Thursday, June 28, 2012

Top picks for free Android photography apps

I have been using the Droid Razr for four months now and I have to say I love this phone. Seriously LOVE it. In one of my previous posts I mentioned how it felt like the top of the phone was top heavy to I always felt like it was going to drop. Since purchasing a phone case for the phone it helped even out the balance issues I was having while holding the phone and I haven't had any issues since.

One of the things I use my phones for a lot is taking photos. It is my go to thing to grab if I don't have my Nikon with me. And of course half of the fun is sharing those photos online so an app with social sharing is a must. I wanted to share a few of my favorite free Android Apps for photography.

This app is a given. Instagram has a lot of followers/users and since it's release on the Android market those numbers have probably only doubled.


This app is a new one to me but I very quickly became addicted to it. The fun thing about it is the many choices of cameras it offers. Along with the different camera options you can also choose different lenses with the cameras. It also offers three different resolutions (Small:472px, Medium:700px, Large:1280px).

 
This app currently has over 70 free effects and tools to edit your photos. Little photo also offers more ways to edit your photos such as adjusting the brightness, contrast, exposure, saturation and smoothing the skin. The plugin is not free but with all of the options available on the free version I would definitely suggest checking the free version out first.

Another app that is more about the camera then the editing afterwards. One of my favorite camera options is the fisheye. Yes I said fisheye. It's very fun to take photos with. They also offer the Instant camera which adds toy camera effects to your photos. It also offer Posters images, Symetric and of course Normal camera.

Another app that has quickly become a favorite of mine. With features such as Tilt shift, Panorama, Collage, and of course sharing through social networks. And even better this app is not only available for free on Android but you can also get it free for your iPhone and iPad.

This app offers a wide variety of filters for you to choose from as well as borders and lighting that you can add to your photo. And they don't have just your typical borders and textures that a lot of the other apps offer. I have been using this app for well over a year and I still love it.


There you have it, my pick of top free Android photography apps. Do you have a favorite that I didn't mention? I would to know what your go to photography app is.




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Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Wordless Wednesday-Pool time

A trip to California just wouldn't be complete without letting the kids get in some pool time. My oldest loves the water yet is very weary/fearful of it. So even though he had on diving fins (giggle) and a life vest I didn't care one bit because he went in the pool. And not only did he just waddle around but he JUMPED in! Huge step for him and I am so proud.



Baby girl started going under water. To say she was proud of herself would be an understatement. It was so much fun seeing her face when she would come back up.


And of course little man. I don't know what I would do without this little character in my life. He had the time of his life. When he wasn't jumping in, squirting his brother and sister with the water gun or "diving" he was completely content floating the length of the pool.

I will leave you with one final photo. I dare you not to laugh at his goofiness.



For more inspiring photos be sure to check out:

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Claritin & Madagascar 3 viewing party



A few weeks ago I got the opportunity to throw a Madagascar viewing party for my kids and some friends of ours. Seeing as school had just let out and my youngest turned four I made it a combo viewing/schools out/birthday party. Food, movies, presents, friends. Who could ask for more.

Not only did we get to watch Madagascar 2 but I got to pick stickers off the carpet and furniture for a week LOL But you know I'd rather do that then scrubbing the kitchen floors. Somehow not a single kid spilled or made any mess of any kind. It was a miracle I tell you.

Out of curiosity I asked if any of their kids suffered from allergies. I was quite surprised to learn that almost every kid in attendance suffered from some form of mild airborne allergies. The moms were more then grateful for all of the samples I passed out, and the coupons were like a golden ticket. One mom had mentioned she used to use Zyrtec for her daughter but all of the sudden it stopped working. We had the same experience with my daughter and that was the main reason we switched to Childrens Claritin two years ago, and knock on wood it's the only thing that works for her now.  


If you'd like more information on Claritin you can check out their Facebook page here. They have a lot of useful information on allergies.


