Extra photos for bloggers: 1, 2

Photojojo is pumped to be introducing a colorful newbie this week that’s both versatile and tactile: Photo Corner Stick’ums!

Use Stick’ums to display your most precious papery goods — then remove them without damage and re-stick’um elsewhere!

Each delightful decal package contains 28 L-shaped colorful stick’ums with matching nameplates for maximum post-ability.

We <3 the infinite amount of uses for these little corner-shaped ditties. Here at Photojojo HQ we've stick'rd our laptops, walls, and even our cats. But don’t stop there, refrigerators, cabinets, windows, laptops… Nothing too small! Nothing too big! Nothing too complicated!

Well howdy, Photo Corner Stick’ums!

p.s. Been meaning to get your hands on something sticky? We’ve got a brand new bundle with Corner Stick’ums and Re-Stickable Decal Frames that we think you’ll be interested in.

We’ve been trying out the Lensbaby* Composer lately: it’s an odd little lens that gives you a moveable area of sharp focus, surrounded by a dreamy halo of blurriness.

After knocking around with it for a few weeks, here’s what we think:

The Good:

• Easier to focus and sharper optics than the original Lensbaby.
• Easier to move the “sweet spot” of focus and get repeatable results.
• Good for photos where you want to draw the eye to one particular detail, like food, product or portrait shots.
• If you decide you don’t want the Lensbaby “look” for a particular shot, you can reduce the effect dramatically by using the narrowest aperture. A friend of ours uses it as his go-to lens because of the sharp optics and light weight.
• Gadgets! Optional, interchangeable optics and wide-angle or telephoto adapters give you lots of different looks from one lens.

The Bad:

• Having to change the apertures manually can slow you down a lot.
• Manual focus makes it harder to capture fast-moving action, and it’s tricky to focus in low light.
• Wider apertures are prone to some pretty serious lens flare.
• The Lensbaby takes some getting used to. It’s a good idea to practice with it for a while before taking it on an important shoot.

The Ugly:

• Sorry, we’re fresh out of ugly.

Conclusion:
If we got stranded on a desert island with only one lens, we might make it this one (with the possible addition of a wide-angle adapter). It’s light, versatile, sharp (when you want it to be) and really fun to use.

The Lensbaby Composer

*Full disclosure: Lensbaby is a Photojojo advertiser, but our love for them is true. (Their first lens was one of the first things we reviewed when we were just starting out almost three years ago.)

p.s. We put our test shots up here in case you guys wanna see ‘em.

Extra photos for bloggers: 1, 2

Introducing the Wrap-Around-the-Corner Frame, a modern geometrical marvel of rectangularity! You thought our magnetic photo rope was radical — well, the newest addition to our store is even more mind bending (and wall bending)!

The Wrap-Around-the-Corner frame is an all-in-one stack o’ frames that’s guaranteed to hug corners better than a Ferrari Enzo.

This puppy is truly a turning point in frame design, displaying up to 12 photos at a time whilst clinging to the corners of your wall.

Espresso stained wood keeps it classy, and ordinary frame brackets make it easy for the frame to grab your walls.

The All-New Wrap-Around-the-Corner Frame!

p.s. Wanna save some sweet sweet dollaroos? Get in our extra-special week-long promotion for the Wrap-Around-the-Corner frame! Find out more here.

People say that art is a great investment.

Well yeah, for people who are already rich. We are fabulous, yes, but rich? Not so much.

What to do if you want art on your walls that’s not your own? Search the web for an artistic windfall?

No, silly! Get Photojojo to do it for you! We’ve been combing the market and found 20 great photographers you can afford, even on a wee skimpy budget. Most of them sell prints for $25 or less.

So give your piggy-bank a friendly pat and put him back on the shelf. The little guy can remain happily unbroken.

20 Photographers Whose Work You Can Actually Afford

p.s. At PMA this week? If you wanna meet up with the Photojojo crew, drop us a line!

p.p.s. Hey, remember when we wrote about JPG Magazine going under? We’re happy to report that they’re back!

