Kolhapur-based software engineer wins photography award from Apple for this picture

Prajwal Chogule is joined by nine other winners hailing from other countries, including China, Hungary, Italy, Spain, Thailand and the US.

Prajwal Chougule, a Kolhapur-based engineer, was amongst the ten winners of the Apple ‘Shot on iPhone’ macro photography challenge. Apple has started accepting entries for the Apple Shot on iPhone macro photography challenge from January 25 till February 16, 2022. Chogule is joined by nine other winners hailing from other countries including China, Hungary, Italy, Spain, Thailand and the US.

Chogule’s winning picture will be featured on the official website of Apple, on Apple’s Instagram handle, and on billboards in selected cities. The pictures will also be featured in the countries of the winners. The idea behind the photography was to highlight the macro camera sensor of the iPhone 13 and the iPhone 13 Pro Max. Apple required photographers to click pictures using the macro lens of either the iPhone 13 Pro and the iPhone 13 Pro Max.

Chogule had captured dew drops on a spider web using the macro lens of his iPhone 13 Pro. The dew drops appear like pearls. “I am a nature lover and love going on early morning walks with my iPhone 13 Pro. The ‘golden hour’ brings the best out of nature and is a photographer’s delight. Dewdrops on a spiderweb caught my attention, and I was fascinated by the way the dry spider silk formed a necklace on which the dew glistened like pearls. It felt like a piece of art on nature’s canvas,”Chogule said.

The photography contest was judged by an international panel of expert judges such as Anand Varma, Apeksha Maker, Peter McKinnon, Paddy Chao, Yik Keat Lee, Arem Duplessis, Billy Sorrentino, Della Huff, Kaiann Drance, and Pamela Chen.

Arem Duplessis, one of the judges of the photography challenge, said that the picture by Chogule was a true example of a simple, graphic, yet beautiful image. “The water droplets create these gorgeous little pearls that take on the intricate shape of the spiderweb. Simply stunning,” he said.

Praising his picture, another judge, Apeksha Maker, said, “This image is so perfect that it looks like an illustration. The well-arranged dewdrops on the spiderweb are captured with great detail. It’s something that most people would miss around them. There is some sort of harmony in the drops; at first glance, the viewer could be deceived about what the subject is. The iPhone does a fantastic job at focusing on such fine detail, with close to almost no definitive background.”