Travel Archives - Terry White's Tech Blog

February 23, 2024February 23, 2024

I’m now officially a cord cutter, too

People have been cutting the cord from their cable TV provider for years. With the explosion of smart TVs and streaming services, it’s pretty easy to get by with just internet service and stream the content you want on your TV. I’m late to the game, but earlier this year, I finally decided that I no longer needed and barely watched Cable TV anymore.

There are multiple ways to cut the cord

Some people opt for a digital antenna to pull in their local channels. Others forgo having local channels, and people like me who still want to have local channels but don’t need them from their cable providers go with a different streaming service that offers local channels.

YouTube TV was the one I chose

I figured YouTube has been in the video streaming business for decades, and if anyone could get streaming TV right, it would be them. They didn’t disappoint. I signed up for the trial, which lasts 21 days. I initially planned to go through the whole trial before dropping my Xfinity TV. I ended up canceling Xfinity TV the next day. I saw no reason that I would need to go through the whole trial period.

Calling to cancel your existing service can be a lot of pressure

July 6, 2021July 5, 2021

Searching for the perfect 3-in-1 Wireless Travel Charger

I have three devices that I charge every night. My iPhone 12 Pro Max, my AirPods Pro and my Apple Watch. Each one of these devices can charge wirelessly. At night I simply want to set all three devices on a single charger and wake up fully charged. This is easy at home. As a matter of fact I have two favorites:

Logitech Powered 3-in-1 Wireless Charger

The best all around 3-in-1 Wireless Charger is the Logitech Powered 3-in-1 Dock and the Belkin Magsafe 3-in-1 Charger (for iPhones with Magsafe).

I would have no problem recommending either of these two chargers because they work. However, both are designed to be stationary on a nightstand or a desk. They are NOT designed for travel and frankly they are just too big and bulky for travel.

What makes a perfect 3-in-1 Wireless Travel Charger?

January 18, 2021February 13, 2021

Join me at the Kelbyone Travel Photography Conference

I’m really hoping that we can get back to some form of travel this year. I really miss traveling and shooting. With that in mind, there’s a great way to start off 2021 by learning some new skills from the best instructors at the Kelbyone Travel Photography Conference. This two-day online conference is a must for anyone interested in boosting their travel photography skills. I hope to see you there. You can register here.

Also be sure to check out my Travel Gear Guide for this Conference here.

November 11, 2019November 11, 2019

I’m back from Adobe MAX 2019

Terry White presenting on the Adobe MAX keynote stage to 15,000 attendees.

For the past few months, I’ve been commuting back and forth to San Francisco. Rehearsing for the Adobe MAX keynote is a big deal and taken very seriously. Although my part was a mere 7-8 minutes long, every second of it is rehearsed and refined for months until it became muscle memory.

It’s an honor to be a part of the keynote and I couldn’t be happier being asked back this year. If you missed my demo you can see it here:

January 11, 2019January 11, 2019

Use your AirPods with ANY Device – AirFly Review

I love my Apple AirPods on a level you can’t imagine. They are not perfect, but they are absolutely the best wireless earbud solution I have ever tried. While I love my AirPods there are times when I wish I could use them with a device that doesn’t have bluetooth. For example, the in-flight system on planes requires a wired connection. The same goes for gym equipment if you want to watch any of the TV’s that are broadcasting.

AirFly to the rescue

The good folks over at Twelve South have created a great solution. It’s called AirFly. I picked one up in the airport right before a flight. I was happy that it came pre-charged. The cashier even helped to get it paired with my AirPods while I was paying for them.

October 24, 2017October 24, 2017

The Find My iPhone App Saved Me Twice in One Week

BlackPods AirPods — You can get your AirPods painted black at blackpods.store

I’m usually very good at keeping up with my gear. To date I’ve never lost a phone, iPod, camera or other portable electronic piece of gear. However, last week I had a couple of close calls and both were quickly solved with the free Find my iPhone app by Apple. Don’t let the name fool you. “Find my iPhone” isn’t just limited to finding lost/stolen iPhones. It can find just about any piece of Apple gear that’s equipped with WiFi, Bluetooth or Cellular.

I almost lost an AirPod

I remember when I got my AirPods at the beginning of the year, the number one question/concern people asked me was “aren’t you afraid of losing them?” I wasn’t afraid of losing them at all. They fit snuggly enough in my ears not to fall out on their own and whenever I’m not using them I return them to the charging case. However, I almost lost one last week in a weird way:

Continue reading “The Find My iPhone App Saved Me Twice in One Week”

August 14, 2017August 16, 2017

I Absolutely Knew Better!

data loss

I have been telling photographers for years to always have at least three copies of your images/videos. This also applies to traveling photographers. I have also said for many years that “there are two types of computer users: those who have lost data and those who will.” With this in mind you would probably think that I’d be one of the last people to lose some of my precious images/video, but that’s exactly what happened. I didn’t follow my own advice and it’s no one’s fault but my own. I can’t blame the hardware. I can’t blame anyone else. It was all me. I knew better!

