several photos of them swimming, but they are very difficult to capture properly because they are always moving. The water reflections also make it challenging, but at the same time, that is what makes the photos interesting. The orange and white patterns of the koi look so beautiful against the dark water.
If these photos could be captured in 3D, it would be so nice to rotate the fish and see the other side of their body, the pattern of their scales, and the full shape of their movement. It would give more information about the subject and maybe more creative control as well.
The same idea applies to flowers. Imagine if the plumerias and tiger lily could be viewed from different angles in a 3D photo. I think I would appreciate them even more because flowers are not flat subjects. Their beauty is in their shape, curves, layers, and how the petals open in different directions.
Another good subject for 3D capture would be public art. Some of the street artworks and sculptures I saw recently have forms that are difficult to understand from just one angle. In a normal photo, we only see one side. But if we could rotate it, we could appreciate the overall shape and structure better.
For now, I’m still happy with these 2D photos. They may just be random captures from the past few weeks, but they remind me that there is always something interesting to photograph, whether it is a flower, a fish, or a colorful artwork in the middle of the city.
