Two weeks ago, along with a couple of friends (Anthony Crothers and Brian Dukes) I headed off on an iPhone Only Photo Road-Trip in North Wales … specifically Anglesey.

Leaving on the Thursday and due to head back on the Sunday, we’d sorted out a couple of ‘must go’ locations on Anglesey, namely South Stack Lighthouse and Penmon Lighthouse and then on the return leg as we were staying in Bala, we’d be heading to the nearby white water rafting area to see what we could capture.

DAY 1

On Day 1, Brian drove to my house where he left his car, and we headed off to Anthony’s but first of all to Portishead to photograph the Black Nore Lighhouse and get the first photographs ‘in the bag’.

To be honest I didn’t really get anytihng worth shouting about but hey … being there with Brian was a lot of fun. Getting a decent photograph would have just been a bonus 😃

Two men standing on a grassy headland by a lighthouse with the text And we're off, #ReeflexRoadTrip

Then it was a quick stop in Bristol on the way through for Brian to drop into WeX and swap out his new Sony A7RV for one that didn’t have a faulty display, and then it was on to Anthony’s and up to Bangor and The Slate where we were staying for the first 2 nights.

Smiling man giving a thumbs up from the back seat of a car

We didn’t arrive until gone 8pm so once we’d checked in and dumped our bags, we headed into Bangor to find somewhere to grab a bite to eat.

A decent curry was the plan but where we ended up, each of us was just glad to have woken the following morning with no issues … if you know what I mean.

DAY 2

With stomachs intact we headed across to Anglesey towards Penmon Lighhouse, however the weather was a touch wet and windy …

Three men taking a selfie on a pebbly shore with a pier behind them

“You can’t see anything” said the guy on the toll leading to Penmon Lighthouse, due to the sea mist, so we took his advice and said we’d plan to head back there the following day when the weather was expected to ease off a little … this was a decision we’d all regret!

So we turned back to Beaumaris (fabulous place) and grabbed a coffee and a spot to dry out a little at the Pier House Café which we stumbled upon purely by accident … but what a great find!

After a short pit stop we headed across the island to South Stack Lighhtouse having decided that due to the weather, we’d use the day to check out the locations that we’d revist the next day.

Two men in rain jackets standing on a wet coastal road with a car behind

Man in a red jacket photographing a lighthouse on a rocky island from a coastal path

South Stack did not disappoint!

Lighthouse on a rocky island surrounded by sea under grey skies, North Wales — iPhone 15 Pro Max
0.5x lens
3 second long exposure using the ReeHeld (Hand-Held Long Expsoure App)

With the weather as it was and sea mist so thick you couldn’t make out the horizon or indeed see much past the lighthouse, it was such an incredible sight as the sea crashed against the rocks below.

Two men taking a selfie on a clifftop with a lighthouse on an island behind

It was almost overwhelming to see the lighhouse in such conditions as it sounded its horn to warn vessels out at sea.

With the horn sounding like a whale call, the scene we were in felt so powerful but almost haunting … if that makes sense.

Man in dark clothing standing on rocks looking out at a lighthouse on an island — Anthony no-where near the edge … honestly Elaine 🤔

Anyway, having recce’d a few possible compositions we headed back to Beaumaris and the Pier House Café for bit of lunch (which was delicious) … and yes I had 2 😋

Man seated at a café table with plates of food and drinks in front of him

I’m sat here giggling now as I post the picture below which is actually a frame from a video captured with my iPhone …

Man in a hooded jacket jumping with arms outstretched on a seafront with a pier behind

Anthony and myself were stood in front of the RNLI base shielded from the high winds but Brian ventured out.

I turned my iPhone to him and suggested I video him as he jumps but film it in slow motion, and … well … yeah you got me Brian 🤣

Two men in rain jackets taking a close-up selfie outdoors

Having seen what we wanted and made plans for Day 3, we headed back to The Slate to freshen up, grab some dinner and relax.

DAY 3

The food was so good at the Pier House Café in Beaumaris that we decided to head there for breakfast (yes I had two) having checked out of The Slate, and as the weather had improved a little it gave some opportunities to take some photographs.

Three men in beanies and jackets sitting on a bench inside a wooden seaside shelter

#ReeflexRoadTrip written in the sand on a beach

Of course being a portrait guy I couldn’t resist …

This shot I took of Anthony I captured using the ReeFlex Pro Camera App and the Ultra Wide (0.5x) lens …

Black and white photograph of a person sitting at the end of a pier under dramatic clouds — iPhone 15 Pro Max
0.5x lens
ReeFlex Pro Camera App

This shot I took again using the ReeFlex Pro Camera App, but with the telephoto lens which on my iPhone 15 Pro Max is the 5x … 120mm

Man in a beanie and dark jacket sitting on a bench inside a wooden shelter — iPhone 15 Pro Max
5x lens
ReeFlex Pro Camera App

This was the first proper chance I’d had to use the 120mm lens on my iPhone and yeah I’m really impressed with the quality.

