1. PacSafe: Wrapsafe cable lock. The Wrapsafe this is a monstrously long cable with a creative design. Unlike other normal cable locks PacSafe’s Wrapsafe cable is adjustable due to the polycarbonate anchors along the cable length. It’s not exactly light, but it’s effective at securing your luggage in a train station, airport or even in a hotel room while you’re gone all day shooting photographs. It leaves you with peace of mind while you are away from your belongings. Well worth the weight!

2. Belkin 4-Way Surge Protector and Extension. One of the most frustrating things while traveling is having enough plug adapters for all your different electrical items. Sometimes, you may have enough adapters, but there just isn’t enough sockets in the room. Enter the Belkin 4-Way Surge Protector and Extension. There are several of these available, but I use the one that has the multi-plug slots. In this way I can use almost any type of plug from the round prongs of Indian plugs to the English and Malaysian large square plugs. (Unfortunately, I have never found this particular power extension available in the United States. I’ve only found it available in South and Southeast Asia.)

3. Zero Tolerance ZT-0350 tactical knife. Some might feel this is overkill and that a complicated Swiss Army knife might work better or even a multi-tool. Maybe that is true for you. I switched to this knife after years using a Swiss Army knife. But frankly, the Swiss Army knife was too heavy to carry around in my pocket and I never used anything but the scissors and the knife blade, so what was the point? I like the simplicity of this knife. Plus, this particular knife gives me a sense of security in that it is an “every day carry” and I can clip it onto my pocket and wear it. It has an assisted opening that makes one-handed opening easy using the large, ambidextrous thumb stud or blade flipper. It is made of thick S30V stainless steel. S30V steel is really tough, so much so that you can use this knife to pry apart two wood 2-by-4 planks nailed together and not damage the blade.

4. LEDLenser-ZL7438 Flashlight. Any small LED flashlight is handy. But this one is as bright as a laser beam! My LEDLenser has proven to be indestructible. I have dropped this from quite high on many occasions and it still performs well. This little light takes 3 AAA batteries and runs forever on them. It is rated to give 100 hours of battery life. I’m not sure that’s true. Maybe it is 100 hours till the battery dies completely. Needless to say, you will want to replace the batteries earlier than that to keep the light bright. It is not cheap, but it’s been the last flashlight that I’ve had to buy. So, in the long run it might be worth the money spent. This is an Australian company, so I’m not sure how easy it is to find in the United States.

5. Giro Blaze Cold-Weather Cycling Gloves. You might ask, why cycling gloves? The fact is, I didn’t go out looking for cycling gloves in particular. I was browsing around a few years back at an REI (a sports store in the U.S.) and found these. They are thin, grip well and yet still warm and allow me to feel the buttons on my camera while wearing them. I don’t find much use for fingerless gloves, so these were perfect.  These guys went with me to the Everest base camp this year and they will be going back with me again next year.

6. Gatorade powder. This is an incredibly handy item to have with you when you travel. Not only does it replace lost electrolytes after you have been sweating in the New Delhi sun, it also can mask the flavor of some pretty nasty water. Oftentimes water that’s been filtered or purified may have a bad taste and this makes drinking it possible. I usually keep around 3 or 4 small packs with me throughout the day.

7. Shure SE210 Sound Isolating Earphone.  Audio is very important to my work and I want to be able to hear what I’m capturing with my recorder. But I also don’t want to have to carry along several types of headphones. I used to travel with a pair of noise canceling headphones but I found I only use them when I was in the plane. Then I found these Shure Sound Isolating Earphone. They isolate rather than cancel out noise. Basically, they are foam ear plugs with a hole in the center for the sound to pass-through. For all its simplicity, it’s very effective and some of the best sounding headphones I’ve ever owned. Plus, I don’t get a headache after wearing them for hours on an airplane like I used to do with my noise canceling headphones.

8. Eneloop Ni-MH Rechargeable Batteries with Charger. A conventional NiMH Battery can be charged only up to 500 times and looses about 10-15% of its charge on the first day itself. In contrast the Sanyo Eneloop retain up to 85% of its charge even after one year. Not only that but they can be recharged up to 1000 times. I have found these to be the best rechargeable batteries out there…by far. They’ve saved me a lot of money over time. Great for use in a flash, radio triggers and recorders.

