Using the word ‘journey’ in its broadest possible sense, from making a cup of tea to visiting a favourite place in your village, this activity uses mobile phone photography to tell very short stories about the journeys we make in our daily lives.
Here’s an example of a journey, taken on my mobile phone. Travel with me by clicking on each image.
Activity
Here’s how to take photographs using the selfie mode and the self timer.
- Lay your camera flat, screen face-up.
- Tap the selfie’ symbol (a camera with a circular arrow inside) to see yourself and whatever’s above you.
- Tap the ‘self-timer’ (a clock or stop watch symbol); that way, you’ll be able to take your photo hands-free.
- Tap 10s (this gives you 10 seconds before the camera takes a photo), time to arrange or get out of the way (see dandelion image)
- The self-timer will highlight in a different colour
- Tap the shutter (taking) button
- The phone will show you the 10 seconds counting down.
Exploration
Experiment with holding the camera close to your face and selecting the point of focus.
- Before taking your shot, tap the screen on the specific place you want the camera to focus.
- It always a good idea to do this whenever you are taking photos.
- A highlighted square will appear when you touch the screen to show you the area you have selected.
- Take your photo straight away.

Activity Guide
Click the button to download this activity guide as a PDF. If you would like to receive one of our Activity Packs in the post, please email mdf@suffolkartlink.org.uk with your full name and address, including postcode.
Other Related Activities
Pixlr in action
Over the last couple of weeks, photographer Gillian Allard’s Create posts have introduced Pixlr, a free app used for editing photos on our mobile phones. She has also been running…
Read More Create #17: Jazzing up your photos Part II
In my Photo Journey, I used unusual camera angles to tell a story in three images. Here are those images again—jazzed up using Pixlr. Now that you’ve got Pixlr on your…
Read More Create #16: Jazzing up your photos Part I
Nowadays, our phones are like mini computers; they are capable of far more than we often use them for, and we can increase that capacity, by downloading apps. An app,…
Read More