As part of our partnership with Huawei and its global smartphone photography competition Next-Image awards 2020, we caught up with professional photographer Daryl Walker as he took part in the competition in the ‘Near Far’ category using the Huawei P40 Pro to capture the Positive Power of Creativity. The landscape photographer told us about his approach to photography and how he captures his own gems in nature.

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We’ve connected with @Huaweimobileuk to inspire you with six awesome UK creatives, to submit to the #HuaweiNextImageUK smartphone photography competition. For the final video of our series, (last but certainly not the least) @darylswalker, one of the dopest landscape photographers, shows how he plays with perspective in the North East featuring trees that are over 100 years old. Daryl is always looking for a new adventure and with photography skills like that who wouldn’t want to strap on a backpack and get snapping? Have you got a new perspective you want to share? Using your Huawei smartphone, snap a pic, upload to IG, and tag @Huaweimobileuk in the image and use #HuaweiNextImageUK and #CapturedOnHuawei hashtags and that’s it, that's a submission. Enter up to 30 images per category and there are 6 different categories to choose from (until 31st of July). Go on, that $10,000 USD creation fund is waiting. Link in bio for more info. #ad

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Walker’s photography represents a mixture of his love for nature, his emotive approach to storytelling and the many adventures he goes through in life; a full-blown celebration of planet Earth. “I’m an adventure and travel photographer. I’m always striving to capture the small details and the grand vistas.” He told Screen Shot.

For his participation in the Huawei Next-Image awards 2020, Walker chose to submit his pictures in the ‘Near Far’ category with a series of captivating images depicting his trip to Minsteracres in Consett where sequoia trees have grown to impressive proportions to create magnificent avenues of giant trees. By using the Pro mode on his Huawei smartphone, Walker’s photography offers a different perspective of nature’s hidden gems. “Using the Huawei P40 Pro has allowed me to capture some incredible perspectives. To capture the sequoias, which are very large, I’ve also used the RAW feature built into the camera and the wide-angle lens, which gave me some extra room in nailing my final idea.”

Walker decided to do what he does best: to explore and capture nature in a way that we’ve never seen before. Capturing these settings on a smartphone allows Walker to always be ready to contain a fleeting moment; never missing a beat and making sure that the environment, from all its angles and beauties, is stored with him.

“My work primarily focuses on animals, landscapes, and aerial imagery—all with a sense of adventure. My ultimate goal in photography is to inspire others to get outside and find their own hidden gems, whether this is locally or further afield. This ultimately makes me want to continue exploring, finding new places, photographing them and showing them to others.”

Have you got a Huawei? Do you love snapping moments? Submit your pictures taken with a Huawei smartphone to the Huawei Next-Image awards 2020 for the chance to win a creation fund of up to $10,000 USD.

Even developing his career, Walker had always had a fascination with our planet’s natural beauty, which naturally evolved into his main inspiration. “I find inspiration through films and other media outlets but when you have places like this on your doorstep, my own adventures then become my inspiration.”

It is this same passion for adventure and his love of nature that give Walker the ability to capture striking and powerful moments. Born and raised in the North East of England, Walker always takes advantage of his easy access to Northumberland’s finest beaches and countryside. His love for exploring and being outside both drive him to constantly experiment with new settings.

Walker started by simply wanting to capture special moments and places on his smartphone, which led him to chase sunrises and explore mountains. From there, he couldn’t imagine a life without photography, making sure he always took his time to enjoy the journey along the way, both in terms of his skills as a photographer and the physical journeys to the remote and wild places he chooses to capture. “The beauty of photography is that you never stop learning, there is always a new skill to master.”

Through his photography career, Walker uses pictures to celebrate our planet and the many hidden beauties it contains. But, as he explained, you can find inspiration from anything and use it to capture your own hidden gems. Most of Walker’s activities involve nature in one way or another, which is strongly mirrored in his photography. Find your own passion to share your unique perspective of the world. And in the words of Walker: “As always, adventure is out there. Let’s go and find it.”

Find more of Daryl’s work here.

Have you got a hidden gem in mind you’ve always wanted to share with the world? Capture it on your Huawei smartphone and submit it to the Huawei Next-Image awards 2020 for the chance to win a creation fund of up to $10,000 USD.

