Speed or comfort – MacBook Pro or PowerBook?

The debate on hardware never ends and I get the impression that some people are more interested in their equpment than actually going out photographing. I already see a lot of people using the new MacBooks and MacBook Pro’s, even when it can’t run Adobe aplications natively.

I was about to buy a new portable, and I started thinking: How important is it to get the latest machine? Theoretical speed is important, but most of the time we use just a little of the processor-power that is available. In Photoshop, I can see the difference when using a filter, but most photographers don’t use filters much. We don’t do rendering in Photoshop and it’s not very demanding on the graphics either.

So what do we need? In my opinion you need a lot of RAM, a good screen and a decent machine. A lot of people run their machines with little RAM and many programs running at the same time. That’s a killer for Photoshop. Personally I only run Photoshop when I use Photoshop. I newer install freeware, games, widgets or anything that can mess up my computer, and it never gives me any problems.

So, to my point: I have a G5 tower at work and a Mac Mini at home, and I hardly notice the difference. So I got the last generation PowerBook 15″ used, still under warranty and with two gigabyte of RAM for the same price as an MacBook. It’s fast, has a great screen, runs Photoshop natively and I can use all my old PowerBook accessories. For quite some time it will still be faster than Intel Macs when working in Photoshop.

I think I’m smart, but a lot of people probably think I’m stupid. Good luck wtih your new MacBook Pros!

New exibition in Finnmark

The 8. of july I will open an exibition in Hamningberg church with 12 color photos from Finnmark. The pictures are a documentation of the settlement in Vardø and Hamningberg where hundreds of people have moved from their community to seek a easier life elsewhere.
What will happen to Finnmark in the future? Is oil the rescue? Do the people of Finnmark need to get the rights to fish their own fish? Who should decide? I don’t have the answers, but I know that something vent wrong somewhere and now a lot of history is about to be lost for ever.

The exibition will close medio august.

Portfolio: The old mill

I contributed to an exibition with a few old-style photographs from an old mill. Have a look!

Portfolio: The old mill

Portfolio: Those who left

I just finished a series of 26 color photos from rural Norway. I traveled around the county photographing abandoned houses. Places that all told a story about past times and people who have left us. I focused on objects that was left behind, and that tell a story about the people who spent their lives in these places.

Read more about it under: Portfolio: Those who left.