I’ve taken laptops around the world and into some pretty harsh environments (the jungles of Borneo and Fiji, for instance). In those cases I was only on location for a couple of days at most, and could bring an extra battery for the laptop. On Kilimanjaro I needed a way to not only check my images and back them up, but enough battery life to last over a week and as lightweight as possible. That meant either a digital wallet (small device to download photos to), a laptop or my iPad. The problem with using a digital wallet (like the Epson P6000) was that I’d need to carry several extra batteries (which are small), and I’d still need a computer for transmitting images once we got off the mountain. While the iPad offers the Camera Connection Kit, which would allow me to download images to it, I’d be very limited in what I could do with the photos afterward. It seemed that my only real choice was a laptop. That meant I’d need to find a laptop that was extremely light and had great battery life.

I’ve been a fan of PC Magazine (now digital only, http://www.pcmag.com, no paper version) for years now, and have come to trust their reviews. At the top of their list of netbooks, weighing about 2.6 lbs and with an astonishing 9-hours battery life, was the Toshiba Mini NB305. A few web searches later I found it for about $300 from Beach Camera in LA. Ordered one, replaced the hard drive with an extra 250GB, 7200RPM one I had on the shelf, and upgraded the RAM to 2GB. Started loading software and putting it through its paces. And I was quickly impressed.

Yes, the screen is tiny and low resolution (1024 X 600). Yes, it’s slow when trying to run Photoshop or Nikon Capture NX 2. But my, it’s small and so light! And the battery life is as advertised, which is pretty amazing. I carried it up and down the mountain, downloading my images every day. Photo Mechanic (by Camerabits.com, my favorite download/browse/sort tool) ran great on it, letting me check my NEF (RAW) files. And if it hadn’t been called on to be used with a cell card to transmit stories and photos from the mountain, the battery would have lasted the whole time. As it was, I pulled a little juice off a solar panel battery one of the guys had brought.

Where it really surprised me, though, was its performance off the mountain. Once back to the city of Arusha and the hotel, I needed to prep a selection of photos, build a web gallery and upload them so various news organizations (CNN, the Washington Post, The Associated Press and others) could get them to do stories on the climb. And check and respond to email. And the little netbook did that flawlessly (Photo Mechanic handled the NEF to JPEG conversions for me). For some special requests, I even had to open a few NEFs into editing software and make some adjustments. That part was slow, but still do-able.

On the long trip home, I was able to recharge the battery at the various airports and use the computer for 5-6 hrs at a time on the flights. By the time I’d gotten back to Kansas City, I had various collections of images done for both Disabled Sports USA as well as the participants, a slideshow finished, and had been able to go through and edit the hours of audio I had collected.

So what’s all this mean for the future of computing for me? Well, first, I won’t dismiss netbooks as useless for photographers. For certain situations they can be great. And it also means that if I’m traveling with the netbook, I probably won’t take my iPad as well. The netbook can do many of the tasks I use the iPad for. And I’ll still carry a “real” computer with me most of the time. For the majority of the photo work I do, I still need a fast and powerful laptop. I’m starting to use a Lenovo W510 for that, and think it may be the perfect all-purpose photographer’s laptop (more on that in a later post).

In the meantime, this little netbook will go on the shelf, ready for the next time I need that combination of light weight and long battery life. As a photographer I always talk about the value of having the right tools (cameras. lenses, strobes) to get the job done. This is just another tool I’ve added to my digital photography kit.

Neil Duncan lost both his legs to an IED blast in Afghanistan, and in 2009 came to Tanzania to climb Kilimanjaro. While he was physically prepared, the trip wasn’t planned for a person with two prosthetic legs, and he had to turn back before the summit. Afterwards he was more determined than ever to make it to the summit, and started working with a local guide (Nickson Moshi) to come up with a plan that had a better chance of success.

He mentioned this to a friend, Dan Nevins, who had lost both of his legs to an IED blast in Iraq. An avid golfer, Dan thought it would be a great challenge. And then Neil asked Kirk Bauer, Executive Director of Disabled Sports USA to join them. Bauer is a Vietnam vet, and lost a leg in combat there.

Their team was rounded out by Scott Kelly, an old friend to DSUSA and the Wounded Warriors Project, and myself, to document the climb.

