Watch my back (ups)....

Small Business: 500 GB 7200 RPM USB 2.0 External Hard Drive - My Book Essential Edition


Back up storage is super important when you are a wedding photographer. You need have backups of your backups, and then you should back up again, just to be sure!

I now have a few of these Western Digital MyBook drives - depending on which model you buy, they have firewire and/or USB. So far, mine have worked great - no glitches (which means, no heart attacks!).

And with Valentine's Day coming up, the last thing anyone needs is any missing-file-heartache....

Laura

Teeny tiny cool photography....

OK - this isn't gear, or some cool new gadget - but when you find something this good.... You just have to share:
http://www.minimiam.com/en/goen.html

I love to see what new and exciting things people are doing with photography, so if you have a great project, or know of someone who does - send the link and I'll post it here....

Creative inspiration can come from anywhere!

Laura

"Sue Sue, do I turn left here?"

I hate bad advertising. Those migraine inducing "Head On" ads are the worst. So even though I do get headaches, I will never buy Head-On simply cause I can't stand the commercials.

Next on the list is the "Tom Tom" ads - "Sue Sue, should I turn here?" asks the lost driver as the bewildered "Sue" wonders if her friend forgot to take her meds again... Bad advertising...

But as I stood in front of the many choice for a navigation system, Tom Tom (as annoying as a name can get) kept coming out on top. It works with any Bluetooth enabled phone, its portable (i.e. you can use it to navigate a walking trip in NYC), and you can choose from several non-irritating voice to tell you where to go (my little british woman politely tells me that I'm an idiot and should make a "legal U-turn" every 5-10 seconds). Something like this is an ESSENTIAL when you are shooting weddings every weekend! :)

So bad advertising be damned, but just in this one tiny, little instance....

Laura

Good jeans...

Ok, so this isn't exactly photo-related... But since every woman I know is on a never-ending pursuit for the perfect pair of jeans, I just have to share:

www.zafu.com

This site targets all the major issues when it comes to women's jeans - everything from bum-lift to waist gap (its a girl thing).

So this could be photography related - you find great jeans, you therefore feel better, when you feel better, you are more comfortable! And when you are comfortable you will take better pictures!

Its all in the jeans... :)

Nifty Cool CF Card Holder Thingie

Nifty Cool CF Card Holder Thingie
Originally uploaded by lauraeatonphoto.

Ok, I would love to say that I'm totally connected and I get advance notice on upcoming products....but I can't. I'm eagerly awaiting news on new releases from Canon, just like every other photographer who doesn't happen to be BFF with a Canon dealer (who I happen to know don't always get accurate "leaked" info!).

Nope, I'm just a gadget-obessed chick, who has been desperately seeking a good CF card holder. When I saw this Transporter Strap from Lowepro, at first I was vaguely interested - but then I saw it - a REMOVABLE-ON-STRAP-EASILY-ACCESSIBLE-CF-CARD-HOLDER-THINGIE!!!

Must have this!

Every other card holder that I've found involves cumbersome zippers, or velcro that takes both extreme finger strength, and a non-quiet-as-a-church-mouse moment to open. This neat little dealy attaches directly to your strap and has two LITTLE (yet secure) dots of velcro that hold your precious CF cards in their nifty neoprene pouches. Super easy access! And only a short "what was that" sound that no one would ever notice even in the most solemn of moments.

So the problem - not yet available (you can only get one with the purchase of the Transporter strap)! But the nice man from Lowepro actually emailed me back and assured me they would be available in about a month or two - and would be priced around $7.99 each (plus S&H).

Mmmmm, card changing bliss is only two months away!
(Yes, I need to get out more...)

Here is a link to the product if you just can't wait - or if you need a new strap anyway!

Digital Goodness...

digiframe
Originally uploaded by lauraeatonphoto.

Every year I struggle with what to get Mom & Dad for Christmas. Mom will pretty much love anything I give her, which means that she loves me enough to not tell me if her gift is crappy. And Dad, well, Dad just wants Mom to get something nice....

So this year, I got smart and got something that every parent/grandparent will love - a digital photo frame.

Mom pulled it off the wrapping paper, and immediately looked a bit puzzled (my hubby and I gave her an old laptop a few years ago, we are still trying to convince her that she can't break it by typing something wrong!) - but when i explained that all she had to do was pop in the card from her digital camera - she was thrilled! And it was the legitimately thrilled look - not the "Oh what a nice piece of handmade pottery with a crack in it, but I love that you tried!" look.

Pictures of the grandkids happily scrolled, wiped and faded in and out all Christmas day.....

Merry Christmas to all - and a Happy New Year!
Laura

ps - Mom, if you happen to get the laptop working and you are reading this - first of all - YAY!!! Second, you know I'm only kidding - you can work that digital camera pretty good now! :)

Rule #1 - Take your camera with you everywhere

Rule #1 - Take your camera with you everywhere
Originally uploaded by lauraeatonphoto.

Well, I am finally starting to take my bag's advice!
With the additional of our new lil' point-n-shoot, and the numerous other cameras I own - I'm finally going to use this bag for what it was intended!

This "Rule #1" bag is from a company called Lomography - now, if you can get past the slightly "hipster/cooler-than-thou" vibe of the site, there is a ton of great stuff in their online store.

Be sure to check out all the specialty cameras (they use this thing called F-I-L-M, might be kinda hard to find, so you better buy some from the site at the same time), and there are a ton of great gift ideas for your fav photog friend (on that note, I'm quite fond of the green slingshot bag!)

:)
Laura

Cheap Sandisk card

sandisk 4gb
Originally uploaded by lauraeatonphoto.

Laura and I love Sandisk cards. They invented the Compact flash card so who else would you trust for the best cards? We use the extreme II and III's for our professional work but for filling up that point and shoot you carry in your pocket this is a great deal for under $66 4gb Sandisk CF card4gb Sandisk CF card

~Paul

If you have a cute name....

prod-photo-PPR
Originally uploaded by lauraeatonphoto.

....its pretty much a guarentee I will end up giving you a little money. The Pixel Pocket Rocket (go on, say it three times fast - you know you want to) isn't just a gimicky little piece of fabric and plastic....

It holds and protects up to 10 CF cards - which is apparantly better than chucking them into the bottom of your camera bag (No! You never do that, do you???).

Its not perfect, it lacks a good attachment piece (it has a pretty flimsy clip/cord thing, I would really prefer a velcro wrap to go around my belt or bag strap), and the sound of the velcro closure could stop a ceremony dead in its tracks, but with a little pre-planning, this cutely name case is really useful, and worth the meager $15 bucks ThinkTankPhoto charges.