The picture was taken through the windshield of my car as I was sitting in traffic trying to get somewhere.  Before I get started, I do NOT condone the activity of texting while driving, taking pictures, posting to twitter, facebook, taking videos or otherwise.  With that out of the way, as I was sitting there (not, to barely moving), I noticed a rare opportunity.  I grabbed my BlackBerry Storm and held it in what I felt was an “artistic” angle and pressed the shutter release.  It was a cool picture.  But, what I noticed was a rich blue color in the picture that was not as rich in the sky.  The storm clouds were darker, the road signage was slightly blurred… It was a great shot!

When I showed the picture (and my contest entry) to a friend of mine, he asked me what I used to alter the picture – “Was it PhotoShop? Was it LightRoom? What was it, there is no way that came out of your BlackBerry without doctoring it!”  I grinned and asked him to think about it.  After a few moments, he figured it out and called it a “camera filter of opportunity.”  Wow, what a great assessment!

So, how was it done – simple.  Some cars – not all – have some sort of sun-screening material on the top edge of the windshield.  In this case, I was in my Acura TSX, which has one with a blue tint to it.  By holding my camera phone at just the right height and in that “artistic” angle, I was able to produce the shot you see below.

If you think this is a great shot – which I hope you do – I ask you to vote on it.  Then, share it with your friends via Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, LiveJournal, Xanga, or just share this blog posting with others via email.  The only way I can stay in the top end of this contest is to not only get votes, but also get it on as many social networks, blogs, etc.  So, if you are going to share it, do so from the links provided after you vote.  Thanks in advance friends!

Touch It. Love It. Share It. Win It. Phase 2 Sponsored by BlackBerry Storm

Camera phone closeup

Originally uploaded by dgmiami

When it comes to photography, we often forget that there are millions of people out there with camera enabled cell phones. It is actually surprising to me that we haven’t heard more and more stories about people taking pictures of things that they shouldn’t be with all the cell phones that are out there!

Ever since I got my BlackBerry Storm, I started noticing all the people that are sharing their cell phone pictures on Flickr. I decided to start a group there to have people post their best cell phone pictures and have other members of the group give them “awards” for taking nice pictures. I really started this as an experiment, and so far there are 14 people that have submitted a total of over 100 pictures! Some of them are geotagged, so it is actually pretty cool to open the group map and see where all the pictures are coming from throughout the world.

If you have a cell phone camera and have a data plan, Flickr has a great way to share your pictures instantly from your phone. I take random shots and upload them directly from my phone once in a while. if you get into it too, be sure submit your best ones to my group.

And let’s not forget, some of the things that you do on your cell phone should simply NOT be done while intoxicated… For instance:

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