Photo credits: Yijun (Pixy) Liao, Carlo Van de Roer, and Joseph O. Holmes

Backing up your computer is like brushing and flossing. The ole Sonicare looks funny in the pocket, so most people just don’t floss every day or brush after every meal.

But don’t backup, and someday, inevitably, you will lose your files, music, and lose your photos! And that hurts worse than a cavity.

Online backup software makes it easy — continuously backing up your whole computer automatically. Set it up once and go about your life.

Backblaze is the best online backup tool we’ve ever used.

Why we love it:

• No DVDs, no hard drives to mess with
• Backups happen invisibly as soon as files are added
• $5/month, no matter how big your hard drive
• Won’t slow down your computer. Really.
• Your online backup can’t be lost or stolen
• Download your backed up files anytime (of course) or have them overnighted to you on DVDs or a hard drive (spiffy!)

We’ve tried Mozy, Carbonite, and CrashPlan. We’ve used Amazon S3, we’ve used hard drives. Backblaze is the first one that’s stuck.

Please, for the love of photography, sign up for this thing. Your photos are worth saving!

Backblaze: Online Backup You’ll Actually Use
Mac or PC (The Mac version’s in private beta, but we scored invites for all of you.)

Dear friends, ’tis our final installment of photo goodies for the holiday season, and we’ve got a frame, a lens cap, and a tripod — all with an unexpected twist.

(Orders placed by Thursday will arrive in time for Christmas with our flat-rate $6 Priority Mail Shipping to the USA)

1. The Doodle Frame

With an 80-page paper pad surrounding its 4×6 frame, the Doodle Frame lets you design a custom frame for any photo.

Use it to draw speech or thought bubbles, write notes or reminders for yourself, or write out the story behind your photo.

Affordable and fun at only $15! (Limited quantity available)

2. White Balance Lens Cap

Proper white balance is critical to getting the most out of your camera. This is, quite simply, the simplest way to get perfect white balance.

You can finally ditch your gray card, because the White Balance Lens Cap lets you white balance without any extra equipment to lug around!

Available in 52, 55, 58, 62, 67, 72 and 77mm. (Limited quantities)

3. Bottle Cap Tripod

Push the Bottle Cap Tripod onto any soda or water bottle and you’ve got an instant tripod — perfect for self-timer shots and still night shots.

Stuff this 1-inch marvel in your bag of tricks and you’ll never be without a tripod.

The most perfect stocking stuffer for a photographer (or a new camera owner), ever. Just $10!

The Doodle Frame   Twitter it

White Balance Lens Cap   Twitter it

Bottle Cap Tripod   Twitter it

p.s. Have we gone too commercial? Not quite. But the Photojojo Shop does help put bread on our table, and lets us afford to put together fun photo projects all year long. Plus, we’re quite proud of it. If you’re shopping for fun gifts this holiday season, we hope you’ll give it a look.

p.p.s. There’s plenty of other stocking stuffers in the store! Try our retro Wall Decal Photo Frames, Striped Hoodie Camera Case or Multi-color Magnetic Photo Ropes (now back in stock!)

We’ve been scouting out new photo goodies like they’re going out of style, and today we’ve got not one or two, but five new goodies to put a smile on your face.

1. Our new Re-Stickable Decal Photo Frames.

These retro frames are made of high-quality wall decal vinyl. They can be removed and repositioned easily, meaning you can swap in new photos in seconds, or move your frames around on a whim.

They’re way cheaper, and far more fun than a trip to the framer.

Re-Stickable Decal Photo Frames are safe for any kind of wall, and we include 8 in every package. Only $20!

2. Redesigned Magnetic Photo Rope.

Our all-time bestseller, this simple and modern photo hanger consists of a flexible metal wire with a loop on one end. Stick a pushpin or a thumbtack through the loop, and use the included 8 super-strong, super-tiny neodymium magnets to show off photos of virtually any size.

