First Place: Mt. Fuji by Masakazu Ejiri

Second Place: Lines by Altaf Aiali

Third Place: Spring Blossom by Steven Sandner

Honorable Mentions

A Boy, a Cave, Some Wires by Fernando Prats

Vanishing Trees by Robert Paul Jansen

Waiting for you…by Andini Patricia

Taking a Break by Jacob Santiago

Dandelion on Fire by Linda Owens

Different is Okay  by Glen Coyle

And because we got so many awesome animal shots for this contests, we’ve added an Cool Canines category! These Cool Canine photos win a GripTight GorillaPod Stand.

Waiting by Art Lim

Courage by Richard Lawson

Pugcycle by Mary McGuire

There were so many wonderful photos it was almost impossible to narrow it down to just this group. Check out this gallery to see more beautiful and inspiring phone photos.

Thanks to everyone who participated and a special thanks to our judges, Martin Reisch, Amanda Jasnowski and Colby Brown!

Eric Wood
Hoosick, NY | @snaplove on Instagram

What is your best advice for using the GripTight? 

The GripTight is awesome for holding my Galaxy SIII nice and still while I fire off a couple shots. One of the most valuable tips for succeeding with the GripTight has to do with your phone. Set your phone’s camera to fire using a timer. That way you can trigger the timer and wait for the shutter to fire without actually touching the phone. The result: super sharp photos!

Can you share a time when the GripTight came in handy recently? 

Last weekend, I was walking around a New England church and there was the first red leaf of fall on the ground. I didn’t have my DSLR with me but I had my phone and GripTight. I set it up on the ground and got a great shot of the leaf.

What is your best advice for new photographers? 

My best tip is to just shoot. I think lots of people have a belief that you need a big, bulky DSLR to take amazing photos. Any photographer will tell you the best camera you could have is the camera you have with you! In lots of cases that is going to be your phone. Don’t hesitate to use it.

What are your favorite apps for shooting? For editing?

If you’re looking for a one-stop-shop, Instagram is awesome. It’s quality, fun and social. If you prefer to break it up a little, grab Adobe Photoshop Express and use the sharing platform within. I love it! The new mobile Flickr app has some potential too.

Have you found any fun or unique uses for the GripTight? 

When I am on the road, I usually wrap my GorillaPod around my rearview mirror and put my phone in the GripTight so I can see the navigation in my view. Works awesome!

Jay and Varina Patel
Twinsburg, Ohio 

What is the best part about using the GripTight? 

We’ve been really happy with the tiny combination of the Grip Tight Mount with the Micro. They fold up small enough to stick in a pocket or attach to a keychain, so I don’t have to carry around bulky gear. When I want to get some video of my kids when we go swimming in the river or hang out at the park, I can set up my phone quickly and grab a fun video of the kids having fun.

When have you found the GripTight particularly useful? 

As landscape photographers, we often produce short, on-location educational videos with our mobile phones. The GripTight Mount and GripTight GorillaPod Stand provide a perfect lightweight solution that we can use to produce smooth videos with our mobile phones. We secure the GorillaPod stand on a tripod or stand it up on a rock, and we are good to go!

The Making of an Instructional Tutorial with Photographer Varina Patel from JOBY Inc on Vimeo.

Can you share a time when the GripTight really saved the shoot?

We planned to do a quick series of videos in a beautiful park several miles from our home, but we forgot our Grip Tight Mount. All our attempts to stabilize the mobile phone using our tripods or hands were unsuccessful. We shot a video anyway—but it’s completely unusable. The camera shake is pretty annoying! The following week, we took our cameras to the soccer fields to shoot another video. This time, we used a tripod topped with the GripTight GorillaPod Stand and the finished video is smooth and steady.

What are your favorite apps? 

We use SmugMug’s Camera Awesome app. Camera Awesome allows for independent control of focus point and exposure. It’s great for macro shots and producing on-location videos. We edit our movies with iMovie, which allows us to put clips together quickly, add audio and music, and create a decent finished product. We love Snapseed for processing photos. This app has “U-Point” technology that allows us to make selective adjustment to our photographs.

