What does it take these days to professionally document and live report a journey these days?
This is something I keep racking my brain for quite some time now, as, aside from financial aspects, factors such as robustness, weight, bulk, autonomy from wall sockets and last but not least simplicity in device handling play a huge role.
While on holiday trips where one can take one’s time (or at least should do so) efficient handling is a key requirement on extended journeys. Even the simple process of retrieving and stowing away of photo camera, camcorder, voicerecorder or all three of these items at once can be a tedious business and a tax of patience and discipline, this can even be increased immensly by the need to labouriously adjust each device’s setting before being able to produce useable footage.
Until know I haven’t decided on specific devices which I will use for the 360° WEST project, but I’ll problably take an SLR, a camcorder, a voicerecorder, an actioncam, Laptop, and storage devices along. Especially to be as much self-reliant as possible in remote regions such as the inner of the Australian continent and other places which lack decent infrastructure I will carry additional gear such as 1 to 2 solar panels and a sat phone. As for the boat: this will have a solar based power supply system anyway to fuel for the onboard electronics and the desalination unit.
Interesting in this context is Paul Salopek’s gear:
You haven’t heard of Paul Salopek? You should’ve. For Paul is doing something extraordinary cool. He’s walking from the heart of Africa, the cradle of mankind in and the Garden of Eden if you want to say so, to the end of the world while live reporting.
(Click on the image to learn more)