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Help us take home the Best Gadget title by voting again for your favorite gadget accessory—GorillaPod SLR-Zoom! Just click on the button below to vote.

Please help us take home the title by voting for your favorite gadget accessory—GorillaPod SLR-Zoom! Just click on the button below to vote. Plus, T3 has sweetened the deal with a chance to win a new iPad just for voting!

I’m sure you all remember GIFs—the animated clip art or photos that made their debut on every late 90s/early 2000s webpage? Oh, you forgot how cool those were?!? Let me share a favorite with you!

Awesome, right? Well, artists Kevin Burg and Jamie Beck have transformed the world of animated photos from tacky and mildly obnoxious to subtle and rather beautiful. Their “cinemagraphs”, named for the cinematic quality their process lends to the traditional photographic image, are more than a photo, but not quite a video. The artists say that “a cinemagraph is an image that contains within itself a living moment that allows a glimpse of time to be experienced and preserved endlessly”. Often, the movement in the scene is just perceptible, unlike the superhero-cat scene above. Burg and Beck have only been working with this process for the past few months, but have already created some really incredible images. Their subtle touch seems to lend itself to pretty much any subject matter, ranging from fashion to food, from cityscapes to beer brewing. Here are a few of my favorite cinemagraphs, and you can view the rest of their portfolio on their website.

Just gorgeous!

Our friends at Photojojo have caught onto this new trend of making animated GIFs that aren’t atrocious, and they’ve written a tutorial that explains how to use multiple exposures to make still photos that look like movies. A word of warning, this step by step tutorial is not for the faint of heart. Like most art forms, making a cinemagraph is a rather intensive process. I haven’t gotten up the courage to try to make one myself yet—hopefully inspiration will strike soon!

Enjoy your long weekend! And, if you end up throwing together a cinemagraph on your day off, send it our way!

For Immediate Release
August 26, 2011

Petaluma, CA – DayMen Group, manufacturer and leading distributor of high-quality imaging, laptop and other electronic protective accessory brands, is pleased to announce it has reached an agreement to acquire Joby.

Joby is the San Francisco-based manufacturer of iconic photo, mobile and lighting products that inspire the creative and active lifestyle, including the award-winning GorillaPod line of flexible tripods.

“DayMen will bring its extensive distribution network and our history of building great brands to the Joby line of products,” said Gil Roberts, DayMen CEO. “DayMen and Joby are built on a shared passion for creativity, superior functionality and constant innovation. Together, we can accelerate the growth of our business and build the global presence of our Lowepro, Acme Made and Joby brands, as well as the many outstanding third-party brands we distribute around the world.”

DayMen has been distributing Joby in Canada since 2007 and Australia since 2008. Since it was founded over six years ago, Joby has grown from a start-up to a company with distribution in over 65 countries.

Forrest Baringer-Jones, Joby CEO said, “When we introduced our best-selling GorillaPod for sale in 2006 we were able to redefine the way photographers capture images. Since then, we’ve developed a number of great products to thrill our customers including new lines related to lighting and mobile accessories. The acquisition by DayMen gives Joby a great opportunity to expand both our distribution network and our product line.”

“I am incredibly proud of the team we have built, the products we have developed, and the customer and distributor relationships we have forged,” said JoeBen Bevirt, Joby’s founder. “I am excited for the tremendous opportunity DayMen has provided for Joby to continue to grow.”

Media Contact:
Joby Press Office
press@joby.com
415-262-2955

About DayMen:

Since its inception in 1981, The DayMen Group has enjoyed an exceptional reputation in the photographic and consumer electronics industry as an innovative manufacturer and distributor of high quality imaging products and accessories from Lowepro, Acme Made and other third party brands. Based in Petaluma, CA, DayMen Group is owned by private equity firm Brockway Moran & Partners.

About Joby

Joby creates iconic, award-winning photo, mobile and lighting products that inspire the creative and active lifestyle. We believe great design starts with a user-centric approach, is functional yet playful, and enhances people’s lives. Founded in 2005 with the introduction of the industry-defining and best-selling GorillaPod, Joby is a global company headquartered in San Francisco, CA with offices in Geneva, Switzerland; Tokyo, Japan and Shenzhen, China.

First on the docket, GorillaMobile Yogi was featured in Mac Life magazine along with some other fun and functional tech accessories. Right on Yogi!

Tilt-shift photography— a technique were everything in the scene looks delightfully miniature— has become increasingly popular thanks to Photoshop and several iPhone Apps. Photojojo just dug up a neat point and shoot camera that has a built in tilt-shift ring that allows you to shoot both photo and video in the characteristic tilt-shift style. I must say the GorillaPod video was made for this camera and I hoping one show up at the JOBY office soon. Here are a few images from Photojojo shot with the Tilt-Shift Camera.

Doesn’t that look fun! I’m dying to see what the video looks like!

In September, the Aperture Foundation will publish “The New York Times Magazine Photographs”, book of photographs taken by a panorama of photographers for the New York Times Magazine over the past several years and edited by Kathy Ryan. I’ve always been impressed by the quality of the photography in the Magazine and the sneak peak of the book on the Times’ photography blog did not disappoint. Each photograph in the book with be captioned with behind the scenes information about the shoot— the photographer/gossip in me is particularly excited for these juicy details!

The blog slideshow featured celebrity portraiture and below are a few of my favorites: Clint Eastwood, Diane Keaton and Leonardo DiCaprio. The stylistic range of the photography is just captivating.

