Canon HD FotoJournal (Review)

I can’t remember exactly when my passion for photography began, but what kept the passion going over the last many years was because of the immense amount of satisfaction I get when I saw the photos I captured. They may not be perfect shots (in fact more than 50% of the shots I took were embarrassing!), but they told the stories and experiences I had. The invention of digital cameras was ingenious, and because of that, even amateur photographers can just snap without a second thought because they know they can sift through thousands of photos afterwards and keep only those that turned out good. But on the flipside of things, it also meant that we have lost the joy of holding hardcopy photographs in our hands. Now, we admire our photographs on the screens of our phones and laptops. Still good, but it is just different from hardcopies.

Because of that, many of my friends would print out their favorite photographs or even print them into photobooks to commemorate special occasions or memorable family travels. I had not done so myself personally until I was approached with an opportunity to review Canon HD FotoJournals. Now that I’ve tried it and seen the final products for myself, I don’t think I can stop anymore. =P

I made two Canon HD FotoJournals and I couldn’t decide which I liked better. The rectangular journal (Landscape 8” x 12”, 20 pages, S$75.00) is a documentation of our experiences at Telunas Resort a couple of years back, where we were immersed in the beauty of Nature and surrounded by sea, sand, skies and fishes everyday. The square journal (10”x 10”, 20 pages, S$125.00) is a collection of the husband’s photographs taken on his film camera. Every single shot told a unique story of its own and so beautiful. One thing is for sure though – I absolutely LOVE how the FotoJournals turned out!

The wonderful part about creating your personal FotoJournals is that you get to customize, beautify and decorate every page according to your likes. Don’t worry if you are not a creative person because there are preset templates and layouts within the program to help you along. The program is user-friendly and very easy to follow. This program I am talking about is the FotoHub program, which you will be instructed to download after you’ve purchased your FotoJournal from http://shop.canon.com.sg/photobooks. Just follow the instructions accordingly, upload the photographs that you have selected to be in the FotoJournal and you are good to start designing.

Even though the number of pages is fixed (Depending on which option you purchased), you can have as many photographs included as you like. When you see the inside pages of my FotoJournals, you will know what I mean.

There are many ways to personalize the journals – You can choose the type of layout, background color, background designs/wallpapers, insert captions, treat your photographs with filters and even simple editing in brightness, contrast, sharpness, etc. One great feature I’ve discovered is that the program will prompt you if the photograph you have selected is not high-resolution enough for the printout to look perfect. You then have the choice whether to still go ahead or choose another photograph. Once the photographs are accepted, you can be assured that the printout will look great.

To give you a better understanding of the various features in the program and see the different design possibilities, let me show you my FotoJournals. I am biased but I think they look perfect. =P

As you can see on this page, I didn’t opt for full-page image so that I can add in a wallpaper and insert a caption. Tip: The program uses installed fonts on your laptop/computer, so before you get started, make sure you’ve downloaded fancy fonts that you would like to use in your journals.

This page is similar to the one above, except that I aligned the photograph to one side and gave it a flowery wallpaper to match the colors of the image.

This is one of my all-time favorite shots of Joey and I gave it a Sepia treatment and filled it up to full page because I felt there was no need for more frills or captions.

I did the same with the following because the photographs told stories on their own, without a need to say more. Less is more sometimes, isn’t it?

I did a slightly different layout with these 2 consecutive pages which were the center page of the whole journal, with a series of photographs taken on the beach. One of the most common mistakes that people make when creating their journals is that they try to put in only photographs of people because subconsciously, it feels more worth it. But if you do it like I did - Add in some shots of the little details such as the hermit crab we caught and the insects on Jayne’s hand, for example, it makes the whole journal come alive. Just my personal opinion. :)

For the back cover of the journal, I chose this photograph taken on the husband’s iphone and made it black & white to signify that the trip was a wonderful memory to all of us. Thankfully, the photograph was sharp enough to be used, even though it was not taken on a professional camera. That border & background is a preset option in the program that I chose. I thought it matched perfectly. =)

For the second journal, we wanted to create a different feel altogether. I had this fancy idea of making it into a really professional-looking photojournal. We were really happy at how it turned out eventually – I think we achieved our goal!

Here, you see the back cover (1st photo) & the front cover (2nd photo) because I wanted to show you the concept that we used. The front cover’s title probably does not make much sense on its own but when you read it from the back cover, it says, “Back To Basics”, which was what we wanted to convey – Film photography is about getting back to the basics because you have to use the right aperture, ISO and settings in order to capture the photograph the way you envision it to be. This journal is a collection of the husband’s vision through his film camera.

Since the focus of this journal is mainly on the photographs, we used white background on every page without any wallpapers or fancy colors. The captions were all thought of by the husband as he recalled the thoughts in his mind when he took the shots. I thought that was so meaningful and provided a rare peek into the mind of a film photographer.

