Fotkin Artistech wrote a quick and simple to understand HowTo Add a gallery-style border to your pictures for those who want to to put the gallery-style borders or Fotki frames around their images. The instruction is well written and has a detailed screenshot sequence.

This topic was posted in Free Photography Classes Forum in Fotkins' Collective Wisdom category. The topic is really good! A thankful Fotkin Punky-Do said in her comment on the brilliant HowTo: "You explain it a lot better than some of the author's do."

Ditto to Punky-Do and thanks to Artistech for the valuable contributions to Fotkins' collective wisdom! :)

• If you have any questions on the topic, feel free to ask them to the author in Add a gallery-style border to your pictures comments.
• If you want to get friendly advices on a particular photo of your own, you may post it in Please, Critique My Photo! forum.
• If you have some knowledge to share, you are welcome to post your topics in Fotkins' Collective Wisdom.

Browsing photographic forums is cool! Have fun with Fotki!

Beta version of "My Fotki" section has been recently released...

... and now all Fotkins get to it after clicking on "My Fotki"/"Our Fotki" icon.

Your "My Fotki" page tells you what is going on at your Fotki pages:

• Who and when left messages in your guest book (five recent notes)
• What are the latest comments on your photos and what is written (five recent comments)
• Who of your Fotki Friends and other Fotkins visited your pages (this block shows five recent visitors in each group)
• What are your Friend List changes: who befriended you, and who was friended by you (also max five in each group)

And the last but not least section of My Fotki is your account statistics. It shows:

• total numbers of folders, albums, photos and photo comments
• total number of guestbook messages
• numbers of your Fotki friends and of those who befriended you
• basic daily statistics: how many visitors (unique IP addresses) and hits (individual clicks) you have today

As usual, we are waiting for your feedback: What you like and what you don't like in this page? What can be done to make it more interesting and more convenient? What is missing? Please, feel free to share your thoughts and suggestions.

Yours,
Fotki team

PS. If some Fotkins and Fotki mates are not sure what's the exact meaning of the word, we welcome them to visit our Fotkabulary. Have fun with Fotki!

Fotki announces a photo contest sponsored by Eye-Fi!

Fashion in the Streets: What are people really wearing in your hometown? Show us the styles of real people around the world. Traditional and modern, western and eastern, classic and retro, stylish and casual, teen and vintage... you name it, it's all fashion! Submit a photo of your family, friends, schoolmates or neighbors for all to see the fashion from your street.

Sponsor: Eye-Fi. Sponsor Prize: Eye-Fi Card to the First Place winner.

If you can’t wait to win an Eye-Fi Card, just click here to get to the page where you may buy an Eye-Fi Card online (Important! Selling works only for the US).

To learn more about Eye-Fi Card, please read Free Your Memories with Eye-Fi and Fotki! in Fotki blog.

Good luck to everybody!

We announce a contest to support a Kindred Souls band project.

This is what they say:
"Help our band Kindred Souls produce its next music video. We want to produce a photo essay for our song "Leap of Faith," which is about overcoming obstacles and achieving personal triumphs. Submit a photo and a brief story about your "Leap of Faith" - whether it is graduating from school, winning a race, or any other success story or achievement that makes you proud. We will include as many photos as possible in the video and donate $100 to the favorite charity of the person who submits the most popular photo."

Click here to download the song and read the lyrics.

Collecting starts May 7.
Voting starts May 21.
Winners will be announced June 4.

Good luck to everybody!

Join Fotki contests to share your best photos, to vote and to browse contest galleries!

Dear Fotkins, on March 29, at 1 a.m. Eastern Daylight Saving Time (EDT), 7 a.m. East-European time (EET), Fotki.com will be offline for a quick moment because of the scheduled maintenance and updates. Sorry for any inconveniences this may cause. It will be just a few minutes.

Thank you for your kind understanding.

Yours,
Fotki Team

Listed in alphabetical order:

