The Incredibly Stupid Froot Loop Project
It seemed like a good idea at the time. Get a box of Froot Loops and spell out the word “Froot Loops” with Froot Loops. You see they just released a study which found that each and every froot loop is the same flavor no matter what the color is. I feel like I was somehow cheated as a child since I always imagined the great fruit I was eating every time I ate these things, practically every morning.
Believe it or not, this took a bit of time to spell it out. And then there it is. Wow. look at that in my living room. I think I am going to leave it there for awhile.
Froot Loops are still great. By the way, up until this article, I always thought it was Fruit Loops. Nope they are called Froot Loops. Scammed again.
Count to 10 with Frankie and James
We put together a video today where Frankie and James teach you to count the funnest way ever.
Exposure Narratives – Why Slowing Down is The Next Trend in Photography
I like Instagram. I use Instagram sometimes. Instagram is easy ; you take a photo, you put a filter on it, caption it and post it. And maybe that is precisely the problem with it. It’s so easy that it can lure people in sharing too many photos.
Too many photos with the same filters applied to them making all the photos look too familiar. Everything is so fast and so easy that the photos start to look cool but they lack context and don’t tell a story. If you combine that with the fact that a photos merit is based on the number of likes it receives it can all get a bit exhausting and non-fulfilling.
Slow Down, Tell a Story
2013 was the year that I discovered the art of slowing down. I took less pictures. I took time to compose my pictures and I carefully started selecting the pictures that I shared. I used to take tons of pictures with little thought. Now I focused on taking only the best pictures.
Most importantly I started purposely taking pictures with the intent of making the pictures tell a story. I started using my photography blog to tell stories of life around me, wherever I was.
The result of all of this was that I was happier with my work and I think others were too. More people started to look at my pictures, read my stories and have an emotional connection with what I was presenting.
Introducing Exposure
I discovered a new photography service in December 2013 called Exposure, here is their site- Exposure . Exposure’s site had a single purpose that they communicate – Exposure is for photographers who want a more meaningful and effortless way to publish their work — in the context of a narrative, instead of a feed or single photo on a permalink page.
As I paged through the site it instantly resonated with me. They offered an effortless way to create photo narratives or blogs with your pictures. What made it all the more compelling was what your story would look like after you were complete – absolutely, stunningly beautiful.
I was so excited about the service that I published my first story while I was on a business trip in Cincinnati. It took me about 10 minutes to create this – A Walk in the Park.
This was my first narrative. I was able to do this on a hotel wifi in 10 minutes. It blew me away how simple it was.
My Favorite Things about Exposure
I have 5 things I love about this service.
Beautiful Full page photos – This site uses full frame photos that cover the entire space of the browser, regardless of their screen resolution. You can’t really find a blog template that allows you to showcase your photos like that.
The Simplicity – This site is drop dead simple. But every single element of its simplicity was carefully thought through. Everything from the font choices, to line spacing to the simple large navigation. I can tell they painstakingly have designed this to maintain it’s beauty with each new feature.
No Focus on Likes – Like farming gets so annoying and is one of the big problems with sites like 500px. The focus moves away from picture quality to user interaction with each other. People that interact and like other photos get their photos like. That is exhausting and takes away from the experience of the photos. Exposure was careful to make a “like” totally non-intrusive and secondary to the whole process. They have a simple “Enjoy” button that users can click if they liked it. This is completely refreshing.
Drag, Drop and Write – There is no formatting needed at all on this site. You drag and drop photos, you write text. If you have a blog you know how wonderful that sounds. Even wordpress sites which are extraordinarily simple have not mastered what Exposure has done on their site.
The Profile – Exposure builds a a profile for you and all of your narratives are kept in the same place. The narratives are presented as large photos with a text overlay – by far one of the coolest and most intriguing ways to present your stories. You can check out my profile here – FrankieFoto on Exposure
Slowing Down is the next trend in Photography
I had initially entitled this post – Exposure, The Antidote for Instagram. Maybe I read that somewhere or maybe its what I feel. But I think Exposure has developed something that enables the next trend in photography – slowing down.
People are simply getting tired of posting photo after photo without a sense of fulfillment. It’s a general fatigue I think. Exposure offers a unique antidote to that. Getting 100 like votes on 500px is a nice little affirmation but the feeling generally subsides quite quickly.
Telling a story with your pictures and presenting it in a beautiful way is something that can last many years. By telling a story with your pictures you convey an emotion and a feeling – that can last forever. Slowing down, taking less pictures and presenting those pictures as beautifully as possible with a story – now that is sorely needed.
Exposure has found a formula that works that makes this possible to just about everyone. They made it simple enough so you don’t need any programming skills but they made it beautiful enough to make it appear that you are an accomplished designer. So cool.
Beautiful Shots at Sunset
Some beautiful shots of the La Jolla Surf Shack tonight. Gorgeous sunset tonight. Gotta Love it.
White Out WindanSea
Heavy surge of the seas around WindanSea this weekend. It was churning up the water and the surf was amazing. It was a packed beach today.
