As some of you know, about a year ago I started working with a software startup that I co-founded with some friends. We’re called Touchpoint Studios.

Our work came to fruition recently as we have just released our first product, Touchpoint Gallery. It’s a desktop application that enables you to collect digital photos from various sources (your hard drive, a camera connected via usb, Flickr, rss, etc.) and showcase them in Templates (which are 2D or 3D environments). You can also use it as your screen saver and to automatically set your desktop wallpaper.

Computers are getting increasingly powerful, but their power is used less and less as more applications are moved into the browser. Applications such as Touchpoint Gallery take advantage of the computer’s resources (such as graphics processing) while also delivering the benefits of the web-based applications.

What this all means is that we are able to provide a context for your photos, something that is missing in existing photo-album software. In some cases that means changing the environment that surrounds your photos, in other it might mean a change of rhythm in how you view your images.

Now that the initial release is live we plan to produce a lot more Templates and Picture Sources. High on our list of Picture Sources to support is Facebook.

Working on the project has given me the opportunity to use my real-time 3D experience producing truly unconventional content. Instead of gaming environments, we are creating experiential environments, connecting with users on an emotional level.

Be sure to check it out to experience your digital photos in a way you never have before. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.

Screen shot courtesy Flickr.