1. A Face in the Crowd. Suggested by bdira2.
2. A Rose Is A Rose...
3. Family Jewels. This is jewelry photography contest. Also, you may show pics of your family heirlooms ... from grandma's china ware to grand-dad's shotgun.Suggested by Rich Bruton.
4. Flag. Use flag as the main image and at least a second compelling element.
5. Guess What It Is II. Submit a photo of something that cannot be immediately identified. Let the Fotki community take a wild guess at what it is.
6. Hair. Submit your best hairstyle photos to see where imagination and creativity of photographers and hair stylists took people. Suggested by Tulip.
7. Hats, Just Hats! Show us the funniest, biggest, most colorful, brightest, fanciest hats. It could be a hat someone's wearing, or one on a rack at a hat store, or maybe one on the scarecrow's head...
8. Home and House Photos. Show us best interiors and exteriors. Suggested by Comptonphotographer.
9. Kitsch or Cool? Perhaps, one day kitsch will become mainstream in fine arts. :) Suggested by bdira2.
10. Plant Leaves Only. Submit photos of plant leaves of most unusual, beautiful, interesting form, shape, size, color.
11. Lobsters. Submit photos of original lobster and of same spices. Important: Not yet cooked!
12. Looking Up. Submit photos that have the perspective of looking up: up from the ground, from in the ground, coming out of the ground, looking up from some place above the ground. Whatever the shot is, it must have the perspective of looking up at something, someone or someplace. Suggested by Irina.
13. "Through the Eyes of the Artist..." Submit artistic photos that you would want to frame and hang on the wall. It could be anything, nature, people, food, cars, an old rusty nail, a mud puddle, etc. But it must have something that makes it a "Work of Art". Add the photoshop finishing touches if you like. Suggested by Velvet7.
14. Solitude. Submit a photo of a lonely person or place. Suggested by whiterussn64.
15. Wine. Anything and everything "wine" – plants, barrels, bottles, corks, amphorae, decanters, glasses, wineries, wine testing, etc. Suggested by Lohman Photography.

(to be continued)

Do you have any ideas? Feel free to add your comments!

Yours,
Fotki Team

Dear Fotkins, you are welcome to enter "FOTKI Advertising, or Fotki.com - Here, There and Everywhere!" photo contest!

First, Second and Third place winners will receive a one-year Fotki Premium Membership.

We are planning to run some ads in friendly magazines, so, we thought we'd ask the people who know Fotki best, our users, to help us with the ads. You may take either color or B&W logo of any size from this page or use your imagination - and whatever else you can think of - to create your own version.

The only guideline is: Your funny, romantic, amazing, stunning, creative... you name it!... entry should contain two words: 'Fotki' and 'com' with the dot between them. Like this:

Most probably, your entry should be a photograph related to what Fotki is: a PHOTOGRAPHY SITE. In other words, a cute kid/dog/lizard with a "Fotki.com" is nice but it's not so much about Photography and passion for Photography... right? (We could be wrong there...) :)

Submission starts Mach 21. Free your imagination to find Fotki.com logo in any place of the Earth! Good luck to everybody!

What is also important: Fotki reserves the right to use any images submitted herein in its advertising. Fotki will credit the author of each photo.

Have fun with Fotki!

Our new feature "My Guests"

allows you to see who was viewing your pages recently:

You can only see logged-in Fotkins.

To make yourself invisible on others' Guests pages, go to your "My Settings" page and set "Show Me in Guest Lists" option of "Privacy Settings" section to No.

Please keep in mind: choosing invisible option will also disable your own "My Guests" list . To enable it, use the link, which brings you to your "Privacy Settings" section.

You are welcome to ask your questions and suggest your ideas about the new feature.

Enjoy Fotki!

Yours,
Fotki team

Our new Valentine's Day color scheme is Fotki's love note to all Fotkins:

Also, have a look at these stylish color schemes, which were created recently. Here they are:
Old Fashion and Dark

Here you can find the instructions on changing a color scheme.

Enjoy Fotki!

Yours,
Fotki team

Fotkin >>>www.GaryGS1.com>>> Travels & Times wrote in his Fotki Fun journal:

***************************

If you would like to post a photo into either a Guestbook or a Journal Entry, here is how!!!
(It might be easier if you open two windows or print this page...)

1. Decide on a photo to use and make sure that it is already uploaded to your Fotki.
2. Go to that photo and select "Share photo" under the photo subtitle and next to "add your comment".
3. Click on that to open the sharing menu.
4. In the sharing menu select "More sharing options" on the bottom left of that menu.
5. That will take you to a "Share Photo" page.
6. Select the size of photo you want to copy the HTML for.
   Choices are Album Size or Thumbnail Size
7. Then go to the box named "Code for a Fotki Journal" directly below the photo and copy the string of HTML.
8. Paste that code into the guestbook or journal entry box and the photo will appear.

Tips

• Does not work in photo comment boxes.
• There are also other codes there that you can play around with and utilize in other places.
• Any photo that you can get to the "sharing" code boxes can be utilized regardless of whose Fotki it is.
  In these cases these members have not disabled the sharing feature in their Account Settings.
  Of course, in this instance one should always seek permission to share first.
• Professional Etiquette always dictates that you should work with your own photos and/or creations.

Have Fun!!! Cheers!!!
Gary

***************************

Thank you, Gary!

Fotki Team

Dear Friends, Select Our New Theme to Enjoy the Christmas Look and Feel of Your Accounts!

All you have to do is to find it in the set of our ready-to-use themes and apply.

