One of the last great historic sailing feats - sailing the globe solo from
north to south is currently being undertaken by Adrian Flanagan sailing in
his small stainless steel boat, the Barrabas. I have been fortunate enough
to be in contact with the expedition manager, Louise Flanagan, whom I asked
about the camera gear used on the trip. Here is the reply, sent directly
from Adrian who is currently in the Bering Sea on his way to Alaska where he
has arranged emergency repair to the boat - parts critical for traveling the
through ice filled artic waters.
Often, I am on the edge of my seat reading Adrian's dispatches which tell of
his difficulty sailing in high seas or withstanding the severe cold. Good
to know that he is using Olympus for the trip!
Warm regards
Scott
Lilburn Georgia USA
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Hello from Barrabas...
Apologies for taking a while to let you know what camera gear I am Carrying
on-board...you may have seen on the website that the boat has developed a
slight problem and I am making for Nome, Alaska to sort it out...that plus
some bad weather, food poisoning (mild...OK now!) and trying to organize
Russian bureaucracy for my attempt on the Northern Sea Route have been
occupying me.
The camera gear I am carrying is not particularly sophisticated, but then
with the wonders of modern technology, minaturization and functions such as
light compensation and auto-focus puts decent film making and picture taking
capability into the hands of amateurs. I am not a particularly proficient
photographer/cameraman but some of the footage I have shot is not bad.
So far, I haven't taken that many still pictures. I figure that good stills
can probably be culled from video footage. For still pictures I use an
Olympus FE 130. This is a replacement for a Fuji Finepix which got damaged.
The Olympus is light and small and with 5.1 mega-pixels the image quality is
pretty good. I use the Olympus Master software to transfer images to a
laptop. For still pictures of myself, I usually mount the camera on a board
which I then secure by means of straps to various parts of the boat and use
the self-timer function to take pictures of myself at distance. A tripod
would be a much better alternative to the board and I will see if I can get
hold of one when I get to Nome.
As for video footage - I have so far shot about 15 hours of tape. I use
Tow cameras. Principally, I use a Panasonic NV-GS21EB. This was given to me
by ITV - a UK main terrestrial TV channel. Again, its compact and easy to
use. Most of the footage is of myself talking to camera and then panning to
show whatever it is I am talking about - an island, albatross, whale or
charts etc. The Panasonic has developed a problem. I usually flip the side
screen out and through 180 as I can see what I am shooting as I shoot it,
but now the image has been lost. Must be a loose connection because its okay
When just opened but not swivelled round.
The other camcorder is a Sony DCR-HC90E PAL. This one is kept in a Sony
Sports Pack SPK HCA waterproof casing with externally mounted controls and
capable of submersion to 5 metres. I use this camera for outdoor shooting in
bad weather when spray or rain are flying about. When not in its casing, the
Sony had touch-screen controls which are not bad. I prefer the Panasonic's
joystick operated control when viewing playbacks. Again, the Sony was given
to me by another TV company - SKY NEWS.
The plan is to have my footage professionally edited down to a one-hour
programme. Perhaps it may even get aired!
Best to you all,
Adrian
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Expedition Home Page
http://www.alphaglobalex.com/
Position Map (you will have to move the map around to view Japan to see his
current position)
http://www.alphaglobalex.com/?q=955
Text Dispatches from Adrian.Don't miss the one starting.
"I feel like a leopard hunkered down in the long grass stealthily inching
forwards. My mission is to steal past the islands without being noticed lest
their watery tongues lick me in towards their rocky jaws"
http://www.alphaglobalex.com/?q=960
Audio Dispatches from Adrian
http://www.alphaglobalex.com/?q=956
Guest Book - Say hello from fellow Olympus users
http://www.alphaglobalex.com/?q=1082
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