Halley Roberts
Portland, Oregon | @halleyroberts 

What is your best tip for using the GripTight? 
The first time I used the GripTight was when I set up a shot of me preparing and eating breakfast and I attached it to a spider plant I have hanging over my kitchen table. It worked great! With the lifestyle-type photography that I shoot, attaching the GripTight to objects above me is perfect. Attach the GripTight to something directly above you, use the self-timer and voila, you’ve got a beautiful top-down shot.

What do you like best about phone photography? 

I use my iPhone mostly for snaps of my life, but I also use it to test out compositions that I think will look good when I shoot with medium format film. It’s great when I’m outside, which I am a lot, exploring and hiking. I’ve also found that I use it often for self-portraits when I don’t have a model or someone else to place in the photo.

What are your favorite apps for shooting? For editing? 

Finding the right editing apps is crucial. My number one photo editing app is VSCO. I also use Camera+ for doing self-timed shots and Squaready to bypass Instagram’s square format. Also, try to be selective about what you’re shooting. I often see people simply stabbing at their iPhone screens taking hundreds of snaps. The more discerning you are, the better your photos will be and you’ll save memory!

Have you found any non-photography uses for your GripTight? 

I also like to use the GripTight GorillaPod stand to prop my iPhone up while I’m working on my computer or listening to a podcast. That way I can look down and easily check my phone.

How did you begin as a photographer?

I wasn’t interested in photography before I got an iPhone 3GS in 2010. Because there are so many apps for editing photos, I began to enjoy photography. In the beginning it was hard because I knew nothing about photography. I found some basics online, but the best way to really improve is just to shoot. I take photos everyday, everywhere and of everything. I also recommend looking at other photographers’ work. I have friends on Instagram who inspire me everyday.

What do you like best about the GripTight?

From the first time I used the GripTight Micro, I fell in love with this amazing gadget. If I’m walking through the city and find an amazing spot, I just take my GripTight from my pocket and take a photo. I set it up with my iPhone, set a self-timer, focus on the spot where I plan to be when the timer goes off, press the shutter button and run, run, run. GripTight is really perfect for self-portraits (and also for people with shaky hands)!

Before I got the GripTight Micro, I used a GorillaPod SLR-Zoom for my iPhoneography. But it is a little big and I wanted something smaller that I could carry in my pocket the entire day. GripTight Micro is light, small and I can attach it to my keys. It’s a universal holder so I can use it with my iPhone with or without cases or lenses. Plus, it has rubber legs so it can’t slide down from any surface.

Photographer Matej Smucr & his JOBY GripTight from JOBY Inc on Vimeo.

What are your favorite apps for shooting? For editing? 

I like retro and vintage photos so I edit my photos in this style. My favorite app is VSCO Cam, which I use almost for every edit. I like filters 02 and 05 the best. I also use PicFX, which has so many filters that can be combined. Photoforge2 is good for layering. Camera+, EasyTitler and Gorillacam from Joby are also favorites.

Have you discovered any other uses for your GripTight?

When I’m not taking photos, I also use the GripTight Micro to surf the Internet, watch movies or just as holder for my phone.

Colby Brown
Denver, Colorado | @colbybrownphotography on Instagram 

As a professional photographer, how does smartphone photography fit into your work?

As a travel photographer, part of the fun of my job is sharing my experiences around the globe with others. With digital mobile camera technology continuing to grow by leaps and bounds, my Android phone has become more of an integral part of my gear setup. Using my phone to capture quick snapshots and behind the scenes images while on my adventures allows me to easily bring others along with me.

What is your best tip for using the GripTight? 

My best piece of advice for utilizing the GripTight is to take your time. Too many photographers think mobile photography is a breeze, when in reality it takes just as much forethought and preparation as professional work to accurately capture a scene. The camera sensors in mobile phones are so small that you have to be careful when shooting in low light. A GripTight allows you to have much more creative freedom.

When was a time that the GripTight proved particularly useful? 

While working in Angkor Wat, Cambodia I was forced to have to capture scenes in incredibly dark situations. By utilizing my GripTight, I was still able to capture some great behind the scenes images.

What are your favorite apps for shooting? For editing? 

As a photographer that mostly uses Android technology, there are a handle of apps that I find myself using on a regular basis. My favorite apps for shooting are the stock camera app, Camera360, HDR Camera+, and Camera FV-5.  My favorite Android apps for editing are PicsPlay Pro, Perfectly Clear and KD Collage.

