#dearfuture2121 Captures and Seals Memories for the Future

Photography is powerful, it can traverse the boundaries of geography, language and time. A single image can capture the emotion it can take a thousand words to convey.

OPPO’s #dearfuture2121 project harnesses photography’s ability to crystallise the stories of how we live and feel in 2021. It asks: “what do you want people to remember 100 years from now?”

Here’s how it works. You upload one to 10 photographs to Instagram tagged with #dearfuture2121. At a time when it’s easy to feel disconnected, OPPO seeks to brighten futures by awarding selected entries $400 to fund a trip to see loved ones or for an adventure.

200 participants will win online professional photography courses to further enhance their skills, and have their photographs showcased on OPPO’s website and Instagram. The judging panel, which includes National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore, global travel photographer Lennart Pagel and film director Gan Bi, will select 50 winners, whose photographs will appear in an exclusive gallery hosted on OPPO’s website.

What should you capture? It might be the squirrel or raccoon that visits your house each morning, looking for food; a family photo taken after a year of pandemic separation; or simply something from life or nature that makes your heart sing every time you see it.

Photographer Lennart Pagel and Harsha are here to give you some #dearfuture2121 inspiration.

#dearfuture2021 ambassadors

Lennart regularly uses a phone to document his globetrotting adventures.

“The camera in your pocket isn’t just a camera. It’s a time machine. It can take you back to the past, replay a single moment again and again,” he says. Through photography, we can relive the moments that matter.

Lennart’s advice is to treat your photography as a fun form of exploration: “It’s not about creating something perfect. It's about creating something true to you.”

Lennart has used phone cameras since he was 12, back when they had 0.3-megapixel sensors, not the 50 megapixels on offer in the OPPO Find X3 Pro’s primary and ultra-wide cameras.

Harsha moved to Singapore six years ago to study film-making, and uses photos to bookmark and celebrate the life she has built for herself.

“I love the way looking at a photo reminds me of the moment I was living in when I took it,” she says. “Using photography to explore a city you already live in is great because you have this new lens to look through.”

Singapore is an amazing city to photograph, packed with dynamic architecture and curated parks. But Harsha also cherishes the special moments with her friends, who have become like family.

“I like using my phone because there’s nothing between you and the moment,” she adds.

The Find X3 Pro’s camera is right there in your pocket, ready to shoot life as it unfolds. It can capture a billion colours, to render the world with perfect accuracy. The ultra-wide, wide and 2x zoom lenses offer a wealth of compositional flexibility, removing barriers that might hamper your creativity. Find X3 Pro is the perfect tool for an intuitive approach to photography, with features that enable you to capture the essence and emotion of a moment.

The #dearfuture2121 project continues on Instagram, where OPPO’s global followers have already shared many beautiful images. Perhaps you should, too?

The Beauty of Nature

Photographer Iwin Joseph from Navi Mumbai in India posted a beautiful flower in bloom. This is the caption that accompanies it:

“We live because there is oxygen and in today’s time, oxygen is very much important. So let’s take a step ahead and plant more plants so that we can breathe pure air.”

Iwin’s use of colour and detail is powerful. When we take the time to stop and appreciate its depth and variety in nature, we begin to see things in a completely new way, opening up a world of beauty.

The natural world underpins our very existence. By taking into account the value of nature for our health and happiness, we bring hope for a better future.

Like all OPPO devices, Find X3 Pro is built for this kind of photography thanks to its billion-colour tonal fidelity and ultra-resolution sensors, which provide natural bokeh and stunning detail.

The wonder of childhood

Franz Hess captures a moment of pure joy and laughter, taken from the perspective of a parent as they watch their children play. Both children and adults will look at this image in years to come and remember the moment. Franz shares this joy in the hope that we can save it for future generations. His caption reads:

“The happiness of today’s faces is gradually being replaced by the abusive use of technology which leads up to a lot of mental and social issues. Try photography, inspire others and be inspired yourself. Photography can help in a lot of ways.

“I want real happiness to translate and inspire others even just through a photograph. Be happy with someone not something,” he pleads.

Franz’s photograph is a reminder to capture the beauty in the present and to respect our environment so that we can experience the same joy in nature as these children.

They also demonstrate the high-end camera abilities of the OPPO Find X3 Pro. It can capture a billion different colour tones, while its superior dynamic range retains the contours and colours of the clouds and foreground.

A quiet moment together

Daniel Mananta’s photography is more conclusive proof you can take professional-quality photos with a phone. His #dearfuture2121 submission would not look out of place in a gallery.

There are very few sights in nature that are as awe-inspiring as standing high above the clouds. This couple shares a rare peaceful moment: “This photo was taken in November 2020, Magelang, Indonesia, and that was the time when the earth took her rest. Nature did finally show its true beauty when we let her breathe.”

Daniel continues: “I’m not sure what the situation is of our world when you see this message, but if you truly want to feel nature at its best, give her a rest.”

The background radiates light as warm peach-pink tones fill the sky, evoking a sense of calm. Daniel’s message is to live in the present and enjoy the everyday moments - the sunsets, the fresh air, the smiles.

The past year has been tough, but such natural sights are a reminder that the world still has much to offer.

Many more extraordinary moments have been captured and saved for tomorrow. From cascading waterfalls to siblings playing, these are the moments we want to remember.

Here’s a few more submissions that caught our eye, we hope you enjoy them as much as we do.

Isaac Bakit
“I just wish we all would learn to care more about life, especially nature. Without nature, we human beings will not be able to live. Because of it our vital resources that we use to stay alive whether it be food, shelter, company, entertainment and so on. Stop the conflicts. Stop the hatred against one another! Instead, learn to unite and love one another as we are all God's creation regardless of our ethnicity, origin, skin color and identity. Let us all join forces to gentrify the world we live in so that our Earth will be taken good care of.”

Nilesh Panchal
“It's never too late to have a happy childhood. I do not miss childhood, but I miss the way I took pleasure in small things, even as greater things crumbled. I could not control the world I was in, could not walk away from things or people or moments that hurt, but I took joy in the things that made me happy.”

Mohammad Reza
“Dear future, I hope the beauties of nature that we see today, would not be a dream for the future. I hope that the future man will not only experience the beauties of nature in our photographs but also enjoy it with all their senses.”

#dearfuture2121 celebrates how photography captures moments from our lives, the people we love, the places we’ve been and the way we felt. Returning to a photo months or years later reawakens precious memories, like stepping into a time machine. It’s a universal language, one that brings people closer and portrays emotions in a way words often cannot.

Share the moments you want to remember in 100 years’ time with #dearfuture2121 and #shotonOPPO.