The September Editors' photo challenge The theme for our September Editors' photo challenge was "Pixels in your pocket. " We asked you to share images captured with the camera that's always with you: your smartphone, and the photographers who submitted photos clearly didn't "phone it in.
" Capturing everything from misty seasides to towering cliffs, in vibrant color and stark black and white, and from far corners of the globe, you proved that small sensors can tell big stories.
As usual, we were overwhelmed with great pictures – many more than we can present here. Our favorites, showcasing a diverse range of vision and talent, are presented in random order.
Thanks to everyone who participated in this photo challenge. If you want to participate in other photo challenges, visit our Challenges page to see currently open or upcoming challenges, or to vote in a recently closed challenge.
Picos clouds
Photographer: Jswell
Photographer's statement: This photo was taken while guiding a climb on Picos Urriellu in Picos de Europa National Park, Spain, on a post-storm morning – a combination of circumstance and position.
Equipment: Apple iPhone 16 Pro
Painting with light
Photographer: DerGatekeeper
Photographer's statement: At the “Zeche Zollverein” in Essen, Germany, there is a closed coal mine. The mining buildings are converted into a kind of industrial museum. The stairs have been illuminated with special lights, giving the scene an impression of being not of this world.
Equipment: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
The way up
Photographer: jaggedhorizon
Photographer's statement: I love skiing and skitouring just as much as I love photography. And the best thing is, being far away from the beaten path in the mountains, I can combine both, whether I carry a camera or a phone. I loved the simplicity of this image showing “skin tracks” and in the background, the Aiguille Rouge, near Arolla in Switzerland.
Equipment: Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
Balloons over Myanmar
Photographer: light_reaction
Photographer's statement: This photo was taken while soaring above Bagan, Myanmar. This moment was guided by a UK army veteran piloting our balloon – a tradition in Bagan where British and international pilots work alongside local crews. Ballooning here is more than a visitor’s thrill: it’s a source of pride and support for the local community, with companies employing hundreds of locals and funding projects in education, health, and heritage conservation, ensuring that the ancient temples continue to inspire and sustain those who call Bagan home.
Equipment: Apple iPhone 8
Spiral spiral
Photographer: fatplanediaries
Photographer's statement: I spent a summer with family in Europe. At the time, I only brought a prime for my camera, so I ended up using my Samsung for all other focal lengths. My camera ended up becoming my B cam, as I enjoyed smartphone photography quite a bit that vacation.
Equipment: Samsung Galaxy S10 Plus
Blue is the color
Photographer: Briminkie
Photographer's statement: Breakfast in a Broadstairs hotel on a lovely September day. The man in the cap blended nicely into the frame, and all of a sudden, there was a David Hockney vibe.
Equipment: Google Pixel Fold
Vorderer Gosausee (Front Gosau Lake)
Photographer: supernaut
Photographer's statement: One stop to rest on a long mountain bike ride. This place is really a spot of beauty and helped to regenerate strength for the upcoming challenge.
Equipment: Google Pixel 9 Pro
Nakasendo phone booth
Photographer: slowscan
Photographer's statement: A solitary phone booth lights up a small section of the old Nakasendo, a historical road of 500 km between Tokyo and Kyoto, which passes through the mountains of Japan's interior. I took this photo while walking between Kiso-Fukushima and Agematsu, two towns that operated inns for travelers of this road in the Edo period.
Equipment: Apple iPhone 15 Pro
Picking up the moon
Photographer: Alisher Kabulov
Photographer's statement: This photo of a lone stork was taken in a half-abandoned village in Belarus. Admiring the sunset, the stork had no idea it had become a character in a tale of the stolen moon.
Equipment: Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra
Tilt
Photographer: WarthFire GTX
Photographer's statement: There's a hill that I always climb during my lunch break, and I observed this condo and a tree on the hill. I just tilted the phone sideways so the tree appeared straight, and the condo tilted, to get this shot.
Equipment: Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra
V
Photographer: Markku H
Photographer's statement: This place is the H
Equipment: Samsung S25 Ultra
Breaking waves
Photographer: GeffBourke
Photographer's statement: This photo was taken in the early morning along the shoreline at Pacific Grove, CA. A storm was coming in, and the waves were magnificent, crashing onto the rocks.
Equipment: Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
Frozen notes, Salida
Photographer: jaberg
Photographer's statement: "Frozen notes Salida" was made as my friend Lucy and I walked the town (Salida, CO) on a day that suddenly turned cold. Our newly purchased Melenzana jackets were conveniently stowed in the trunk of the car, and we were somewhat underdressed. Lucy, Minnesota born and bred, and an artist in her own right, shivered patiently as I worked the scene and ultimately composed this shot, bolstered by the promise of a warming stop in a local microbrewery as our next stop. There, with an eye to the incoming weather, we decided to stay the night in Salida.
Equipment: Apple iPhone XS
Milky Way over Monument Valley, Arizona
Photographer: philzucker
Photographer's statement: I stumbled out of my RV at around half past four in the morning at a campground in Monument Valley, Arizona, in May of 2024. We were scheduled to go for a sunrise tour. Looking up at the dark sky, I was suddenly wide awake; I saw the Milky Way for the first time in my life with my naked eye! I ran back inside my RV, grabbed my phone tripod, and made a couple of 4-minute astro mode exposures with my Google Pixel 7 Pro. This one came out the best, and only looking at the picture later, I realized that the rising sun showed its first dim rays exactly where the Milky Way rose. I have a large print of it hanging in my office.
Equipment: Google Pixel 7 Pro
Milwaukee Art Museum
Photographer: Mike Zweyer
Photographer's statement: I took this picture with a Motorola G4 in 2017. I didn't have a camera at the time, but I was always interested in photography. It all seemed so complex and complicated then, so I used my phone. I got a Fujifilm X10 camera not long after.
Equipment: Motorola G4
Chasing soap bubbles
Photographer: GiorgioDC
Photographer's statement: It was January 6, 2020, Epiphany, a beloved children's holiday in Italy, especially in Rome. I was in Piazza del Popolo with my three-year-old niece, who stopped, fascinated by the soap bubbles, trying to catch them. I was careful to hide the sun behind the obelisk and took the backlit photo.
Equipment: Apple iPhone 11
Alcedo atthi
Photographer: GinoSVK
Photographer's statement: er in Slovakia and also the one that flows entirely within our national borders. Not long ago, I spotted another specimen deeper in the woods, beside a very small stream, likely thanks to the beaver colony there.
Equipment: Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra
Diner
Photographer: Larry_T
Photographer's statement: I visit this diner often and had this photo in mind, sitting at the end of the counter. I used my iPhone 15 and took about 10 shots looking down the counter. The woman looking back at her friend breaks up the leading line of customers facing forward. I was fortunate to capture her eyes and expression.
Equipment: Apple iPhone 15
Pastel sunset
Photographer: Doc Hathaway
Photographer's statement: My wife and I were camping at Southwick on Lake Ontario and took a walk to the beach to enjoy the evening. Clouds were pretty thick on the horizon, so I didn't expect a great sunset, but they started to thin a bit as the sun was crossing the horizon.
Equipment: Samsung S23 Ultra
Carefree butterflies
Photographer: Frenchfx
Photographer's statement: I went fishing at this Bernheim Forest, Kentucky lake. I wasn't having any luck, then I saw these two butterflies hanging around this bush. I pulled out my Samsung S24 phone and had great luck. They didn't pay any attention to me at all. I walked right up to them, and they remained there flying all around the bush. The phone did a great job of freezing the action, too.
Equipment: Samsung S24
. dpreview.com2025-9-29 16:00
