Documenting an Amazing Journey

Sunday I leave for Ghana and ever since I got the invite I've been thinking about how I was going to capture and share the adventure since that is what I live to do.

While every adventure is different, I think I've figured out how I'm going to be doing this one and thought I'd share my plan in case it was helpful for others.

Plus, people keep asking me and now I'll have a post I can point them to. *grin*

The purpose of the trip is to take part in the GAVI vaccine rollout which ONE has been a big supporter of. We'll be visiting hospitals, clinics and government offices. Between meetings, meals and casual conversations I'll be talking with everyone from HIV+ parents, to government officials and even a few University students.

I want to remember it all and share all the good parts with the world, so here is my plan:

• I've set a personal goal of writing one post or recording an audio update every single day. This will depend on how tired I am and what our day includes.
• I'll be recording audio updates on my iPhone using SoundCloud. They allow for adding photos and sharing instantly on Twitter and Facebook which I love. There isn't a way to embed on my blog directly from the app so doing that will have to wait until at night when I get back to my hotel.
• I'm still old fashion and will be writing down notes by hand the whole time. I rarely go anywhere without a Field Notes notebook in my pocket and I've got a new one just for this trip. I also bought extras and am bringing them to give away to children I meet.
• I bought a Canon 5DMKIII and if you know me, you know how enthusiastic of a photographer I am. I bought this camera because it will also allow me to film video while there. This will be something new for me to do on the same camera that I shoot still images so it is going to be a bit of an experiment. I've bought extra memory cards and a new portable hard drive just for this trip. My goal is to edit together a single travel video when I get home that uses the images, photographs and audio that I capture.
• I bought a SIM card to use while on the ground so that I can share photographs taken immediately with my iPhone. I use Camera+ to take all my photos and then you can expect to see them going out instantly on Instagram and I'll most likely share them on Google+, Flickr and Facebook. Once I get home I'll upload all of my photos with the best ones going to 500px as well as all the previously mentioned locations.

That is my plan for the next week. We are on the ground five days in Ghana and I know it is going to fly by in a blur and if I don't make an effort to capture it all I'll regret it.

If you really want to follow along at home, there will also be updates on the ONE Blog and Twitter accounts so be sure to follow those. Who knows, something I create might even show up there!

Thanks for all the wishes of a safe journey and excitement around this trip. Feel free to reshare what you like liberally to help raise awareness for all the good ONE is doing in the world.