9. iPhone/iPad Pen and Stylus. Why a iPhone stylus? Good question, since the iPhone doesn’t need a stylus for you to write on it. But, try to get someone who’s never written on iPhone to use their fingers to sign a model release. Trust me, it’s difficult, I’ve tried it. That’s when I went and purchased a stylus pen and everything became easier.  If you’re using Easy Release or some other type of iPhone app for obtaining a model release I highly recommend getting a stylus. The one I have (pictured above) doubles as a writing pen as well.

10. Pipes. At the risk of getting inflammatory e-mails by people telling me how dangerous pipe smoking is I put my pipes on this list. It’s a simple pleasure that relaxes me.  I enjoy the camaraderie it facilitates with other pipe smoking photographer friends. You know who you are – I will not list your names here.

So, that’s it. It’s not an exhaustive list and it’s not a “top ten of list” it is just a handy list. Maybe there is a thing or two on this list that you might find helpful or useful. I hope so. At the very least you can use this as a starter for your Christmas with list. What do you find you cannot travel without?

First, let’s get something straight – this is not a review. These photos are not straight out of the camera and put on this blog post (with the exception of one). I imported them into Lightroom and then did my normal workflow on them. Most of these were shot in raw, though not all. I will give you my thoughts on this camera, with one caveat; I just bought it yesterday and only used it for about 4 to 5 hours.

For the most part I really, really like this camera. I know there is a lot of controversy over the cost of the camera and its abilities. Some folks call it nothing more than a glorified point and shoot. Others think it’s the best thing since sliced bread. I think it’s somewhere in between. There are several things that are frustrating with it but there is a lot that is good. The image quality both in JPEG and raw is astounding. When I shot JPEG, and there were a few that I did with the built-in presets, there was still enough latitude to tweak them in Lightroom. Lightroom now has the ability to import the X100′s raw file with no troubles.

My likes:

I like the feel and the look. I mean honestly, what is there not to like, this is a sexy camera. It’s heavy enough to feel substantial; the metal is brushed and beautiful even the name etched in the top of the camera looks nice. The analog dials are a joy and come in a wonderful relief after using my G9.  I love the fact that I can adjust the aperture on the lens (where it should be!) and the shutter speed with the dial on the top of the camera. I can set it to aperture priority, shutter priority or full program mode just by turning the dials to “A” on the aperture ring or on the shutter dial. The viewscreen on the back is bright and crisp. The hybrid optical viewfinder is everything it’s cracked up to be. In a word: AMAZING! It gives you more information in a viewfinder that I’ve ever seen before and it’s all bright, crisp and clear.

My dislikes:

The  dial on the back does seem a little flimsy at times. It is rather small. When I go to use it I often hit the wrong button and make the wrong changes. Toggling between the viewscreen on the back and the viewfinder is confusing when trying to view images. Oftentimes the image will appear in the viewfinder rather than on the back of the camera, and this is frustrating. I’m sure it’s just a matter of me getting used to the right sequence of buttons to push, but it wasn’t very intuitive for me. The camera is very complicated and after working with it for about five hours today, there is still a lot to learn. It definitely has a high learning curve. I actually think it’s harder to figure out how to use this camera than my 5D MK II. But again, it may just be a matter of playing with it and learning and it should all become second nature after a while. Others have complained about the shutter being slow. It’s not so much the shutter being slow as it is the electronic viewfinder catching up with what’s happening with the camera, at least I think so. I don’t feel I missed any photos today, but I did not see what I took at times.  Frankly, I will not be using the electronic viewfinder much as the optical viewfinder is so stellar. It’s kind of hard to explain. The whole optical viewfinder is a completely new bird and something that you just have to pick up and play with. The camera makes some noise when you flip between the optical and  electronic viewfinders. It is a rather tinny and cheap sound. At first I was quite concerned, then once I figured out what was making the sound and seeing the tiny little metal shutter over the viewfinder closing, it made sense. Lastly, the battery went pretty quick… as in, after five hours of shooting it was dead. I have heard this is an issue. I hope there will be a firmware update to fix this soon.

