One of my biggest technical concerns about doing this project was making sure I could get all of my footage home.

I knew that sending all of the data through airport-security scanners could present some problems, and could ultimately ruin a week’s worth of work.

So every night I backed up the day’s raw video and still images to two separate hard-drives, as well as to my laptop–Which gave me three versions of each day’s work.

(I had also planned to upload each day’s media to my Dropbox every night–In essence taking it to “the cloud.” But limited connectivity nixed that option.)

When packing for the return home, I placed one hard-drive and my laptop in a carry-on, and the other hard-drive in a checked bag.

I haven’t had a chance to look at the checked-luggage hard-drive, but it looks like the carry-on’s made it through just fine, with everything in-tact.

(Whew!)

Here are some of pick-up shots from the week.

I went with the rural team to a clinic in Pana, on the last day.

This was the busiest day for rural clinic.

Today I went back with the surgery team to the main clinic.
I saw a man in post-op after cataract surgery on one eye, immediately ask to have the other eye done.

I also saw a little girl who followed me around during triage on day one.
She liked the pictures that I took of her.
Today I saw a doctor fix that child’s lump, and also ease her tears.

Today I went back out with one of the rural teams.
We went back up into the mountains, and set up at a Methodist Church that sits on a cliff.
A lot of tooth extractions, and little bit of kickball in between.

Today I went with the surgery team back to the main clinic.
They had four post-op cataract patients who had their bandages removed.
Some of those patients saw for the first time in years.

Today I went out with one of the rural teams.
Amazing. Breathtaking. Humbling.

Today we went to the clinic–And I’ve never seen anything like it.
Here are a few shots from today’s triage.

A few images from a couple of this week’s still photo shoots. (And why I’m becoming a “Foodie.”)

I’ve really enjoyed the dynamics of shooting video and stills in such a creative food environment.

Incredibly inspiring.

This is part of a documentary-webisode series that I am producing.

Anthony Falkowski is the Director of Missions and Outreach for the First United Methodist Church in Little Rock, Arkansas.

In this segment he shares his insight and candor about his experience as part of a medical-mission team that assists Salud y Paz, an organization that provides healthcare to people in the Guatemala highlands.

Anthony’s honesty and clarity of intent are a big part of what compelled me to join this year’s team, to document their goals and experiences as individuals and as a team.

I’ll periodically post individual interview-segments before we leave in August.

And then I look forward to actually shooting these stories as they unfold in Guatemala.

Just got a demo of the Panasonic AF-100 yesterday.

Have only had a chance to do a couple of quick test shots in the office, but so far I like it.

The balance of this more “boxy” design with a nice lens on the front, as well as the “old-school” placements of some of the dials and buttons, will take a bit of getting (re)used to.

And a good follow-focus system would probably be a good investment as well.

But I really like that functionality which seems to blend new-school with old-school: the digital, HD images, balanced with the use of a good lens and an easy-access shutter-speed dial, that doesn’t require a clunky film-adapter to get any degree of depth in my images.

(Heck, after using some of the newer digital cams for a few years, I was pleased to even see a filter wheel on the front of the cam. Nice.)

This isn’t a run-and-gun camera for me. But it’s also not a camera to be reserved on the shelf for high-dollar clients.

There is a lot of potential for interviews, segment cut-aways, and other scenes that really look best with some depth.

I think this camera, with its capabilities as well as its price-point, is going to bring a lot of options to smaller and medium agencies.

**Full-disclosure that I’m not a fan of the ergonomics of the video DSLRs. But that’s just me**