I’m telling you my sad story so that hopefully it won’t happen to you.

Continue reading “I Absolutely Knew Better!”

July 30, 2017

Iceland 2017 – The gritty details!

Iceland 2017 Load out

Hey everyone! I’m back from Iceland and as usual I learned a lot and had a blast. With that said there are a lot of questions that come up when ever I do a photographic excursion and this trip was no different. The questions started even before I left about the equipment I was taking and in some cases why I wasn’t taking more? As promised here is the list of gear I took based on the load out pic above.

Targus laptop rolling backpack. I initially bought this for Photoshop World so that I would have to carry my heavy backpack back and forth. For the Iceland trip it served as a secondary equipment bag.
Thinktank Streetwalker Backpack. I love this camera bag because it not only holds my camera gear, but also my iPad Pro and MacBook Pro.
Klear micro fiber cleaning cloths.
WD My Passport Wireless 2TB HD. This drive is a lifesaver as it allows you to backup your SD cards without having to use a computer. It has a lithium ION rechargeable battery and you can just plug your SD cards in and they automatically copy to the drive.
Klear wet pack screen cleaning pads.
SkyRoam contract free WiFi Hotspot
Platypod Max camera tripod without being a tripod.
Rode SmartLav+ microphone for doing live streaming and interviews.
Arkon Smartphone Tripod for capturing 360° and iPhone videos in general
Gitzo Traveler Carbon Fiber Tripod
Nikon cable release for capturing long exposures without having to touch the camera.
DxO ONE 24MP DSLR quality camera for iPhone.
Mevo Live Streaming 4K Camera.
Insta360 nano 360° still, video camera and live streaming camera.
Ricoh Theta S 360° still and video camera.
FlatHat Drone collapsable landing pad.
Nikon 14-24mm Wide Angle Lens
Nikon D810 DSLR 36MP full frame camera
Nikon 28-300mm Zoom lens
DJI Mavic Pro 4K Drone
Anker Solar 15W USB charger.
Monster 4 port AC travel power strip
OREI 2 in 1 USA to Europe Adapter Plug
Anker backup batteries for charing USB devices.
Vovomay Hardshell Shoulder Waterproof Suitcase Bag For DJI Mavic Pro
iPad Pro 12.9″ 256GB WiFi-4G Gold
Apple Pencil for iPad Pro and case.
MacBook Pro 15″ Retina 2014 with custom Gelaskin.
PlugBug USB port for Apple wall charger.
iPod touch 32GB
Apple AirPods, but my Blackpods arrived the day I left.
Coast Head Light dual color.
Anker PowerLine+ Lightning cables.
Camera Rain Protection.
di-GPS for my Nikon DSLR

See the whole story below…

Continue reading “Iceland 2017 – The gritty details!”

July 5, 2017July 4, 2017

5 Ways to Keep Your Mobile Devices Charged When You Travel

As I head out this week on another Iceland adventure I started to layout the gear that I plan on taking. I’m excited to document this trip with my new DJI Mavic Pro drone, but as usual I will have my iPhone 7 Plus, iPad Pro and 360° cameras. All of these devices need to be charged. For the Mavic it’s not much of an issue as I have multiple batteries, but for the smaller devices with built-in batteries I need to be able to charge them when I’m not near an outlet. That’s why I’ve standardized on Anker batteries (and cables). I put this short video together highlighting my three favorite batteries:

5 Ways to Keep Your Mobile Devices Charged When You Travel

I use the Anker PowerCore 20100 as the battery that’s always in my bag. This ultra high capacity battery can charge my smartphone and tablet multiple times before needing to be recharged. I can usually get a few days of use out of it before needing to recharge the battery itself. So if I forget to charge it at night it’s not the end of the world. Next up…

Continue reading “5 Ways to Keep Your Mobile Devices Charged When You Travel”

September 5, 2016September 5, 2016

My Iceland Photographic Adventure

Terry White in Iceland

I just spent a week in Iceland on a photographic adventure

Many of you know that I started my Adobe 20th Anniversary sabbatical on August 1st and if you would have asked me on August 1st did I have any big trips planned I would have said no. This was going to be more of a staycation. However, I got the chance to go to Iceland at the last minute. It was AMAZING! There’s just no way that I can do this story justice by posting the images and text here, so I decided to the next best thing and that is to tell my story with Adobe Spark Page which you can view below (just click and start scrolling):

I would say that this was a once in a lifetime trip, but I won’t because I have a feeling that I’ll go back and shoot some more. Iceland is amazing. If you get the chance to go there, take it! Special shoutout to Scott Kelby, Einar Eriendsson and Ragnar Og Ásdís for making this the perfect trip. I hope to do a workshop soon in Iceland with Einar.

About the gear I took to Iceland

Iceland-2016-0002-gear

This was a photographic trip, so the gear was important. I didn’t really call it out in the Spark Page above, so I’ll do so here as an added bonus to my blog readers:

I did a LOT on the go with Adobe Mobile Apps, you should definitely check out this new book to see what’s possible: