Photography of Roy Thoman

iPhone photography

I have been seeing several posts lately using iPhone photography. So I thought I would post a few iPhone photos of my own. Unfortunately, my father-in-law has been having a few health issues recently, so we had to spend some time at our local hospital. He is still having a few issues, but hopefully he is on a path to a swift recovery. Our local hospital is the Parrish Medical Center. If you find yourself needing to spend some time in the hospital, Parrish is not a bad place to be. For one, the people there are great. They are all very friendly and helpful. The other thing is the architecture is very well done. They managed to create a space that you actually want to spend time in. In fact, that was the plan. The idea was to heal the spirit as well as the body. Built in 2002, it was one of the first hospitals in the country to incorporate healing into the design. It works really well too. Every time I need to go there for a blood test or to visit a friend or family I don’t really feel like I’m in a hospital. They created a large atrium with skylights bringing in lots of natural light. Along with the calming sound of the water feature and tropical plants it gives you the feeling of being outdoors. I have always wanted to do some photography there. Normally places like this frown on photography, so I have never tried. Though I was just reading that it’s a popular place for wedding photos, who knew! So anyway, needing to stretch my legs from time to time I would take short walks. I could not help noticing the beautiful light from the skylights falling on the interior spaces. I can’t pass up great light, so I whipped out my trusty iPhone and started taking some photos. This was the perfect place to take advantage of my HDR app. It’s a pretty cool app, I use it a lot. It automatically takes two different exposures and combines them into one. It does a good job of bringing up the shadow areas and an OK job of dealing with the highlights. My iPhone capturing the light of Parrish:

46 responses

  1. Great pictures! Though the iPhone’s camera is good, I wouldn’ have thought it was capable of achieving that?!

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    June 26, 2013 at 10:36 pm

    • Thank you Julia! The camera in the iPhone is not a bad camera. I have an iPhone 4, the iPhone 5 has a much better camera. But that only gets you a better quality file. I think it is possible to get a visually pleasing image with any camera.

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      June 28, 2013 at 6:42 pm

      • I agree, the beauty of the image is in the eye of lthe photographer, yet the quality of the file helps enjoy it! I have an iPhone 4S and the camera is quite good. Now I am looking forward to the camera of version 5¿.

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        June 28, 2013 at 9:24 pm

      • The iPhone 5 does have a nice camera. Someone had asked me to take a photo of them using theirs. It was like a camera not a phone. Seems really nice.

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        July 2, 2013 at 8:29 am

  2. Some wonderful pictures here! I love the shadows and pools of light, very creative, and amazing for a hospital! I think all hospitals should be like this, they are normally very intimidating places to be for patient and visitor, which can’t do much in helping the body heal. Clever captures with your iPhone!!
    Suzy 😀

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    June 27, 2013 at 12:27 am

    • Thank you Suzy! I was drawn to the pools of light too. It was amazing to see how they changed throughout the day. I think this was a great way to design a hospital. It really does make it a nice place to visit.

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      June 28, 2013 at 6:48 pm

  3. The design and philosophy of this medical center is music to my ears. Wonderful. And great photos too.

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    June 27, 2013 at 2:40 am

    • Thank you Gallivanta! Healing the mind as well as the body is a great philosophy.

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      June 28, 2013 at 6:54 pm

      • And I was so taken with the photos and the philosophy I forgot to ask after the welfare of your father in law. I hope he is improving.

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        June 28, 2013 at 7:53 pm

      • He is improving, but he is not fully recovered yet. I’m sure that he will be soon.

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        July 2, 2013 at 7:43 am

      • That’s good to hear.

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        July 2, 2013 at 8:33 am

  4. andrea

    Very nice photos.
    Especially liked the stairs.
    Everything is so full of light.
    For us, it is cloudy.
    And how is the weather with you?
    I have a beautiful Thursday.
    Andrea sends warm greetings to friends

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    June 27, 2013 at 3:23 am

    • Thank you Andrea! The stairway is the centerpiece of the atrium. We are having our typical Florida summer weather. Hot and sunny with an afternoon or evening thunder storm. After the storm the sun returns.

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      June 28, 2013 at 6:59 pm

      • andrea

        Atrium at the heart is the part of Florida s?
        Lichtdurchflutetet are stairs, light and shadow.
        Have much interesting to WP for me, lots of fun to scroll through.
        you need to srollen quite down in the Middle, you’ll find the page the Ktegorien to the click.I find it beautiful that hach storm and storm even with you the Sun there.Mostly looks human but then a Rainbow Love greetings sends friends Andrea

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        June 29, 2013 at 2:23 am

      • Thank You Andrea! I’m not sure but I think that atriums are meant to take Florida to other parts of the world. 🙂
        The light filled areas are what brings your eye to the area.

