Italian photographer Valerio Minato gives a magical view of the Moon thanks to a cleverly aligned photo. Taken just outside of Turin, the image shows the Basilica of Superga and Monviso mountain completely centered against the Moon. It’s a special moment that he’s been envisioning since 2017 when he first realized that the mountain peak and the hilltop basilica overlap from a certain vantage point.

After scouting a few locations, Minato attempted to capture the view and include the Moon, as it also usually aligns about once a year. However, poor weather foiled his attempts, and it was only in December 2023 that everything came together, and his vision came to life.

“Even though the setting moon was captured in a crescent phase, the exposure was long enough for doubly reflected earthlight, called the da Vinci glow, to illuminate the entire top of the moon,” he shared.

Minato is currently taking requests via his website for those interested in purchasing a print of the photo.

See this behind-the-scenes glimpse of how Valerio Minato took his incredible photo of the Moon, Monviso mountain, and the Basilica of Superga in alignment.

Valerio Minato: Website | Facebook | Instagram

My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Valerio Minato.

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Prince George photographer Chuck Chin died Saturday of an apparent heart attack while shoveling snow.

He was 73.

Chin was known for his daily Facebook posts where he shared thousands of images of people, wildlife, natural landscapes, city scenes and sporting/cultural events for the past 18 years, motivated by a passion to showcase the city and its surroundings as a great place to live.

Social media was his way to display his work and connect with people, whose appreciation for his work and dedication to his craft were reflected in the comments attached to his photos.

Chin’s willingness to attend events and share his photos made him a friend to thousands who came to appreciate his talent behind the lens to freeze time and preserve history.

“I am devastated to learn about Chuck’s passing and I am heartbroken for his family,” said Prince George-Valemount MLA Shirley Bond. “I cannot imagine our community without Chuck there to capture the images and share them with all of us. I attend countless events and it was rare that Chuck wasn’t there too, with that contagious smile and deep love of our community. 

“As we mourn his loss, we will be forever surrounded by his photos that will remind us of his significant contributions to Prince George and beyond.  Thank you Chuck, for sharing your life and gift with all of us.”

Like any accomplished photographer, Chin knew natural light at the start or end of the day was best for landscape photos and captured the colours of a frosty winter painted by the sun that turned whisps of cold river steam to brilliant orange against a red sky.

With the sun peaking out from behind a stand of trees with snow-covered branches he used that photo post to pay tribute to COVID sufferers during the pandemic in a way that restored their hope for healthier times.

“It takes courage to journey forward during sad and hard times in life….even in social media such as Facebook,” wrote Chin. “I know a few of you are going through this right now (extreme health issues, loved ones passing, etc). My heart goes out to all of you. This is for all that are at this point in your life.”

He brought home the chill shock of the plunge into a frozen lake with his coverage of the annual Ness Lake Bible Camp New Year’s Polar Dip and took the time to post 446 pictures from this year’s event.

“Chuck Chin was a joyful presence at many, many of our community events,” said CN Centre general manager Glen Mikkelsen.

”He had a respectful way of making sure he obtained the photographs he wanted, but also illuminated the events with his broad smile and happy eyes. Our community is indebted to how much he donated his time and his generous spirit.”

Retired at age 55 from his job as an operating engineer at the Intercon Pulp Mill steam plant, Chin turned a hobby for photography into a full-time unpaid occupation. He considered it a blessing that he could reconnect with long-lost friends through his photographs on his Facebook site “Chuck-Susan Chin.”

In addition to his coverage over the years of Spruce Kings/Cougars hockey games, Kodiaks football and UNBC basketball and soccer games, Chin was a fixture at sports events.

“Chuck was a Prince George icon,” said Spruce Kings general manager Mike Hawes. “Somebody who spent countless hours promoting our beautiful community and region.

“He was a Spruce Kings family member who was always smiling at our games while he proudly snapped photographs and interacted with our players and fans. He will be deeply missed by the entire Spruce Kings organization.”

Chin took pride in giving athletes their moment in the spotlight, like the photo of BCHL referee Braiden Epp, who overcame multiple sclerosis to return to his Prince George hometown to officiate a post-Christmas game between West Kelowna and the Spruce Kings, the teams he once played for.

One of his posts explained his philosophy on people using his photos.

“More requests for permission to use some of my photos for prints/references for paintings, and I’m happy that I can help if I have an original for you. As mentioned, they are free, with the exception of reproduction for sales – unless it’s 100% for charity purposes.

“One question that is frequently asked along with the photo request was the cost and I’ve stated that above. I’ve also mentioned that if you insist on paying for the use of the photo(s), you’re most welcome to give the monetary funds to a charity of choice. I’ve received funds in the past, and they’ve all gone to local charities.