It sounds like there are more dislikes than likes. Not really. I think it is a matter of getting to know this camera and how it works. In the end, the good out weighs the bad. It is not a camera for everyone. I wanted a sophisticated small rangefinder and this is as close as it gets today. If you want a full review check out  Ken Rockwell’s review HERE. Also, checkout this rather silly hands on review video by DigitalRevCom and a comprehensive look at the camera by What Digital Camera. In getting to know the camera I found the best option is to put the manual aside and visit Ken Rockwell’s online manual he has made. You can find it HERE.

Like I said, at the beginning, this is not a review,  I wanted to just highlight some of the pictures I shot with it today. I think you’ll see that these images are as good as anything you can do with the DSLR given its limitations. I look forward to using this camera.  Certainly, there is no buyer’s remorse here.

Click on the images below to view it and read any comments.

photo by Nathan Watkins

I never thought I would write a blog post on the use of two cameras. To me it is a no brainer, two are better than one. For many of you , it is the same. Some of you will not have thought about it, as I found out this past workshop. On the Tibet workshop two people said they were actually surprised to see me shooting two cameras at a time, meaning carrying two cameras through out the day. When they looked at my packing list, they assumed I listed the “extra” camera body as a backup. So to see me carrying and shooting both cameras was new to them. I guess I made the assumption that everybody knew why I take two bodies on a trip. Well, you know what they say about assuming?

I know for many of you shooting two camera bodies is a dream. You are doing well just to have the one DSLR camera, let alone a second body. I know this because I used to be in the same place. The first time I had two camera bodies was after I inherited my father’s old EOS SLR (film). I used to take it on trips as a standby in case my first camera failed. This certainly is one of the reasons to have two bodies. It was only a year or two back when David duChemin and I were leading a Lumen Dei in Ladakh when one of his 5Ds quit working. It just bricked up and became a paper weight. Fortunately for him he had a second body he was shooting with. This happens more often than one would imagine. And given Murphy’s timing, it always happens at the worst possible opportunity, like on a workshop or an assignment. However, by having a second body on-hand I am assured of being able to keep shooting without a hic-up.

There are a myriad of other reasons to shoot two bodies, not the least of which is dust. In the days when we shot film, there was less of a problem with dust entering the camera when we switched out lenses. It happened, but generally it was not the issue that it is today. Today, when we take a lens off the body it exposes the sensor to the elements. Sensors get a slight electrostatic build up on them so that if dust comes anywhere near it, it seems to be sucked in and glued to it, making it almost impossible to blow off. When I find myself shooting in deserts like Ladakh or the Tibetan plateau dust is always an issue. By shooting two bodies with a varied lens option makes changing lenses less needed and minimizes the chance of dust on the sensors. This is not to say that you won’t change a lens, and when you do, that it won’t be in the dusty desert. It is just that you will do it less often. Making less opportunities for dust to come into contact with your sensors.

Dust can make the best photographer look sloppy and unprofessional. Rollover the dusty image below. Fortunately Lightroom’s clone tool can be a huge help.

Two cameras don’t only help with dust. There are countless stories by countless photographers of shots that they have lost while switching lenses. When I carry two bodies throughout the day my general setup is to have on my right side my camera with my 16-35 mm 2.8 attached and on the left side a lens that will be a little longer. Usually it is either my 85 mm 1.2 or my 70–200 mm 2.8. This set up allows me to have quite a variety of focal length to choose from. If you are an avid reader of this blog you might think the 85 mm is my go to lens. In fact it is not, the 16–35 2.8 is that lens. By having a wide and a mid-range telephoto on each camera I’m ready for just about anything that I run across.

Ruggedly handsome but reassuringly self-deprecating international travel photographer Gavin Gough covered in coloured powder during Holi Festival Celebrations, India.
Copyright © Lesley Fisher

So how the heck do you shoot with two cameras…realistically? Don’t they crash into each other? Some folks use a traditional strap and put one camera around their neck and the other on their left or right shoulder. This has worked for years and many people are quite comfortable with it. My good friend, Gavin Gough for one. Gavin has shot like this for years. Above you see him shooting with a camera on each shoulder. You need strong broad manly shoulders like Gavin’s to pull this off or they will keep falling off. I guess I have too bad of a posture for this set up. So I have gone with the easy route. I use the Blackrapid R-Strap Double.