The downside though is that using this lens doesn’t use the 48MP sensor which is why I’m REALLY looking forward to the time I have the G Series lenses from ReeFlex as a permanent part of my kit.

That said, the files from the 5x lens are perfectly useable despite them being lesser MP: I mean heck, I had a 72” print done of a 12MP file taken with my iPhone 14 Pro Max and that was incredible!

Anyway, having grabbed some shots around Beaumaris it was then the short drive to Penmon and the moment we regretted listening to “Toll Guy” the day before 🤷‍♂️

Penmom was a complete surprise.

We’d expected it to be further from the shoreline when in fact it was surprisingly close with a great rocky area to explore and find all manner of compositions.

Man standing on seaweed-covered rocks beside rock pools with waves breaking nearby

Don’t get me wrong we were all REALLY happy but couldn’t help thinking how incredible it would have been to photograph it during the weather and conditions the previous day.

Black and white long exposure of a striped lighthouse with waves flowing over rocks — iPhone 15 Pro Max
1x lens
ReeXpose Long Exposure App

The photograph above was captured using the ReeXpose long exposure app (using the wide 1x lens) and is a blend of several images each taken at 0.5 seconds in length.

Man with arms outstretched on a rocky shore with mountains across the water

The photograph below was taken a little further back, again uing the ReeXPose long exposure app but using the 0.5x ultra wide lens on my iPhone …

Striped lighthouse beyond rock pools and seaweed-covered rocks under a blue sky — iPhone 15 Pro Max
0.5x lens
ReeXpose Long Exposure App

For this one it would have been great to have the new Circular Polariser from ReeFlex to reduce reflections on the water surface in the rock pools. For now though during editing, a mixture of Dehaze and Texture in Lightroom reduced it quite a bit, and hey if anything, this is a great excuse to head back at some point.

So that pretty much was Day 3, so then it was on to Bala for our final night and then Day 4

DAY 4

Chatting over breakfast we were all saying how happy we were with what we had managed to capture at Penmon, and if that was all there was, it had definitely been a successful trip; I mean it had anyway with us all getting the chance to hang out, but it definitely was photography wise.

The weather had totally changed from the past few days and this morning there was bright sunshine and not a cloud in the sky.

I’ll admit that I was thinking conditions weren’t the best for landscape but Brian had suggested we take a look at a local white water rafting area and maybe visit Bala lake … because ‘you never know’ … and I’m so glad he did, becuase talk about lucky …

Wooded island reflected in still water with morning mist rising — iPhone 15 Pro Max
5x lens
ReeFlex Pro Camera App

The lake was like glass and with mist gently brushing across the surface, and hardly a sound. It was simply stunning!

We were like excited children when we pulled up in the car “HOLY SH&T! LOOK AT THAT!” followed by all 3 of us bomb-bursting out of the car and hot footing it, to start taking photographs.

Tree-covered shoreline reflected in a calm lake beneath a soft blue sky — iPhone 15 Pro Max
0.5x lens
ReeFlex Pro Camera App

… and then 30 seconds away from. a different angle …

Small boat on misty water in warm, hazy light — iPhone 15 Pro Max
5x lens
ReeFlex Pro Camera App

Lone boat on calm water reflecting soft clouds and a pale blue sky — iPhone 15 Pro Max
0.5x lens
ReeFlex Pro Camera App

And then in the blink of an eye that was 4 days done and time to head home but with lots of photographs and lots of great memories and quality time with quality people!

Three men standing arm in arm beside a stream with autumn trees behind

Plans for the next Road-Trip are already underway.

It will again be iPhone-Only but we’re going to wait until we all have the new G-Series ReeFlex lenses as part of our full-time kit, and then we’ll be sticking closer to home and popping over the border into Cornwall.

To be continued …

Oh and if you want to know more about the iPhone Photography Apps being used, I’ve got more details over on my MOBILE Page ( LINK )

Set of clip-on smartphone camera lenses on a black background

Learn more about the G-Series lenses

ReeFlex iPhone G Series Lenses, Filters and Cases

North Wales ( iPhone Only ) Photo Road Trip

DAY 1

DAY 2

DAY 3

DAY 4

To be continued …

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