Amazing iPhone photos from readers

Mila D. Aguilar ("a poet who loves taking pictures") used her iPhone 3GS to take the photo on the left at the exact moment a customer barged into the restaurant. The sharpness and saturation were tweaked in iPhoto.

Arix Chen took the photograph on the right while having lunch with a friend. He added Warm, Jewel, Vignette, and Contrast filters in the Best Camera app and then uploaded it to the Best Camera site.

"This image is from August when I drove around Southern California on a photo journey with Jim Ales, art director of the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We do this yearly as a creative getaway. He challenged me to forgo all my expensive cameras and only use the iPhone. I never opened my DSLR camera case." - Mark Leet (this image was processed with the ShakeitPhoto app)

Bruce Redmer took the photo on the right during a boat delivery on the intracoastal waterway. During his travels he noticed something about his iPhone's camera: "It has an uncanny ability to take photos into a rising or setting sun." Hans de Kort took full advantage of that effect for his ethereal photo of a tree in front of the sun (left), which was edited with iFlashReady and CameraKit.

Megen Duffy used a 3GS to snap this shot of a unique leaf in her back yard. She cropped the picture with Photogene and used TiltShift Generator to add a slight blur the edges and bump up the saturation. Then, in true iPhone photographer fashion, Megen e-mailed her shot to Posterous and Flickr.

Always having your iPhone on you means you don't have to miss fleeting family moments just because you left your camera at home. Mauricio Carey took the photo on the left with a 3GS by Big Pond in Cape Cod, MA. He processed the image with with CameraBag, applying a Holga filter (no borders), and a Lolo filter (w/ borders). He also used the Photoshop.com app, applying the Rainbow filter.

Damian Coughlan learned the value of the iPhone's camera when his son was born: "My son's birth coincided with my iPhone purchase. I find it's perfect for spontaneous moments like this. Even though I have Nikon DSLR, I still reach for my iPhone first."

One of the most popular post-production effects for iPhone photos is tilt-shift, which simulates a shallow depth of field to make scenes appear miniature. Jayms Ramirez took this picture from an airplane window above LA and edited it with the TiltShift Generator app.

Another TiltShift devotee, David Gratke, took this picture of a Mini Cooper in Portland, OR. He used TiltShift Generator to miniaturize the car, and ToyCamera to up the color saturation and contrast. David frequently uploads his iPhone shots to the photo journaling site Blipfoto.

Sometimes you unexpectedly come across something that's so amazing, or so bizarre, that you just have to document it. That's where the iPhone's camera shines.

"I passed this man dressed as a chicken, passing out fliers, and there was something about his expression and this homemade chicken suit that made me turn around, pretend to be on the phone, and take this shot."- Jenna Stern (left)

"It was an early morning in Gulf Shores. My camera battery was being charged and all I had was my iPhone. This was the most intense rainbow (actually a double rainbow) I had ever witnessed." -Geo Yann (right)

Another example of the unexpected is Ken Schiff's street-side watermelon stand: "I was walking down West 14th Street in NYC on a summer day when I passed this Watermelon Parade on Ice. It could have been something playing at Radio City Music Hall."

See who took the pictures in the opening slide. You can click on a name to view a larger version of that person's photo:

1. Mark Leet, 2. R. Pelayo, 3. Ric, 4. Robert Mancuso, 5. Don Yee, 6.Glenn Wroughton, 7. Jayms Ramirez, 8. Daniel Sonokin, 9. Geo Yann, 10. Rob Preece, 11. Mauricio Carey, 12. David Hensel, 13. Mark Leet, 14. Bruce Redmer, 15. Jenna Stern, 16. Arix Chen, 17. Lysander Asuncion, 18. Tara Payne.