“Corporation/business/folks that have generously gave funds for the use of my photos (for framed prints/large murals) range from $50 – $1000, and for which I am forever grateful for their kindness. Our community benefits from this. I only take the pictures. Thank you, and glad I can help.”

He was a husband to his wife Susan, who was always by his side. He was a devoted father to their children and a loving “Gong Gong” to their grandchildren. He recently posted a timeline showing photos of his granddaughter Julia at different stages of her life under the caption:

“Time waits for no one. Treasure the moments.”   

On Jan. 2, he posted these words.

“Time to take life a little slower. Sit back and relax, take in the views. Enjoy life. Each and every day.”

Two hunters have pled guilty to illegally hunting deer after it was discovered they had posed as nature photographers online to find the location of mature bucks.

Jayson Zorda and Kevin Butler both admitted the misdemeanor charges relating to the killing of two bucks in upstate New York, close to Buffalo.

The investigation led by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Police on Patrol began on November 14, 2022, when authorities received reports of two suspicious men walking in the woods close to the town of Tonawanda.

The witness observed one of the men crouching in the woods behind his residence and heard what he believed to be the snap of a bow discharge and an arrow strike. Shortly after, a large 16-point buck ran into his yard after being shot.

The men fled before the police arrived, but they were identified by photos taken on trail cameras. The men denied any wrongdoing but after warrants were executed on their phone records, it was found that the hunters conspired with a larger group of poachers who scoured social media posts made by wildlife photographers to target bucks in areas where hunting is banned.

Not only were they looking at photographers’ social pages, but Zorda went so far as to create a fictitious Facebook profile posing as a female nature photographer. Zorda used the fake account to reach out to other photographers in a bid to learn the locations of mature urban bucks so he could poach them.

Zorda and Butler would go out with compact bows hidden in backpacks and put arrows in hollow walking sticks in a bid to disguise their actions.

The pair have had their hunting licenses revoked for five years and ordered to pay $1,075 in fines and surcharges after they pled guilty to illegally taking whitetail deer. Police added that other individuals were implicated in the warrants and charges are pending.

Image credits: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock will host a photography exhibit of “Structures That Transformed Education” from Jan. 22 to Feb. 23.

The photography exhibit will be on display in the Focus Gallery in the Windgate Center of Art and Design with a reception with artist Mark Wittig from 5-7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 8. The exhibit focuses on photographing and building architectural sculptures of schools that played a role in changing education in America from 1724 to 1974. This project is generously funded by Mid-America Arts Alliance, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Arkansas Arts Council.

“To create the architectural sculptures of school buildings, I use computer-aided design software to layout the parts of the structure, then I use a laser cutter to precisely cut out the parts, and then hand assemble the parts,” Wittig said. “When building the architectural sculptures, I am continuing the precedent set by William Christenberry who translated some of the buildings he photographed into sculptures.”

His work has been displayed nationally and internationally in the academic journal Postdigital Science and Education, the Center for Fine Art Photography in Fort Collins, Colorado, the Millepiani Exhibition Space in Rome, Italy, the Czong Institute for Contemporary Art in Gimpo, Korea, the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, the Firehouse Gallery in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the New Orleans Museum of Art, and the Arts and Humanities Council of Tulsa.

Wittig has worked as an architect, educator, and artist. He holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Arkansas, a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography and Drawing and a Master of Fine Arts in Photography and Open Media from the University of Tulsa.

The UA Little Rock Art Galleries in the Windgate Center are open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. Saturday, and 2-5 p.m. Sunday.

For more information, contact Nathan Larson, interim art gallery director and curator, at 501-916-5104 or nglarson@ualr.edu.

You can own the best iPhone available right now, but there’s really no shortcut to learning the iPhone photography basics. However, you can fast-track your progress by focusing on a few key aspects that will set you on the right path. Photography is a huge subject and if you start off trying to take in everything at once, you’ll likely end up frustrated and confused. 

I’ve compiled a list of essential tips and tricks that can be applied to almost any genre of iPhone photography, so you can start making the most of your Apple device straight away. From the importance of composition to dipping your toes into the world of editing to capturing the best natural light, follow the seven steps below and you’ll see instant results.

Mike Harris

I’m Deputy Editor of N-Photo: The Nikon Magazine, but moonlight as iMore’s go-to photography know-it-all. I’ve worked in the photo industry for over six years and have been an avid iPhone photographer since the iPhone 4. I’m a firm believer that iPhone photography is a great starting point for burgeoning photographers, which is why I’ve created a series of iPhone photography basics tutorials, so you can either firm up your existing iPhone Camera skills or embark on a whole new passion.