Me, my R-Strap Double and my Think Tank Photo MM Wired Up 20.
photo by Marco Ryan, Cairo Photo School

This setup insures the cameras stay put, right where they belong, on my shoulders. They are a little shorter than arms length to keep them from touching the ground when I squat or kneel down to shoot. They only real downsides I have found to this system are two things. One is the strap connector screws into the tripod socket on the camera. Thus making uses of the tripod socket useless for what it was intended for. This is a pain when you want to use both the strap and later shoot on a tripod. So I have gone back, yet again, to using a small piece of sheathed climbing rope to connect the straps to the locking clip on the strap (unlike in the photo above, where I am using the connector in the socket). The other is they are a pain to put on and take off at times. Like going to lunch or getting in and out of a car or taxi. But, outside of those small things, I find the R-Strap Double to be a huge asset when shooting two cameras. I can’t recommend them enough.

So when it come to shooting one camera body or two, I say, two is always better than one!

This year, I have the great fortune to be sponsored by Tissot. They presented me with the über cool T-Touch Expert watch for this trip. This watch has had me excited ever since the first time I saw it last October. I knew that it would be the perfect timepiece for my trip across Tibet. I am back to report, I was not disappointed. In fact, the T-Touch Expert lived up to every one of my expectations.

As you may recall from an earlier post, the T-Touch is more than just a standard watch. It’s a watch with multiple functions that are accessible by touching the crystal of the watch face, thus the name. The functions include altimeter, compass, thermometer, weather (barometric pressure), alarm and chronograph not to mention the normal everyday functions of a watch; date and time (dual time). The main functions I was interested in for this trip were the compass, the thermometer and of course the altimeter.

Some digital watches can be difficult to change the time zones and locate all the functions. The Tissot is remarkably easy in that regard. To change both the analog as well as the digital time (These two facets of the watch are linked. As you change the digital time the analog hands changes as well.) you simply select the time function and hold the plus or minus button down for more than 2 seconds till the digital readout blinks and then the minute hand starts moving soon to be followed by the hour hand. Pretty simple and was not a problem to adjust to the different time zones we found ourselves in. To gain access to each function you hold down the button at the 3 o’clock and wait for the digital “T” to start blinking. Then simply touch the function listed under the crystal face. The hands of the watch rotate around to point to that function and the digital display reads out the data pertaining to that function, Very cool! Watch the video above for a visual description.

The thermometer seemed to be accurate though like any thermometer on a watch, you need to remove the watch and allow it to adjust to the outside temperature to give an accurate reading. The only two times that I used a thermometer was in the tent at Everest Base Camp and walking outside at Base Camp around the glacial moraine. Honestly, I have no way to judge the accuracy of the thermometer, but I have no reason to doubt it’s accuracy either. I say, I have no way to judge the accuracy of the thermometer, but that’s not quite true. In the morning at base camp when I woke up the thermometer on my watch read -2°C in the tent. Mind you, I didn’t have another thermometer to compare it with, but that morning we did find that our water was frozen in our water bottles and cups. So, that would tend to bear out the temperature reading on the watch. While walking around the glacial moraine at Everest base camp I clasped the watch on the outside of my down coat. Within about 10 min., it was reading 7°C. The only thing it didn’t take into consideration, and I don’t know of any watch that does this, was windchill. The wind was blowing fiercely there and I’m sure the chill factor was well below freezing.

The compass served useful on several occasions just as I had predicted. We were able to judge which way sunrise would be and set up in accordance. I didn’t use the compass as much as I thought I would. The fact was that there were limited places to shoot the Potala or Mount Everest and they were not determined by the direction of the sun, simply by what was available. But, the compass was accurate and served to give me the proper direction when I needed it. Don’t think the compass is just “bling” or toy factor. This is the real deal. You can reset the magnetic declination so your compass point to True North. Plus you can put the compass in azimuth mode to indicate the heading that you need to turn to. In azimuth mode the T-Touch sounds a beep and a visual signal when the 12/6 o’clock axis of the watch is aligned with the heading set. Like I said, this ain’t no toy!

