Apple Chases the Light With a New Photo Show
Apple is proving just how much the iPhone can do with “Chasing the Light,” a three-city photography show featuring images shot on the iPhone 16 Pro Max. The work of Ryan McGinley, Prince Gyasi, and Chen Man is featured in the show, which was curated by Kathy Ryan, the recently retired, longtime photo director of The New York Times Magazine, and focused on color, shadow, and light, all of which are captured astonishingly well on the phone.
The artists were given early access to the iPhone 16, which was released today, for the one-day show, held in New York, Shanghai, and London. Chen’s works were inspired by the poet Rumi, while Gyasi’s explored the way that his synesthesia influences his perspective on color. His images were shot on a hot pink helipad in Los Angeles.
McGinley’s images were shot at Glynwood, a 225-acre farm in Cold Spring, New York, and feature several of his artist friends, including Ash Rucker, who started the art therapy nonprofit TherapArt, and musician Bobby Brown, who performs as Rentboy. “I brought a lot of my staples that I work with in my art into these photos. I love to work with the elements: fire, air, landscape, smoke, sunsets. We hit everything. For me, it’s really about bringing a lot of energy into the work and to capture somebody in the moment,” he says.
Working on the iPhone required no adjustment for McGinley. “I rather think of it like using a Nikon or a Fuji. I don’t really think about shooting on a phone, I just think about it as a camera,” he says. He’s found the ideal way to incorporate the iPhone into his work. “As a photographer, the most important thing for me is to be in the moment and using the phone—but off of my phone.”
Apple’s “Chasing Light” Exhibition
Adrienne Gaffney is a features editor at ELLE and previously worked at WSJ Magazine and Vanity Fair.