There was plenty of news last week from Mobile World Congress about the new HTC One and the advancements we’ve made in our camera. Of course, I couldn’t help but think “how can we put this new camera to the test.” Since I was in Scottsdale, Arizona (USA) with Wyatt Lewin, a colleague on the HTC blogging team, I floated the idea of getting up early to climb Camelback Mountain and see what photos we could get at sunrise. It was five o’clock in the morning when the alarm on my HTC One went off, interrupting another uneventful night of slumber. At first I wondered if this was actually a good idea or perhaps I could hit snooze and “forget” we agreed to make the climb. No way – I wanted to test this camera!
One of the first shots we took was of “Paradise Valley.”
 Sunrise Over Paradise Valley |
For this photo we used the Panorama scene and let the HTC One do all the work, stitching together the multiple photo’s taken into a single shot. You can clearly see the sun peeking around the side of Camelback which blends into a light rain that was falling (in desert no less).
Wyatt Climbing Camelback
Of course, the journey was not over and there were many more sights to be seen in the desert. So we continued onward and upward looking for other areas that might make cool photos — such as Wyatt trying to not fall backwards while free climbing one of the steepest sections; the one where they installed handrails to make the climb a bit easier. Wyatt would have none of that! I was a little worried he could fall, mainly because I was in his “fall line” and had little room to move 
.
Overall, it was a pretty good hike. We only made it half way up before we returned to the car. Wyatt will tell you I couldn’t make it and I will tell you Wyatt gave in. I’m sure the truth is somewhere in between!
One thing that struck me about the hike was the ease of capturing the sights. Only a few short years ago we would leave our houses for an activity like this and take along bags of equipment — our phone for communication, our camera for pictures, even a video camera for movies. We still do. In fact, on this hike Wyatt and I still took all three along – they just happen to be on the same device!
The scenes were amazing and the pictures turned out great. I will continue to test the camera on the phone and see what kind of photos an amateur like me can take. In the meantime, here are a few more shots taken during our foray into the Arizona wilderness. Let us know what you think. Or check out even more amazing photos taken with an HTC One on our Facebook page.
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 Wyatt Surveys the Valley |
 Arizona Barrel Cactus |
 Wyatt Hiding in Small Cave |