Two Beers and a Pretzel

Well, I’m composing my official goodbye e-mail for Gap Inc Direct.

I’ve been working at their main distribution center in Groveport, Ohio for a little over 5 years now working on enhancements to their Warehouse Management System to increase productivity and allow them to ship an astounding number of orders out to customers. Direct to consumer retail fulfillment has been interesting, to say the least. It’s definitely been a great experience working for the largest online clothing retailer in the World (Note: Zara apparently took the title in August, but that was mostly related to currency rates - I assume with the USD going back up, GAP is back to #1).

If you get a chance, buy something at GAP.com, Old Navy.com, BananaRepublic.com, PiperLime.com, or Athleta.com so my former co-workers get big, fat bonuses and can afford to swing by and meet me somewhere on my trip!

Being an amateur photography buff, a lot of my co-workers and friends end up asking me questions about camera gear. I bought a Canon 20D back in 2005… not because I’m opposed to the Canon Digital Rebel, Nikon or any other brand, but simply because I liked the way the 20D felt and really liked the user controls, and wanted 8 megapixels.

I started with the 18-55mm kit lens (3x zoom) and quickly upgraded to the 17-85mm (5x) image stabilization lens, added the 100mm macro, 50mm, 10-22mm superwide, and 70-300mm tele-zoom with image stabilization. Of all the lenses, I think the 17-85 is the only one I currently want to upgrade, but for an around the world trip, I’ll stick with it.

I thought about upgrading the camera for this trip to either the 10 megapixel Canon 40D, or the new 15 megapixel Canon 50D. I decided against both. I don’t like the button layout of the 40D, but the anti-dust features would be nice. The 50D… well, I shoot RAW whenever possible, and I’d eat up a lot of memory on those large images. Considering the max full frame equivalent focal length of my rig is 480mm (300×1.6) I really don’t need the ability to crop.

My photography related goal for this trip is to get better at framing a shot through the viewfinder. A new camera is always fun, but I’d rather improve my technique and take better pictures than rely on the newest technology.

With that in mind, I did splurge a little bit and bought a used Canon 10D (6 MP) and sent it to LifePixel.com to have it converted to Infra-red. It’ll be specifically for landscapes, but I’ll try some artsy shots, and some astrophotography. I can’t wait to get this thing back in a week!!

The one thing I’ll be leaving behind will be my 15″ MacBook Pro. I really like the Aperture 2.0 application for categorizing and editing photos. Nothing against Adobe Lightroom, but I just preferred the layout of Aperture. Either way, I won’t have it with me on my trip, so I’ll rely on a cheapo Ultra Mobile PC loaded with PhotoShop Elements and some portable USB hard drives. I think I’ll miss the multitouch trackpad the most.

Oh yeah… to keep it all safe, I got the LowePro Flipside 400 AW (all weather). It has a very comfortable waist belt and waterproof cover. You spin the pack around your waist to your chest, then it lays like a table attached to your belly. You open up the side that was formerly against your back, so it’s very secure (at least from pickpockets). it also looks more like a backpack or large daypack than a camera back, so you hopefully don’t look like a typical tourist carrying expensive camera gear.

I just ordered the “Free Pack” deal from Telestial.

It’s a Motorolla v600i with their “Passport Plus SIM card”, and includes about 300 minutes of airtime.

When I get the number, anyone will be able to send me a free text message, and I get in-country call rates pretty close to a local SIM card. The best part is that I have one consistent phone number for people in the states to get ahold of me when necessary. And, it’s a log cheaper than my $50/month + $2/minute from AT&T. It’s a pay-as-you-go global phone.

I looked into Iridium Satellite phones, but $1,000 for the phone + $35/month + $1.50/minute seemed a little steep.

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I also ordered a “Find Me SPOT” from my REI Store link for $149.00.

This should be pretty cool, as it will GEO-Tag my travels and automatically update a Google Map that I’ll put on my website. It also has some decent emergency response functionality of I get into trouble. Not quite as foolproof as a real emergency beacon, but a decent backup plan for casual travel.

It takes a minute to get there, but it’s worth it…

A few people have asked where I got the sun picture for the banner photo… I took it on July 11, 2007 from Moro Rock in Sequoia National Park.

Here’s a similar image I shot with a lot more in the foreground…