I suppose there are two schools of thought about laptops: that they should be as lightweight and as small as possible, capable of basic tasks, and thus work in tandem with much more powerful desktop computers. Alternatively, a laptop can be a complete replacement for a desktop computer, with a large screen and full-size keyboard.  The greatest price paid for the latter is, in my opinion, its significant weight (although the size is a close runner-up).

I much prefer smaller machines, as I do not trust even the “best” laptop screens to be completely color accurate, even after calibration with some of the best software and hardware on the market.  Instead, I would rather edit in the field and come home for toning and final processing on my 24″ monitor of choice, the HP 2475w.

This past June, as part of my preparation to travel to the Galapagos Islands with my dad on an Arthur Morris-led trip, I purchased an MSI Wind U100 “netbook” for only $299.  While I own a relatively compact laptop that weighs in at 5 pounds, I wanted to minimize weight as much as possible, especially as I did not expect to have enough time to do more than a basic edit of my shoots in the Galapagos using Breeze Browser.

The MSI Wind U100 is compact at 10.25 x 7.125 x 1.125″ and weighs 2.8 pounds with its standard battery.  It features a wonderful 10″ anti-glare screen that is also very bright and easy to read both indoors and, shockingly, outdoors.  My Wind came with a 1.6 GHz Intel Atom processor, a 160gb hard drive and 1gb RAM.  My Wind does not have built-in Bluetooth, but I purchased a cheap USB adapter on eBay that seems to be working just fine with my Bluetooth mouse.  As the Wind comes with three USB ports, sacrificing one for this purpose is not a great deal for me.  However, more expensive models include built-in Bluetooth.

I added a second gigabyte of RAM for only $14 at NewEgg, although installing it invalidated the warranty.  This is undoubtedly the low-point of this netbook: the warranty should not have to be forfeited for the ability to modify the internal hardware.  Other manufacturers add separate ports on the bottom of their laptops to access crucial places like the hard drive and RAM.  However, I am comfortable living with this weakness as the overall strengths of the netbook are significant.

The MSI Wind boots quickly into Windows XP and is an ideal station for, well, “net” browsing and e-mail.  Combined with software like Breeze Browser, or similar products like Photo Mechanic, I have to say that this is a very capable photo editing platform.  Keep in mind that I am using “editing” in the sense of going through all of the images from a shoot and selecting the best–I am now going through these selects on my desktop and toning them.

For such a lightweight and economical laptop ($299), I have found it to be completely indispensable and will be a part of my photography kit for the foreseeable future.

If you find this review useful and choose to buy the MSI Wind for yourself, I would greatly appreciate  your making the purchase through my links to Amazon.com.

Tags: electronics, laptops, MSI Wind, netbooks, Reviews
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On one of the fourth day of our Galápagos I decided to borrow Artie Morris’ fisheye lens.  I walked around the Alta, our chartered boat for the trip, and made a few images that I’m pretty happy with.  However, I think that the laundry hanging on the sun deck took the prize:

Laundry Day. 5D Mark II and 15mm fisheye lens. Exposed 1/100 sec. @ f/11, ISO 100.

Tags: fisheye, Galapagos, laundry, Pacific Ocean, sailing
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Marine Iguana against the Pacific Ocean, Fernandina Island. Canon 1D IIn and 400mm f/4 DO IS lens with 2x TC (800mm effective). Exposed 1/200 sec. @ f/8, ISO 400.

Blue-footed Booby calling, Isabela Island. Canon 1D IIn and 300mm f/4 L IS lens. Exposed 1/300 sec. @ f/4, ISO 400. Click image for larger version.

I returned from the Galápagos islands to Quito, Ecuador on Saturday and flew back into Milwaukee, Wis. yesterday around 9:30am CST.  All luggage arrived back home safely, so I spent most of the day alternating between unpacking and laying on the couch.  (I didn’t sleep on the red eye flight from Quito to Atlanta, but I did get a couple hours on the flight back to MKE).

Overall, it was a wonderful experience and the group, led by Artie Morris, was composed of many great people as well as our excellent guide to the Galápagos.

I have just begun the process of ranking and keywording my photographs from the trip.  So far, I have only worked up three images–none of which have had more than Lightroom adjustments applied to them.  I’m saving the cases that need some Photoshop magic for later!

