Xiaomi Africa recently launched an online photography campaign to invite fans to showcase their photography skills using Xiaomi phones.
The campaign, dubbed #SafariWithXiaomi, attracted over 1,000 entries from across Africa, who shared their photos on social media platforms.
The campaign promised the Xiaomi fans winners a 3-day trip to Maasai Mara, one of the most famous wildlife destinations in the world. Xiaomi Africa honoured its promise and took six winners and three professional photographers to the Mara, where they had an unforgettable experience.
The winners were Patrick Philemon Kulinganila from Tanzania, John Oluwamokamiyo, Samson Osas, Victor Onokaye, Emmanuel Kenechukwu from Nigeria, and Yonis Mohammed from Kenya.
The professional photographers who accompanied them were Alamin Mutunga, Nimrod Zollo and Kenneth Obina from Kenya.
The trip was not only a reward for the winners, but also an opportunity for them to learn from the professionals and improve their photography skills.
They also got to use the latest Xiaomi phone, the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G, which boasts a 200MP camera and 4K video capabilities.
The Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G is a mid-level phone that offers high-end features for mobile photography.
It has a Pro Mode that allows users to adjust settings like ISO, shutter speed and white balance. It also has an 8MP ultrawide lens, a 2MP macro lens, preinstalled filters, and great photo editing software. With these features, the phone enables users to capture stunning images with remarkable precision and detail.
During the trip, the winners and the photographers enjoyed the iconic African wilderness, abundant wildlife, breathtaking landscapes, and immersive cultural experiences.
They also shared their photos and stories on social media using the hashtag #SafariWithXiaomi.
Here is what they had to say:
Alamin Mutunga is a Kenyan photographer who communicates best through visuals like photographs, art, and graphics.
Some of the highlights that stood out for him with the Xiaomi trip to Maasai Mara were meeting new people and seeing nonprofessional photographers learn and improve their phone photography in such a short time.
This was his first time in the Mara, and he had an amazing time shooting wildlife with the Xiaomi devices.
As a professional photographer, Alamin enjoys shooting with Xiaomi phones because he has a very bulky camera, and yet sometimes all he wants to photograph is people and big cameras make subjects uneasy, hence they don’t look natural in the pictures.
Phone cameras solve these problems for him, easily and conveniently.
Among the Xiaomi devices, he has used the Redmi Note 11 Pro and the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus 5G. He’s very at home with the fact that the Redmi Note 12 Pro Plus 5G’s, 200MP camera allows him to take photos whose raw format is of great quality to remain true in post-production and even printing.
Alamin feels that Xiaomi is living to its brand purpose of making innovations for all since their phones are putting superior photography power into the hands of everyone. Looking from a perspective of social impact, he feels that good-quality cameras make it easier for users to capture everyday things and share. Families for instance can capture crisp memories which they can enjoy digitally or print.
He wishes that Xiaomi could improve its phone cameras in terms of colour profiles and focus. Sometimes he has seen exposure and focus get lost in the middle of a shoot, though this is not something nonprofessional photographers would notice.
Patrick Philemon Kulinganila is a travel, lifestyle, and urban photographer from Tanzania.
For him, the Xiaomi trip to Kenya had many firsts, like his first time on a flight, his first time in Kenya and certainly his first time in Maasai Mara which has always been a dream of his.
He is elated about the great reception by the Xiaomi team and the larger team that he travelled to Mara with.
Patrick is currently using the Redmi Note 12 Pro+ 5G which he appreciates for many great features, top among them being the 200MP camera. Through this trip, he has gotten to understand Xiaomi phones better since he has interacted with people who have used them much longer. He has only used three generations so far and feels right at home with the brand. He loves the portrait and wide-angle functions but feels that Xiaomi could improve on the night mode and zoom.
Patrick’s biggest highlight of this whole time is being picked as the winner of the #SafariWithXiaomi contest among thousands of other contestants back home. Combined with his visit to Kenya and the Maasai Mara trip courtesy of Xiaomi, this is up there among his greatest achievements.
Kenneth is a Nigeria-based tech enthusiast, Youtuber and professional photographer who goes by the brand name Khali Jones.
He’s a visual storyteller with a focus on documentaries and lifestyle, telling everyday life stories in images.
Some of his most impressive moments of the Xiaomi trip to Kenya are that even before arriving in Kenya, he already felt welcome and upon landing, he felt like he was joining a family.
The Xiaomi team and the travel group as a whole were very warm and welcoming throughout the planning and execution. He is speechless about the Maasai Mara which he described as his best experience since he was born.
Khali whose everyday device is the Redmi 12 does quite several tech reviews on his channel, so he has interacted with a lot of Xiaomi phones. Even before he got his camera, he was using a Redmi phone for professional photography. His rich history of the devices has given him the unique position to witness firsthand the growth and innovations of the phones thus far, and he feels that Xiaomi has lived to its slogan, ‘innovation for everyone’.
Khali was kind enough to treat the group to a masterclass on improving their mobile photography and editing game and having a deeper connection with their phones.
He feels that now that everyone is a content creator, Xiaomi should improve its cameras to a point where they can almost compete with professional cameras. Then, people will be able to take photos even in places where cameras are not allowed but phones are.
Overall, the Safari with Xiaomi has been a great experience and the trip to Maasai Mara was a perfect opportunity to showcase the innovations in mobile photography. It is right in line with Xiaomi’s brand mission to ‘make friends with users and be the coolest company in the users’ hearts.
The campaign was created to offer Xiaomi fans an opportunity to deepen their experience with Xiaomi phones and learn more photography skills and the inclusion of a photography masterclass by Nigerian photographer Kenneth Obina was a befitting conclusion.