Tissot T-Touch at the picturesque Rongbhu Monastery, the highest monastery in the world at 5000+m.
Mt Everest can be seen in the background.

The altimeter seem to be spot on. But there was no lack of discussion about the accuracy of altimeters on this trip. In fact, altimeters seem to become a major discussion point among trip participants. There were at least three other watches with altimeters on the trip. There was one other Tissot T-Touch, a Sunnto and a Casio. I think there were some unreasonable expectations placed on the altimeters due to and lack of understanding of how an altimeter works. I won’t go into depth here, but I do think it does need to be clarified. An altimeter’s work off of barometric pressure. An altimeter needs to be set to a specific altitude at any given time and throughout the day the pressure changes even if you stay stationary! Even cockpit altimeters inside of aircraft need to be reset at every airport to both the official altitude of the airport and the barometric pressure outside the plane.  For more on how an altimeter works read this very insightful short analysis. Once we calibrated our altimeter to known values then we had an accurate read of the altitude we were at at any given time throughout the day. Of course, just as this article in the link states, we had to recalibrate (or as Tissot calls it “presetting” the altimeter) several times throughout the trip. Sometime even throughout a day due to the huge differences in weather. But this was no trouble as it is the same simple process as changing time zones, only it is done with the watch showing the altimeter in the display rather than the time.

The long and the short of it is, this watch is absolutely gorgeous. The titanium case and band make this watch weigh almost nothing. Seriously, almost nothing. The T-Touch weighs in at just 12.1gm as opposed to my Citizen Eco-drive Sky Hawk at 17.8gm! Yet, the Citizen is half the depth of the Tissot. On a side note: I want to minor on a major point for me. As I get older, I turn 53 this month, I find watch dials harder to read, especially digital ones. The T-Touch has a large digital screen with a large readout and a very bright back lit screen for night viewing. Just what I needed. The Sky Hawk on the other hand, was really frustrating how small the digital numbers were. It was impossible for me to read at times. You can see it clearly in the photo above. As I said, this is minor for most, but a big deal for me.

The touch crystal makes this watch fun to use and a novelty. There was at least one person on this trip that wasted no time in purchasing this very watch after they returned back home. I am a watch freak. I love watches and this watch has easily taken its place as my favorite.

I think photographers will find this watch helpful. Indispensable? No. You can certainly take great pictures without having this watch on your wrist. There’s no way in the world I would say that you have to have this watch and that in anyway it is going to affect your photography, let’s be real. But here’s the deal, I know photographers – and they love gadget – and this watch is the ultimate gadget for your wrist. I can highly recommend it.

I hope to bring you several  reviews of products that made it on to my packing list for this past trip to Tibet. The first of such reviews is of the Delsey Cross Trip rolling duffel. I had high hopes for this bag. It was spacious, colorful (so I could see it quickly on the luggage belt) and it was a duffel of sort but had wheels. But the most important part was it was a Delsey. I had owned a bright Delsey yellow polypropylene clam shell suitcase for over 15 years. The thing was practically indestructible! Alas, it was not to be. This Delsey was a red lemon.

If you read my past post on how I packed, you know that I had 20 plus kg of luggage in this bag. According to the airport 24kg and some change. But once I arrived I removed my tripod and a few other items. So throughout the trip there was less than 20 kg of luggage in it ant anyone time. Granted, the trip was a rough one, in and out of a jeep everyday and schlepping the bag up and down hotel stairs. But this is not out of the ordinary for any piece of luggage. Yet, within a week into the trip the top handle started to separate from the bag. Plus, by the end of the trip there was the makings of a good size whole in the bottom corner of the bag.

The outside material separating from the seam. Conveniently right by the product's name.

Here you can see where the handle is pulling the material away from the seams.

The fabric being worn away after the first trip with the bag. Disappointing to say the least.

The fact is, the handle that was used the most wasn’t even the top handle, it was the side handle. I can only think this is a manufacturer defect. I hope it is not a design flaw, as I cannot get my money back. For my North American readers many (most?) retailers do not readily give you your money back. They will only honor the warranty by giving you a fresh bag. Yippy – another Cross Trip to fail in the middle of a trip.

