Mobile Photography

It’s not the tool; it’s the artist. From 2014-2021, Jenny Lam captured photos around the world using only her iPhone 5s, which, for most of those years, had been hanging on for dear life. (And before she finally joined you all in the 21st Century and got the aforementioned phone, she had been using a point-and-shoot.) She demonstrates that you don’t need fancy equipment—not even a tripod—to take beautiful photos.

She’s also nothing if not stubborn, planned obsolescence be damned. It took 7 years—right after Apple rolled out iOS 14.5 for newer phones and her 5s crashed whenever she tried to open her Instagram—for her to finally retire her beloved 5s. RIP, Jenny’s first smartphone, March 17, 2014-April 28, 2021.

From El Fin del Mundo at the southernmost tip of South America to the towering sand dunes of the Taklamakan Desert along the ancient Silk Road, from crackling glaciers and floating markets to quiet moments of everyday beauty in her hometown, all the photographs on this page were taken with that phone.

The pictures are presented in chronological order. Click on each one to enlarge; this will pop up the image in a lightbox. Purchase prints and other products on Redbubble.

More photos will be added as Jenny rummages through old external hard drives.