Simon Dark
Wales, United Kingdom | @simondark 

How did your GorillaPod change your photography? 

I’d been taking photos for years in the woods where I walk with some old mobile phones and a point and shoot. When I finally got an iPhone and a GorillaPod, things started to change really quickly. I started thinking about how I could shoot differently, take more interesting photos and also get a few shots of myself, maybe with a prop or two to make things more fun. It’s been an interesting process for myself as a photographer—I’m having fun.

What makes the GripTight most useful for you?

That little GripTight has really helped with my creative process. When I’m out walking in the woods or down by the beach, I don’t want to spend a long time trying to find somewhere to balance my phone or prop it up against something. I have taken a lot of shots around or above water and I can trust the GripTight to keep my phone safe and shoot the angle I want. I also take a lot of shots from the ground or on uneven surfaces and I haven’t found a place yet where I haven’t been able to use the tripod.

The GripTight GorillaPod is handy and it’s simple to use, I don’t want to spend loads of time taking photos and setting up a shot. I just want to take a quick shot and keep on walking. The GripTight makes life so much easier. There are so many more possibilities of where I can quickly set up the GorillaPod and take a shot, on a rock or tree or branch, and I have learned so much in such a short period of time from using it.

What have you been shooting lately?

Lately, I have been getting some nice portraits at a local beach using a waterproof case and setting up the GorillaPod in some rock pools so the lens is half in half out of the water. I’ve been really happy with the results. Also skating through puddles has given some great results using the Gorillacam app.

Photographer Simon Dark & his JOBY GripTight from JOBY Inc on Vimeo.

What is your best advice for new photographers?  

My best advice for new photographers is to look at other people’s shots and think ‘how did they do that, what angle did they use?’. Don’t be afraid to try something different and really have fun. Lighting is also always important to keep in mind. I would recommend pairing a small GorillaPod with a wide angle phone lens—it’s really fun combo to use.

What are your favorite apps for shooting? For editing?

My favorite apps for shooting are Camera+ and also JOBY Gorillacam. I will crop and edit my shots a little using Snapseed. I mostly share my iPhone shots on Instagram.

Enter once to for your chance to win 1 of 15 prize GripTight packs! There are three winners each day, so the earlier you enter, the more chances you have to win these nifty little tripods! Hurry, contest ends 3/22! ENTER HERE!

Our GripTight GorillaPod is our signature flexible tripod for your smartphone. It fits most bestselling smartphones, with or without a case, and you can position it just about anywhere making it the best phone tripod out there!  Plus you can detach the GripTight Mount from the GorillaPod Original and use the GorillaPod with your point and shoot camera or use the mount with any other tripod. Two products in one—pretty neat!

Check out our GripTight GorillaPod rainbow and choose your favorite color today!

GripTight Micro Stand is the smallest phone tripod available! It folds down into a super tiny package that will easily fit in your pocket. You’ll never be caught without a tripod ever again! While it is awesome for photos, it is also great for video chats, watching YouTube, playing music, using your GPS, or following recipes in the kitchen. The uses are endless for GripTight!

Check out our new GripTight Micro rainbow and pick out your favorite today!

Want to share a photo that you shot using a GripTight GorillaPod with us? Tag it with #griptight #gorillapod on Instagram or share with us on Facebook.

GripTight Video with its pan & tilt videohead, 180 degree leveling ball and magnetic feet is the solution to your smartphone videography woes. Use it to capture 360 degrees of smooth pan and 135 degrees of tilt with the video arm. Plus with our signature GorillaPod legs,  you can set it up on just about any surface.

And it gets even better!  The GripTight GorillaPod Video is modular, meaning you can detach the GripTight Mount and use the GorillaPod Video with your mini camcorder or point and shoot camera OR you can attach the GripTight Mount to just about any other tripod, if you need a tripod with a little more height or even something more pocketable like our Micro tripod.

We’re so excited about this awesome little tripod, we got our designers to write up their best tips for using it. Find our GripTight Video How To Guide at the bottom of the project page and get the inside scoop on how to make the magic happen with GripTight Video.

If you take a GripTight Video home, don’t be shy. We’d love to see your video creations! We’re @jobyinc on Vine and Twitter or share with us on Facebook.