dustie Loc: Nose to the grindstone

Just a beginner trying to work within the capabilities and limitations of a MotoG3 phone camera, to achieve the best learning within what the camera can produce, and not frustrate myself at trying to match the photo quality made by much better equipment.
Great landscapes and extreme closeups and wildlife requiring telephoto, all seem to be outside the inherent limits of the equipment. So, these photos are some efforts at abstracts, working with natural light and composition to attempt displaying patterns, shape and texture.

Does this appear to be practical effort in trying to gain experience in learning the inter-relation of lighting and composition, where control of shutter speed, f-stop, ISO and focus are dictated by the phone software?
It's way below the equipment level used by the rest of you, but your tips and insights can help in learning while I practice within the limits of the only equipment I have for the forseeable future. Thanks.

photo A

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photo B

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photo C

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photo D

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photo E

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RichardTaylor Loc: Sydney, Australia

It's a good set, and you have a good eye.
I feel you are on the right track.

PixelStan77 Loc: Vermont/Chicago

Your Moto G3
is a tool that you have captured some great images.

kenievans Loc: Dallas

I think what you are doing is very worthwhile. You already appear to have a good eye for composition and interesting subjects but your process shouldn't stop with just taking the pictures. There is a lot you can do in post processing to further enhance and refine your photos. There are some great free or low cost apps available that can help you take them to the next level. For example in the first photo you have some over exposure that could be corrected. Adding contrast to the second one would help bring out the patterns in the wood. You would also be surprised by the landscape photos and portraits you can take with your phone by understanding lighting and with the help of post processing. Don't limit yourself. Try it all. Not every photo will be spectacular but you are not as limited as you think.

Check out this link for more ideas and tips.

https://expertphotography.com/the-complete-guide-to-smartphone-photography-96-tips/

dustie Loc: Nose to the grindstone

Thanks for the boost.

dustie Loc: Nose to the grindstone

Thanks.
It's therapeutic learning to use it better and try to find ways to work around what it seems to have difficulty doing.

dustie Loc: Nose to the grindstone

Thank you for the encouragements and advice and recommended reading.

I did use the built-in default editor to add a touch of contrast in the second one, but it seemed rather harsh and took away the soft, pastel look in the wood. I didn't like that result. I'll have to look into apps you mentioned.

Portraits.....hmmmm.
Here are a couple of my efforts with my four-legged support supervisor, who definitely does not like to be eyed by the camera, as the second one clearly shows.
I do not have the confidence to put a two-legged subject in a pose for protraits......maybe some day yet to come, if I reach a point of believing I know what I'm doing.

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kenievans Loc: Dallas

Like everything else, it takes practice. The main thing to keep in mind about portraits, 4 or 2 legged, is the eyes. You want them in focus.

I hope you don't mind I did a little processing on your driftwood photo. Nothing major, just a few tweaks. I tried to keep the softness that you wanted but give it some depth and bring out the pastel quality of the colors. I did this in Photoshop but you can also do it in Photoshop Express which is a free app or Photoshop Elements which cost $60. There is also BeFunky, GIMP, Photoscape, and a host of others that are free.

I also added a landscape photo I took with my cellphone, Samsung Note 8.

Good luck and keep shooting.

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artBob Loc: Near Chicago

Yes. (Simple, effective answer to your original question.)

There is nothing you need to do but keep doing.
"It's simple, you just take something and do something to it, and then do something else to it. Keep doing this, and pretty soon you've got something." Jasper Johns

That worked for him because he had innate talent. That and hard work will take you anyplace you need. The art isn't the tool nor the technique. The art is your mind and heart working with whatever tools you have. Your works, except for the flat tones of #2, are already better than 1/2 the works I have seen as a juror. Just keep working, and pursue the best things that happen in your pix. I write as a professional artist and a retired teacher of thousands.

dustie Loc: Nose to the grindstone

No worries...thanks for showing a little of what can be done with the post process. A couple things really stand out in what you did:
-- the overall look is far more clear and softer than the result of the built-in default editor in the phone
-- much of the clarity seems to be related to your tweak also removing granularity compared even to the photo I have straight from the camera without post process.

A big disappointment I have in trying landscapes, is the lack of sharpness, but rather the mid-distance and far distance features just basically muddle together.
The auto focus does not seem to be all it should be. On predominantly darker subjects it seems to get closer to being in focus than on lighter/brighter subjects. It just gets worse when greater distances are involved.
The auto focus on near subjects, such as the examples with wood in this thread, is not right either if I do not give it at least 1.2x or 1.3x zoom. It just can't hold the focus for more than 1/2 - 3/4 second without a touch of zoom, but it seldom looks to me like the focus is as sharp as it really should be, even then. This is all with using some type of sturdy support to remove as much possibility of camera shake as I can, too.

Here is a short distance landscape and the lack of sharpness is evident in it, too. It's only about 260 - 280 feet to the taller pines farther back behind the willows and the more open ground, but even the willows do not seem to be as clearly focused as it seems they should be.

Thank you for your helpful interest in a beginner.

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repleo Loc: Boston

I think you have a great eye and there is no reason you can't develop your skills with your camera phone.
I think you could draw great pleasure and inspiration from one of my favorite sites -'Seeing Fresh - The practice of contemplative photography' at http://seeingfresh.com/

dustie Loc: Nose to the grindstone

I just gotta say, there is more interest in here toward helping a rank beginner than I realized when I just stopped by for reading some as an unregistered visitor. You experienced, successful guys may not realize all it means to someone whose circumstances you don't even know.

This is really, really a pleasant.....uhhhmmmm.....surprise, I guess I'd call it.

dustie Loc: Nose to the grindstone

Thank you, very much.
II'll check it out.

artBob Loc: Near Chicago

Sharpness may or may not be important. Look at the great photographers, and don't pay too much attention to all the comments you will receive. Use the comments that fit in with what your photos really need, not what someone thinks they need.

You create with the tools you have. You might ask yourself, what CAN I do with that situation (the way my tool works) rather than worry about everything else. I suggest you find, online or in the library, pix by the kind of photographer you want to be, Fine Art, Decorative (Popular), News, Wedding, Product..... Also, do you want/need to make money, how much, how fast....? Those are the things you can research. Meanwhile, make photos like crazy. Creativity happens in the mind, not in the equipment. Good equipment and advanced skills are preferred to crappy stuff, but they never make a good artistic photographer, although equipment is very important for some types of commercial work. Develop your toolset as your works determine the need.

Read about the photographers you want to be like. Work. Mingle with the scene you want to be part of. Work. Also, work.

dustie Loc: Nose to the grindstone

Thank you for sharing from your unretired teacher's heart, just because you want to.....and now you are going to plant a seed of (wishful?) thinking about income from photography, when I have not yet escaped the certain awareness that I still don't know enough to even be formulating many of the right questions.