I shot Palolem in late 2009 while staying in Goa, India. Traveling very light, I handheld the 5d Mark II and the 24-105mm 4.0L for the majority of shots. Shortly after it was posted online, Palolem was featured on the Vimeo HD channel, and as of this writing has had close to 40,000 viewers — not extraordinary by any traditional measure, but not too shabby for an online short with zero budget.
With a closet full of different bags for different purposes, I’ll be the first to tell you that no single bag or backpack will fit the needs of each and every occasion. I needed a better solution for carrying a basic DSLR video kit, comprising a mid-sized camera body, two zoom lenses, one or two prime lenses, plus whatever else I need on any particular day, including basic audio gear – a few microphones, a compact recorder, and one or two wireless units. Other criteria included the ability to easily store it in the smaller baggage compartments found on public transportation and on many domestic flights, enough rigidity and padding to reasonably protect several thousand dollars worth of gear, yet not too cumbersome that it was impractical for my preferred mode of transportation (walking).
The first post of any new blog is a bit of a mixed bag. Reading long, winded personal histories from a blogger you have no prior experience with is unexciting at best. Considering most bloggers write a post or three, and then slowly peter off into oblivion, I think what most of us really want is to move quickly beyond the polite introductions and get down to business. So I’m going to do just that, by letting my content and images speak for themselves, and using this opportunity to lay out a simple mission statement for this blog.