What's In My Messenger Bag

Not long ago I posted what's in my camera bag. I thought I would follow up on what I carry in my other bag-- especially when I travel. Here's what I typically have in my messenger bag.



Going from the top, left to right:

1. Canon 5D Mark III
2. Apple adapters
3. Samsung Galaxy Nexus phone
4. Kindle Fire (version 1)
5. Kindle Paperwhite
6. Business cards
7. Lens cleaner pen
8. Pens
9. Apple AC charger/adapter
10. Micro USB charger
11. Headphones
12. 15" Macbook Pro (mid-2010)
13. ONA "The Union Street Camera and Laptop Bag" - Ranger Tan

You're probably wondering why I have so many mobile devices/readers. The Galaxy Nexus is my phone of course. I always have this with me.

The Kindle Fire I have I use mostly for playing a game or reading my Twitter feed. It also runs a custom ROM, Jandycane. I blogged on how you can root the Kindle Fire and put a custom Android ROM on there. a while back.

The Kindle Paperwhite I use for actually reading ebooks. It's actually really nice and clear-- very easy on the eyes for reading anywhere. I while back I tweeted about winning the device at a Amazon Cloud Services meetup in Los Angeles.

Besides all the gadgets, I highly recommend the messenger bag from Ono. They're well made, stylish, and just holds everything you see here.

Laptop Warranties are Worth It

I've owned three laptops over the last nearly twelve years. Each of them, I've gotten some kind of warranty with. And I'm glad I did. If you don't want to read this blog post, here is the shortened version:

Get a 2-3 year warranty for your laptop.

In 2001, I got my first laptop-- a Dell Latitude C600 (15" screen). Over my years using this as my main PC, the screen, hard drive, and battery all broke at some point. With a warranty, Dell was able to replace the parts as needed. I retired this laptop around 2005.

In 2006, I got a Lenovo Thinkpad T60 (15"). This was a solid machine, or I should say is-- since I still use it today as a secondary laptop running Ubuntu Linux. The only thing that ever went wrong with this was the battery, which all models were replaced with or without warranty.

In 2010, I got my first Mac, the Macbook Pro (15", mid-2010). Almost two years ago, in 2011, when I upgraded OS X Snow Leopard to Lion, the hard drive failed. I brought it into the Apple store and they replaced it. Recently, I went into the Apple store to look at Macbook Airs. Speaking with one of their reps about how my current MBP's battery charge just doesn't hold anymore, the rep told me if my MBP was still within the 3-year AppleCare warranty, that I should bring it in and have it looked at. I checked, at my AppleCare doesn't expire until April 30, 2013-- just five days! So I brought it in, they checked it-- and normally a battery is rated for 1000 cycles. I was at around 326. So I was covered. I got my battery replaced for free. I probably saved around $129. They put in a brand new battery too, so it's like my MBP got a new lease on life! It can probably last me another 2-3 years!

From these past experiences, there are a few things that generally can go wrong with laptops:

1. Hard drives
2. LCD screens
3. Batteries

I tend to use my equipment a lot. I bring them with me on road trips, to offices, around the world and back. They go through a lot of wear and tear. I'm careful with my stuff, I don't just drop it or pour food/water on it. It just gets a lot of use.

I highly recommend getting some kind of warranty in the range of 2-3 years for laptops. That's about the age of how long you should keep a laptop before looking into getting something new. If you really take care of you laptop, maybe you can squeeze 4-5 years out of it. My Lenovo Thinkpad is going on 7 years!

What makes it worth it is not having to go through the headache of spending time and money to order parts to replace what's broken, if it's even something you can fix yourself. Warranties probably run a few hundred dollars-- about the cost of parts and labor if something were to break. To me, that's worth it.

Here's a picture of both laptops, still in use today.

Be Considerate of Other Photographers

Last week I was in the Bahamas for a friend's wedding. The people, the scenery, and weather was beautiful up and through the wedding. The day after... not so much. We had a bit of a tropical storm, but it didn't last too long. Thank goodness the wedding day had clear skies.

Naturally, I brought my camera with me on the trip. I do have a post on what's in my camera bag, typically. I knew they had their own photographer(s) for the weekend, so I wanted to share with everyone how you can be considerate of photographers at events.

Get out of their way

If it's an event such as a wedding, stay out of their way. I mean this physically, don't be in front of their shot. Give the photographers priority to get their shots. They are professionals being paid to do their job. Likely you're just a guest to attend the event, it's not your place to get the absolute best shot at the expense of the bride and groom's photographers.

Minimize use of flash

The room isn't well lit. Maybe you think it's time for you to switch from auto flash to always use flash. Maybe you want to start taking photos willy-nilly-- as in all the time now that the big ceremony is over. WRONG. A constant use of flashes can actually be captured by other cameras in the area-- possibly ruining a good photo by some awkward light source. So be prudent as to how many shots with flashes you use. I'm not saying don't ever use flash. Prudence.

Do not just stand there

There may be a time for that group photo where on one side is the group, the subject, and on the other is everyone with a camera(s). So you're there on the side with everyone with a camera. After you take your shot and you're done, leave. By standing there reviewing your photo(s), you're eating up space that someone else could be in your spot to take a photo.

Take turns

Same situation as above with a group photo. It's so annoying to look at your finished group photo of eight people, where everyone but two people are looking directly at your camera. Instead, these few people are looking at someone else's. It's not the subjects' fault either, they don't know where to look! Everyone firing off shots all at once benefits no one. Take turns, call out which one the group should be looking at so they know. Then call out when everyone should be looking at yours when it's your turn.

Just one more story I'd like to share. I feel as though I'm being too preachy.

During a beach photoshoot, the photographer rounded everyone up. And I do mean everyone-- all 120+ wedding guests for a big group shot on the beach. When the different groups were taking turns, some of us wanted to also take pictures of the group. The lead photographer wouldn't have that. He basically shooed us away so he could get his shot.

At first I wasn't too pleased that I couldn't also get my shot. But I understood. I needed to get out of his way and let him do his job. I was able to sneak in some candid, behind the scene shots that turned out fine.

Okay, rant over. Sharing time. One photo only though, I like to keep this wedding album private out of respect of the bride/groom.

Here is a shot of the gazebo before the wedding. This is one of my favorite shots I took in the Bahamas.