You might be wondering if other peoples bags failed to perform on this trip. Nope. We had a host of different bags on this trip. Interestingly enough they were all duffels. We had a North Face duffel, a Patagonia duffel, an Eagle Creek, A Tatanka duffel with wheels (that I ended up coveting!) even two nondescript bags of some sort but they all survived. Only my Delsey failed. So, if and when I get this bag replaced, it will be relegated to cushy family trips to America and back, no more adventures and photo workshops.

I can not recommend this bag. In fact, I will go so far as to say, don’t by this bag if you are doing anything other than 5 Star touring. I had a great history with Delsey up till now. But this bag ruined that.

Every now and then I receive e-mails from people asking how I price my work. Then just today, I was having a Skype conversation with my mother and she asked the same thing about the crafts she makes. Why is this so hard?

When I first started to sell prints I was surprised at the good deals on high quality prints but as a result, I felt some embarrassment in turning around and selling a print for $75 to $100 when the print only cost me $10 to $15 to print.  Later I had people come to me and say outright, “Isn’t that a little pricey?” Then I started doubting myself and my value or worth. more »

If you are an avid reader of the pixelatedimage.com you know that David sold off most of his Canon gear when he switched to Nikon. I bought his Canon 1Ds Mark III and it just arrived in my mailbox a few days back. This is an amazing camera and one that I have dreamed of owning. So when David offered it to me along with some other gear at a “friends rate” I couldn’t resist. The 1Ds Mark III differs itself from my Canon 5D Mark II in several ways. Even though the cameras are shaped very similar, the 1Ds seems to have a better fit in my hand. Frankly, I was surprised that there would be any difference in the way it felt. The 1Ds Mark III also sports several other differences that are much more significant than just the touchy-feely. The camera is completely environmentally sealed, giving me a bit more peace of mind in nasty weather. When I say completely, I mean that there are rubber O-rings around the controls and compartment doors. In total the camera has no less than 90 environmental seal points! Honestly, I haven’t given weather a lot of thought in the past. The 1Ds Mark III has enhanced auto focus capability with 45-Point TTL focusing points. It also sports 63-zone exposure metering, 19 cross-type auto focus system. But my favorite feature is the multi-spot metering (up to 8 readings). I haven’t used a camera with built-in multi-spot metering since my old OM-4Ti in 1986, that was 25 years ago.

The day after I got the Mark III I had a photo shoot scheduled with a client. It was a simple shoot, just a few shots for their website. We went to the historic Eastern & Orient Hotel (aka E&O. Eastern & Orient sounds so much more romantic than the initials E&O.) here in Georgetown. The light was soft and beautiful and the camera did it’s magic. Could the 5D have handled it? Of course, without a doubt. But I had just removed the bubble wrap from this thing and I had to use it. After the way it felt in my hand, the first thing I noticed was that he Mark III has a distinct shutter sound, unlike the 5D. The 5D’s shutter sounds clunky, almost tinny. The Mark III is loud and solid. I literally felt giddy every time I took a shot.

This is not a camera review, this camera is far to old for that and I risk embarrassing myself by talking about shutter sounds and feeling giddy. (Geez what a geek!)  If you want to read a comprehensive review of the 1Ds Mark III you can go HERE. People are already asking me would I buy another or would I sell either or both of my 5D Mark IIs? My answer is… maybe and I doubt it, and in that order. I might buy another Mark III if it was priced like this one and I had the money and I doubt I would sell my Mark IIs, they have too much going for them as well. There are rumors bouncing around that a new 5D Mark III and a 1Ds Mark IV both are in the works. So there is no way I would buy a brand new camera at this point. But the value this camera adds for the price I paid was well worth it.

I’ve wanted to do a review of the Think Tank Photo Multimedia Wired Up 20 bag for some time. It’s been out for a while and I’ve been using it since it was released. Before I was using the Wired Up 20 bag, I was using their bag called the Change Up. You can find a complete review of that bag HERE. You can tell from the review of the Change Up that I really liked it, but the Wired Up 20 has pretty much replaced it for me.  more »

One of the worst parts of travel is packing. The only thing worse might be the unpacking (I am not very good at putting things away). For some of you packing is no big deal. You are very organized people. Bless you, I wish I was that way, but I am not. If truth be known, I am a train wreck when it comes to organization and that makes packing difficult. In fact, not only does it make it difficult, it can make it dangerous. More than once I had been absolutely sure I had everything packed, I left home with a sense of security only to find I left my medicine on my bathroom sink. Once I even left my laptop at home on my desk!