Click the "Go to" button in the top navigation bar and select My Settings in the drop-down list

click Change to open the Appearance section
click Pick Another Scheme to preview the ready-to-use themes
scroll down to find the Christmas theme and click Select beneath it
and finally click Done under the theme selected

Yours,
Fotki Team

Recently, Fotkin >>>www.GaryGS1.com>>> Travels & Times has written in his Fotki Fun journal:

*********************

Fotki Staging View!!!

Fotki Staging is where things get Beta tested (sort of '-)))

You can see possible new features in advance of others in this view. Nothing is guaranteed here. It's just a view of possibilities.

For anyone who wants to see the staging view, please go here and find yourself on your Fotki pages.

I just took a look at the new layout feature of columns and rows. You can see it in your "My Settings" or if you go to "Album Properties" in left menu when you are in an album's thumbnail view.

In that view click on "Advanced Properties" and go to Album page layout: The box will be selectable either Fixed or Auto. If you click on Fixed, then the old boxes of columns and rows shows up. The Auto gives you new options with as many as 120 thumbnails on a page. Nice for large albums or if you want fewer pages.

Not sure when Fotki will make it live... But save your staging address somewhere for future use!!! If you haven't utilized your Fotki Journals Feature yet, now is a good time to start!!! Here is where I save things like this. Welcome!

Cheers!!! Gary

******************

Thank you, Gary!

Fotki Team

Here they are (in alphabetical order):

1. Almost Monochrome Color. These photos come up now and then and they are very interesting. Suggested by Comptonphotographer.
2. Desperately Waiting for a Plane/Train/Boat, etc. "Wasting time in airports waiting for connections which will probably be late for unknown reasons because it is not even raining here?" Suggested by Bob P.
3. Did You See That?! Submit photos of something shocking or amazing.
4. Eastern Culture.
5. Elements of Design.
6. Fashion in the Streets.
7. Feel the Life. Submit photos of extreme, or something breathtaking.
8. Feel the Speed.
9. Trends of the Future.
10. Fotkins in Action. Suggested by Serega.
11. Geometric Compositions. Suggested by Comptonphotographer.
12. Humor. It's really simple... make us LOL! Suggested by Rich Bruton.
13. In Good Taste. Submit photos of something that is made perfectly nice and looks gorgeous for you.
14. In Love with... Submit pics of someone or something you are in love with.
15. Like in a Movie. Submit a photo that depicts a scene in your life reminding you some movie episode or some place where something was filmed.
16. Like Paradise. Submit a photo of a place where you feel happy, or a photo of the best place in the world.
17. Mirror. Mirror, on the Wall. Show us who's the fairest of them all. Old, young, Inner beauty or Outer beauty. Suggested by Rich Bruton.
18. Modern World. Show us the pictures of technical success on our planet from the tallest buildings to the extraordinary designs.
19. My Next Car Is My Dream Car.
20. Natural Oddities. Show us photos of weird/bizarre things found in nature. From plants that look like they fell from outer space to rocks shaped like people to weird fungi. Present the oddest natural thing you have found. The only "Shopping" should be basic sharpen, lighten, etc. Don't forget to tell us what it is or at least where you found it. If you don't know what it is, maybe someone out there does! Suggested by Mudhooks.
21. Nature's Alphabet. Various natural objects such as plants, animals, birds, wings of butterflies, brittle stars, ferns, crabs, eyes, rocks, shells, etc. may bear patterns that resemble letters, numerals and other figures. Submit photos of symbols, letters and numbers found in unexpected places in nature. Suggested by Serega
22. Night Life. Suggested by Serega.
23. Night Shots. Darkness has to be the primary element.
24. Sailing.
25. Salsa Night.
26. Seasonal: Changing Colors of Winter. Submit a photo embodying the beauty and appeal of winter. Suggested by Chiarascura.
27. Sepia-Toned Images. Create sepia-toned pics either using camera's built in method or using software - and taking into account the subject's suitability. Suggested by Georgieboy
28. Smell. Show us pics with an unmistakable smell ... fish, baked brownies, a locker room, ammonia, a hospital ... make us smell it like we were there. Suggested by Rich Bruton.
29. Smile. Submit photos that make the viewer smile, anything from just "funny" snapshots to funny signs captured.
30. Spots. Anything with spots...or spotted things...i.e., leaves, flowers, material, spotted patterns on the ground, sky, spots against a building, etc.

(to be continued)

Do you have any ideas? Feel free to add your comments!

Yours,
Fotki Team

No cables, no hassles! Upload photos to Fotki without connecting your camera!

All Fotkins like to take lots of pics and post them all to Fotki web site. With all that shooting we sometimes don't have time for log-ins. Now it is possible to upload instantly and wirelessly, without pressing a button or using a computer. Do it through the Eye-Fi card, which sends photos directly from your camera to your favorite photo site or computer! The Eye-Fi сard is a wireless memory card. It automatically uploads pictures from your digital camera to your PC or Mac and automatically delivers your pictures to your account on Fotki website!

