Last chance to enter the Kodak Big App challenge

The Kodak Big App challenge continues, with a chance to win a Kodak printer or camera.  If you haven't got on board yet, here's a run down on how to turn your photographs into art, and maybe even prizes.  And if like me you need to see some before you get inspired, I have collated some great ideas too.

In a nutshell
Take one cool snap, give it the Big app treatment via the free Big App on the Kodak site.  The App will turn it into a PDF dividing the image into as many A4 sheets as you choose.  Print the PDF, then either fix it to the wall directly, or frame your creation. Kodak ink is more affordable than other inks so you can go as big and as colourful as you want. It's also great quality and highly smudge resistant, so perfect for little fingers.

My projects
So far I have used the Big App to remind myself to keep practising the skills I learnt on my photography course, by turning this picture into a collage above my desk.  Here's me looking pleased with it:

I blew up this photo of my daughter shell hunting on the beach in Wales for her bedroom wall.

And I captured my son in the midst of his favourite activity, pirating! A little Jack Sparrow appearing out of the bushes. His collage was bigger than his sisters, she wasn't impressed.  He loved it though.

Then my husband wanted to know where his photo was. So the next one's for him.  And I need to raise the stakes on my daughter's image.  I have some ideas. And I will remember to lose the margins when I print to make this one seamless, and stick it up straight, and perhaps even frame it to give it an even bigger wow factor.

Challenge entries

Still looking for inspiration for your entry? You have until Tuesday 22nd November. Let me share some ideas I really like from the entries so far, it was impossible narrowing it down, but here goes.  

I love Kate of WitWitWoo's Skimming Stones, moments like this encapsulate so much about the parent child bond, about growing up and learning.  They totally deserve to take over a whole wall.

Again, this shot is just pure magic, and it took Rebecca of Here Come the Girls hours of manipulation to achieve (pop over and find out how she did it).  I can imagine it looking absolutely amazing blown up, and Rebecca's talking a whole 24 A4 sheets.  She would easily get this many sheets, and many more, out of £10 Kodak colour cartridge.  Bargain.  You can't beat fairies for capturing small people's hearts and minds.

Mamsaurus is going to put this in her dining room.  For me it is a million times better than any plaster cast or handprint kit of your baby's hands, and so much cheaper to achieve too. Plus the colours are just awesome and it's going to inspire more fabulous art, whilst looking every inch a piece of modern art in itself.

Although I am rubbish at minimalism in my interior design life, I can dream.  I can dream of clean white flowers, blue cloudless skies and a very different, and beautifully relaxing approach from Gadget Mum.  I love the way it changes my perspective, literally and mentally.

So that's what we did with the big app, what would you do?

All the information on the Big App Challenge you need is here.

This is a sponsored post in association with Britmums and Kodak

My day of photography tuition

When my son was born we bought a Nikon SLR camera to try to keep up to speed with our children.  It's been on autofocus since we bought it, brought out on occasions when we feel we should have a photo. The first shot is of me on the operating table, about to have a c-section.  There's about 700 more shots, all of them lovely memories, but none of them particularly stunning photographs.

Hopefully that is set to change.  Back in May my dad bought me a day's photography tuition with Jon Cruttenden for my birthday. Dad, who takes great photos himself, stumbled upon Jon and his stunning photographs at the local market.

I finally redeemed my voucher this week.  The morning was spent gently filling my brain with theory and familiarising myself with the creative zone of my camera, the world beyond autofocus. Jon is a really patient tutor and had some great analogies to explain the technical bits.  He also provided me with an excellent set of notes to refer to afterwards.

After lunch Jon, a herd of cows, and I spent a sunny afternoon photographing White Nancy.  This strange bottle shaped summer house was built to commemorate victory at the Battle of Waterloo. I can't tell you how lovely it is to spend time on a proper hill (how I miss Cheshire) in the realms of my youth (I could see a handful of old school friends houses from this vantage point) without kids (I'm tired/hungry/bored) and armed with a camera (creative me time).

I had no idea how many decisions go into taking one shot.  As we climbed up the steep hill and I focussed on not losing my flip flops or landing in a cow pat, Jon was already narrating me through his thought processes as a photographer.  Would you like to be let in on some of mine?

So this is me procrastinating, taking pictures of Jon taking pictures, that old photograph the photographer cliche.

Jon pointed out that there's a kind of moody rock band look about a herd of cows which I came close to capturing here.  Would they co-operate and all look at the camera though?  I'm most annoyed with that grey one looking at the other one's bottom.

Turns out individual cows are easier subjects to practice on, they don't giggle, run off or blink.

I just love the way they stare at each other.  If White Nancy was just a bit more to the right, and the half a cow behind it pushed off.  Of course what I really wanted was a comedy shot with one cow's bottom and another's head poking out, but would they cooperate?

I got the head poking out, now would the other two push off?  I was starting to feel like they were talking about me now.

I like the cow curving round White Nancy.   The light is almost Mediterranean, and this is the 3rd of October.  But... the ahem 'white balance' isn't right, White Nancy is a bit pink.

'Yeah I know the rule of thirds', she said, 'I used to teach film'.  So why did I keep shoving White Nancy bang in the middle?  It would look so much better a third of the way over.

But, someone wasn't letting me retake that shot.  But do you notice how the shadow, on the right of White Nancy, emphasises its curve?

As a media teacher, I'm still more comfortable de constructing shots than constructing them.  There is an incredible amount you can ponder in every shot and I'm still juggling all that theory with controlling the camera itself and reacting to my surroundings.  But I can't recommend doing this enough.  I'm really excited about photography, the day totally changed the way I see it.

It's no longer just a case of dutifully documenting our lives.  I want to make time to create some great photographs.  Photographing something other than my children was very liberating, but still gave me plenty of ideas to practice on them. Although I kind of like the idea of hanging out on hillsides with cows.

Jon covers Staffordshire, Cheshire and Derbyshire and offers tuition as well as photography. Spending a day with someone who is passionate about their art, able to explain it and willing to let others into their artistic processes is a rare and inspiring treat.