Ah! it's good to be back. My blog writing has been (very) slow and sluggish lately, as I have been substituting keyboard and cameras for diaper changes and baby spit. Well inaugurated into the daddy club, I thought it fitting to share some of junior's first shots, but with a twist. I have been scouring the web for fun, easy-to-use image editors/manipulators that will make you grow a mustache (literally) or send you back to the dazed polaroid days of the 1970s.

Big Huge Everything

Bighugelabs.com offers an impressive collection of photo edits and manipulations. From classic Warhol art to magazine covers and stamps. The site is cleverly set up so you can use the photo effects for free, as long as you just want to create a low-res image for online usage. If you really need your masterpiece, you can pay to have it printed on mugs, paper, etc.

↓ I bet you have never seen an image like this before?! [www.bighugelabs.com]

↑ Done to death, but somehow always strangely satisfying seeing yourself on the cover of a magazine. [www.bighugelabs.com]

Pimp my picture!

Admit it, you have been doodling mustaches and random guys (and gals) in the newspaper Sunday morning. Well, with pikipimp.com you can take your doodling skills one step further with their powerful, much-easier-to-use-than-photoshop image manipulator. Choose from a myriad of options ranging from glasses, bikinis and hairdos to get the look just right (or wrong?). And no, the picture is not me from last Movember, but rather a quick 'make-over' in pikipimp.com.

↓ Pimpin' [www.pikipimp.com]

Very clever, very clever indeed Now this had me looking twice. Photofunia.com has taken a number of ordinary images where photos play a role within the image, and lets you insert your own image into the photo. If you get the match right between the template and your image, you can create some pretty cool manipulations ranging from very subtle to downright hilarious.     ↑ So cool!  [www.photofunia.com] The 70s called, they want their camera back From a pure photographic perspective, rollip.com's polaroid emulator is probably the most interesting of the bunch. Without having a ton of personal instant camera experience, they seem to have done a fairly good job of recreating that special polaroid look. And I am not just talking about the white border, but aloso the more complex processing of soft focus, weird color balance and graininess. Funky! ↓ You be the judge [www.rollip.com]   Lastly, you can mix up your own cocktail of image edits and manipulation using a variety of the services the sites offer. Very quick, easy-to-use and all done without leaving your browser.    ↑ Mixing it up. Image formula: photofunia.com (museum setting) --> rollip.com (polaroid effect) --> pikipimp.com (text on polaroid border).  For the technically interested: all these photo editor/effect sites were accessed and used via Firefox and a relatively fast internet connection. Depending on your browser and connection, the experience may slow down a bit. But well worth the wait.