We spent most of today packing and organizing our gear and are ready to go. Somehow, all fitting on our backs, we've managed to organize 7days of food, warm clothing, stoves, parkas, sleeping bags, a tent, and most important, camera gear and lots of film. I've had a hard time selecting which cameras to bring and I've decided to go all film. It's been hard to let go of the instant gratification of digital mainly because I want the ability to instantly share the images on the blog. But it's time to get to work on the film side of things. I'll be carrying a 16mm Bolex, 4 small Minolta XL401 8mm cameras, and an old Mamiya C220 medium format camera passed down from my mother. (You can see these camera's under the gear section) Forbes, on the other hand, is armed with his small Canon PowerShot A520 digital camera and the Windpath Sony digital video camera. The Searching for Dragons Film Project is set to begin!
Although we have open ended tickets, we plan to be gone for a week or until we hear word from Inuvik that the ice is breaking up on the Mackenzie River. The latter is due to the fact that I really want to see, film and experience ice break up. Hopefully the Mackenzie ice will last long enough for us to spend some time out on the land, and capture the film's opening images.
The blog will most likely be quiet until we come back. In the meantime, here is some basic info and images from the web to wet the appetite,
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Holman is located on Victoria Island at 70°43’N and 117°45’W, 925 air km north of Yellowknife, 507 air km northwest of Cambridge Bay, and 322 air km north of Kugluktuk.
Holman Island is a traditional home of the Copper Eskimos. Franklin was the first European to visit the area, and Collinson soon followed in search of the lost Franklin expedition. Habitation of the island was first reported by Steffanson in 1911 when two villages were sited. The Hudson Bay Company post opened in 1940 and the Holman Eskimo Cooperative was formed in 1961.