9/23/14 The Morning Coffee: Travel Plans

Obligatory Butters shot—in the same place as the last shot, but through the window from outside.

Good morning to you—

Later this week I'll be traveling: starting with a destination of Corning, New York, moving on to Providence, Rhode Island, then a stop in Cambridge (near Boston), Massachussetts, then on to South Strafford, Vermont. Back to Corning, and then home.

As of this moment I haven't worked out how I'll be posting from the road, but I might actually be using my iPad. I have to work out the system today and start practicing while I'm still at home.

I really should just get a laptop, but I can't afford it right now. Anyway, if you notice shorter posts next week, now you know the reason why! The discipline could be good for me, actually. I've been writing too long lately.

I hardly ever travel, so this will be an interesting experiment.

The entire frame

Have a good Tuesday—

Mike

"Morning Coffee" is a daily bit of blog news, auto-published weekdays at 3:30 a.m. Central Time to be in time for morning coffee breaks in the UK and Europe.

ADDENDUM: Outtake with Lulu, who hasn't made an appearance on TOP in a while....

BTW neither of these pictures are real pictures, because they won't last for me. I already know it.

Original contents copyright 2014 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

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(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
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Comments

[Michael Korak]

Mike, that sounds suspiciously like a "Fall Color Trip". If so, you are headed to THE BEST FALL COLOR in the USA. I lived in Pittsburgh, PA in the 1970's and made several color trips to the northeast, through Upstate New York, into NH and VT, and on into the lower part of ME. Nothing in the US compares to the rich, vibrant, variety of palette.
Many hardwoods, softwoods, and evergreens to balance the overall scenes.

If is is not a color trip your are taking, safe journey all the same.

I hope I did not offend our friends in the Northwest, Appalachians, or Rockies with my "BEST" adjective…just my (and millions of others) opinion.

Michael

[Benjamin Marks]

Hey Mike! Nice time to visit Vermont. Let me know if a fellow could buy you lunch on your travels.

Ben Marks

[Tim]

I use a different brand tablet - but regardless I hope you have a keyboard for your ipad. It makes all the difference in the world when it comes to being productive on those type of devices!

[Ben]

Good luck with your trip. Will wave from across the river in Brookline.

My recommendation is to get, if you don't have one already, a bluetooth keyboard fpr writing on your ipad. It transforms the experience for me, really. I use the incase origami, which is a case for the apple bluetooth keyoabrd and a stand for the iPad, so when I need to use it I just set it up and I'm typing away. It's not quite a a laptop, but it works well.

[Joe Holmes]

Travel tip: I've had good success with the Eye-fi card, which automagically transfers photos from my DSLR onto my iPad as they're shot. It's a bit too slow to use as a tether for immediately and quickly reviewing photos in the field (takes maybe 5 seconds each for smaller jpegs to transfer, much longer for large RAW), but it's otherwise terrific, as long as your camera takes SD cards.

DSLR tip: if your camera can hold both Compact Flash and SD cards (like the Nikon D800 and D810), you can set the camera to capture the big, RAW files on the CF card and lower-res jpeg files on the Eye-fi SD card, so you can review your images on your iPad almost immediately as you shoot.

[John Krill]

Mike you can NEVER write too long.

[Pavel Gorelik]

Hi Mike,

I'd love to buy you a coffee as you swing by through Cambridge. There's a very nice roaster just one town over that's quite a treat. Shoot me an email if you think you'll have time.

-pavel

[paul richardson]

When will you be in Cambridge/Boston?

[Shaun]

Mike - If you don't have a keyboard for the iPad, the apple wireless keyboard works well for typing on the road. A worthwhile addition if you do a lot of writing with the iPad. Not as convenient as a laptop, but does the job.

[Dave]

The new house seems to be inspiring your photography. I hope that travel inspires you further. I have one concern though: how will you post pics without a computer?

[Rob]

That sounds like a great little trip mostly because above and east of Philadelphia is all uncharted waters for me.

Assuming you have a camera connector for the iPad I'm sure you can get by fine.

Have safe travels!

[Bob Dales]

Mike,check with Carl Weese for advice, he's the grand master of posting while traveling.
Have a good trip.

bd

[Lars Jansen]

Ah, TOP on tour! That'll be a lot of meetups, I assume.

For posting on the road I would suggest picking up one of those bluetooth keyboards for the iPad. Makes for a compact and practical combo. Especially the ones that include a stand for the iPad.

Lars

[Mark Jordan]

I have had a iPad for three years, and it has almost fully replaced my laptop. (I only bring my laptop for downloading photos, when I know I will have thousands to download.) To make typing more efficient, I purchased a Bluetooth keyboard, which is conveniently part of a case into which the iPad snaps. The package is a bit larger than the iPad but surprisingly compact, and I have typed articles on it, which I would never have done using the iPad screen. My case/keyboard is a New Trent, but there are others. Check Amazon.

[John Gillooly]

MIKE, are the travels photography or TOP-related? Let me know if you are doing any type of TOP coffee in Cambridge??

John

[Michel]

Mike, I imagine this is a trip with a purpose, but if you have some free time in Providence I would love to buy you lunch or a coffee..

