The city is full of adventure and colour, but how do you blend in with the locals while recording your travel memories? With the exceptional phone camera, the Huawei P9. Photographer Tim Moolman went on a day tour of Joburg to test its capabilities.
Morning ramble
We started the morning by heading into the city centre. Newtown has the unique architecture of the old train station, and this made for a spectacular panoramic shot. The location, just over the Nelson Mandela Bridge in Carr Street, is well-known to Instagrammers – both sunrise and sunset deliver the most outstanding backlighting to this unique structure.
The P9’s Panorama function stitch images together seamlessly. Look for a unique angle from which to photograph. Showing your own perspective will make your images different from the rest.
Breakfast
Coffee was necessary at this point and we stopped at Post on 70 Juta Street (0722482078) to enjoy ours with tasty cheeseburgers for breakfast. There are also a variety of shops in the surrounds such as Research Unit which sells leather goods (0215930319). The image of Nokophiwo Mareka (below) who works there, is an example of the shallow depth of field.
The Huawei P9’s large aperture feature allows you to isolate a focal point from the background utilising the shallow depth of field. You can also do this afterwards, selecting the focus along with your preferred aperture, which is a useful post-production feature that makes for exceptional images.
The city’s heart
Bellies full, we headed to the Carlton Centre, with a quick stop at the Turbine Hall, a well-known photographic location for urban-styled photo shoots. From the 50th floor of the Carlton, we enjoyed the crisp, contrasty midday light on the city below us. The Huawei P9’s dual-lens system really shines through in the monochrome image created by this camera.
When travelling I’m always tempted to bring my cameras along so I can get high-quality images. The joy of the P9 is that it has a built-in, full manual-control photographic system that shoots in RAW, which means I can draw out the maximum detail, colour and depth of every image.
Shopper’s Mecca
Next stop, Rosebank – the fashionista paradise – and home to Sheldon Kopman’s outlet, Naked Ape (0114478888). This designer’s punchy colours and unique designs shout out South Africa’s bold design ethic. Also in the area is the Rosebank Art & Craft Market (0115680850), which has a wonderful selection of sculptures by local artists that stand apart from the usual tourist tat on sale.
Dinner date
Our last stop was the cosy Pata Pata restaurant (0730369031) in Maboneng, named after Miriam Makeba’s famous song. It’s an intimate restaurant, almost entirely lit by candlelight, with subtle background music and a relaxed vibe. Live jazz and avant garde music is played from 7pm, Thursdays to Sundays. It’s a great spot for fillet steak (R150) and a rack of pork ribs (R170).
Huawei P9’s low-light capability is due to its superb twin-lens system featuring large apertures of f/2.2. One sensor captures colour and the other black and white to create smooth, low-noise images.
Last hurrah
That evening we stopped at Sandton’s Mandela Square where international pizzazz meets South African warmth. You can take your pick from vibey sidewalk cafes, fabulous restaurants and over 88 stores for those in the mood to shop. There’s also the Antique Fair, considered to be one of the top globally, where 70 dealers trade on the first Sunday of the month from 9am to 4pm.
The P9’s long-exposure and low-light abilities are great to capture images likethis one. I used a tripod to steady the device. Using the phone’s manual controls, I set the ISO low and utilised a shutter speed of a few seconds to blur the water fountains.
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