How to compose an image

Composition is the cornerstone of great photography. If you can’t compose an image, it doesn’t matter how good your editing skills are or how cool your subject is, you’ll always leave the viewer wanting. While composition is an enormous and sometimes contentious topic with no one-size-fits-all solution, there are a few easy tips and tricks that will help you to compose better images almost instantly. 

Our guide to composition goes into much more detail, but our top beginner picks are: The rule of thirds. This utilizes your iPhone’s 3×3 grid to position your subject on one of four intersection points where the horizontal and vertical lines meet, while placing the horizon on either of the two horizontal lines. Symmetry. This also pays to use the 3×3 grid so you can easily line up symmetrical subjects right in the center of the frame. Foreground interest, which involves framing something in the foreground of your images to break up the monotony of large areas of blank space. Leading lines, which means using elements such as roads, railings and hedges to ‘lead’ the viewer towards the subject. And the rule of odds, which suggests that odd numbers of subjects, say, three flowers in a vase look more visually appealing than even numbers.

1. Tap on Settings and scroll down to Camera 
2. Ensure Grid is checked
3. Open the Camera app to use the 3×3 rule-of-thirds grid

How to edit your iPhone photos

Each generation of iPhone seems to take computational photography to new heights. This AI-driven tech automatically edits each photo you take in a matter of milliseconds. Add the small size of a smartphone screen and the incredible quality of Apple’s Retina displays and you’re left with jaw-dropping snapshots that will often look more appealing, straight out of camera, than unedited shots captured on a DSLR or mirrorless camera. 

You see, mid- to high-end cameras are designed to capture as much image data as possible so photographers can really make their mark in the editing suite – especially if they choose to shoot RAW (see the next step). But even if you’re using an iPhone that doesn’t shoot Apple ProRAW, this doesn’t mean you can’t tweak your iPhone images to taste. 

If you want to edit iPhone photos the right way, the Edit option in the Photos app is a great place to start. You can add filters, crop images to more pleasing compositions and make finer tweaks to processes such as Exposure, Contrast, and Saturation via the Adjust tab. Just be aware that the computational photography has already done the leg work, so most adjustments are likely to be relatively light. 

1. Open the Photos app
2. Select your desired photo and tap Edit in the top-right corner
3. Select the Crop tab to fine-tune your composition
4. Use the Adjust tab to edit your image’s tones

When to use Apple ProRAW

An age-old debate between digital photographers is whether to shoot JPEG or RAW. And now, many iPhone photographers are asking themselves a similar question: HEIC/JPEG or Apple ProRAW. Firstly, you can only shoot Apple ProRAW if you have an iPhone 12 Pro or later Pro models. A lot of enthusiast and professional photographers tend to shoot RAW because the files capture as much image data as the sensor can handle. They’re virtually unprocessed, too, making them look flatter and less vibrant than JPEGs. This is because they’re a blank canvas designed to be edited. The available image data means they’re much more pliable in the edit than HEIC or JPEG files, and Apple ProRAW is much the same. 

So what’s the catch? Well, RAW files are much larger than HEIC or JPEGs, because of all that lovely image data. This means your iPhone’s storage or iCloud is going to fill up faster, and file transfers will take longer. You may also notice a short delay before you can capture another image as your iPhone handles those big files. In short, for selfies with friends or situations where you just want to keep shooting and capture the moment, I’d opt for shooting in HEIC or JPEG. For anything you shoot with the intention of extensive edits and obtaining the best quality, Apple ProRAW is the way to go. And if your iPhone doesn’t shoot Apple ProRAW, choose HEIC, which is more pliable than JPEG.

• Go to Settings, scroll down and tap Camera > Format
• Check Apple ProRAW (beneath Photo Capture)
• ProRAW Resolution lets you choose between 12 and 48MP (iPhone 14 Pro or 15 Pro models only)

Take more photos

Well-known photographer, Chase Jarvis, published a book called The Best Camera Is The One That’s With You. What camera was he talking about? His iPhone. I personally think the Nikon Z 8 is the best consumer camera in the world, right now, but it’s roughly 2lb 15.3oz/1340g and that’s without a lens. Take it to a sporting event or photograph wildlife and it’s unbeatable, but it’s not the camera you pop to the shop or stroll along the beach with. And that right there is the biggest case for iPhone photography. It’s the camera that never leaves your side. Heck, it probably even sits on your nightstand when you hit the sack.

Before smartphones, photographers were left with a dilemma every time they left the house: Do I take my camera with me? Carrying a camera everywhere can be a bit of a burden. It’s one reason why street photographers often opt for smaller cameras that can be slipped into a bag or even pocketed. 

