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Bridging Tech and Creative Photography
Bridging Tech and Creative Photography
Bridging Tech and Creative Photography
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How Matthew James Fell in Love With Astrophotography

Chris Gampat
No Comments
01/24/2021
4 Mins read
Matt James Xperia 1 II5

Last Updated on 01/27/2021 by Brett Day

All images by Matthew James. Used with permission.

Matthew James is a passionate photographer based in the UK. Like many of us, he’s been bored in the pandemic. But he’s found a lot of joy in taking photos. For Matt, all he needs is his Sony Xperia 1 II. Sony has gifted photographers with a smartphone that can do almost everything. With roots in their Alpha camera lineup, it’s a potent tool. In fact, it’s so powerful that Astrophotography is possible with the device.

This post is presented by Sony. Experience the power of the Sony Xperia 1 II from Amazon, Adorama, or the Sony Store. Learn more about Xperia Trade-In offers.

Photographing the Night Sky With the Sony Xperia 1 II 

“The specs of the Xperia 1 II sold me straight away, and the announcement of the triple-lens excited me,” Matt tells the Phoblographer. “I could not wait to get out and try the phone out. Sure there were other flagships on the market which boasted more megapixels at a cheaper price, however, after having Sony after Sony, nothing could persuade me to make the change.” Matt says that he was sold by the 4K OLED screen and the features for passionate photographers like him. 

Matt is representative of a base of photographers who’ve embraced their passions seriously in the pandemic. He doesn’t want to carry around a large camera. So instead, he reaches for his phone. For him, he was blown away by all the settings. The Sony Xperia 1 II’s Pro Camera Mode presents photography’s essence in a completely different way. And with some trial and error, he got exactly what he wanted. He started with sunsets and the forest. But eventually, he tackled the night sky. Suddenly, Matt needed a tripod for his 30-second long exposures of the Milky Way.

“The Xperia 1ii is very quick and responsive, with the recent release of Android 11 I can see this device being one of, if not the best smartphone around for the next few years and I cannot wait to see what Sony has In the bag for future releases.”

Capturing Life with the Sony Xperia 1 II

Like most folks, Matt goes to Instagram for inspiration. But he’s also an avid Redditor. He loves the community’s feedback and upvotes on his images. But most of all, Matt is inspired by life around him. 

Take, for example, the lead image of this article. It’s a long exposure that Matt shot with a tripod. Matt tells us he did it in August of 2020 around midnight. “…the sky was clear, so I took my tripod out with me to a low light area on the Isle Of Wight in the UK,” he explains. “…As this spot was near the coast, it was quite windy, resulting in me moving slightly. However, I think it adds more action to the photo. I’ve had people compare it to a Sci-Fi movie poster!” Matt used various settings to get the image using the Photo Pro mode on the Sony Xperia 1 II. He praises the long exposure settings and the high ISO ability.

But Matt doesn’t only shoot at night. He’s in love with the sunset and everything in the sky. So with his Sony Xperia 1 II in tow, he shoots everything around him. Matt loves the fact that such a powerful camera is in his pocket. What’s more, Matt loves editing RAW files!

“…the RAW image format is also great as you get full control when editing your captured moments, another thing that other flagships lack.”

 

How Matt Caught the Photo Bug

“My hobby of mobile photography started during my teen years with the Sony Ericsson K790 Cybershot,” says Matt. “I would take photos of anything and everything, from cars to country landscapes. As I grew up and technology advanced, I stuck with Sony throughout the years.” Matt is truly a Sony fanboy! Starting with the Z1, he adored what the camera could do. He felt it was really ahead of the time with its 20.7MP imaging sensor. To him, everything else looked dated. 

Like many other millennials, Matt got into photography by what his phone could do.

“I stuck with the Z1 until the Z5 was released, which really upped its game with the 720p 120fps video recording. The next phone I had was the Xperia XZ2, the large screen, and fast performance was perfect for everyday life and the camera was outstanding, it took photos and made them look natural compared to other mobile devices. When the Xperia 1 II was announced I have hooked straight away and knew I had to purchase it on release in the UK.”

This post is presented by Sony. Experience the power of the Sony Xperia 1 II from Amazon, Adorama, or the Sony Store. Learn more about Xperia Trade-In offers.

astrophotography device high iso long exposures Photo Pro smartphone sony Sony XPERIA 1 II xperia xperia 1 II
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Chris Gampat

Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.
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