Eventually, I will post the best photos from the trip in a gallery on my Zenfolio Web site, and many images might find their way into my wildlife and landscape portfolios on this Web site.

Blue-footed Booby preparing to display, Hood Island. Canon 1D IIn and 400mm f/4 DO IS lens. Exposed 1/1250 sec. @ f/5.6, ISO 320.

Tags: birds, Blue Footed Boobies, Blue-footed Booby, Galapagos, Iguana, Marine Iguanas, nature, travel, wildlife
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Today, in a moment of stupidity, I allowed a grocery store security guard to put my backpack in “safe keeping” while shopping for bottled water and other supplies in Quito, Ecuador.  I was in the store for three minutes.  My bag didn’t last that long.  Inside was one lens, my Panasonic 14-45mm (28-90mm equivalent), my windbreaker, my dad’s windbreaker, some ibuprofen, some generic Dramamine, a pair of earphones, and a couple of AA batteries.

My name, e-mail address, and Web site are featured prominently on many of the items in the bag, as well as the bag itself.  If the person who stole my bag (mochile) from the supermercado, please e-mail me as I will pay you to return my bag.  Yeah, this is a shot in the dark, but I bet you’re more reasonable than the security guard who told me “No me culpa.”

Um, yeah, it was his fault for not noticing…as well as the fault of the two motorcycle police directly outside the supermarket for not noticing you running away with my favorite camera backpack, the Kata 467.   But it was also my fault for ever taking it off of my back to start with.  So, hopefully we can make a deal.

I’m leaving for the Galapagos islands tomorrow, but will be back next Saturday.

In spite of your thievery, I did make a few pictures that I’m happy with.  I cannot edit them as I’m simply traveling with my MSI netbook for this trip, but here are some rough cuts, including the last good photo I made with the lens you absconded with:

Preventing H1N1 at the Quito airport. Everyone deplaning from my flight had to wear them. They were unbearably hot.

Betty Page on a VW Bug.

Looking for Americamino.

Selling fish on the street.

Tags: Kata, Lumix G1, photography, photojournalism, street photography
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I’m flying to Quito, Ecuador today and will not be back until the 19th of July. Internet access will be spotty, at best, so I am not likely to respond to messages or comments on the blog until I return.

Tags: Updates
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About three weeks ago I traveled to Washington, D.C. and decided to take only my Lumix G1 and what was at the time my only lens for it, the 14-45mm “kit” lens (28-90mm 35mm equivalent).  These were some of the more experimental images I made on the walk around the National Mall, the National Museum of the American Indian, and a few rides on the metro.

Washington Monument. Panasonic Lumix G1 and 14-45mm lens; exposed 1/2500 sec. @ f/5, ISO 200

The idea I had in mind for this image came through almost as well as I had hoped, aside from a compositional error that left the monument not quite centered.  Also, I have no idea why I allowed the camera to go up to ISO 200 or chose f/5 instead of f/8.  I will say that some dials can move inadvertently with that camera when walking around with it hanging at my side.

Museum of the American Indian, interior. Panasonic Lumix G1 and 14-45mm lens; exposed 1/50 sec. @ f/5.1, ISO 400

The style and mood of this image is an homage to that of one of my close friends from college, who recently earned her M.F.A. and was also married, Meghan Kirkwood.  I actually enjoy the wide expanse of negative space on the left, but I appreciate that it’s not for everyone.

Metro train. Panasonic Lumix G1 and 14-45mm lens; exposed1/30 sec. @ f/4, ISO 1600

The D.C. metro provided a lot of opportunities for photography.  I wish that the G1 was less noisy in these situations, but I think the grain adds something to this scene.  Still, it’s certainly not like the 5D II or the Nikon D3 or D700 in its low-light abilities!

Metro train blur, duotone. Panasonic Lumix G1 and 14-45mm lens; exposed 1.6 seconds @ f/4.8, ISO 1250

Probably the most conceptual of the images I’ve made in a while.  I intentionally overexposed the train tunnel to give the scene a black and white negative-like look.

Tags: Lumix G1, metro, national mall, photography, photojournalism, travel, Washington D.C., Washington Monument
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