Some of my Bilal's best photo's - Secret's revealed...

The journey of discovery, it is said, lies not in seeking new landscapes but rather in having new eyes... I guess having a better camera lens helps too..!

Many of my friends ask how I manage to get some awesome shots from my mobile phone. Many struggle to get even a half decent shot and yet in this post I am sharing some of my best shots taken with my "Samsung Galaxy S" handset.

Note that this phone isn't exactly renown for it's camera quality. The Samsung Galaxy S (released over a year ago and which I use as my second handset that I take with me on trips abroad) has a 5 Mega-pixel camera, unlike it's successor, the Galaxy S2 (my main phone) which has an epic 8 Mega-pixel camera and a whole new camera-phone interface. But remember: it's not about how big it is... it's what you can do with it...!

The shots taken in this post have all been taken with the modest camera quality of the Galaxy S... however...

A Secret..

Samsung and Google have provided a brilliant platform for 3rd party camera applications. All the photo's here have been through the simplest one-click processing with the Android application: Camera 360, available free on the Google Android Market (also available for a small fee is the beefed up Camera 360 Ultimate edition.) The application has a series of special effects and enhancements and after you take your photo you can pick the stylised version of the photo that you prefer. The application gives you various options so you can choose the one which you prefer best. After playing with the application a little you can have some stunning results - Check these out!!
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Cooking up a feast... some ingredients

The original photo, before the one-click processing, note how the colours are just slightly less vivid than the original:

One of the best shots I've take... in my opinion... Sunset over the Bosphorus - This is the strait that separates Asia and Europe in the beautiful city of Istanbul. Birds flew into the shot at the perfect moment.

I used the filter 'Cold Flame' to get the effect above. This is the original un-edited shot.

I took part in a Charity Car Rally, driving from London to Granada through Paris, Barcelona and Madrid. This was shot on a random detour in the South of Spain - stunning scenery.

The original photo - Still stunning ;)

I love this shot - Kinda hard to believe I took it with my phone! This is the inside of the Süleymaniye Mosque  (http://bit.ly/qZOYZE) in Istanbul. We were joined by the Turkish Prime Minister that day - amazing guy!

Model and Singer Furqan Naeem hanging out in the South of Spain

An intimate gathering with a spiritual order  in Istanbul - They hosted a group of us and explained the artistry and munificence of the Whirling Dervishes - moving stuff!

Sunset on Signal Hill, Cape Town, South Africa - Epic :)

One final one... Actually.. I don't think any special effects were used on this one! This is Uludag Mountain, in Bursa, Turkey - enjoying the sunset in one of the most beautiful places I've visited.