Olympus PEN E-PL3

Are You #PenReady? You NEED an Olympus PEN E-PL3 Camera & I Have 1 To Give! {GIVEAWAY!}

I've been posting a lot of pictures over the past few months. I've been inspired by views and images, both grand and simple, and thanks to my new Olympus PEN E-PL3 camera, I've been able to capture these moments with beauty and ease.

visions of NYC thru the eye of my Olympus PEN E-PL3 cameraI'm the annoying photographer that keeps stopping you on the street to take pictures of the minutia of life. FDNY shield on the street, an old lock set on a brightly colored door, or one of the many fabulous window displays lining 5th Ave. But to me, those are the moments of a trip. The sights that are burned into your brain. The images that make up your experiences. 

While NYC is a {wanna-be} photographers DREAM, think about all the amazing photo opportunities afoot now that it's FALL! Changing leaves, apple picking, Halloween and the holidays... all things you NEED a new amazing camera to capture.

Well - YAY! I have one for you. 

The nice people at Olympus want you to love this camera as much as I do, so they giving one HipMamaB reader their very own PEN E-PL3!

Valued at (aprox) $599, this 12 MP camera gives you the benefit of being smaller, but with the chance to have more artistic control of your images (if you so want). 

Olympus PEN Lite key specifications:

  • 12MP Live MOS sensor
  • 120 Hz 'Fast AF' focus system with 35-point area AF
  • Clip-on flash (included)
  • Built-in autofocus illuminator light
  • 460,000 dot tilting LCD screen (16:9 aspect ratio)
  • Dual-core TruePic VI processor
  • 1080i60 movies in AVCHD format
  • Shadow tone adjustment control
  • Revised and expanded Art Filter mode (with quick preview option)

Let's be honest. This camera is just, plain, RAD.

And I get to give one away! Wheeee!!!

Contest is now closed - winner will be announced shortly 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good Luck!

 

*disclosure: Olympus cameras gave me a PEN E-PL3 camera to have, and one to giveaway. Thoughts and feelings about the camera are my own.

{Somewhat} Wordless Wednesday: I Love Make-Up

Images taken with my Olympus PEN E-PL3

 

One of the best parts of the post BlogHer experience is anxiously awaiting all the fun gifts that are coming in the mail from various brands I met with while in New York. I'm currently waiting on pins and needles a box of goodies from Avon and I can't wait to PLAY with some of the cool products I was introduced to at Romy's Pop-Up Beauty Party

I've been using the mark. "Juice Gems" lip gloss for weeks now, and it's FAB.U.LOUS. 

Sigh. I love make-up. 

 

Back to School...

And just like that, summer is over. 

Today the kids went back to school. Emotions were running deep this morning. Excitement, nerves and even a few tears... and I'm sure the kids felt the same way too. 

I deal with anxious times by throwing myself into a project, and this year it was all about capturing and creatively displaying these "first day" moments. Using no less than four different apps, I came home from my two drop-offs (Zoe's in an afternoon 1/2 day program) and cropped, colored and collaged away the emotions that come with the milestones of your children's growth.

First Lucas:

Picture taken with Olympus PEN E-PL3 / App used: Phoster

My big kid. He loves clothes and accessories and picked out his own BtS outfit this year from Tillys. His back-pack was courtesy of the Land's End Back to School event I went to while in New York. I will admit that I was worried it wasn't going to be cool enough for my very style opinionated 8 year old, but he loved it. And it's a nice, solid backpack that looks like it can take a 3rd grade beating.

This was also the first year of the "Stop it Mom, you're embarassing me!" phase... but I still made him hold my hand as we walked down the hill. 

Picture taken with Olympus PEN E-PL3 / App used: TurboCollage and LabelBox

Lucas is wearing the Lands' End Kids' School Rules Classmate Backpack in Medium. It was a gift to me for attending the New York event, and it's currently on sale for $27!

Zoe:

My little pickle who is growing up too quickly.

Picture taken with Olympus PEN E-PL3 / App used: PhosterThis 2-year kindergarten thing will get confusing when it comes to pictures, but I'm SO happy she is in this program. Entering kindergarten isn't something you think of when you first have a late-fall baby, but wow, the decision of to hold-back or put in can drive a parent nuts. 

Zoe is my little fashionista in the making. She chose this dress and the slouchy ankle boots to go with it. She wanted to wear lip gloss, but I wouldn't let her. YES. I wrote that my 4.5 year old wanted to wear lip gloss to her first day of kindergarten. 

Zoe was excited and nervous. She told me she had butterflies in her belly, but she couldn't wait to meet new friends and play with them on "her new playground." Her teacher seems amazing. She created the curriculum for this transitional K program and is excited to be able to give the kids a proper, solid foundation. Zoe got a little clingy when it was time to line up, but then she marched right in with a smile on her face. 

I managed to hold it together while standing outside the class, waving good-bye. But as I was walking back to my car a mom behind me said "Great, now I'm going to go back to work and sob at my desk" ... and that's when I lost it.

My baby; Growing up too fast. 

Picture taken with Olympus PEN E-PL3 / App used: TurboCollage and Labelbox

So home I came. The first Monday afternoon I've had to myself in what? 8 years?

After pulling myself together, I downloaded pictures and created collages. Putting my mind to work and trying not to think about how fast my kids are growing while simultaneously trying to make sure that I never forget the special moments of these precious years.

Picture taken with Olympus PEN E-PL3 / App used: Phoster