As Pokémon GO pushes AR to the furthest extents, it seems only natural that Trainers have learned a few new skills when using these tools. This means not only catching Pokémon in AR modes but also taking up a more recreational pass-time; AR Photography!
Throughout June, Trainers went out to photograph Pokémon in the wild. These Trainers have not only taken outstanding photographs but have also brought back stunning stories from their adventures. The AR Photo Showcase is a place where these Trainers can show to the world what they have accomplished, one photograph at a time.
| AR Showcase Index | |
|---|---|
| Segment: | Featuring: |
| AR Photo Entries | The AR Photographs submitted by your fellow Trainers |
| Adjusted Entries | Retouched, filtered, and edited AR Photographs |
| AR Master Entries | The AR Masters and their prized AR Photographs |
| Honorable Entries | The AR Photographs that almost made it |
| Finalization | My closing comments and links to everything AR related |
Without further ado, let’s take a look at June’s AR Photo Showcase!
AR Photo Entries
In this segment, we take a look at the AR Photographs and stories submitted by your fellow Trainers.
Out for Adventure!
“Sometimes, Pokémon have dreams of a grand adventure. Little Flipper had been taught since he was a wee Lapras that he was destined to transport people around the world, but Flipper didn’t just want that, he wanted more. He wanted his own adventure, to be able to see the world by himself.”
Location: Sentosa, Singapore
Photographer: Zendolex
Stay-cation
“Sometimes you have to take your vacation when you can. Even if you can’t get to the beach. Petal has decided that this is her chair now, sun or no sun. At least there’s air conditioning! (I’ve always felt these kinds of store displays needed something. It turns out; it’s Pokémon!).”
Location: Tennessee, United States
Photographer: Anthissa
Sealeo Exhibition
“My family and I were fortunate enough to go to Chicago’s GO Fest this year. Since we don’t get an opportunity to travel very often, we made a long weekend of the trip and turned it into a mini-family vacation. We took in the major Chicago sights, focusing primarily on locations where we heard lots of Pokémon tend to spawn. We went to Navy Pier on Saturday, then on Sunday, we went to the Lincoln Park Zoo. My daughters told me their favorite part of the trip was getting to see Lincoln Park Zoo’s new Sealeo exhibit. (This picture isn’t far from reality, since the photo was taken at the actual ‘seal’ exhibit at the Lincoln Park Zoo while my daughters were waiting for the seal to come back since it seemed to be making laps around its enclosure).”
Location: Illinois, United States
Photographer: FloppyKing
Side Note: I like the way Floppy went about taking this photo, it’s the perfect balance between the fictional Pokémon world and the real-world expectations and experiences we can have – HUB Writer Josh Provines
Where the Wild Mews Are
“I saw an opportunity for this photo, and I took it. It looked like somewhere Mew would be. I took several pictures of Mew sitting there, but this was my favorite one. Mew seems like a Pokémon that would be out in the beautiful wild where Devil’s Tower is.”
Location: Wyoming, United States
Photographer: EliteTRNRJack
Walk of Nature
“After many intense Pokémon battles in the city, Stantler decompresses with a stroll through his homeland. The woods and open grassy knolls under Stantler’s hooves always bring a sense of peace to his otherwise stressful lifestyle. The feeling of the warm sun on Stantler’s back reminds him of the warmth he feels in his heart when he and his trainer win battles. It must be time to end this ‘Walk of Nature.'”
Location: California, United States
Photographer: Deathcrow
Side Note: Stantler has to be one of the least-photographed Pokémon I have seen with GO Snapshot, and even then, it’s mostly used for Christmas-style Photo-ops. The fact that Deathcrow strayed away from this while also staying true to the Pokémon makes for a beautiful photograph – HUB Writer Josh Provines
Bidoof Enclosure
“While taking a stroll through the Lincoln Park Zoo, I saw they had a Bidoof as one of their exhibits. Who knew how they got one as an exhibit and who knows how many more Pokémon I’ll find there! Lucky enough, I was able to catch the little Bidoof during feeding time for a great photo shoot! I hope he doesn’t mind.”
Location: Illinois, United States
Photographer: Fixerslayer04
Bush Bulbasaur
“I was walking in the woods and heard a rustle in the bush nearby. I slowly peeked around a tree and found a small creature drinking water. It was a Bulbasaur! I’d never seen one in real life before! I whipped out my camera as quietly as I could and snapped a photo of him right as he turned and almost saw me. Thankfully he was too busy observing his surroundings to notice my presence, and I was able to slowly retreat without disturbing him. What a marvelous sight!”
Location: Washington, United States
Photographer: Liz D
Sorrowful Valley
“It was a sunny day, and I was walking down a path looking down at the valley when I felt a sudden surge of heat and a flash of red. I looked around to see nothing, but as I continued down the path, I saw an Entei looking down sorrowfully at the valley. I sneak over to try and see if Entei was okay, but Entei jumped over the fence and sprinted down into the bush.”
