(fig 1) Starbucks Command Post - Ruidoso, NM

All of you probably already know I'm not afraid to try to things. That's not saying I try new things just to try them. I'm not that kind of early adopter. But, I will try new tools that might fill a need I have. I just got an Apple IPad and really have only begun to explore it's uses.

What I'm going to talk about today is using the iPad as a substitute for a fully functional laptop when you have to travel light. What I mean by traveling light I mean like this. When I'm riding my bike.

(fig 2) Roadside - Canyonlands National Park, UT

What you see here when I'm ride my bike is my whole life. On that bike or on my person is everything I brought. Not only do I have my camping gear, clothes, and camera stuff (D3 and assorted lenses), I also have my computer gear. It's not much room, is it?

Not long ago I used to use a 17 inch laptop which I carried in a backpack. As you could surmise riding 14 hours a day with a heavy backpack is really tiring. Next, I transitioned to a 13 inch laptop. That's the smallest of Apple's computers I'd consider running a full photography suite. Of course, I don't need all that capability all the time.

Then the iPad caught my attention. It'd been introduced a year earlier yet I hadn't gotten one mostly because I didn't find a use for it. I couldn't imagine how I'd use what some essentially call a gigantic iPod Touch. Well, I waited until the next generation. I'm glad I did.

You see the processor is twice as fast and with the 3G/GPS chip and WIFI I can work my website almost anywhere.

Now, that's an interesting points. How am I working on my website when my website is normally modified using iWeb on my Mac Pro. Well, I'm moving my website to a web based solution that allows me to make modifications to my website through a web browser. I cut the umbilical with iWeb as a result and the need to use a full Mac to run that application.

How does this work? How do I get my images from my camera to my website? Let's use the title image at the top. It was taken just 30 minutes ago using my Canon G12 point & shoot camera.

After the shot, I took the little SD card and imported it's images to the iPad using a camera connection kit. That's just a little doggle that allows your SD card be read by your iPad.

Now that my image is in my iPad, I edit it using the iPads photo app which is very bare-bones. It doesn't have many features but it works. After figuring out which image I wanted, I created a new blog on my new website (this blog). Then, I used a sync app (Photosync) to load these images into that blog.

Finally, now that the images are in the blog, it's just a matter of typing in the words which is what I'm doing right now using my iPad.

This workflow is still being developed. I might like doing this down the road if better stuff becomes available. But, for now, I can carry a relatively small camera, my iPad and keep my fans like you up to date on what I'm doing. I think that's really really neat.

Cheers

Tom

Motorcycle