Photographer Reuben Wu is known for his fascinating photos that use LED lights and drones to create alienesque shapes in nighttime landscapes. This typically requires a large photography setup, but in Wu's second collaboration with Apple, he proves that the iPhone is a valid alternative to your typical DSLR.
To celebrate the release of the iPhone 15 Pro Max, Apple asked Wu to take their newest smartphone out for a test drive. Wu had previously worked on a project with the tech giant and was eager to see how the iPhone 15 Pro Max would perform out in the field. He wasn't disappointed.
“It felt liberating in a strange way to leave my larger camera system behind and to shoot everything using the iPhone 15 Pro Max,” he tells My Modern Met. “Because the iPhone is already the most important scouting and navigation tool I use—using apps like Viewfinder, PhotoPills, Gaia GPS, etc., it was nice to experience the entire shoot within the same device ecosystem.”
World-renowned photographers Stephen Wilkes and Reuben Wu show us creativity is limitless with iPhone 15 Pro Max. Their vivid photos display breathtaking views from the beauty of summer in Rhode Island to the other-worldly deserts of Utah. Thank you for showing me your work. pic.twitter.com/6kYnln7HYF
— Tim Cook (@tim_cook) September 22, 2023
Thanks to the device's small size, Wu was able to explore areas that would have otherwise been impossible. The results are intimate images taken in the Utah desert that bring Wu into the environment in a manner that's usually not possible.
“The best part of the experience was how physically nimble I was able to be on location with the iPhone in my shirt pocket. This, combined with a lightweight tripod and small lumber pack, enabled me to move through extremely narrow and flooded slot canyons to reach my intended locations and capture images that I’d be proud of regardless of camera type.”
With its new triple camera system, 5x zoom, and a tetraprism design that allows it to mimic a 120mm focal length, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is a huge leap forward. The technology equips professional photographers with more creative options than ever, with Wu noting that he was able to print his photos at a large scale without any loss of quality.
“It proved to me that I was able to push my own vision without needing a much larger DSLR or mirrorless camera system. It doesn’t yet replace these larger systems, but knowing that the iPhone is easily capable of capturing images for large-scale gallery shows is remarkable.”
Reuben Wu was commissioned by Apple to test out the new iPhone Pro Max 15.
His photos in the Utah desert prove the creative power of Apple's newest iPhone.
“Charge”
“The Inner Landscape II”
“Ultra Vivid”
The iPhone Pro Max 15 boasts a triple camera system and a design that allows for 5x zoom.
“The Ancients”
“A Soft Floating Witchery of Sound”
“The Inner Landscape I”