Location: Sydney, Australia
Photographer: Bobbinghead
Seaweed is Always Greener
“I went to the beach to get some new photos for the page and relax. While I was there, I heard some people talking about seeing something green in the water that looked like a snake. I grabbed my phone’s water case to see what was going on and this is what I found…”
Location: California, United States
Photographer: Boss Island
Star-berry Rock
“I was on a hike with a friend when we saw a beautiful Staraptor soar overhead and land at the very top of the mountain called Strawberry Rock. We continued hiking upwards up until we had to do a little rope climbing to reach the very top. Once we finally made it, the Staraptor was not only still there, but let us get a photo for our hard work.”
Location: California, United States
Photographer: Boss Island
Mesprit’s Gate
“I went to Madrid on vacation, and in the middle of the day, a Mesprit popped up on my radar. I hadn’t registered it since I’m from Colombia. I ran like crazy alongside my friend, and I got it! I was so excited. This is called ‘La Puerta de Alcalá’ (Alcalá’s Gate), the oldest structure of this style in Europe, but since Mesprit brought me so much joy, I decided to rename it as ‘Mesprit’s Gate.'”
Location: Madrid, Spain
Photographer: AdriadnoTorres
Side Note: One of my favorite photograph characteristics is color, you can have a wonderful photo, but if your colors do not work well with each other, it can be underwhelming. Adriadno made sure this wasn’t an issue – HUB Writer Josh Provines
Spooky Bench
“When I heard that Chicago’s GO Fest was going to have biome-specific Habitats, I immediately knew I was going to spend my day at Spooky Woods. Upon arriving, I snuck past a few Duskulls, distracted a few Absols, and managed to find a bench deep in the woods to take a seat. However, a huge gust of fog appeared from underneath the bench and out popped a Sableye, keen on making it clear who’s bench I was about to sit on. Well, let’s say I prefer standing, anyways.”
Location: Illinois, United States
Photographer: Josh Provines
Adjusted Entries
Let’s take AR Photography a bit further. It is time to look at the retouched, filtered, and edited AR Photographs that your fellow Trainers have taken.
Polish Pidgey Birdbath
“This was one of my first AR shots ever, and it was what got me into taking and editing AR shots. I took this photo when I was at my aunt’s house. I noticed a bird eating seeds at a nearby birdbath, and thought about my Pidgey, and how it would look perfect there. I ended up taking the picture, but it seemed to be missing something, when I got home, I played around with Snapseed and Photoshop to figure out how to add a reflection. I ended up taking another shot of Pidgey from below, cut it out, put it on the original picture, and turned the opacity down. This was my first reflection shot, as well as the first shot that I edited.”
Location: Łódź, Poland
Photographer: Groudon8134
Corsola at the Beach
“When taking a trip to the beach, I didn’t expect to find a Corsola… but I did! I found the Pokémon while taking a walk on the beach. It looked so perfect in the environment, so I decided to take a picture of it. The picture came out great, and I was able to hang with Corsola for the rest of my trip.”
Location: Florida, United States
Photographer: Totopa99
Munching Caterpie
“This little Caterpie is happily munching on a leaf. He’s grown quite a bit since the last time I saw him; maybe he’s preparing to evolve. I started with a macro shot of a tiny Caterpie on a leaf, and I got so much positive feedback on my photo that I decided to take another photo of it a little bigger and growing as if it were going through the process of becoming a Butterfree.”
Location: Łódź, Poland
Photographer: Groudon8134
Side Note: Include a link to the photo here if anyone wants to see it: https://imgur.com/gallery/TSquznt
Protector of Ancient
“Singapore Zoo has a beautiful sculpture depicting reptiles. My Ray (Rayquaza) liked the look of it while we were visiting Singapore and insisted on taking a photo. People around got a bit surprised and scared looking at the huge dragon moving around, so Ray had to go back into his Pokéball.”
Location: Singapore
Photographer: anish916
Field Research
“To better understand where wild Ghost-type Pokémon live, professor Willow sent his two lab assistants to research the nearby forest in search of the elusive type of Pokémon. After recording notes on various locations, we came across the dilapidated remains of a hunting cabin. We quickly discovered signs that a Pokémon had made what was left of a fireplace its home. To our amazement, a wild Sableye then appeared!”
Location: Illinois, United States
Photographer: Rwfrank3
Side Note: I love the feel this photo has; it seems a bit gritty, natural, and overall just real. Using the “Field Research” aspect to tell the story works well and once again enhances the reality in the photo – HUB Writer Josh Provines
Overlooking Beauty
“Perched upon a rock overlooking Great Lake Tahoe, I discovered a peaceful Shiny Tailow, enjoying the great view of the lake from atop the mountain in which he lived. I could see why he would make the flight here; the view was breathtaking. Hopefully, he enjoys the varying wonders of the world that I have yet to travel to, with him by my side.”
