Extra photos for bloggers: 1, 2, 3

Boy, if we only knew what dogs went through.

Our canine compadres always seem to get the short end of the bone in life, so that’s why we’re inventing a Photojojo first: The Doggie-Cam.

By sticking a camera on our four-legged friend Molly, we’ll finally see the world as she sees it, and maybe then we’ll be able to sympathize. No more doggie disrespect!

Who knows, after this we might just start lobbying for dogs’ rights – Dogs deserve to vote, we think. And where’s all the doggie mayors? Well, we’ll change that. The 2008 presidential elections? We’re talkin’ third-party dog candidate, baby. Before you know it, dogs will be in positions of power everywhere – dogs could rule the world!

Whoa, Nelly. So we might not go that far. But sometimes, we think it’s worth it to look at life from the underdog’s point-of-view – and with the Doggie-Cam, now we can.

p.s. Help us out, Digg this tutorial!

(Thanks to reader Wayne Pyle for pointing us to what we should admit is the first doggie cam, and hooking us on this idea.)

HOW TO MAKE THE DOGGIE-CAM

We’re shocking ourselves, we know, but the Doggie-Cam may be Photojojo’s simplest tutorial yet. Three easy-peasy, uncomplicated steps:

1. Get your hands on a Gorillapod.
   If you don’t have one already (they’re awesome!), we have ‘em right here, in the Photojojo Store. We’d recommend the Gorillapod SLR just to make sure it’s large enough to fit around your dog’s head.
2. Screw your camera onto the Gorillapod, then bend the Gorillapod’s legs to wrap snugly around your dog’s head.
   Make sure, of course, that Fido’s alright with it and the Gorillapod doesn’t restrict breathing or anything like that. If in doubt, don’t do it! (Did we really have to tell you that?)
3. Set your camera to start capturing and go!
   Most point-and-shoot cameras these days record video – set the dial to it and hit record! For photos, set your camera to automatically capture a new photo every minute (if your camera has a time-lapse feature) or use whatever self-timer feature your camera’s got. Alternatively, buy a wireless remote control and have at it!

Well let’s see it!

After copious amounts of testing (not really) and years of strenuous development effort (not at all), we’re pleased to bring you the very first glimpses from the Photojojo Doggie-Cam:

(Disclaimer: Nausea and other dizzy-ish side-effects may occur by watching. Hey, it’s the very first, raw footage, folks! You’re watching history-in-the-making!)

Extra Tips & Ideas

The thing with the Doggie-Cam is, you know, it depends on the dog. Of course you could bribe your dog with the promise of Scooby Snacks, but if you don’t feel like Fido’s cooperating, then maybe you should drop it. (And please, whatever you do, don’t try doing the Doggie-Cam this way.)

That said, here’s a few extra tips & ideas that might help out:

• Let you dog try out life with the Gorillapod sans-camera before trying the whole enchilada. We found Molly was a bit hesitant to warm up to it at first, but soon forgot the Gorillapod was even on after a while.
• Try adjusting where you place the Gorillapod. Not many dogs we know like something wrapped around their head, but you might be able to wrap the ‘pod snugly and safely around the dog’s back and chest.
• Experiment! Guaranteed, not everything’s gonna go as planned. One common problem we had was that the camera would slide down to one side of Molly – making the video lopsided! After a few tries, though, we were able to get the camera to stay centered. (It takes practice.)

• Leverage the collar: wrap the Gorillapod up around the collar, or even hang your camera with a special harness upside-down from it. (You can use iMovie or other video editing software to flip the video right-side up later.)

• Use a head flashlight harness. Designed to wrap around your head with a flash-light attached, these “headlamps” (as they’re sometimes called) could possibly be quickly modified to fit on your dog’s head and support a camera.

• Don’t want to go through all this hassle? For $79, you could spring for the original Doggie-Cam. Originally from Japan, this light-weight, tiny 4.5 megapixel camera connects to your dog’s collar and is made just for this! (Why buy when you can DIY, though, we always say!)
• The last tip: Cat’s Eye-View anyone?

(We should probably note that you’re doing this at your own risk – pooches and cameras don’t always go well together, although in most circumstances we think the worst that could happen is for your camera to fall on the ground.)

There you have it, friends! Go out and, dog-willing, try it! Once you’re back, show off your results on Photojojo Woof-e-Vision (i.e. the forum). Also let us know how the Photojojo Doggie-Cam worked for you – any setbacks, suggestions, tips?

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