Samsung SH100 Coast to Coast Photo Post

When Bob and I were first dating, we decided it would be fun to drive to one of his art openings. We lived in Memphis at the time, and the opening was in San Diego. It was a loooong drive but it was also a lot of fun. Sadly, we don't have much evidence of the awesomeness of a trip that included Albuquerque flea markets, Hoover Dam, the nasty old part of Las Vegas, and the overwhelming crush of people in tights that is Comic Con, because we didn't have a digital camera back then. Or social media to broadcast our adventures to the world. Hmm, maybe that's a good thing for some segments of the road trip…

Meet the Samsung SH100, a new compact WiFi-enabled point and shoot camera that lets you share high quality photos with your friends and families easily and instantly, via your favorite social networks. It gets around, just like you!

Samsung is taking the SH100 on a month-long road trip across the US, from LA to NYC, during the month of May to show what a great camera this is for movers and shakers, homebodies and travelers alike. The Coast to Coast Photo Post team is recording all the places they go and people they meet along the way with the SH100, and the best photos and videos will be shared on the Samsung USA Facebook page. Follow Samsung on Twitter to find out when they'll be rolling through your town… if you take the best photo on their road trip, you could win a trip to NYC!



The Samsung SH100 would make a great gift for dads and grads, or anyone planning a trip this summer. You can always un-tag…



Disclosure: I was compensated for this opportunity by Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity. All opinions are, as usual, entirely my own.

Kodak Z980: It's All About the Zoom

Hopefully you've noticed some improvement in my photography over the last couple of months. I've been wanting a "nice" camera for a while now. Well, probably since about puberty, to be honest. I borrowed my stepfather's SLR to take photography classes in high school and college but somehow never got around to buying my own. Possibly because I always managed to overexpose my negatives. Or because I am inherently stingy. Now that digital has taken some of the worry and extra expense out of the photography process (film, chemicals and paper were crazy expensive!), I've been toying with the idea of a DSLR. Something with a wide angle lens and a bit more control. I know my digital point and shoot (a Sony Cybershot) is trusty but it doesn't take the ooh and ahh-worthy shots that some of my favorite blogs tend to feature. If Roo and Jasper weren't so naturally resplendent, my snapshots of them would probably be seriously ho-hum. Of course, there are a million zillion options in the digital SLR world and I am one of the least decisive people in the world. Luckily, Kodak sent me their Kodak Easyshare Z980 Digital Camera to try out.



The Z980 has a wealth of awesome features but let's cut to the chase: it has a crazy 24X optical zoom lens that is positively badass. Check it out:



While I am sure there are plenty of great reasons to have such a lens, I like to use it to catch my kids when they think they are safely out of range of the prying camera. If you can sneak up on them, you have less of a chance of getting forced smiles or intentional smirks. Sometimes you can catch them singing to themselves, lost in their own world.





The Kodak Z980 produces exceptionally good color and even though it has a ton of automatic functions, there are also manual controls to play around with– and you can also get some very artistic effects when using either mode. I am particularly enamored with the action mode that manages to capture my kids, both of whom are in a constant state of motion.





The Z980 is a pretty intuitive camera to use, perhaps less daunting to the casual photographer than a heavy duty SLR. It looks and feels more like a "real" camera but is as easy to use as a point and shoot. If it was less bulky (or if I still carried a diaper bag everywhere), I would have it on me at all times. The one thing I'm not a fan of is the batteries. It uses four rechargeable AA batteries, which is ostensibly great but for some reason the included charger takes forever and the batteries lose their charge quickly if they are not fully charged. Also, the Z980 can be used vertically or horizontally, which I love, but in order to make that feature more ergonomic, you have to screw on a bottom plate that adds extra bulk (not weight) to the camera. It's not such a big deal, aside from the fact that you must detach it to access the battery compartment, which feels clumsy. Overall, I am very pleased with the photo quality from the Z980. At around $399 (what my point and shoot retailed for a few years ago), I think it's a very well-priced option for consumers who want to start taking photography more seriously.













Disclosure: I received a Kodak Easyshare Z980 Digital Camera for my own use but was not required to write about it.

Help-Portrait is Today!

Help-Portrait is a non-profit organization (currently working to obtain 501(c)(3)* status) with a simple mission: connect with people in need through photography. Help-Portrait is also a movement of photographers around the globe, who are using their time, equipment and expertise to give back to those who are less fortunate this holiday season. On December 12, the Help-Portrait movement will officially kick off with 700 photographers in 60 countries donating one day to reach out to as many people as possible. The event and it’s goal can best be understood by watching this YouTube Video about the Help-Portrait Nashville 2009 Test Event:



Kodak is supporting Help-Portrait in Nashville, LA and NYC with on-site Picture Kiosk assistance. Kiosk will allow the photographers to supply photos for those in need (with 4x6 and 5x7 photos, for example) in Nashville, LA and NY.

Help-Portrait was founded in Nashville by celebrity photographer Jeremy Cowart. This will be the third Help-Portrait event today featuring the founders' hometown as a focal point. This event has received much media attention and will be attended by some of the major media outlets.

Please lend your support...tweet, blog and support Help-Portrait today and encourage people to Smile. Print. And Share at KODAK Picture Kiosks everywhere, today!

