~ CLOSED ~ Focus on Family Roots {w/Giveaway & Twitter Party Info}

Focus on Family Roots ~ Shortly after getting married, my new hubby and I moved to the beautiful Kennebecasis Valley, which is an area in southern New Brunswick that surrounds the Kennebecasis River.

There are several covered bridges in this immediate area, this one was built 103 years ago.

Even though we both grew up in a neighbouring city, moving to the “Valley” always felt right. It was like we were going home.  Which in many ways we were.

This is where my mom grew up, as did her parents, grandparents and great grandparents. This is where my parents built their first home and where three of my siblings and I were born.

Music Man also has roots in the “Valley”, so I guess it was no surprise to either of us that we were drawn to this area of the world with such deep family roots and why it has always felt like home.

I know there are many gorgeous places in the world, and I admit to being biased. But in my mind, there is none as beautiful as this Kennebecasis Valley, quirky names and all!

If you think Kennebecasis is an unusual name, we lived most of our married lives and our kids grew up in…Quispamsis. Then there is Nauwigewauk (where my parents and grandparents lived) and the not to be missed, Apohaqui, which is just up the road.

 

I’m proud to say this area of the world is still peppered with my relatives. I have siblings, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and countless cousins who live in one of these quirkily (is that even a word??) named places. It’s no wonder this area has always felt like home!

Families enjoying a beautiful Sunday afternoon of skating and a little ice-fishing village that popped up on the frozen Kennebecasis River.

A couple of days ago, it was beautiful outside and I had a few errands to run. So I took along my new FujiFilm X-A3 digital camera to capture some images of this place that so many in my family call home.

Even though I have only been using this camera for a short time now, I am already loving the fabulous, easy to use features:

FEATURE #1 ~ RETRO DESIGN & OPERABILITY

• New Retro Design
• New Touchscreen
• Versatile Shooting Modes & Mode Dial

Including:

Shooting Modes –

• Advanced SR AUTO
• Program AE
• Aperture Priority AE
• Sport
• Advanced Mode
• Custom
• Manual
• Night
• Scene Position
• Shutter Priority AE
• Portrait Enhancer
• Landscape

Scene Positions –

• Portrait
• Sunset
• Party
• Night (Tripod)
• Snow
• Flower
• Fireworks
• Beach
• Text

FEATURE #2 ~ SELFIE & MACRO

• Selfie = taking a beautiful self-portrait
  • 180° tilting LCD screen for better selfies
  • Portrait Enhancer mode makes skin look brighter and smoother
  • Eye detection AF automatically focuses on the eyes, transforming ordinary selfies into great self-portraits
  • Grip design optimized for taking a self-portrait
  • Self Timer
• Focus down to 15cm with Auto Macro
  • Auto Macro function captures objects just 15cm from the sensor
  • Faster AF speeds for close-up shots and low-contrast conditions

• Share every moment via email and SNS with easy wireless transfer to your smartphone.
  • Use your smartphone to browse and transfer photos and movies from your camera.
  • Transfer up to 2GB at one time.
  • Send location data from your smartphone to you camera
• Focus with a Touch with the new smart application – FUJIFILM Camera Remote.

• Automatically transfer and save photos on your PC via Wi-Fi
  • Microsite – Install this Fujifilm app to enjoy photos on smartphone, tablet devices or PC.

FEATURE #4 ~ IMAGE QUALITY

• Outstanding image quality, made possible by the newly-developed 24.2 megapixel image sensor.
• Film Simulation
• Advanced Filters. Artistic photography made fun and simple.
  • Toy Camera
  • Soft Focus
  • Miniature
  • Partial Color (Red/Orange/Yellow/Green/Blue/Purple)

FEATURE #5 ~ VERSATILE FUNCTIONS

• Super Intelligent Flash
• Extended battery life of approximately 410 frames per charge
• Electronic shutter with the maximum speed of 1/32000 second
• Enhanced Autofocus settings
• AF+MF (full-time manual)
• Release Priority / Focus Priority
• Motion Panorama 360°
• Get creative with multiple exposures
• Full HD video recording
• AdobeRGB support

Fujifilm’s new X-A3 mirrorless camera gives you high-quality images, great features and retro style that makes your photography fun. I found the 180-degree tiltable LCD to be great for selfies and it also lets you check your composition before you take a picture.

The barn next door to my sister’s property. The contrast between the red doors and window frames and the grey building is so striking!

Because I’m not an expert photographer, I love that the Eye Detection AF and Portrait Enhancer mode automatically adjust for proper focus and enhanced skin tones. I also really like the 24MP APS-C sensor that makes every image a winner and how convenient is the built-in Wi-Fi!? It lets you connect to the Instax SHARE printer, transfer photos to your smartphone or tablet, or shoot remotely.

The touchscreen LCD monitor offers intuitive controls, just like a smartphone, plus the Super Intelligent Flash and Macro mode are ideal for night shooting or close-up photos.

My sister was coming over for tea and I made this Cranberry-Orange Bread, and of course, I needed to snap a picture.  I LOVE the macro feature on this camera!

I am completely in love with my new Fujifilm X-A3 camera and I think you will be too.  Whether you want to take photos of the kiddos ice skating, a panoramic vista of a distant vacation island, selfies with your friends or your niece’s wedding, you will love how versatile this Fujifilm X-A3 is.

This camera is really a huge step up from your cell phone!

If you want to check out everything new and exciting at Fujifilm, be sure to visit them on…

~ FACEBOOK ~ TWITTER ~ YOUTUBE ~

…and follow along using the hashtag #Fuji4Families

TWITTER PARTY INFORMATION & SIGN UP

 

Come Join Us on February 8th at 9 pm EST

• Date: Wednesday, February 8th, 2017
• Time: 9 pm EST
• Hashtag: #Fuji4Families
• Hosts: @FujiGuys; @SJConsulting_CA
• Eligibility: Open to Canada

Prizing: Total Prize Value of $2400!

Grand Prize: X-A3 Camera/kit (valued at $750 CAD)
2nd Prize –X-A10 camera/kit (valued at $600 CAD)
2 Prize Winners of –2 SP-2 printers + film (valued at $250 CAD each)
5 Prize Winners of – mini 8 instax cameras + film (valued at $110 CAD each)

Come join us for some great conversation, prizing and FUN!

RSVP Below by adding your Twitter name (ie. @OlderMommyStill) in the Name field and your Twitter link (ie. https://twitter.com/OlderMommyStill) in the URL field
Official rules and regulations for the Twitter Party can be seen HERE.

 

GIVEAWAY INFORMATION

GROUP GIVEAWAY – 1 Fujifilm X-A3 kit valued at $750

END DATE – Giveaway ends on February 15, 2017, at 11:59 pm EST

ELIGIBILITY – Open to Canada 18+ excluding Quebec.

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Disclosure: We are participating in the FujiFilm campaign managed by SJ Consulting. We received compensation in exchange for our participation in this campaign. The opinions on this blog are our own