It works everywhere, and you can swap in new photos in a split-second!

Just in time for the holiday season our friend’s sporting a new longer length and five spiffy new colors. As low as $9.33 each!

Watch our fun demo video to see how it works.

3 & 4. The Hoodie and the Scoop are camera cases that like to party.

These stripey neoprene-y, felt-lined cases are made to fit a variety of slimline cameras. (Pocketable, less than 1″ thick.)

They feature belt loops, expandable pockets for memory cards or extra batteries, and a hard EVA core to protect your fragile LCD screen.

Retire that boring black case and carry your new camera in style. Each case is unique and just $12 and $15!

5. The Flickrverse T-shirt from our friends at Flickr.

For the very first time, you can now buy Official Flickr gear online — only from the Photojojo Store!

These tees are the perfect way to show your love for what is quite possibly the world’s best photo-sharing site.

Printed on American Apparel and available in guys and girls sizes. $20!

Re-Stickable Decal Photo Frames   Twitter it

Magnetic Photo Rope in 5 new colors   Twitter it

Hoodie and Scoop Striped Camera Cases   Twitter it

Flickrverse Official Flickr Tee   Twitter it

p.s. Have we gone too commercial? Not quite. But the Photojojo Shop does help put bread on our table, and lets us afford to put together fun photo projects all year long. Plus, we’re quite proud of it. If you’re shopping for fun gifts this holiday season, we hope you’ll give it a look.

Extra photos for bloggers

There’s something about pointing a professional-looking SLR camera at people that makes them pay attention.

And when you’re aiming for candid, unposed shots, attention’s a bad thing.

Enter our Super Secret Spy-Lens.

Shooting street photography, photo-reportage wedding photography, or just the kids in their natural habitat? The Spy Lens and its precision-made 90 degree mirror assembly let you go undetected.

How? The Spy Lens attaches to the end of any zoom lens and has a cut-out on the side. Point off into the distance and your subject thinks you’re shooting straight ahead, but you’re really shooting to the side. (Choose which direction by rotating the Spy Lens.)

We hear it’s 007′s lens of choice.

The Super-Secret Spy Lens
Available now at the Photojojo Store

We’ve been hearing a lot about the R-Strap lately, but we thought, “Really? It’s just a camera strap. What’s the big deal?”

Turns out it’s a really smart design. The strap hangs diagonally across your chest like a messenger bag, so:

1. It’s more comfortable than a neck strap, and…
2. Your camera stays out of the way at your hip.

The smart bit is the little slider attachment that allows you to glide the camera up the strap to your eye so you can take a picture. The camera moves, but the strap doesn’t. See it in action here.

It’s really clever, and we’re kind of kicking ourselves for not thinking of it first.

Added bonus! For all of our thrifty brethren out there, we’re including a couple of ways to make one yourself. Either way, your neck will thank you.

The Original R-Strap ($44)

Make Your Own R-Strap (Version 1)

Make Your Own R-Strap (Version 2)

p.s. For every pink-themed photo added to the Pink 2008 Flickr group this month, Yahoo! will donate 1 euro to breast cancer charities. Add your picture and make a difference!

Photo credit: iBallz

Need to convince your friends of something?

Nothing works quite like, well, propaganda… Especially if it has your face on it.

Maopost, a site dedicated to an extensive collection of Chinese propaganda posters, will seamlessly paint your face (or your friend’s) from any of your photographs into a classic propaganda oil painting.

You supply the photograph and choose one of the 35 suggested posters (or from their entire collection, over 1,500 posters), an artist hand paints you as a socialist hero.

It’s never been easier to insert yourself into (socialist) history. And you’ve never looked so convincing.

Be a Socialist (Poster) Hero!

p.s. Take part in the traveling photo notebook or share your panorama photos or storm photos in our forum!