There is a caveat, though, when considering the iPhone’s unrivaled accessibility. I think that we’re so used to our iPhones’ presence that we don’t always take them seriously as cameras. They’re so easy to use, the temptation is to point and click or point and click, click, click, click. The result is thousands of photos documenting our lives, but very few with any photographic intention. Don’t expect to become a better photographer by casually snapping. Photograph often but with intent, and you’ll get better.

1. Every time you step out of your door, remember that your iPhone is the camera you have on you
2. Look for photo opportunities throughout the day
3. Apply the tips here to make sure you use your iPhone to photograph with intent

How to shoot the golden hour

Many photographers will tell you never to shoot in harsh sunlight. It is certainly possible to create incredible images in this kind of lighting, but it suits certain aesthetics better than others, such as stylized portraits or black and white images. The best natural light occurs early in the morning or late in the evening, when the sun is lower in the sky and the light and shadows are softer. Around this time, rays of light take on a very warm appearance, most notably during the hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset. Photographers call this golden hour. 

Shooting at golden hour will immediately improve your landscapes and portraits, dappling the land with golden pockets of light. During this time, the sky may display a plethora of warm yellow, orange, and pink hues. If you’re shooting a portrait, try positioning your subject with their back to the sun. This will provide backlighting and create a golden rim light around them. You may need to use a reflector to bounce a little light back onto the face, but we’ll touch upon using a reflector next. Finally, you can find all manner of apps such as , which will tell you when golden hour will fall on a given day.

1. Download a photography planning app like The Photographer’s Ephemeris
2. Tap the date at the top of the screen and input the date of your shoot
3. Select the Locations icon at the bottom of the screen and input the location of your shoot
4. The timeline will now display magic hour timings for that date and location
5. You can also use the colored lines to determine which direction the sun will be at during specific times of day

Why you should avoid flash

You can enable flash in your iPhone’s Camera app by swiping up in the frame and selecting the flash icon, but I only recommend using it if you’re taking snapshots of friends and family on a night out. Pointing flash directly at a subject is rarely flattering. The results are often flat and washed-out, with shiny hotspots on the skin and in the middle of the eyes. Mid- to high-end cameras usually have a hotshoe to mount a flash unit. These can often be articulated to point away from the subject, bouncing light off the ceiling or a nearby wall for a softer effect. 

Flash units can also be positioned off-camera to hit the subject from different angles and distances. This isn’t an option when you’re shooting with your iPhone, so you can either use continuous lighting, like an LED panel such as the Lume Cube RGB Panel Pro 2.0 – or even a lamp – or stick to ambient light. 

Plenty of portraits are captured outside using only natural light, but you can shoot with natural light inside, too. Set your subject up next to a large window where indirect sunlight is filtering through. You can even shape light using an accessory called a reflector or make your own using a piece of foam board or a sheet of tinfoil. You then direct your reflector so the window light hits it and bounces softer light back onto the subject to make the shadows look less intense.

1. Open your iPhone Camera app
2. Tap the lightning bolt icon in the top-left corner to turn off the flash
3. Alternatively, swipe up on the Camera app’s live view screen so a row of icons appear just above the shutter button
4. Select the lightning bolt icon and tap Flash Off

How to change the aspect ratio

You might be tempted to shoot in 16:9 or 1:1 aspect ratios for use on Instagram Stories or your Feed, even though the aspect ratio of your iPhone’s sensor is 4:3. This means that shooting in any other aspect ratio causes the camera to crop into the sensor digitally. Thankfully, you don’t actually lose any data because you can revert back to the 4:3 crop after you’ve captured the photo. Simply open the image in the Photos app’s editing suite and select the Crop tab. From here, you can restore the full 4:3 aspect ratio.

1. Open the Camera app and swipe up with your finger on the frame
2. Tap the aspect ratio icon and select your preferred aspect ratio
3. Open the image in the Photos app’s editing suite and tap the crop icon
4. Select the icon that’s to the left of the marker pen icon
5. Hit Original to revert back to the 4:3 crop

What’s the best iPhone for photography

Objectively, the iPhone 15 Pro Max is the best iPhone Apple has ever created for taking photos. It boasts a 48-MP sensor, sensor‑shift optical image stabilization, Apple ProRAW, seven lenses (sort of…) and a 5x tetraprism optical zoom. But when you’re learning the photography ropes, it really doesn’t matter whether you’re defiantly holding onto your faithful iPhone 11 or shooting with an iPhone SE. 

Strive to compose better images, practice every day, and have fun editing; you’ll see progress. If you’re lucky enough to own a more advanced iPhone, enjoy playing around with everything it has to offer, but also take days where you strip everything back and allow yourself to use only one lens, for example. Self-imposed limitations can be a great way to kickstart your creativity and learn even faster.