This Memorial Day I joined my Korean friends and headed upstate to Rockland Lake State Park for a day of BBQing, eating, laughing and relaxing!

Note: I received a product sample for review purpose. No other compensation was received. While all photos in this post were taken with the Samsung Galaxy S4, the company didn't required this. Any personal views expressed are always 100% my own.

My son was excited to run around free and wild outside. He joined the group of children to play games, do activities and whatever it is that kids do while outside in the wild.


Meanwhile I was with the other adults enjoying the Korean BBQ and other Korean foods like kimchi soup! It was all so yummy. There's nothing like Korean BBQ!

After enjoying our meal, it was time to come back together and relax. Or in my case take a walk around the park to work off a full tummy. Walking in the park was a perfect thing to do since the day was so warm and beautiful. My son soon started going off on mini adventures.


As I watched him try to climb a tree, hop on rocks and other wild and crazy things that little boys do, I figured this was a perfect time to try out some of the photo modes on the Samsung Galaxy S4 I received for review.


I first tested out the Drama Mode and that was fun. I was able to catch my son while he was jumping around. Cool right? I wish I was able to do it better. It does take some creativity to use and a full range of motion, but if you time things just right, you can get a merged photo of movement in one.


I next tried out the Dual Shot Mode which allowed me to use both camera at the same time PLUS add myself into the photo. There's even different options for the layout of the photo. This one was super easy to use to make creative photos.


Then it was time to really have some fun with the S Translator, which translate between 2 languages via text or spoken word. Of course I had to try it out using Korean to English. For the most part it's very simple and easy enough to understand for both the English speaker and the foreign speaker (in this case a Korean friend).

But I do have to point out that keeping a sentence simple and straight forward will get you better results. Also keep in mind that language translate differently. There might be some confusion if the word you use in English doesn't have an equivalent in the foreign language. But again for the purpose of communicating that app does a great job and is really useful.


I spent the rest of the day just taking photos of moments with friends. The Samsung Galaxy S4 did a great job even when we were sitting under the trees with low lighting. My photos still came out well lite and crisp.

As we headed back home, I was glad I was able to catch some of today's special moments in a fun way. Hope you and your families also had a great Memorial Day.

Also a special thank you for the men and women in the armed forces who gave their lives so families can be together in peace.