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We just produced this video about a girl who lost her smile, then found it again, through her memories captured with friends and family. I guess it really wasn't missing... it was there all along. (the music is a toe-tapper)
I thought the way the video was animated with the drawing of the girl was cool and I wanted to have some fun with it. So I got a copy of the drawing that was used and printed it to cut out and pose around the office.
Here she is searching for her smile amongst the ketchup and half drank bottles of waters in our office fridge.
She might think her smile is lost in the jungle but she is actually in our office pet plant (which could use some water).
I would love to see where else this girl might be looking for her lost smile. You can download her here, print her out and pose her around town for photos. Then upload your photos here to share!
I also created a Lost Smile poster. If you think there is a lack of smiles around you, you can download the poster here for printing and hanging. Hopefully it will bring a smile to someone's face.
Recently, my wife Mary and I visited our son at college during parent's weekend. Painful duty, checking up on your children. We were the only parents there. I suppose that's not all that surprising considering that he is an Architecture major studying in Florence, Italy. We were fortunate to be able to combine a vacation with a visit to see him.
Here are some pictures we took with Mary's new Kodak Z950 camera.
One of the Pantheon's massive doors is illuminated by the sunlight coming through the oculus at the peak of the massive concrete dome. Smart Capture picked a mode for this shot that allowed both the brightness of the light beam and the dark door to be visible.
The Temple of Antonius and Faustina is one of the many massive structures in the Roman Forum. The scale of what the Romans accomplished is amazing, but there are no memorials to the slaves responsible for much of it. We were there at the end of September, and it was still hot. I can't imagine how oppressive the heat must be in the month of Julius (July).
Mary used the pulled the camera out of her clutch purse and used the 10X zoom to capture these Quaker Parakeets feeding in the trees above the forum. Jim Adams identified the birds for me since my ornithological knowledge is limited to crows and turkeys.
Here is the bird cropped from the same image. A good lens, 12 Megapixels, 10X zoom, and Image Stabilization certainly don't hurt.
One more time !
She also took this shot of the very pretty Piazza Navona right after the unscheduled drop test of the Z950. I don't recommend you repeat the test, but the camera took a lickin' and kept on clickin'.
Southern Tuscany is a place of amazing natural beauty. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves:
The constant haze separates the distances. The blazing sun and cool breezes aren't bad either. Predecessors to the Romans, the Etruscans lived in Tuscany. Who was smarter?
Sunset in San Casciano Val Di Pesa, which is on the highest hill just south of Florence. I'll admit that I set the camera on a ledge and used a manual setting to catch this image. Thankfully, the sun took its time going down while I tried a few different settings.
In Florence, one of my son's friends is staying in 4th floor walkup (cough...wheeze) near the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore. Here is some detail on Brunelleschi's Dome taken from a rooftop about 200 yards away. Or since this was taken in Italy, about 183 meters away. The Duomo is being cleaned, hence the scaffolding.
This picture of Giotto's Bell Tower was taken from the same rooftop. If you knew who the people were, you could identify them in the 12 Megapixel image the camera captured.
On our way north, we stopped in Pisa. By the way, you've been misled. Both the Tower and I are properly oriented. Everything else is leaning.
Our last stop was in Cinque Terre. These "Five Lands" are situated on the Italian Riviera in a National Park. Thriving on tourism these days, the residents once survived by fishing and farming the terraced hills that go well into the sky.
You can walk the 10km (6 miles) from Monterosso al Mare to Riomaggiore on trails that go well up into the hills. From Riomaggiore, what begins as an easy walk becomes a strenuous hike. It took us over 4 hours, and a good deal more coughing and wheezing.
After the hike, you can get refreshed with a dip in the Ligurian Sea.
That's our trip. A great time in Italy. And I almost forgot. We saw our son, too.
This week we have a homepage guest contributor, Leslie Dance. Leslie Dance is the VP of Worldwide Brand Marketing here at Kodak. Leslie has a wonderful enthusiasm for our new marketing campaign, we hope you will as well.
Over the last year the economy has been bleak, we all know that. We're searching to find that bright spot everyday. Here at Kodak we believe we can help with our new marketing campaign "It's Time to Smile". This marketing campaign is dedicated to strengthening and deepening relationships. We want to remind everyone that "It's Time to Smile"
The Kodak brand has always been about human connections and capturing and sharing important moments. It is now up to us to leverage these attributes to help consumers improve their relationships. Over the holiday season you will be seeing our campaign through many advertising channels focusing on the relationships and moments that define our lives.
Join in by sharing with us "What Makes You Smile?" in the comments section below. For more information visit our page about the Kodak Smile Campaign
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Title: She Got Him to Smile Photographer: Eric Yagoda
My father is a pretty stoic guy, but put him around his grandchildren, and he is all smiles :-)
Title: Real Life...Captured Photographer: Megan Peck
I love the expressions, especially of the baby. I took this in my garage-on the floor with blankets and a black backdrop, so the lighting is all natural. It was taken in July 2007.
Title: Brunch Photographer: Dave Mello
Picture taken: Carrboro, North Carolina. January 2009.
Title: Young and Beautiful Photographer: Sulejman Omerbasic
I took this picture during the rehearsal for the opening ceremony of festival ¨Sarajevo Winter.¨ In sub-zero temperatures, it didn't bother these girls, standing for hours, they had fun. I just love the look in their eyes.
Title: Jude Photographer: Mohammad Malak
I took this picture in the end of 2005 summer. It is so beautiful to show people the way you see beauty in your eyes...
