What if a camera tripod were as flexible as an extra hand? That's the idea behind the Joby® Original Gorillapod™. You don't have to place this tripod on a flat surface. Instead, you can wrap its legs around pretty much anything — a fence, a tree limb, or the hood of your car — and attach your camera to steady your shot.

I recently had a chance to see the Gorillapod in action. My friends and I had our annual "Girls in Duck" beach weekend, and my friend Lisa (a serious amateur photographer) brought along her newest camera and a tripod like no tripod I'd ever seen before.

A tripod really comes in handy when you want to use the self-timer on your camera and include yourself in a photo. Lisa wanted a shot of our whole group looking out toward the ocean. But what do you do if there isn't a flat surface around that you can set your tripod upon? She just wrapped her Gorillapod around the deck railing, and ran down the stairs to get in the picture:

Tripods are invaluable when you're shooting in dimly lit environments. Your camera's shutter stays open longer to allow available light in, so it takes longer to record photos. There's more chance that slight hand movement or camera shake will blur an otherwise perfect picture. But setting up a regular tripod in the sand can be a problem. Lisa just attached her Gorillapod to the fence that runs along the dunes and snapped away. Here's the photo she took at dusk:

The other nice thing about the Gorillapod is that it's compact and easy to pack (important when you've got 11 women sharing one beach house). Toting around a regular tripod is kind of like carrying an umbrella — you've got this awkward, clunky thing to deal with. Lisa just balled up the Gorillapod and tossed it into her bag.

If you're way ahead of me and have already begun your holiday shopping, you might want to keep this little tripod in mind. There are also larger models designed to support the weight of SLR cameras and some camcorders. One of these Gorillapods might just make a fun, useful gift for the shutterbug in your circle.