Kiimanjaro is probably the most accessible tall mountain in the world, and the highest point in Africa. This is because it requires no technical mountaineering skills, just strong legs and a willingness to suffer some. A physically fit person, with proper planning and a good exercise program to prepare themselves, has a good chance of success. The biggest challenge to climbing the mountain is its height. At 19,340 feet, the air at the summit has less than half the oxygen of that at sea level. If you try to climb too fast, you’ll get altitude sickness and have to descend. To acclimate properly you have to climb slowly and give your body time to adjust.

There are several ways to approach Kilimanjaro, and our group used the Rongai route for two reasons – first, it’s one of the shortest routes, and second, it’s less rocky than the others, a key consideration for hiking with prosthetic legs. We spent four days going from the start, at 6000 feet, to Kibo Hut, at 15,500 feet. Even using this shorter, less rocky trail, it was a challenge for the team. Missing lower or upper sections of their legs, they have to compensate with other muscles. And, there can be wear and strain at the point where the prosthetics attach to what remains of their legs. Proper care of their bodies and prosthetics would be a key to their success.

Day five had us departing Kibo Hut for the crater rim (Gilman’s Point, over 18,000 feet) in the dark, using headlamps. This was easily the most challenging day yet. In addition to shortness of breath from the altitude, the climbing was fairly steep on loose rock, tough even for someone with two good legs. By shortly after noon we had made the rim, and chose to push on to Stella Point. That would put us closer to the true summit, Uhuru Peak, and even higher, at about 19,000 feet. And this is where the handicapped permit they had applied for would make a big difference. Most people have to ascend climb from Kibo to the summit and back to at least Kibo in one day. Our group, though had permission to camp on the rim, and that’s what we did, spending the night at 19,000 feet. Thank goodness for warm down sleeping bags!

At sunrise the following day, our group made the final push to the summit. It was cold (about ten-degrees), but a beautiful morning without much wind. That meant we could take time to enjoy the success of the climb and the view, and shoot a few pictures. After that it was time to start back down, to warmer weather and relatively thicker air.

As hard as getting to the summit was, going down was even tougher on the team members. The constant pounding on their residual limbs (what they refer to as their “stumps”) took its toll, and the group was moving slowly as they got back to Kibo Hut in the early afternoon. There had been some talk earlier about trying to descend further, but it was soon obvious that wasn’t going to happen. Dan had come down with a high fever and severe headache. Headaches like this are a symptom of altitude sickness, so a quick decision was made to evacuate Dan to lower elevations. That’s done by means of a metal stretcher with one wheel on the bottom, and Dan later said that being hauled down the trail on that contraption was one of the most painful things he’s ever experienced.

The rest of us took the night to rest and started down the next morning. By mid-afternoon we had to decide whether to push on or stop. The advantage to continuing was an earlier exit from the mountain the next day, so on we went. As the trail became rocky and darkness fell, we questioned the wisdom of that decision. By the time we made it to camp that night, we’d been hiking for 13.5 hours. Exhausted, we fell into our tents. The good news was that we’d made it, and the news on Dan was that he was feeling somewhat better, and would meet us at the exit the next day.

The last bit of the trail out (just another 4.5 hrs) was a nice trail through a beautiful rainforest, where we listened to birds and monkeys (and saw some of both) and enjoyed the lush greenery and flowering plants. As we had hoped, Dan was there at the end to greet us, and it was great to see him up and feeling better.

After eight days on the trail, the seats in the van felt like heaven and we were all thrilled to be headed to a hotel, hot showers and real beds.

Meeting for dinner that night, we talked about the highs and lows of the last week. All five of us had made it to the top, and four of us had been able to make the entire round trip. Neil felt redeemed after his failure last year. More importantly, Neil, Dan and Kirk hoped that their success would be more than just personal, that others with disabilities would see that with proper planning, almost anything was possible. And that was the true purpose of their climb – to live the motto of Disabled Sports USA: “If I can do this, I can do anything.”

I’m honored to have been able to be a part of this adventure with such a great group of smart, fun, driven individuals.

To learn more about DSUSA and the trip, visit their website at http://www.dsusa.org, and take a look at the new http://www.warfightersports.org website as well.

