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Last week, I went on an exciting adventure.
After a lovely banquet with princesses and kings, my three year-old daughter and I travelled through enchanted woods and forests with our wands, discovering magic crystals, opening up treasure chests filled with gold, collecting enchanted runes and taking instructions from a wizard. Oh, and there was a fire-breathing dragon as well.
And no, we weren’t in our living room playing pretend (as fun as that can be).
We had the privilege of experiencing MagiQuest, a new adventure available at the über family-friendly Great Wolf Lodge in Niagara Falls. The first of its kind in Canada, the MagiQuest adventure is an interactive role-playing game that includes a variety of quests that you can go on as a family, or send your older kids on by themselves.
What did Ally love? Her magic wand caused amazing things to happen—chests opened to reveal surprises, fairies spoke to her, crystals glowed and she got to go on an interactive treasure hunt taking her from one floor to another until she completed her ‘task’.
What did I love? Aside from the simple ‘cool’ factor that came with the design, I really appreciated the fact that the game included a multitude of quests, meaning that it wasn’t something that could be finished in an hour and easily forgotten. Even cooler, the wands have a virtual memory, allowing the player to continue on their quests during future visits without having to start from scratch again.
Keith Simmonds, the General Manager of Great Wolf Lodge made a point of sharing how the MagiQuest adventure fit perfectly with the lodge mandate in helping to “create family traditions, one family at a time” and I have to agree. I wasn’t the only parent enthusiastically waving a wand at the walls and other objects. In fact, my mother (who came along for the adventure) spent the evening poring over the quest book to determine which one to try in the morning.
In short, it looks as though Great Wolf Lodge and MagiQuest is about to inspire a new generation of wannabe wizards (move over, Harry Potter).
And okay, I liked the magic wand too. The only trouble I had was when I brought it home and pointed it at all my dirty laundry and piles of dishes, nothing happened. I’m hoping that they can work on that for the future.
It’s fair to say that my life at this time is all about precious moments—and capturing them in between the chaos. For years, I studied photography and used to love to take my time setting up shots, but nowadays, I’m lucky if I can find my camera in time to take the picture. When it comes to capturing the energy of my three year-old daughter who is always on the move, I like to use the high speed shooting mode. This one worked perfectly for her (and was great for me to use because the camera itself is easy to hold).
Then, there was the birth of my son. I had less than five minutes to explain to my husband how to use the camera before we went into the OR to give birth. The trick? Put it on the SR Auto option which means it will automatically choose the best format for the picture. There’s even a ‘warning’ that lets you know if your subject has blinked or not. I think Luke is forgiven for setting that one off in this picture.
The natural lighting option was one that I really gravitated towards because I’ve never been one to really have great success with a flash. I really liked the final effect.
Of course, I have to say the one I was most eager to try was the baby option—creating a softer-light effect on the subjects. Here are my two fave shots from that series.
So while I loved exploring the range of options on the S2950, what I love is that it’s a camera that can make the smart decision for you during those times when you’re running on three hours of sleep and you’ve spotted a moment you just must catch.
Want your very own Fujifilm S2950 camera? Enter our Capture Your Memories with Fujifilm contest for your chance to win one of two family friendly digital cameras.
Wondering how you can improve your picture-taking skills? We asked the Fuji Guys for some tips on the best way to take pictures of kids on the move, get creative with composition and best capture the moment. Capture your memories with these tips from the Fuji Guys.
Note: No children, spouses or significant others were embarassed (that much) in the production of this blog post, sponsored by Fujifilm.
