I’ve been contemplating getting a GPS tracking device for use with my camera. I like the idea of being able to record specifically where each photograph was taken. So I’ve been looking at the Sony GPS device as shown in this here image. Trouble is, I’m trying to save some money and this would currently set me back £82.76 on Amazon.
The device basically creates a text file in which it records your location at certain intervals. Then, once you get back to your computer you use software to combine this file with your photos, and it will add details of your location to the EXIF data of each picture. Very simple really. So I wondered if there was something I could get which I could use on a device I own which already has GPS. My iPhone. And guess what? There is!
It’s called Trails and it works in exactly the same way as the Sony device, taking readings of your location at regular intervals and saving them to a text file. You then have the phone email that text file to an address of your choice or upload it directly to EveryTrail.com so that you can share your journey with others. It comes very highly reviewed on iTunes and only costs £1.19. So even if it turns out to be a bit of a dud, or if it eats the iPhone’s battery like I fully expect it to, it’s not going to be too big a blow. I may invest in a portable charger for the phone, which although is an extra expense, is certain to cost a lot less than forking out on the little white Sony box.
The only other bit to think about after that is how to get the information into the data of each photo. Well I’ve also found a plug-in today for Adobe Lightroom which I’m hoping will solve all my problems. It adds a simple menu option to select a bunch of photos and import the data. Obviously not sure how well this works yet as I don’t have any data, but I will be off out with my camera tomorrow after which I’ll report back on the successfulness of both Trails and the Lightroom add-in.
I was going to leave a Christmas posts yesterday, but in the end I simply couldn’t be bothered. I’m not going to go into the ins and outs of the day either, though I just wanted to make mention of the photo-related gifts I received. I shall list them below under their own little headings!
4Gb Sandisk Extreme III CompactFlash Card
For my trip to Scotland I wanted to make sure that I had enough memory for my days out walking and photographing. Not the biggest of cards, but the Extreme III works at break-neck speeds (not as fast as the Extreme IV but there has to be a balance between function and price). It’ll go very nicely with my others and I’ll now hopefully be able to go out all day shooting raw without having to worry about running out of space. I must just remember to take them off the card and put them onto the laptop once back at the hotel, or I won’t be able to do much the following day!
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 Classroom in a Book
I’ve become a great advocate of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2. I’ve never been overly familiar with Photoshop itself, although I have recently worked my way through a similar Adobe book on CS3 and I have to say it’s a lot easier to get to grips with than I ever imagined. Fortunately however, most of the functions necessary for me and my photography can now be performed in a much quicker and simpler way using Lightroom. I’ve been giving it a go for a while, and whilst I sort of know my way around it, I wanted to go through the same process I did with Photoshop and let Adobe tell me the key things to look out for. Hopefully let me start developing my own presets too, although I’ve not yet had chance to look through it to see what chapters are actually included. I’ll let you folks know once I’ve been through it.
Joby Gorillapod – SLR Zoom
This is something I was contemplating getting myself, though at the last minute decided to take off my Amazon Wishlist. So it was a very big coincidence that someone saw it and decided to get it me for Christmas. Very nice of them.
The Gorillapod, for those who don’t know, is a bendy tripod that you can hook around objects (posts, branches, fences etc) to enable you to get into some very awkward spots to take your pictures. It also enables you to get extremely close to the ground as the legs bend up on themselves allowing you to be able to practically stand the camera on the floor. And I have to say in my testing yesterday it seemed to work very well indeed. The legs are incredibly sturdy – the one I have has been built to hold an SLR with a big zoom lens attached. I can’t wait to get out there and start giving it a proper go in the wilds of Scotland!
I’ve just done something very naughty. I’ve just gone and bought myself a Blu-Ray player. I’d decided to wait until prices went right down to the sort of level you can pick DVD players up for. But if I do that I’ll be waiting years, and by that point I could have been buying Blu-Ray all this time instead of DVDs which I’ll then end up wanting to upgrade. So I’ve bitten the bullet and splashed out £160 on this Sony player right here.
To give it its full Amazon title, it’s a Sony BDPS350 Blu-ray Disc Player 1080p Full HD. So there you go! I placed the order a few minutes ago, and it will be arriving tomorrow before 1pm. Which means I need to get myself down to Blockbuster to rent out a couple of films to test on it!
Because I know you’re all dying to know what books I bought from the sale, here’s a list below. I picked these up for £1 each.
In no particular order:
- Liz Jensen – The Ninth Life of Louis Drax
- Sean Stewart – Firecracker
- David Benioff – When the Nines Roll Over
- Ruben Gallego – White on Black
- Mick Jackson – Five Boys
- Gordon Burn – Alma Cogan
- Colum McCann – Songdogs
As I’m fairly new to the world of reading, I’ve no idea whether these authors are any good or what their style is like. I just picked them up because I liked the look of them. If anyone out there has read any of these or anything else by these authors I’d be very glad to hear your comments.
P.S. I was going to add links to these books on Amazon.co.uk, but they appear to be having problems at the minute!!
Edit: Amazon is now working, so I’ve added links to each of the book’s product pages. And before anyone starts writing about the fact you can get these for a penny each on Amazon, I have to answer that no you can’t; you’ll be spending £2.25 on postage per book.
