Kiboko bag and Norway - a success?

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to take my new Kiboko camera bag from Gura Gear on an assignment for Canadian Geogarphic in Norway. For years I have been using a trusty, Lowepro Nature Trekker. However, it is now suffering from acute zipper disorder and since the Lowepro hospital doesn't cover zipper disorder, I went looking for a new bag.

I came across the Kiboko bag and the weight of the bag convinced me that it was the bag that would fill my needs. I travel and I want a camera bag that balances weight, durability, weather proofing and ease of use. The Kiboko bag appeared to do this, it will easily hold two pro canon bodies with any lens and is surprisingly comfortable on my 200cm frame.

Where did it go wrong? As I unpacked the box, I found the neat little rain cover and an 'oh oh' escaped my lips. I had a bad feeling that the elastic band would not hold the cover in a strong storm. Sure enough, on a ridge in Norway, horizontal rain and gale force winds, ripped the cover from my pack. The image below is the moment my subjects are watching it float away on the winds....



Fortunately, I was able to retrieve the cover on the slope below before my gear was compromised, but the design is a serious issue if it won't hold in a storm situation. I will be forced to create a leash for the cover to hold it to the pack. If Gura adopted an integrated rain-cover approach, the cover would be attached to the pack and won't get lost or blown away, a real problem when you need to access your gear in the wind and the rain. Perhaps they will consider this in the next line...

Despite the near escape, I found the pack worked well in all situations and I look forward to my new travel companion for many trips to come.

Train Vs. Airplane, the moral economics of an Assignment

Airplane 0.19 tonnes of CO2	Train 0.02 tonnes of CO2
Ticket Cost = €160 Taxi to Airport = €100 Carbon Offset = €5 Cost to future generations = Unfathomable Total = Huge	Ticket Cost = €320 Taxi to Station/Back = €20 Good feeling and Respect from Girlfriend = Priceless Total = Priceless

In less then one hour I will embark on a 24 hour train ride for my next assignment in Norway. I am off to Norway to work on a climate change story for Canadian Geographic. For the last couple of years I have been focusing on climate change and particularly the youth movements across the globe. Whether at the United Nations Conference or a grassroots events, I have been documenting the young change makers of today.

Needless to say, I move around a lot and I am acutely aware of my personal carbon footprint on the planet. So when the opportunity came up for an assignment where it wasn't necessary to take a plane, I jumped at the possibility.

Why spend 24 hours getting to a destination when I could simply go to Schiphol airport and get on a plane for 2 hours?

It isn't actually all that hard to explain, air travel has for long been cited as one of the main causes of carbon dioxide and one the major contributors (between 4 - 9%) of global warming. Not only that, but aircraft emissions are special. Because they are produced at cruising altitudes high up, the emissions are more harmful. In fact, the IPCC estimages that the impact of aircraft emissions is 2 - 4 times high then the direct effect of the CO2 alone. See the David Suzuki website for more information.

By taking the train to Norway, I am responsible for 10 - 25% of the CO2 that I would if I were to take the plane. This makes me happy, this makes my client happy, it makes future generations happy and most importantly it makes my girlfriend happy. (ED. Note, upon consultation, said girlfriend has declared that she is not more important then future generations.)

Rainy March in March for TVA

The water pours off my hood and dribbles onto the lens of my camera, frustrating my attempts to clear the drops of Tennessee rain. However, drops of rain, otter hair and the condensation in my rain cover are minor issues compared to the issue that I have been photographing today.

This afternoon, the March in March, an action organized by Mountain Justice took place in front of the TVA headquarters here in Knoxville. Activists gathered from all over the USA to protest against Mountain Top Removal Coal Mining, 'Clean Coal', and the recent TVA coal ash spill in Harriman.

On Dec. 22, 2008 a coal ash spill estimated at 5.4 million cubic yards, enough to cover 3,000 acres of property and houses with a one-foot layer of ash, swamped the town of Harriman in Tennessee.

In response, today, over 100 people braved the rain and the cold, marching around the TVA headquarters and participated in a Die In in front of the building. Those that participated in the Die In were led away and charged by Knoxville police.

The rain goes away, the clothing dries and the cameras survive to shoot another day. What won't be the same in the future is the current coal industry.

Cinema Planeta and Cape Farewell Exhibit

My Cape Farewell photography show is going to be in Mexico at the Cinema Planeta Film Festival, from the 11 - 15 of March. I think this is pretty exciting. That means that the images from the Cape Farewell Voyage have been shown in Cairo, London, Ottawa, and now, Cuernavaca, Mexico. So if you are in Mexico, Cuernavaca is apparently 1.5 hours outside of Mexico City, go and check it out.

The Age of Stupid

I saw this video in Poznan during COP 14 at a pre release screening. It is shocking and is set to hit the mainstream movie world in just over a month. Check it out if it hits a city near you. You can also check out the Canadian review here.