I have been contemplating a move away from Chicago for some time. But I like to ask my fellow videographers a question. If you had the freedom to moved to a place where you can be as close to nature as posible, where would you choose to lived?

I would love to go somewhere warm. If I had the choice, I'd go to Africa or Australia.

Andrew;
I had in mind a place a little closer. Perhaps in the USA. But thank you anyway. Not bad.

Oh, sorry - thought when you meant "away" you really wanted "away." I don't know a huge amount about US destinations, but if I had to pick somewhere closer by, I'd go for British Columbia or somwhere else on the West Coast - I've never been there and I see how pretty it is on TV, so maybe one day I'll get to see it first hand.

Andrew;
I had in mind a place a little closer. Perhaps in the USA. But thank you anyway. Not bad.
Not quite the states,but not too far to go, I would recomend Costa Rica a wildlife film makers paradise.

mick

Vancouver, B.C. There's enough wildlife within the city limits to keep you busy and there's an unlimited amount more within 50 miles distance. And there's some great "wildlife" at a special place where you'd better not take your camera. There's so much to see and do in that city, that your increased metabolism will keep you warm. Human skin is waterproof, you know. Darn! If we'd just stuck to our demand of "54:40 or fight", then it'd all be part of the U.S.

If it had to be in USA, then I'd pick one of these areas:

Central Washington State (you are then close to the Cascades, but also the westside is nice in summer and the eastside warmer in winter. Not far from the Orca of the coastline, the desert dry of east and wet forests of Olympia. Also BC, is just a short drive across the border).

Somewhere between Yosemite and Kings Canyon on the California/Nevada borders.

Somewhere around Zion in Utah (so much close by).

The Tri-State area near Topock Canyon on the lower Colorada River (Arizona/California borders).

The Quachita NF lakes & forests area near Little Rock, Arizona.

The Finger Lakes District in Upstate New York.

Adriondacks in NY.

The northwestern corner of Montana.

The northwestern corner of Wyoming.

The Sabine NF on the Texas/Louisiana borders.

The Superior NF in the northeastern corner of Minnisota.

Great Smoky mts area in Tennessee.

Sault St Marie (epicentre of Great Lakes).

Somewhere in Virgina between Monongahela NF in the west and Chesapeake Bay in the east, with the Appalachians in between.

The southern tip of Florida (as long as you ar far anough away from the crowds of holidaymakers and beach resorts).

The upper Salmon River area in Idaho.

Tony D-P's epitaph was written by Duke Ellington & Bob Russell over 60 years ago: "Don't get around much anymore".

I've never been to the States but have some vague impressions of
-wide stretches of dusty treeless prairie with scarce populations of small mammals and therefore few raptors up the food-chain
-deciduous self-sown forest in the north & east with coniferous forest along the mountain chains ... restricted light
-big rivers and lakes with great migrant/non-resident flocks in spring & autumn

Costa Rica & Belize would be attractive but I must check out Tony's websites for footage of his US list. My epitaph? That was written 'bout the same time:
"Hey little hen
when when when
will you lay me an egg for my tea"

I'll call you back when I track down the poet ...

Given that South island, New Zealand - NW corner, Kahurangi NP,is out, I would go with Tony's first choice.

But I would miss Motueka, Golden Bay and Karamea!

this is a fun question.

i'd move me and my load o' gear out of my house and into my camper. for a year, anyway. maybe more, if i liked it.

then i'd spend a year in hawaii.

unfortunately this is not compatible with raising a 5-year-old.

still a fun dream, though...

colorado's not bad, though. i'd go to the four corners area in the southwest, like telluride or durango or cortez, if i could because, from there, you can access many diverse environments quickly (desert, high alpine, etc.)

Vancouver, B.C. There's enough wildlife within the city limits to keep you busy and there's an unlimited amount more within 50 miles distance. And there's some great "wildlife" at a special place where you'd better not take your camera. There's so much to see and do in that city, that your increased metabolism will keep you warm. Human skin is waterproof, you know. Darn! If we'd just stuck to our demand of "54:40 or fight", then it'd all be part of the U.S.

Steven, we accept refugees from the United States. It's part of our constitution.

crawford/chadron nebraska, cheap housing close to south dakota/black hills, wyoming and colorado. it has badlands, prairies, forests, hot springs, western history all over the place, geologic features, spring fed streams and rivers. and the stars on clear nights!

Hey guys;
I have been away at work so I miss part of the excitement of the day at this forum. Very interesting comments. Thank you for your reply, keep it coming. I'm hoping to make a wise decision some time this Year. I am wishing for a change, here in Chicago the Zoo and Botanic Garden are growing tire of me and my camera. The great plains are some times just plain boring. Good Luck to all.