Have a wonderful weekend Creactives! See you next week!

What a week it has been!

The Stop Motion Addict Contest is in full swing  – so be sure to post your best videos!

And while we are talking about Frame X Frame, we have received some great coverage from the likes of Stuff and T3 among others.

Love this T3 shout out to the best in stop motion animation:

So if you want to create your own Wallace and Gromit, you can move your characters slightly every few seconds, or you can take a picture of, say the different stages of the moon every night.

JOBY | Peter Stathis Venture Collaboration

JOBY was in NY this week to launch our previously mentioned new lighting line. We have been thrilled by the coverage we have received from the New York Times to Fast Company to Apartment Therapy and beyond. Check out some noticeable quotes:

New York Times:

The table lamp is laid-back, and no wonder. Created by Peter Stathis, a San Francisco industrial designer, for Joby, a San Francisco consumer products company, Trapeze has the easygoing affect of a Bay Area windsurfer on a fair-trade coffee break.

But don’t be fooled by its relaxed demeanor. Trapeze has a serious side — it’s good for the environment, too. Introduced at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair, which ended on Tuesday, the lamp has 102 LEDs embedded in its ultra-thin head; a diffuser softens and spreads the light so that it resembles the warmth of (boo, hiss) incandescent bulbs. Another bit of patent-pending wizardry allows Trapeze to bend like a Cirque du Soleil gymnast because no wires run through its jolly, bulbous joints. The current somehow manages to flow anyway.

Apartment Therapy:

Of all the cool stuff at ICFF this week, these new lights by Peter Stathis stood out by a mile.

So, Frame X Frame is off to the races and is meeting some awesome press and great downloads in the first week. Have you gotten your Frame X Frame on? Be sure to enter the Stop Motion Addict Contest – top prize is a Canon 7D – so bring your “A” game!

Want to find out more about the app? Read about it on Pop Photo

Heavily saturated and Zen Moment for your Friday:

And…now for some more odd views of the world…

Enigmatic Film Week

This intriguing film was launched this week with literally an army of GorillaPods. Don’t think I quite got what they were teasing..but the soundtrack keeps popping up all over the office as different people watch it.

Not really sure where this GorillaPod-filmed trailer is going, but the chase scene is pretty funny and oddly made us keep watching … might just be that kind of day.

Capsized from Irfan Ghani on Vimeo.

Here at JOBY, we clearly are in awe of parkour (in case you haven’t figured that out see exhibit #1 = our website) and these outtakes from the Red Bull Art of the Motion shot using a GorillaPod do not diminish our interest one bit. Some mind blowing stuff!

Video Studio Pro explains the advantages of a GorillaPod with a man on the street interview.

Some Flickr Eye Candy

Bay Street by Ronnie Yip (this one even comes with a GorillaPod appreciation)

Other Good Stuff

Look quickly and keep your eye on the woman’s hand (seriously)…you’ll know what I am talking about when you view this promotional video by Go Pro. Didn’t see what I was talking about? Where is your mind?

Some Press Shout Outs

“Innovative” and “useful”- music to our ears in this great piece about the GorillaTorch line that appeared in this week’s Montreal Gazette.

With “four viewing positions with infinite permutations” and affirmation of the ergonomic benefits of the foldable accessory, Macworld has a long review of our GorillaMobile Ori for iPad.

This week a deluge  hit San Francisco, inspiring some members of the office to come to work in head to toe rain gear. While not winning any fashion awards, it probably did make for a more comfortable day at the office.

This magical video caught using a Lumix camera on a GorillaPod makes me, a lover of densely populated cities, want to get on a plane. I particularly enjoy the rhythm that occurs due to the trams starting and stopping.

Hong Kong: North Point to Western Market by Tram from David Gilbert on Vimeo.

GorillaTorch Flare was highlighted in Parents Magazine this month. It does look quite fetching against a turquoise backdrop.

Today, I stumbled across this intriguing image with  a scary JOBY GorillaPod plus camera peering ominously over fright-filled cigarettes. The story behind the image is even more arresting as it is by a  Spanish photographer, J. Tiogran Solana who recently quit smoking and used the money he saved from not smoking to buy himself a camera. The cigarettes are there to help celebrate his one year anniversary with the his camera.

Two fun videos appeared this week embracing outdoor adventures. The first is a video of a clear love affair with  a Cannondale bike captured with a GorillaPod SLR Zoom.

Cannondale Bad Boy 2010 Hybrid from Tony Slater on Vimeo.

The second, makes me want to hit the slopes as the film captures the child-like grin you get while skiing…and the inevitable fall that comes when you are filming yourself doing it.

2011-02-23 FILE0010 Brighton Snowshoe Veljko and Devin Ski Pole Cam from Veljko Roskar on Vimeo.

Continuing to attract attention for it’s unique look and ergonomically-empowered  positions, the GorillaMobile Ori for iPad had a few strong write ups this week in iPhone Life Magazine and MacStories.

Great opening paragraph in the MacStories article:

For those still holding onto the original iPad, have you ever thought about stepping your game up when it comes watching a family movie or utilizing the iPad as a bookstand? That folio case you have isn’t going to elevate the iPad above those popcorn jaws, and you certainly aren’t going to get a stable viewing angle on a leather cover as you tap through a recipe book. Even with a slew of gadgets and arms, the iPad is only as flat as its case. JOBY will help your iPad avoid disaster with a product that’s quite transformative.