Disclosure: I did not receive any compensation for this post, I simply thought it was a nice idea to give photographers a chance to help out community members in need. You might also want to check out Kodak and TweetPhoto's 30 Days of Giveaways all this month for your chance to win cool prizes including cameras and digital frames, although no one told me to say that, either.

Make Me HD

Kristin is holding an AMAZING giveaway for a JVC Everio GZ-HD320 Hi-Def camcorder. As you might know, if you are a member (or lurking fan of) her blog, An Ordinary Life, or the blog community she has created, Extraordinary Mothers, Kristin is in her third trimester. As she waits somewhat patiently for the arrival of her second baby girl, Kristin is testing out all sorts of cool baby gear to make other mommies' lives easier… and a lot more fun, too!*

I would really love to be able to document Roo and Jasper's lives with the JVC Everio GZ-HD320 Hi-Def camcorder. We've never owned our own camcorder, and this one looks portable enough to realistically imagine using it on a regular basis. I might have even let Bob record their births if we'd had something like this… I like the fact that you can upload to YouTube or your iPhone with one touch, that would make sharing with our families very simple, too. We have a Flip camera that is great for taking short clips but this camera looks like it would be good for recording longer programs like school plays, sports and recitals, too.

To enter the contest, I'm supposed to tell you a bit about my birth stories. Both of my kids were born without epidurals but both were induced. (I hate pitocin, y'all. It is a terrible thing.) Roo was a day past her due date, which is probably a good thing since it was a leap year and she was due on Feb 29th. Aside from having the pitocin to speed up the contractions, it was a smooth delivery and only took about 8 hours of labor. Roo pretty much came into the world as she is now, eyes wide open and twinkly, ready for fun!





Jasper was induced about a week before his due date because my doctor was afraid I would develop high blood pressure and that he would be too big for me to deliver naturally. Well, he ended up only being 6lbs 12 oz and was a moderately easy labor and delivery but he must have sucked up some amniotic fluid that made his breathing labored. A couple of hours after he was born, we were informed he was going to have to sleep in the NICU, which totally freaked me out. He looked fine, seemed fine, but his oxygen levels were off and he wasn't a pro nurser like his big sister was. So we got wheeled out of the comfy, cozy birth care center through an underground series of tunnels to the regular hospital. Which sucked. I was totally upset because the baby was taken away and I couldn't nurse him. I was positive he was going to die, that something was really wrong. He eventually spent a week in the NICU on antibiotics because the doctors were afraid he might develop pneumonia or meningitis, neither of which ever showed up. Apparently, once you start the course of antibiotics, the newborn must remain hospitalized with an IV. I spent that week familiarizing myself with the wonders of the fabulous hospital-grade Medela Symphony breast pump. I visited him several times a day to try and bottle feed him my breast milk and it was so hard to leave him there. Bob thinks I'm totally full of it but I think Jasper's clinginess even now is related to the fact that he was hospitalized and kept away from me when he was so little. He still has some serious separation anxiety, even at 19 months.



Spending all the time in the NICU made me realize how truly lucky we had been with Roo. She was so healthy, so happy, so content. Jasper was poked with needles constantly and had roommates and monitors bleeping and bright lights and feedings and diaperings every couple of hours. It's no wonder he's so much grumpier than his big sister, I guess. The nurses in the NICU called him the big, happy boy and compared to the other babies he was certainly much better off. The preemies on life support and grieving parents made me appreciate how lucky I was to have a baby who would almost certainly go home with me and live a long, full life of irritating his big sister. I felt so guilty that I'd been almost hysterical about having to leave him in NICU when it was so obvious that he was going to recuperate. It was hard not to be able to take him home immediately but I know others were not as fortunate. And when we did finally get to take Jasper home, we knew he was going to be okay. Thankfully.




*Wow, I totally didn't mean to make this sound like a freaky infomercial for how cool Kristin is but, uh, she is pretty cool. She is young and a full-time student but she takes the time to help newbie bloggers out, answering questions and directing their efforts on the Extraordinary Moms forums. She has given me advice and helped me make some great contacts in the blogosphere and has been a good friend, above all. Go read the entry instructions JVC camcorder contest and say hello, already! If you write about your birth stories, leave a link below so I can check it out, too.

Ripped off.

My digital camera was stolen at the zoo. In the gorilla habitat. My absent-minded husband left it in the stroller seat and turned away to look at the gorillas. He didn't notice it was gone for a while, of course. And I was super irritated, since it was my birthday present last year and we really can't afford to replace it and who leaves valuables in plain sight, anyway? Sheesh.

Thankfully, I had downloaded it a couple of days before it was swiped, so I didn't lose too many pictures. Of course it totally creeps me out that someone I don't know (who is enough of a jerk to steal a camera from a stroller) has pictures of my kids in the camera's hard drive. It is such a violation on so many levels… and such an inconvenience. My old digital camera won't power on, I think the battery needs to be replaced because it won't hold a charge. And it's a 3 megapixel, as opposed to the luxurious 10 of the stolen one.

Anyway, it might be a while before I can post new pictures. Excuse me while I sob gently in the corner.