[Simon Hughes]

Mike, try 'Blogsy' for the iPad, it's a great app for blogging on the road. In fact, even when I'm home, I use it exclusively for posting to my blogs.

[Kenneth Tanaka]

Good for you, Mike. Changes in chapters are often good times to stretch your legs, air-out, and look for new visions. A little New England fall color and chill won't be bad for the spirits, either.

Bon Voyage!

[Eli Burakian]

Mike,

I know it's not the couch in the new TOP headquarters, but if you happen to come by Hanover when you're in VT, I'd love to meet. I've been an avid reader for years. We've emailed a bit. I'm the Dartmouth College photographer.

Also, FYI depending on your timing, Emmet Gowin is coming to Hanover Oct 5-11 and is giving a talk on the 7th. (Since starting here I've met James Nachtwey, Steve McCurry and Joel Sternfeld. Meeting these folks has been one of my favorite parts of the job!)

Safe Travels!

Eli

[Ed Shields]

Whatever you do or however you do it, or even if you don't , have a good trip.

[KeithB]

If you get to Portsmouth NH, try to check out the Strawberry Banke. It is a neighborhood that has been occupied since colonial times. Houses from each era have been restored with parts cut away so that you can compare construction.

https://www.strawberybanke.org/

[Eric]

Do you have an external keyboard?

I have the Logitech K810:

http://www.amazon.com/Logitech-Bluetooth-Illuminated-Keyboard-Smartphones/dp/B0099SMFVQ/?tag=theonlinephot-20

The K811 is similar but mainly for Mac. My understanding is the K810 will work with iPads.

I use it with my Android tablet.

It's almost a full-sized keyboard, and it recharges via USB. Only keyboard I could find that met both of those requirements. I didn't want to be stuck someplace and need to find AAA batteries. I didn't want a small keyboard that I'd struggle with.

If you're looking for small and easy, this isn't it. I can see advantages in ease of carrying with the cases with built-in keyboards, but their keys are too small to type comfortably for me.

[Bron]

Might I reccomend "Blogsy" for the iPad. Straight forward and easy to use mobile blog software.

[Jack]

When you are in Vermont, be aware you are in fantastic fall photo country. The TOP June print sale of Mirror Lake was taken within 64 miles of where you will be.
http://www.afar.com/highlights/beside-still-waters-in-mirror-lake?context=wanderlist&context_id=31927

To entice you further, here are some other shots I took within 90 minutes of your Vermont location several autumns ago.

http://www.macdonough.net/Landscapes/New-Hampshire-Vermont-2011/n-pDZGp/

I know you are doing business on the trip, but schedule a bit of time for seeing and photography.

[raul]

Enjoy the trip, Mike. The fall weather is great out here (Toronto). In my last trip to Switzerland I just took my Android tablet (LG G Pad), and had all the tools on it to process photographs from my Nikon RAW format, and post on the web ( http://www.flickr.com/photos/adina-ana/sets/ ).

I will never need a laptop on a trip again.

Cheers,
Raul

[Robert Prendergast]

I'm using my mini ipad
And the topys are maialtplying

[Steve G, Mendocino]

Mike:

I've had good luck posting to my travel blog at www.mendosteve.tumblr.com with an iPad and a logitech keyboard/cover. The photos there are a mix of iPhone stuff with pics from larger sensor cameras. All the photos are run through Camera+ on the iPad.

[Ben]

Add me to the list of those who would try to make a Boston area meetup.

[Speed]

I hope you post on your efforts, successes and failures with computing on the road. It is a category of equipment that isn't covered well in the photographic press.

I just started using a Microsoft Surface Pro 3 which is the first portable computer I've owned that is sized right, powerful enough and with a screen good enough to do serious photo editing anywhere. In each category it is more than "enough." Much more.

And it is really thin. And light.

In any case, get a good keyboard. And a mouse.

[J Doty]

Good time to be traveling Mike. The color is just starting to show up here in Northern Vermont (outside of Burlington). Some of the trees are turning now while the rest are holding on to that tired late summer green. There are some spectacular pictures to be made.
Have a good trip. Send a heads up if you head through Burlington.
One last question - since the Miata is gone, what will you be traveling in? This is perfect roadster weather.

[James]

Mike, thanks for sharing the full frame photo. What I like about it is that it looks like street photography; butters captured in the middle of something, and a couple of layers of context. And I like your longer posts. Sorry to be contrary.

[darr]

It is nice to see Lulu. Have a safe and productive trip.

[Chris]

All the typing suggestions overlook the biggest benefit of the iPad--dictation. Let Siri do the work. She isn't perfect, but it's a whole new world when you can just talk your blog. Definitely frees your writing.

[Steve Mason]

Hi Mike,
Muy name is Steve Mason I am a commercial Photographer here in Providence RI. I sent you some images from a book project I'm working on concerning the last lace manufacturing plant in America. If you're coming through Providence I would love to buy you
A) A cup of coffee
B) A drink
C) Lunch
D) Breakfast
I would consider this my honor as it would be great to meet you. I'm 60, soon to be 61 so I have read you over the years from print to screen. If you are interested or want to see my work, go to;
masonimaging.net
[email protected]
thanks and have a great trip
s
thank

[jps]

I too really like the full frame image you posted!