The layout used was simple and neat, so as not to distract the viewers from the beauty of the photographs. That is exactly what a professional photojournal should look like, and the program helped to achieve that flawlessly.

It was a wonderful experience creating my FotoJournals with Canon, and the satisfaction & joy of holding a beautifully printed copy of our photographs in our hands is unexplanable. The final products are extremely high-quality and very professional-looking, and after I’ve submitted my final draft of the photojournals, I received notification (SMS & Email) after 5 working days that the albums were ready for collection (You can choose which outlet to collect your albums from after you’ve completed the design work). They certainly didn’t disappoint. In fact, they way exceeded my initial expectations! They are unique, only-one-in-the-world and most certainly an encouragement for us to continue this passion for photography.

If you have tons of photographs stored in your computer, why don’t you consider printing them out using Canon HD FotoJournals? It would open up a whole new world of possibilities for you, I promise. It’s addictive!

Thank you, Canon, for this review opportunity!

Disclosure: The J Babies was provided with two complimentary FotoJournals for purpose of review, and no other compensation was received. All photographs used and opinions expressed in this post are solely mine.

Hasbro Doh Vinci Children's Day Giveaway

Children’s Day is just round the corner and many kids are having fun celebrations in school today. I’ve just given my kids their Children’s Day presents yesterday and they were jumping up and down even though they were not fancy gifts at all. That’s the things – Kids just love presents, don’t they? So, The J Babies is celebrating Children’s Day this year with a GIVEAWAY, made possible by Hasbro and Doh Vinci!

My kids and I first got to know about Hasbro’s new toy range called Doh Vinci at a media event earlier on. The kids had a chance to try it and got hooked on it, obviously, because they kept bugging me to buy it for them after that!

First and foremost, what’s Doh Vinci all about? I’d like to see it as a positive spin-off from Play-Doh, which is a part of almost every kid’s childhood. It’s positive because I found them to be less sticky, more manageable and definitely easier to clean up after play time. The best part of it is that Doh Vinci encourages kids to be creative, translate their ideas into action and create their own unique art pieces. I cannot overemphasize how important that is for growing-up kids.

Doh Vinci features a all-new patent-pending design compound and an innovative Styler tool, and all the kids need to do is to pop their favorite color into the Styler and squeeze to create their own beautiful 3D art designs. Yes – You heard it right – It’s 3D! Absolutely perfect for sensory training in kids. With so many colors and application techniques, no two designs will be the same, and since the design compound sticks to other surfaces such as wood, glass, duct tape, and paper – the creative possibilities are endless!

There are many Doh Vinci kits available – Some are basic and simple sets for the younger kits, and some are more challenging and complex. Let your kids pick out their favorite and just let their creativity flow:

Here are my top 3 picks from their range, which I really like!

1. DOH VINCI MEMORY MASTERPIECE Ribbon Board Kit
(Retail Price: S$29.90)

The kit comes with all that you need to create a masterpiece. As you can see, application is easy and even though it’s for 6 years and up, my 5-year-old Jayne could manage it as well. :)

From a flat 2D cardboard, Doh Vinci helps you transform it into a 3D artwork just like this! Every kid would be very proud of their own masterpieces, I’m sure. :)

2. DOH VINCI ANYWHERE ART STUDIO Kit
(Retail Price: S$34.90)

This is a great kit because it’s also a carry case for the kids to bring their supplies out with them. The kit includes blank boards for open-ended creativity, as well as small art pieces that can be given as gifts! I think this will be really useful for keeping the kids entertained when you are out dining.

3. DOH VINCI STYLE & STORE VANITY Kit
(Retail Price: S$39.90)

Now, the kids can keep their room a little more organized with  a customizable place to store their favorite things! I think this will be a hit with little girls!

 

HASBRO Doh Vinci Children's Day Giveaway!

Hasbro has kindly sponsored the following 3 Doh Vinci kits for 3 readers of The J Babies (1 kit per winner):

1. DOH VINCI STYLE & STORE VANITY Kit (S$29.90)
2. DOH VINCI ANYWHERE ART STUDIO Kit (S$34.90)
3. DOH VINCI MEMORY MASTERPIECE Ribbon Board Kit (S$39.90)

If you would like to have a chance to win one of the above kits, please take note of the following criteria:

1. You must be a fan of The J Babies facebook page. If you are not, you can like us here.
2. You must like and share this blog post on your Facebook wall with the comment and your answer, “HASBRO Doh Vinci Children's Day Giveaway!” and tag Klessis Lee or The J Babies, so that I can track your participation.
3. Leave me a comment on this blog post, telling me ONE IDEA to help develop a kid’s creativity.