Behind the scenes, the Eye-Fi Service intelligently handles your photos, gets them to your Fotki albums and takes care of log-ins and passwords. It’s secure and private, and photo uploads are free and unlimited with your Eye-Fi card. It saves you the usual hassle or time required to upload pictures yourself!

This is how you do it:

1. take the Wi-Fi SD card and insert it into the Eye-Fi card reader,
2. plug it into your Wi-Fi-connected Mac or PC,
3. choose Fotki,
4. put your Eye-Fi card into your camera,
5. and start snapping!

When you are ready to upload, the Eye-Fi card connects to your wireless network and upload photos to Fotki. And... Yessss!!! All your photos are uploaded and you didn't do a thing. All you have to think about is taking photos.

The features of the Eye-Fi card are as follows:

• Built-in Wi-Fi connects to your home network and transmits photos automatically from the Eye-Fi Card inside your camera.
• Eye-Fi Service provides free and unlimited photo uploads to your computer, or your Fotki albums, or both. Photo transmission is secure and private.
• Eye-Fi Service handles full-resolution jpeg images.
• Eye-Fi Manager guides easy set-up of wireless network and photo upload preferences.
• Standard SD design fits all digital cameras that use SD memory cards.
• 2 GB of memory for storing photos like a typical SD card.
• Included USB memory card reader makes set-up easy.

To learn more, please go to Eye-Fi web site.

Add New Frames to Your Photos! Select Styles That Fit to Your Albums Content!

Styles Bronze Vignette (no. 21) and Halloween (no. 22) have been added recently:

Bronze Vignette

Halloween photo: © www.picNY.com The photo was kindly provided by Fotkin PicNY.com

To add new frames to your photos:

1. go to Album Properties
2. open Advanced Properties
3. select the style you like from the drop-down menu or open the preview bar (click "show")
and select frame there
4. save changes

Enjoy your new photo frames!

Maybe you want to suggest your own ideas for photo frames? You are welcome!

Yours,
Fotki Team

This is ooO(Peter)Ooo's appeal to Fotki community members:

My fellow Fotkins, let’s cheer up Fred Martel!

I have been enjoying the friendship & community of Fotki for several years. One of my very first friends who commented on my photos & encouraged me was Fred Martel.

Unfortunately, Fred has suffered many small strokes & is unlikely to improve. He is on a waiting list for a continuous care facility, but they aren't sure how long it will be before a room becomes available for him. I'm not sure if he is still able or well enough to access his Fotki site so wondered if Fotkins that knew him would be kind enough to send him a card? Leaving comments on his site would be greatly appreciated too I’m sure.

His wife thinks he would be very pleased to receive cards from his Fotki friends. The present address to send them to is:

Fred Martel
c/o Glenrose Hospital
Unit 4D
10230 - 111 Avenue
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
T5G 0B7

Cheers,
Peter

Fotki Team ditto to Peter! We encourage Fotkins to join the good cause!

Also, please feel free to post the link to this blog entry in your friends' guest books.

Yours,
Fotki team

CNET selected us as the finalist of Webware 100, among the best services on the Internet!

As in the past, we turn to you to vote and tell the world what you really think about Fotki! So, don't mince words, tell what you really feel, if you dislike us, and prefer others, then say so - if you love us, please let us and others know that you do!

And thank you for taking time to share your love and passion!

Enthusiastically and affectionately,
Fotki Team

Here They Are: The First Thirty Contest Theme Items (listed in alphabetical order).

Please, post your comments if you want to add creative descriptions to those themes which have no details added.

The themes' authors are welcome to describe/modify their suggestions.

Enjoy Fotki and fotkiing!

Yours,
Fotki Team

The first "My Photo of the Week" weekly contest starts May 12!

The time format is the same: one contest per week, but the description is different: no time frame now.

Submit a photo you've selected to show to Fotkins this week. It can be a photo from a new album you've created during this week (preferably), with a link to this album added to the photo's description, or a photo you made some time ago, or a fresh scan of an old photograph you've found in your paper photo album with pictures of the good old times.

Select a photo you want to claim "My Photo of the Week" for this week and get ready for upcoming weekly contests.

Also, a different voting system is introduced. That's why the first new-format weekly contest is a test one. As always, we are waiting for your feedback. Please, report us any bugs you notice during voting and ask any questions you have about it.

Yours,
Fotki Team

We are organizing Fotki Mascot contest !

Our idea is to base the Fotki mascot on an image of animal. After much arguments, deliberations and infighting, Fotki staff set their eyes on a hare (or rabbit? who can tell the difference?), and possibly one enjoying carrot(s) as our mascot.

Good luck!

Yours,
Fotki Team