A little walk out with the little lad

What phone do you have?

I’ve had an iPhone for the last ten years since the 4 was released in 2010. Always enjoyed Apple’s simple and intuitive interface and never felt the need to look elsewhere. The only drawback of the iPhone is how bloody expensive they are. I was paying over £80 a month on my last contract. So when I got a notification that I was eligible to upgrade I decided to look elsewhere – and prove I’m not the Apple fanboy people once thought I was!

Enter the Oppo Find X2 Pro.

I’m no luddite but I don’t grasp the technicalities of mobile devices. I like having new, shiny toys but the:

6.7-inch OLED 120Hz display
48-megapixel main camera
32-megapixel selfie camera
Snapdragon 865
4260mAh battery
512GB storage
12GB RAM

doesn’t mean a great deal to me.

I wanted a good camera as I love taking photos and a decent battery life. The rest is neither here nor there so I’m certain many other devices – including the latest iPhone – would have suited my needs perfectly, but there is something quite gorgeous about this phone. As expected the camera is superb and easily the match of similar priced devices. When I think back to what my first digital camera was like, this is far, far, superior. The colours really pop and the detail is incredible.

The screen is massive and looks amazing watching HD movies. I read something about upscaling from 30fps to 60fps when streaming on Netflix and Youtube. It also has built in stereo speakers and sounds great with or without headphones. I’ve also never had a phone which charges so quickly. Before going to work and having the phone on 12% battery, I plugged it in and inside 30 minutes it was sitting on 92%. The 512 gb storage will come in really handy with my propensity to photograph pretty much everything and anything.

I’m very pleased with my choice. One of my friends is also very pleased with my choice and has ordered the same device. What phone do you use?

Favourite photograph from 2020

I love this. Taken in June 2020 on a rainy summers day. We took a trip to Thorp Perrow arboretum. The weather flitted between showers and sunlight hence why Lucas is wearing his rain coat. He loved to explore. He’s a real adventurer.

This photograph is beautifully framed and edited to bring to life the light through the trees. Little Lucas looks to be enjoying tramping and exploring the surroundings.

Five years ago

We are here for a good time not a long time. Enjoy every minute doing things you love with people you love. Life is fragile and fleeting.

Sunset

2017, a year in photo review

2017 has been a cracking year for me. Lots of travel, lots of places to go and things to see. I’ve been sat here on New Year’s Eve Eve reviewing some of the places I’ve been and the things I’ve seen. And here’s a sample and a reminder. Where I have written about the experience I have added a handy link.

You can find all of these photos on my Instagram. If you’re not yet following; get to it: alsmith77x

January: Lindesfarne (I wrote about this!) and The Cleveland Way.