When travel photographer Tiffany Nguyen (@tiffpenguin) of the Alpha Collective visits a new place to photograph, she likes to walk away with multiple images taken from different perspectives. When she recently went to Vasquez Rocks, a popular park in northern Los Angeles County that’s been used in many hit movies, television shows and commercials, she took her Xperia 5 III to be able to quickly capture images with the device’s different focal lengths. “That to me was probably the number one priority – just seeing the different focal lengths and the quality of the images after I took them.” We connected with her to learn more about how the Xperia 5 III performed for her. Read more below and see the beautiful images she was able to capture of the iconic and otherworldly locale where Star Trek landing parties have beamed down for decades.

Photo by Tiffany Nguyen. Sony Xperia 5 III.

See travel photographer Tiffany Nguyen’s experience using the focal length options in the Xperia 5 III to capture dramatic & otherworldly, Vasquez Rocks.

When Nguyen travels to outdoor locations, she has a limited amount of time to get the images she wants. Being able to quickly snap from different positions and focal lengths is vital for her to be able to go home with all of the captures had in mind. “Much of the time the light is fleeting and there is a limited amount of time that you're there,” she explains, “For me, I do want to capture quality images but at the end of the day, I want to go home with a handful of images that I really like versus just one image. That's what I really like about mobile photography. It allows you to find different perspectives in a shorter amount of time. For me, that's just fun – going out and exploring. That's why I go out and shoot. That's really what pushes me to go out and just explore new places.”

It’s not only the fact that it’s a smartphone she’s shooting with, it’s that its interface mimics the complete Sony Alpha system she typically uses for her photography. “I really enjoy it because the user interface is so similar to the Alpha camera,” she explains, “so transitioning between them is just very easy and it's also very intuitive. I love that you have pretty much manual control over the shutter speed, the aperture, the ISO and all of that combined helps you to just capture a better image.”

Photo by Tiffany Nguyen. Sony Xperia 5 III.

She continues, “I also think that the OLED screen was really impressive. I find that the color reproduction was really impressive and the colors on the screen – they pop. And for me, when I'm looking at something that I'm planning on shooting, I have this vision of how I want to frame it. I'm imagining the colors are popping, the different hues and the exposure and the luminance and saturation of the colors. I kind of have an idea in my head of the edit that I want to do, and I feel the phone definitely captures the scene really well. As a photographer, we always have a vision. If we have the right tools to help us bring the vision to life, that's definitely really helpful.”

Being able to quickly grab a device to stay in the moment you’re capturing is huge for Nguyen, and the Xperia 5 III does you one better. It lets you stay in the moment while also capturing sharp and successful images. “The Xperia 5 III is kind of like an addition to my Sony Alpha gear. What I like most about it is that it fits in your pocket and it helps you stay in the moment and helps you appreciate the moment you're in instead of digging around with your camera, figuring out different lenses. And sometimes by the time you have everything set up, you miss the shot, you miss the moment. And so I really appreciate how easy it is to use the phone to help me capture those moments when I'm on the go.”

“Some people say the best camera is the one that you have, the one that's on you…but in this case, I know that I'm not compromising the quality of my images for the size of the camera.”

See more of Tiffany Nguyen’s work on Instagram @tiffpenguin.