(Note: Being photographers, I’m sure you’re curious what I carried on the mountain. My kit consisted of a Nikon D700, Nikkor 16mm 2.8, 24-70 2.8 and 70-300 4.5-5.6 lenses, SB600 flash, ten batteries, six 16GB CF cards, Toshiba NB305 netbook and Olympus LS11 digital recorder. I also carried and shot video with a small camcorder that Neil had brought. Because of the amount of dust on the trail and in camp, I cleaned lenses almost every night, and used a blower bulb to keep the sensor clean. My day pack, with camera and audio gear, water, rain/wind gear and miscellaneous, weighed about 30 lbs.)

Now that shooting RAW format with a digital camera is easier (larger cards, better software, bigger hard drives), people look surprised if you tell them you’re shooting JPEG. But the fact of the matter is that JPEG files, shot properly (good exposure, proper white balance) have a tremendous amount of information. And, for a long time, JPEG was the format that almost everyone shot. And that was with lower-megapixel cameras.

So there I was hiking around a national park with a “beginner” camera and lenses, shooting JPEG. And you know what? It was fun! There’s something to be said for relaxing, going light and just having fun. No tripod, no filters, no strobe – just the one camera, one card and two lenses. Kind of like when I first got into photography.

And this is something I find myself doing more and more. Sure, there are still plenty of times where I’m carrying a back-ache’s worth of gear, and happy to have it. But nowadays, when I have the chance, I grab a small camera and a lens or two, set it on JPEG, and head out. And it’s a blast!

The last time I shot Kodachrome was in 2001, while leading a photo trip to India. I could have taken a state-of-the-art 2.7 megapixel digital camera, or film. I figured if there was ever a place to shoot Kodachrome, India was it. And for a change, I was right :) That turned out to be the last time I ever shot film. I have great memories from the old days of film and darkrooms, but with the state of digital today, I’m glad they’re just memories. Good-bye Kodachrome, rest in peace.

Thankfully, our country learned from Vietnam that U.S. soldiers who’ve been sent to fight are simply doing their job, and trying to uphold the high standard of our country at the same time. Most of those returning now are welcomed home with open arms and celebrations. However, those injured often miss those homecomings. When they come home it’s moving from one hospital to another, away from the men and women they served with. Realizing that, members of the FDNY decided that they needed a parade. And what a parade! For nearly an hour the caravan traveled the roads from State Island to Rockaway Point, passing firemen, New York police officers and spectators lining the roadway to salute and cheer them.

Arriving in Rockaway, they were greeted by thousands of people who gathered to welcome them, not just to the town, but to their homes. It’s become a tradition for families there to take in the soldiers, and their spouses and children, for the weekend. And that was the best part of the entire event. Sure, the activities were great, and there was a lot of fun and learning. But what I’ll always remember were the friendships I saw, the bonds that formed between the soldiers and those families. And that’s the kind of welcome home that benefits everyone.

Of perhaps more interest, if you’ve been wanting a new camera, lens and cards, you may want to participate in their new “Social Media kickoff,” an attempt to get more people to follow them on Facebook and Twitter. Grand prize for participating is a DSLR kit consisting of a Nikon D300S and lens or Canon 7D and lens, with Lexar cards, of course. The details are:

-Twitter: Want to win a Nikon D300s SLR or Canon EOS 7D? Enter the @LexarMedia “Take the Next Shot” sweepstakes today! http://ow.ly/25Iiz

-Facebook: Lexar Media’s “Take the Next Shot” sweepstakes starts today! For a chance win a Nikon D300s SLR or Canon EOS 7D, check out Lexar’s Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/LexarMedia

Good luck!

Too often, HDR images turn into these overprocessed, unreal images. Too much contrast, saturation and sharpening. I’m not saying that this style is always wrong – there’s been some beautiful, unique work using these techniques. But what I’m seeing much less of is the use of HDR to take a beautiful scene and make it even better. To create an image that no one would identify as HDR, but is more powerful than any single exposure could be. That’s what I find to be the promise and future of HDR. The last couple of months I’ve been working more with HDR PhotoStudio, and after learning how to use it properly have really been enjoying the results.

As photo technology progresses, I think we’re going to see improvements in this type of software, as well as improvements inside the cameras themselves. Nikon’s giving us Active D-Lighting, Sony has their DRO Optimizer and Fuji is designing sensors with both large and small pixels designed to extend dynamic range. However we get there, an extended dynamic range is one of the Holy Grails of photography. I can’t wait!