Fuji’s New Instant $169 Vintage Camera for the Kiddy Kiddies is the Best One Yet
If you don’t have an instant camera, I think you need one. And I’m saying that for one reason- Facebook. Many people spend a lot of time putting their family memories on Facebook and that might not be the best idea.
If you think Facebook will be where we all go in 15 years to look at the pictures we take today, think again. Remember Friendster? Remember Myspace? Just try to go to those sites today to access your profiles. You can’t. They’re gone. And Facebook won’t be there either in 15 years. Judging from the hyperspace-like speed that Facebook is killing itself you may not even be going there in 2 years if I was to guess.
Instant Cameras are Fun
Instant cameras are fun, but lets face it they are not nearly as convenient as your smart phone and they are kind of expensive. I get a lot of questions from my friends and family about which camera to buy. So I am always trying out new cameras to see which ones are cool.
I’ve tried a lot of the old vintage Polaroids and I have tried out Polaroids Zink cameras and Fuji’s Instax cameras. Beyond Poloroids Zink cameras which I think suck, the rest are all pretty great. And I could recommend them all. But here is one little camera that is my new favorite.
Introducing the Fuji Neo Classic
This camera is getting rave reviews. I just bought one myself and at $169 it is one of the more affordable and cooler options. It’s the Fuji Neo Classic Instax Camera. Its a very cool little thing and it gets my vote as best little camera for the Kiddy Kiddies. I will give you a few reasons why I really like this camera.
Fuji created a vintage looking and well-constructed instant camera
So why take a serious look at this camera as something to buy for your family? Well here are 5 reasons for you to chew on.
Reason #1 – Because it looks pretty cool
Kids love cool vintage style cameras. Fuji was really smart to take their old Instax cameras and give them an old face lift. The older cameras were brightly colored and very youthful but in my opinion probably were a bit embarrassing for a boy to carry around.
This new camera is cool and actually looks like an old film camera. If you want to teach your kids about photography, having a cool looking camera is a great way to start. The feel of this camera is nice and sturdy too. It doesn’t feel cheap and plastic-like.
The old Instax camera models were highly targeted at the Hello Kitty Crowd.
The film pops out from the side of this camera. If you find that kind of exciting than congratulations you are a photography weirdo.
Reason #2 – Lots of Controls and Functionality that is cool
This camera has lots of bells and whistles that a budding photographer would love. Take for example the ability to take double exposures. Double exposure photography is the process of taking two shots which are combined into a single exposure.
This instant camera has the feature built right in. You can even get tips and tutorials on how to do it right from Instax – Double Exposure Photography.
In addition to double exposure mode, the camera has a party mode with a longer flash, a macro and landscape mode for close-ups and landscapes, a light and dark mode to take more contrasty images.
The Neo Classic has a host of awesome features you won’t find in other instant cameras.
A cool feature of this camera is the double exposure which can create awesome results.
Reason #3 – Excellent Camera for Parties
This is the camera to have on hand for your wedding receptions, kids parties or family get togethers. The camera is simple and rugged enough for anyone to use. I have used these little Instax cameras at parties and the most fun I have with it is giving people the pictures that we take with it. I have been surprised to see many of the pictures I have given other people hanging on their refrigerators or sitting on the desk. The gift of a photo is made extraordinarily easy with this awesome little camera.
Reason #4 – Cool Film, Cool Borders
Instax film is not as cool as Polaroid or Impossible Film but it is a heck of a lot cheaper. I typically look for deals on the Instax Film which I almost always find online. If you buy the film at a camera store it will probably cost you about $1 an exposure. If you buy it online you can get it for about 50 cents. When you find it, load up on it. It will generally keep for about 12-18 months from when you purchase it. Make sure if you buy it online to check the expiration date. Like buying milk at the store always go to the back and choose the film with the expiration date furthest away.
Instax has cool multi-colored borders to give your instant photos a different look.
Reason #5 – Tripod Mount and Timer Feature
One last, awesome thing about this Instant Camera is the fact that it has a timer feature and a Tripod Mount. That isn’t something that has typically been available on other instant cameras and I actually find it rare on many Polaroids. Being able to screw the camera onto a tripod with timer means you can set it up at a party and take group pictures – Now that is cool.
The Fuji Neo Classic runs $200 but I found that BH Photo and several other places have been running specials on it for about $169. Check it out and thanks for reading.
Do you love Polaroid Photography? Check out some of my other post on the subject. The Polaroid Project, 5 Reasons you Need an Instant Camera, The Best Polaroid Camera Ever.
Isabella’s All Day Birthday Bash on the Beach with Baskin Robbins and BabyCakes
Everyone came to Isabella’s Big Birthday Bash and had the most fabulous time. There was cake. There were presents. There was lots of fun in the sand and everyone wanted to wish Isabella a very Happy Birthday in their own way. Check it out.
If you want to check out the whole gallery of cool pictures from her birthday you can check it out here – Isabella’s Second Birthday Party.
It’s Magical
Little Camille is sitting on the ledge of the window making butterflies appear with her magic wand. What will she do next. It’s Magical.