Location: Nevada, United States
Photographer: Jone Scone
Give the Club Back
“Mewtwo thought it’d be funny to mess with my brother’s back-swing. Right as my brother got all set up to hit his drive, Mewtwo decided to pop out of his Pokéball and have a little fun. Needless to say, my brother was not amused. A fair amount of jumping later, he was finally able to tee off.”
Location: Minnesota, United States
Photographer: BluePhoenix
How To Choose…
“Ah, a perfect dinner for Munchlax… but what to choose? I stumbled upon this Munchlax at a table while eating out. It seemed to be having a hard time deciding, so I decided to take a picture of it in the middle of choosing what to eat. I was glad that the picture turned out so well, and Munchlax even made a decision… he ordered everything on the menu!”
Location: Florida, United States
Photographer: Totopa99
Oasis Design
“Smeargle and I were down in Weymouth by the seafront for a little stroll, when we came across a man finishing off his mural for a wall nearby. Without warning, Smeargle dipped his tail in the paint, and finished the mural, taking credit for the entire thing. C’est Magnifique!”
Location: Weymouth, England
Photographer: TerrifiedMarsh
Buzz, Buzz
“All I had to do was walk past these waterside flowers, and Combee released itself from its ball. It started collecting nectar, as I risked myself to take this photo. Safe to say I won’t be doing this again, my eye hasn’t had the most pleasant of reactions. Hey-Ho, so long as Combee’s happy.”
Location: Weymouth, England
Photographer: TerrifiedMarsh
AR Master Entries
This segment highlights the Photographs taken by our very own AR Masters, those that we have deemed to be elite in the field of AR Photography.
Don’t Wake Him
“It started with a contest with my locals on who could take the best Snorlax picture, so I went around trying to help my friends take theirs and started getting bored, so I wanted to get a picture of it lying between 2 trees, making it look like we started to wake it up.”
Location: Connecticut, United States
AR Master: Rogue
GO Fest Chicago 2019
“This photo was sent to me by @snap_them_all (Instagram) straight from GoFest 2019 (Chicago)! First of all, thank you, Nico, for providing me with this awesome shot of Zoëtwodots and Togepi! I went for a black and white approach (#blackimon) to let Zoë and Togepi stand out. Check out Nico’s profile on Instagram to see the photo he edited from me!”
Location: Illinois, United States
AR Master: Ash Ketzchup
Scorching Spectacle
“I had a rare opportunity to photograph a professional fire dancer training with his Alolan Marowak. This trainer’s relationship with his Pokémon is so strong, that they have managed to synchronize their routine perfectly. It was quite an impressive display!”
Location: Hawaii, United States
AR Master: Ryusui
Honorable Entries
This segment is meant to show off the AR Photographs that didn’t quite make it for one reason or another.
Finalization
If it feels like it’s been a while since you last saw one of our monthly AR Photo showcases, it’s because it has been a while! But we aren’t just bringing it back, and we are bringing it back with a makeover! After trying to push our themed AR Photo Showcases for a few months, I realized that they weren’t bringing in the AR Photos we were looking for (In quality, quantity, and creativity). For those reasons, I saw that we had to change back to how things used to be and remove the themed entry requirement from the monthly showcases. Please note that this was also why the requirement was removed just a few days before closing monthly entries just so there would be more varied entries in the latest showcase.
Originally, after the release of GO Snapshot, we decided that with the number of entries that would come in, it would be a good idea to add themes to control what photos would come in. After trying this for a few months, it’s clear that it has only hindered the creativity of AR Photographers with the GO Snapshot function, and that it is best to let Trainers show their creativity and talent in the best ways they wish.
TL;DR: The AR Photo Showcase no longer has themed requirements or entries, send in your best AR Photos regardless of what themes they show!
Thank you for sticking with the AR Photo Showcase up until now, and I hope we can continue to blow you away with fantastic photos month after month. Thank you, AR Photographers!
Links and Notes
- DEADLINE: Entries will be closing on July 25th at 3 PM CDT.
- SUBMIT FORM: To submit a photo for the showcase, fill out this Google form.
- FEEDBACK: To give us feedback on our showcases, fill out this Google form
- POP-UP SHOWCASE: To apply for one of our Pop-up Showcases, keep a steady eye on our Twitter page.
- DISCORD: To see more pictures from some of the photographers above, go to the #AR-Masters-Gallery and #AR-Pictures channels on our Discord.
- AR PHOTO SHOWCASE TAG: To look at our previous AR Photo Showcase pieces, follow the AR Photo Showcase tag.
Take some great photos, have some great fun, and above all else, stay safe, Trainers!