Hi there,
I was, 15 years ago, in a potentially finacially sound position. I had my own company, industrial cleaning, a nice house, nice car and all the "whistles and bells". Life was good. BUT I wasn't happy. I for one am not prepared to sit out the adventures on this roller coaster of a ride we call life just so that I can be financially comfortable. So I went about making a change. I gave the business to my, then, fiance, packed up some clothes and went in search of adventure. I learned to SCUBA dive and picked up a camera shortly after finding myself in the south of France a few months later. Since then I have been travelling the world in my endeavours to create a comprehensive marine archive of stock DV footage. I have lived in The Canary Islands, Micronesia, Belize, Fiji and am currently on the island of Palau (where they filmed Survivor). I have worked for clients including national Geographic, The World Wildlife Fund and National TV stations from Finland, Korea and Australia. Whilst this line of work is not that luccrative I have found my Nirvana. I am engaged to a beautiful Japanese lady having met her during my dive travels and we are planning to set up a small marine filming and production company based in the Philippines. I continue to contribute my work to International productions and am planning to set myself up with the new Panansonic AG-HVX200 as and when the PAL units are released.

Just to give you an insight into my experience. Mind you it's one thing to say it and a completely different thing to go ahead and take the bull by the horns so to speak. The realization of, "Oh crap I'm about to leave everything I've worked for behind" brings many people crashing back down to the harsh reality of life.

God luck with your plans. Don't forget though at the end of the day, you make the decision and live with it. No one else can be blamed should your planned escape go awry.

Regards,
Mark.

Mark;
I read your reply and you make a good point. This is why I'm still in Chicago
I'm giving this some thoughts hopefully I will not make a decision that I regret later. Thank you very much for your friendly advise.

Mike,
No problems. If it was an easy decision I'd say "Go for it". I still have periodic contact with some buddies from my "previous life" back in the UK. They, at times, have mentioned that they wish they could also lead the same kind of lifestyle I have carved for myself. I tell them "Hey, all it takes is to sell your home (I signed all of my things over to my ex-fiance which is possibly the only small regret I have now) your car, turn your back on all the luxuries that you wrap your daily life in and get ready for some bumps and scrapes". Needless to say it's not long before they start looking longingly at their 52" Plasmas and nice cars, comfy chairs and doting families that they realise that the opportunity has passed them by. It is difficult, believe me but it all comes down to what you want, and expect, from life. I am much happier filming on a shallow reef waiting for a fish to do a fishy thing and to be able to film and document that than I am with all the trappings of a potentially semi-successful career. Such are my goals and desires in life. Every one is different in that aspect. Do some soul searching my friend, is it really what you want? If it is then I for one salute your resolve and wish you all the best. Look at all the potentially rewarding wildlife subjects there are available for in depth documentation. If on the other hand you realise that the Grizly Adams lifestyle is not seriously what you anticipate then hey, sit back, relax and wait for the documentaries to air from those who undertake, and accept, all the implications this way of life.

Best,
Mark.

The beginning of one of my books - Globetrotter's Quest - spells out all that I believe in:

"...When things become too easy and knowledge has swallowed all mystery, life becomes boring. Boredom feeds off repetition. Excitement feeds off the unknown..."

Mark, are you hoping to use AG-HVX200 for over land as well as underwater videography? The specs listed in B&H brochure don't mention zoom factor in a way I understand ... what telephoto zoom lens would you use with it over land? Or perhaps you're only into close-ups and if so what macro lens would you use? The brochure doesn't mention interchangeability but I'm sure that's mentioned on some other threads. Any idea of the weight of AG-HVX200?

Hi there,
I am planning to use the HVX200 solely underwater. When shooting, as I do, for stock I generally work wide angle with a factory produced wide angle lens. I will be going for a Gates housing which will then be fitted with a 110 degree Century Optics external wide converter ($3500 piece of glass!!). For Macro I will be using diopters. I tend to prefer macro filming but people want to see reefs and big animals as a selling point. For macro I use diopter filters and normally double up with a +4 and a +2. I also have a +10 for extreme macro work. I made a film, took seven months, on Mandarin fish which was filmed exclusively using the double diopter set up. It was a pain in the butt for DOF but it turned out nice.

I have no idea on the weight of the camera. BUT mixed with the housing, a planned underslung seperate compartment to take a Cineporter and a 7" monitor for macro focus checks and a tripod, lights and all my whistles and bells I think I'll need a crane to put me in and out of the water!!

Cheers,
Mark.