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        August 2, 2013 at 10:48 am

      • andrea

        Good evening
        Nothing heard long you go well so far?
        Thank you for your comment on me.
        Also so hot is the weather like here in North Rhine-Westphalia?
        I wish that spared her with severe weather.
        I wish you a beautiful Abend…und I am on one again read.
        Sincerely Andrea

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        August 2, 2013 at 11:55 am

  5. These are beautiful Roy, I especially like the staircase-but all of them are wonderful!

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    June 27, 2013 at 8:28 am

    • Thank you Jill! I like that photo of you and your husband. I really like that staircase too.

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      June 28, 2013 at 7:07 pm

  6. great photos, such wonderful light in the hospital…what a fabulous way to design and build a hospital…with healing in mind!

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    June 27, 2013 at 9:21 pm

  7. The last one is inviting and mysterious–nicely done.

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    June 28, 2013 at 9:14 pm

    • Thank you Sally! That’s one of those images you know your going to like, even before you look through the viewfinder.

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      July 2, 2013 at 7:50 am

  8. Your photos are beautiful! I need to get a smart phone soon and I guess i should look into the iPhone! 🙂

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    July 24, 2013 at 1:19 pm

    • Thank you catbird! Yes you should look at the iPhone. I really like mine. I have an iPhone4 the newer iPhone5 has a better camera. Check though they may be on the verge of a new iPhone model soon. There are smart phones that have even better cameras too. Happy shopping!

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      August 2, 2013 at 10:37 am

      • Thanks, roythoman. I ended up getting the new iPhone 5. Now we’ll see what I can do with it! 🙂

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        August 3, 2013 at 7:20 pm

      • Good choice! I love my iPhone. I hope to se some of your beautiful iPhone photos soon.

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        August 7, 2013 at 1:35 pm

      • Thanks, I think I’ll be posting some soon on http://www.catbirdinamerica.wordpress.com. It’s too late for my Europe blog as I’ve already left! Hope you’ll visit. 🙂

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        August 7, 2013 at 1:51 pm

      • I forgot to tell you, I like to use HDR. It works really well. The standard HDR that comes with the phone works well and is convenient to use. I also have the Pro HDR app. With that you can choose the highlights and shadows you want to improve. Also there are other adjustments you can make. Anyway the point is that HDR improves iPhone photos quite well.

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        August 10, 2013 at 2:04 pm

      • Thanks for letting me know, Roy. I’ll check it out. 🙂

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        August 11, 2013 at 8:18 am

  9. Thanks for visiting my blog!
    I hope you are fine.

    Like

    July 24, 2013 at 9:12 pm

    • Thank You Miss Ayo Dele! I am ding fine! 🙂

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      August 2, 2013 at 10:39 am

  10. that is an awesome hospital setting. I like the shadow play in the photos.

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    July 25, 2013 at 11:51 am

    • Thanks Charron! It is a very awesome design. I’m sure that the shadows were a big part of what the designer was looking for.

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      August 2, 2013 at 10:44 am

  11. Nil

    Very nice photos! 🙂

    Like

    August 2, 2013 at 11:54 am

    • T

      Than you for stopping by my blog Nil!

      Like

      August 7, 2013 at 1:28 pm

  12. None of my iphone pictures look anything like this. Damn phone must be defective.

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    August 2, 2013 at 1:22 pm

    • Yes you should have your iPhone camera looked at, I’m sure there must be some sort of defect. 😀 LOL

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      August 7, 2013 at 1:32 pm

  13. This is a fantastic post… You have really demonstrated the power of the iPhone, especially when compared with camera technology from several years ago. The photos are amazing.

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    August 9, 2013 at 1:46 pm

    • Thank You Dalo! Phone cameras have come a long way in recent years. The real magic is the light. Good lighting will make or break a photo no matter what camera you are using.

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      August 10, 2013 at 2:09 pm

  14. You’ve got a good eye. Loved the photos. (Weddings in a hospital? Really? Crazy.) Hope you’re father-in-law is feeling better.

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    August 20, 2013 at 1:09 pm

    • Thank You Staci! Yes my father-in-law is doing much better! They don’t have the weddings at the hospital. It seems that they do come to the hospital to take a few photos in the atrium though. There is a nice lake close by, so I think they may take photos at both places since they are so close.

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      September 7, 2013 at 8:09 pm

  15. wow amazing pics Roy…I use samsung s3 and it does take good pics at times….also love the angles you have taken with a little bit of sunshine…gives the pic a whole new meaning

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    September 16, 2013 at 9:01 pm

    • Thank You Kavita! Light is the key to a good image no matter what camera you are using. If you have great light, you will have a great image. Of course you also need to compose well too. 🙂 The S3 has a great camera in it. Have fun and take lots of photos!

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      September 20, 2013 at 2:54 pm

  16. Brilliant use of what might to others seem an opportunity-free environment.

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    September 17, 2013 at 4:31 am

    • Thank You Rachael! I like to try and find an interesting image no matter where I am. It’s amazing how you can get 10 photographers in the same space and you will get 10 different images.

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      September 20, 2013 at 2:59 pm

  17. Great shots! My favorite is the stairway too.

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    November 7, 2013 at 8:15 pm

    • Thanks Patricia! I love the way the light falls on those stairs.

      Like

      November 11, 2013 at 9:39 pm

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