Conditions:
1. All criteria must be fulfilled to be eligible for the giveaway.
2. Organizer reserves the right to decide the winner for each kit.
3. Prizes cannot be redeemable for cash or exchangeable for other products.
4. Prizes must be self-collected from Organizer’s office.

Closing date of giveaway: Tue, 7 Oct 2014, 6pm.

* All photos are provided courtesy of Hasbro Doh Vinci.

Technorati Tags: Hasbro Doh Vinci giveaway

Wordless Wednesday: 飛機棋(Aeroplane Chess]

While we have tons and tons of sophisticated board games at home, the one game that the girls will keep replaying is the aeroplane chess. I wonder how many of you remember it from your childhood? If you do, we probably belong to the same era. =P

It's probably because the game is very simple to play, and the thrill lies in the fact that along the way, you can kick your opponents back to home. The race to get all four 'aeroplanes' home as fast as you can while trying to delay your opponents is very exciting indeed. It is a perfect game for my family of four to laugh, scream and play together.

Sometimes, the simple games are the best. :)

Word Winder (Review & Giveaway!)

Product Review

Sorry to burst your bubble, but while I sound like a modern mum on this blog most of the time, I am really quite a GEEK beneath it all.

I am slightly ashamed to admit that the games I enjoy playing the MOST are word games. I love all kinds of word games such as crossword puzzles, word search puzzles, scrabble, etc. I can play those stuffs for hours without getting bored. It's not like I have such a huge wealth of vocabulary in my tummy that I win all the time. Truth is 99% of time, I don't. It is such an irony because I often tell the husband that I dislike playing games that require me to use my brain to think. What can I say? I am a typical woman who sometimes am not sure what I really want. =P

And so, when Emway Singapore wanted to send over a new board game called 'Word Winder', you bet I said 'Yes!' within all of 3 seconds. It was an even bigger draw for me because the game is apparently suitable for kids to play as well, and can help them to improve their vocabulary. Joey has just started Primary One, and I'd love for her to improve her English language in a fun way and not feeling like mum's forcing it down her throat. How apt!

And so, Word Winder arrived at my house and I challenged Joey to a game. By the way, the game's created by David Hoyt, who is the world's most syndicated word game creator.

My first impression of the board was that it is a word version of Pictureka - Instead of finding pictures, you look for words on the board.

There are three different coloured chips provided so either 3 players can pit against each other, or form 3 teams if you have more players. To win, all you need to do is to form words on the board from one end of the board to the other end, either bottom to top or side to side, WITHOUT breaking the link between the words.

Even though the game is supposed to be for 8 years old and above, I challenged 7-year-old Joey to a game. She took up my challenge with much gusto.

You can form the words in any direction at all as long as they link. So for example, I formed the word SHAPE as below:

In order not to break the link between my words, I have to find my next word that links to the previous word. The words I make can overlap with the previous word without using the same alphabet more than once in the same word. My opponent (Joey) cannot touch the alphabet I've placed my coloured chip on. So, to make it difficult for my opponent to reach the top of the board and win the game, I can block her way by forming words that uses alphabet in her path. I didn't tell Joey this tip till the end of the game, haha! So, that's Joey pondering and thinking about words she can form.

I have to say I am mightily impressed with Joey. She may not be able to spell many of the words, but she can see the alphabets available and guess that it can form a certain word. Then she checks with me on the spelling of the word she has in mind and most of the time, they can really be formed on the board! I think she might have a hidden talent for unscrambling words from random alphabets provided. The red chips are Joey's and mine's blue. You can see she was just one step behind me in the game! In fact, we played the game several times and she won me in some of them. *ashamed & proud all at the same time*

To make the game more challenging for adults to play against kids, you can add in your own rule such as 'Only three-letter words are allowed' or allow the use of dictionaries etc. Don't underestimate the ability of kids - Sometimes they can think of simple three-letter words just like that, while the adults are still scratching their heads! We adults make things too complicated sometimes, and it is an art to be able to think simple.

Of course, I helped Joey along the way when she got stuck, and took the opportunity to teach her new words as well. It was all very fun and easy, and I could tell that Joey enjoyed herself. It was a great learning tool!

With 16 boards and 32 sides, there are over 1 trillion combinations you can make out of them! This is definitely a good game that helps kids and adults improve their vocabulary and have a fun family time together.

Too bad Jayne is too young to play. She was a little sad she couldn't participate. =P

GIVEAWAY!

Emway Singapore will be giving away 3 sets of Word Winder for interested readers of The J Babies. All you need to do is to complete the following simple step:

Mandatory:

Leave me a comment on this entry (either via disqus or facebook comment) why you would like to win a set of the Word Winder (leave your email address as well for easy contacting), OR drop me an email at inthedaisies@gmail.com with your comment.

Not Mandatory but Nice to do:

Like & share this blog entry
Like The J Babies Facebook page

Closing date for submission is Friday, 25 Jan 2013!