Two things kill good video: too much movement (shakiness of the camera) and poor audio. To help counter shake, when shooting hand-held, you need to be able to press the camera to your face. That means adding some sort of attachment that gives you a viewfinder to the LCD. There are several devices on the market that do that, but I liked the look of a new one that Hoodman is starting to market, the Cinema Kit Pro. It combines their HoodLoupe with a magnifying eyecup (HoodMAG), and most importantly, the new Hood Crane. The Hood Crane mounts to the camera’s hot shoe and allows you to adjust the loupe to fit almost any DSLR’s LCD screen. This means I can use it on any of the four DSLRs I’ve got that shoot video, without additional brackets or clamps. Plus, it’s easy flip out of the way when I need to shoot stills. No need to remove the whole rig from the camera (see photos).

There’s another big benefit to using a tool like this, and that’s a better view of what’s going on. The loupe and eyecup give you a clear view of the LCD without daylight interfering. Plus, the magnified diopter means you can get a nice crisp view of the LCD, to aid not just with composition, but focus.

I took it with me on a recent trip to Bellingham, WA to continue work on the Disabled Sports USA’s Wounded Warriors Project. There was a team participating in the Ski to Sea multi-sport race, and while I mainly needed stills, I wanted to shoot some video too. When I first looked at the Hoodman rig on the web, I was worried that it wouldn’t be sturdy enough, but that wasn’t a problem. It feels solid, and over one long day of shooting was a pleasure to work with. I was switching back and forth between my D3S and D300S, and it was a simple matter to adjust the loupe to each camera’s LCD after each switch. Whether kneeling in the snow, hanging out a car window or perched on the edge of a river, the Cinema Kit Pro made it easy to see the LCD and helped me make better video. Plus, it has a cold shoe on top for mounting other gear. And that’s my next project – better audio. I’ve just added a Sennheiser MKE400 shotgun mike to my kit, to put up there. So that’s one of the things I’ll be working on in the next few weeks. Stay tuned!

I had a few opportunities to use it on this trip, and was mostly pleased with the results. As with any use of fill flash, how much power you feel is appropriate is based on the look you want to get. My goal was mainly to fill in deep shadows and add a catchlight to eyes, so I tended to power it down, from -1 to -2 stops (adjusting the power level of the flash). Mike Kan, one of the members of our group (in photo) likes his shots with more power. As I said, it’s a subjective thing, which is true of much of photography.

It’s not the sort of tool I’ll always carry or use, but it will come in handy. Next time I go to the zoo, or out to shoot birds, or when I lead trips to Africa and back to the Galapagos next year, it will go with me. I’m always hapy to carry something small and light that can help me make better pictures.

I’ve got an Epson P-3000, which is one of the better digital wallet devices out there. With a nice bright screen I can download cards to its internal hard drive and check them onscreen. However, it’s only 30GB, a bit small for a trip like this, and I also wanted to start marking, sorting, adding metadata and copying images. For that I really needed a computer.

From Quito we’d be taking another flight out to the Galapagos islands on AeroGal, and while they fly fairly large jets, they only allow one checked bag of up to 20 kilos (44 pounds) and one carry-on of up to 10 kilos (22 pounds). That meant I had to plan carefully while packing, and wanted to take the smallest, lightest laptop I could. I’ve wondered about using a netbook for this sort of thing, but for a test I took an old Dell 300M from 2003. Pulling the 30GB drive it had, I replaced that with a 120GB one I had on the shelf. It has 312MB RAM, which is very low, but ran fine with an installation of Windows XP. Plus the only software I really had to run on it was Photo Mechanic, which would handle all the tasks I needed. For good measure I also installed an old version of Photoshop Elements and the free Outlook Express. Without the battery it weighed-in at about 2.5 lbs, and I made a soft sleeve for it out of foam rubber and put it in my checked baggage with its power adapter.

So how did it work? Just fine. It allowed me to download, mark, add info and all the usual stuff I need to do. And I backed everything up to a 64GB SanDisk Ultrabackup USB stick, which is currently my favorite way to back-up on the road. Hard to beat that size! However, having a laptop and not being able to do much else was a little frustrating. That means I’m now in the hunt for an ultraportable laptop, perhaps a netbook. While I wouldn’t want to use one of those for the majority of my computing work, a small 2.5 lb. unit with great battery life would actually let me get some real work done. So that will be my next move, getting one of those. With it in my checked luggage and the iPad in my carry-on, I’ll have the best of both worlds. And that’s a good thing!