As a member of the Children’s Claritin Mom Crew, I receive product samples and promotional items to share and use as I see fit.  No monetary compensation has taken place and any opinions expressed by me are honest and reflect my actual experience. I received a party pack from the Claritin Mom Crew and Mom Select. All opinions therein are purely my own. Please see my full disclosure policy for more information.

Friday, June 22, 2012

Disney's Brave Review



Ever since I first heard word that Disney was going to be creating a new kind of Princess movie I knew I wanted to see it. First off, I am a huge Disney fan. Second, what's not to love about introducing a new type of Princess. One who is strong, independent, maybe slightly stubborn, and one who wants to be in control of her destiny. Personally I think it's awesome. Now I am not knocking the other Disney Princess characters, I think they are all great but I really loved the idea of bringing in some change.

My family and I had the privilege of attending a screening of the movie Brave a few days ago. I don't know who was more excited, my daughter or me. It may have been me LOL. I was a little worried that my youngest might not be too interested since the main character is a girl (he's really into super heros right now) but I think he enjoyed the movie. In fact this morning he said he wanted to see the movie again. My daughter absolutely loved it. It was too cute for words to look over and see my baby girl laughing at the funny scenes and at the others she had a perma smile plastered on her face. Now I did hear from a few others that there were some scary scenes in it but I don't think they are anything to be concerned about if you're thinking of dismissing the movie just for those few scenes. Neither my five year old or my four year old made a fuss about it.


I will try not to give away too much info in this quick breakdown of the characters. They were all great in their own way. The star Merida was headstrong, fearless and she has this thirst for life that is unquenchable. Her Mother Queen Elinor was torn between doing what was expected and not wanting to hurt her daughter. Her Father King Fergus was hilarious. He seemed like the type to find humor in anything and one who has troubles sticking to the straight faced serious sides of life (I can relate to that hah). The three brothers were too freaking funny. Little mischievous boys which were adorable to watch. And who thought they could be even cuter as bears.


All in all I absolutely loved the movie. I laughed, I cried (shhh I am an emotional person so I tend to cry a lot), I ohhh'd and awwww'd and I would go see it again right now if I could. I've already told my daughter we will be buying the movie as soon as it comes out on DVD. It quickly climbed my list of favorite Disney movies. The message behind the movie is one that will touch you, especially if you're a mother. It will even touch you for being a daughter because lets face it, at one point in our lives there was a time when we didn't agree with our Moms. Would I recommend this movie, you bet I would! And not just for little girls. I think this is a great movie for kids of all ages, boy or girl.

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Wordless Wednesday-Water fun


With school out for summer (YAY) and it being so warm outside (seriously it's already in the 90's here) the best thing to do is get wet. Since we don't have a pool the house is the next best thing. Trust me, it's a heck of a lot better then lounging inside while you and the kids go out of their minds from sheer boredom.

Oldest: "Mom watch while I get him".

Without even trying little man got him before J man could LOL

 
This smile makes me smile

And so does this one :)

And this one makes me laugh at everything he does

:::Insert hysterical laughter here:::

For more inspiring photos be sure to check out:

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Sunset Sunday-Mammatus Clouds

Every time I see those clouds like look like bubbles I ask my husband what kind of cloud it is. I am sure he is sick of hearing me ask it but I think the name may finally be stuck in my head. I was even able to answer someone when they asked me what type they were. Mammatus. They are seriously awesome to look at.
Last week we had a pretty good storm and a few hours before it hit the sky was filled with Mammatus clouds. And when I say filled I am not exaggerating. It was an awesome sight. 


I wish I had a camera capable of taking landscape shots because these next two should be viewed side by side. While the sunset wasn't that easy to see, it was still beautiful because what you could see was so brilliant and then right next to those brilliant colors was a huge storm cloud. It's times like these I wish we either had a two story house or lived in the middle of nowhere.



Do you love sunsets? Have tons and tons of photos of them or maybe even just a few? Craig from StayAdventurous and I would love for you to join us in Sunset Sundays and share a few of your favorites.