So over the past year or so I have used packing lists to help. Up till now I have made my own list with an iPhone app called Zenbe List. It works well, but it is limited, as Zenbe is really just a to-do list. So after poking around the apps store I ran across an app designed especially for packing, called Packing Pro, by Quinn Genzel. It looked pretty comprehensive and it certainly came very highly recommended, so I downloaded it. Packing pro and it’s baby sibling, Packing have been recognized by Apple and National Geographic (Packing Pro by American Express) as some of their top apps for traveling. So I thought I would give Packing Pro a whirl and put it through it’s paces.

When you first open the application, Packing Pro gives you a screen with several lists to choose from; a group of sample lists, your own lists and an option to create a new list. When you choose the option to create a list the next screen offers you several options to start. When I made my Vietnam list I chose to go with a sample list to simply modify. But there is also an option titled  “with Expert Help”. This works like a list wizard, if you will. It takes you to a screen that asks how many people are traveling and the temperature of the destination an whether it is international or domestic as well as a few other questions. Then it creates a starting list for you to modify. For a little application, Quinn has really put a lot of time and effort into it to meet every possible need of every possible traveler.

Right off the bat there where things that stood out to me. The first is, it is a blend of a packing list and a to-do list. This isn’t an application that once you are finished packing doesn’t get opened again. This application has all kinds of to-do lists for trip preparation, mid-trip and post-trip. Another of the things that stood out to me about Packing Pro was that it can track the weight and value of each object. If you enter the weight and value of each item, Packing Pro will compute the total weight you’ve packed and your total value of your items. I am not sure what would be the purpose of tracking the value of your items, maybe insurance? Certainly, the airlines couldn’t care less they only reimburse a lost bag for the approximate value of the bag itself and not the contents. If the weight tracking works it could be a real handy tool.

It only took a few minute to modify the photo equipment list that was provided. The only downside I found in modifying the lists was it all has to be done on the iPhone and with such a small key pad it gets a little tedious. Quinn tells me there are some plans in the works to make things easier. I guess using the iPad would make things easier for sure.

Over all it is a very clean looking packing list that will help anybody who is either a list maker or an organizationally challenged person like me. I can see why National Geographic and American Express rated this little app so high. It gets five little trekker guys from e and a place on the front page of my iPhone. Download Packing Pro HERE.

I am excited to announce Phottix, makers of professional photo accessories have join the Digital Trekker as sponsors. I have come to really appreciate the folks at Phottix. Not only do they make some innovative gear, (check out their wired and wireless remote for a start!) they also understand the needs of photographers in this day and age. Like Think Tank Photo, BlackRapid and the rest of my sponsors, Phottix has an attention to detail and quality that sets them apart. So, join me in welcoming Phottix to The Digital Trekker.

This week I had fun catching up with my flickr account. I had not added photo to flickr in months, maybe in over a year. What got me back to flickr was a small web based application that I added to my site. You may notice the “Map” link in the menu bar at the top of the blog. The map is made by trippermap.com, it feeds off of my flickr feed and puts any geo-coded photos in your flickr account on a customizable map for your readers to browse. I found it easy to use and configure. It even displays route lines of your trips. One caution however, you have to make sure your camera’s date is set correct, otherwise things could get messy. Trippermap reads the EXIF data on your images and then puts your photos in order by date and time, connecting them and thus creating your routes. They provide HTML codes to embed you map as I did on my page above and in the blog post. The only downside I see about this service at this time is the maps are Flash. So, if you want to view it on an iPhone or iPad, forget it. But, over all I find it a nice add-on to my site.

Speaking of apps; if you have an iPhone you have to check out a simple little app called Instagram. It is a very simple photo application that has a handful of presets and boarder. You either shoot a new image or load a photo from your iPhone gallery and then run it through a preset you select. The outcome is very creative. The app is not only a photo application but a social networking tool as well. You can follow other Instagram users or post your images on flicker, Twitter, FaceBook or other social networks available in the app. Give it a try.