Through the constant rethinking of what nighttime means to him, 20-year-old London-based photographer Anok Deb, also known as Emriys on social media, has mastered the art of low light photography. That’s why, as part of our partnership with Huawei and its global smartphone photography competition Next-Image awards 2020, we couldn’t say no to the chance of speaking to Emriys about the awards’ category ‘Good Night’ in order to understand the process behind capturing low light scenes using a Huawei smartphone.

Nighttime has always had something special about it, and capturing these glowing moments is an art in itself—an intricate balance of lighting, exposure and finding just that perfect moment. Using the Huawei P40 Pro to show the Positive Power of Creativity, Emriys shared his best tips on mastering low light photography.

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So I have been using the new #HuaweiP40Pro for the past month now with @screenshothq. When I heard of its new 50 MP wide and 40 MP ultra-wide sensor I knew I had to get my hands on it. What stood out to me the most was its incredible low light capabilities. Huawei is currently hosting their Next-Image 2020 smartphone photography competition and I invite you all to join by submitting your images taken on a Huawei device and possibly win $10k. Can't wait to see what you guys come up with #HuaweiNextImageUK #CapturedOnHuawei #Ad. Find out more on @huaweimobileuk

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“Previously, I’ve always taken my photos during day time or sunset. I was never a big fan of low light photography but lately, I’ve been totally loving it. Everything changes at night. Everything seems so lonely, and yet so beautiful.”

For his submission images for ‘Good Night’, Emriys explored his hometown of London as the sun went down and the night came in. He shares how he chose his subjects and what features he used to capture them. “For example, in this image, the city looks so isolated but so beautiful at the same time. The glow coming out from the light is truly beautiful—you can never imagine getting a shot like that during day time.”

Using his Huawei P40 Pro, and keeping in mind the challenges that come with capturing that perfect night shot, Emriys tells us how he played with the phone camera’s different angles, allowing him to capture the image’s depth, even when the light was scarce. “I used the wide-angle camera to get the maximum field of view. By using the Pro mode on the camera app, I was able to shoot these images in a RAW format, which allowed me to be more flexible while I was editing the images without losing any quality.”

Photography is about sharing your perspective on the world, and we would really want to see yours. Capture your own on a Huawei smartphone and submit it to the Huawei Next-Image awards 2020 for a chance to win a creation fund of up to $10,000 USD.

“A lot of the photos I take in low light are actually from my smartphone. The night modes on smartphones in 2020 are insanely good! Sometimes I prefer the look of an image taken on my phone to the one taken on my camera. I currently use the Huawei P40 Pro and I think it has the best camera in the market at the moment.”

“Huawei’s technology gives my pictures so much more precision than any other smartphones can. The Night Mode is pure magic—it can even capture what the eyes are not able to see,” Emriys adds.

“For this shot, I wanted to make it look like it came straight from a high-end DSLR camera. I used the aperture mode and set my aperture to F2. This allowed me to create the out of focus blur behind my subject making the subject look crisp and the image look more professional.”

In order to capture the shot, Emriys needs to see something special in his selected location, highlighting nighttime’s true beauty. And it might seem obvious to some, but inspiration is the key element to creating a powerful image. For Emriys, “photography is all about capturing experiences. When I snap a photo, it’s like I’m freezing time and I get to capture a moment that is gone forever; impossible to reproduce. It’s also an act of observation. I like to find something interesting in a totally ordinary place, and the fact that I am the only one seeing it excites me.”

“One thing I’ve realised over the years is that, in life, you don’t get second chances. Everything moves so fast that if you blink, you miss your shot. And I see that as a challenge,” explains Emriys. Building confidence in your art and your skills is part of the journey towards expressing your creativity through photography. And for you to really reach this kind of level, as important as practising can be, having a creative eye must be your number one priority at first.

Taking photographs has been with Emriys all his life but it was only two years ago that he finally decided to see where it could take him in his professional career. Since then, Emriys has left his part-time job to focus on his passion and has been on a mission to capture every experience he goes through in order to share it all with the world.

Attention night owls! Are you, like Emriys, on a mission to capture the night on your Huawei? If so, submit your images to the Huawei Next-Image awards 2020 for a chance to win a creation fund of up to $10,000 USD.