Photowalking.org

You know, I’ve always wanted to take advantage of geotagging my photos, especially the ones I shoot on a photowalk. What a cool way to organize and track the progress of a photowalk. Many of the tools out there are multistep confused messes.

Drew over at BenSpark.com has mentioned before that he uses a special GPS unit called a GiSTEQ™ PhotoTrackr™. He seems to really like it, and it works quite well for him. The GiSTEQ website indicates the the included software syncs with a Windows based computer, so there is some limitations.

I am curious if the file outputted is an industry standard file. Maybe with an open source app, one could merge the information elsewhere….hmmmm.

Well, Drew is having a contest over at his blog, giving us all the chance to win one of the new units. On second thought, I want one, so NO ONE go over there and enter the contest.

BTW, while I’m thinking of it…what would I do with one of these things? Well, I think if I had the opportunity to do some nice wilderness or forest landscape shooting, I could really use a nice GPS unit like the PhotoTrackr. Keeping a good idea where each shot is taken could make for a nice series. I could find a nice location and shoot it in all 4 seasons. Having a nice and accurate record of where each shot is taken would be great.

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As I’m sure by now, most of you have read my What’s in my bag post, over at my personal blog. I am pretty happy at the amount of gear I drag along on a photowalk. Rarely do I feel like I forgot something, and most of the time I feel like I brought along just enough.

However, the problem has been the “bag” itself. I have a simple LowePro waist pack. Most of the time I put the shoulder strap on it, and sling it over my shoulder. This works fine because the bag isn’t too large, so there’s not a lot of heavy gear. However, I don’t have enough space for each lens I like to bring along. This causes me to strap one of my Sigma lens cases onto the outside. No biggy? Wrong. I can’t secure it tight, so it flops around like a broken toy.

Then, today, B&H sent me an email, highlighting this new LowePro backpack they’re carrying. I remembered talking with Leigh about his LowePro backpack, on the Olvera Street Photowalk, and thought I’d check it out.

So, I think I’ve added a nice new bag to my Christmas wish list:

I’ll review it, if and when I get this as a gift for Christmas.

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I can’t wait to get out and shoot with the new lens. I wasn’t even dressed yet when the UPS guy knocked on the door. I had to crack it, and wait for him to get back to his truck. I didn’t want him to see me run out in my boxers!

So, I busted open the package and immediately was surprised to find the lens came with a hood and a nice padded, nylon zippered case. It has a little loop on it, so I can attach it to my camera bag too!

First thing, I slapped it on my D40 and shot a few photos. Amazing! I love it. Being the semi-novice, I’m still learning how to benefit from my manual features, so it will take some time before I really flex the 30mm’s muscle. Hopefully I can get out later today and test it out.

I’m real glad it arrived in plenty of time for next week’s evening photowalk, on a full moon.

Popularity: 17% [?]