Zissou
Well-known member
I am headed to New Orleans in approximately one week, looking for fellow DVX users willing to help or even just email or call with support, contacts, tips or criticisms. I am flying in for a special project relating to the gulf coast oil spill crisis. This is not a prestige or profit based project; if anyone has contacts that might be able to use this towards assistance for affected gulf residents, i will gladly sign over rights. This is NOT a commercial project.
My budget is basically $1500, which is nothing. I have some gear, and some experience, and yes this is a naive endeavor, but i have a direct correlation and experience to this tragedy. I am not asking for anything besides contact and a bit of help whilst in New Orleans. I have a camera, i have skills, i have a Letus (lol), but i have no mics, no mobile crew, and no contacts.
Frankly, i have very few posts on here, so i expect to encounter a lot of criticism and skepticism; i am no vetted or respected or even long term member here. I understand and respect that. For those skimming, skip the next section, as it is irrelevant.
Introductions aside, i will tacitly lay out my credentials and reasons as succinctly and briefly as possible. In 1989, the Exxon-Valdez oil spill devastated a very small bay in Alaska. Without getting into unnecessary details, i wound up in Valdez, and attended kindergarten there, while my parents worked Pool Camp and the distribution/pump station in Valdez; i do not remember nearly as much as i wish i do, but there are certain elements that stand out in my memories. A tsunami warning, from south in the Pacific, expected to hit Prince William Sound, while my mother and father and I were perched on a seaside cliff camping, and chaotic scrambling for the passes ensuing. this is the first time i remember the word 'tsunami' and 'warning', and the first time i remember seeing people panic. A ship miles ashore, stranded amongst the evergreens, victim of a previous tsunami. A boardwalk and fisheries, shut down due to the spill, animals slathered in crude oil, shorelines i was not allowed to go near, and that is about it really. Sadly i do not remember nearly as much as i wish i could. I am a college graduate with a bachelors in International Studies, and associates degrees in both Physics and Philosophy. Since Valdez i had wanted to be a marine biologist; since then, and since college i have worked in photography and videography, and successfully started and sold 2 businesses completely unrelated to my degrees or interests.
This hits very close to my heart; so much so i have decided to walk away from business as usual in the hope of making some sort of difference with respect to the gulf spill. Pictures and video ive seen depict devastation worse than what i remember, wider spread, and in a much more sensitive area than simply one sound in one part of a distant state, not to downplay Valdez; but the gulf is SO much more vital and vivacious, and that was a $2 billion plus cleanup cost, after Exxon squirmed out of paying full cleanup and restoration costs; this recent BP incident, considering its breadth and (literally) depth, as well as economic inflation factors, should WELL exceed the bill of Exxon for their cleanup.
What i am looking for is members here, friends, family, anyone i can be directed to for assistance shooting, be it an interview or an opinion, direction or help filming, and especially audio equipment and assistance utilizing it. Any help from users here, family/friends, small businesses, and constituents directly affected is precisely what i need; monetary concerns are secondary at best. This is, as best as i can correlate it, a far worse disaster to the US than the Exxon-Valdez spill was, by a great order of magnitude.
I can be contacted at p_raris@hotmail.com or 570-617-9353; and i will respond as soon as i am able, usually within 4 hours. Emails please put 'GULF' or 'BP' in the header and i will prioritize responses.
Again i would prefer direct assistance to monetary donations; i really have no idea how to accept them legally anyways; if you have information as to how to properly accept donations, i welcome the information.
I apologize to the admins for multiposting this, but it is very important to me that i reach the largest audience i can. I will keep this thread updated as much as i can. I volunteered back during the disaster that was Katrina, and witnessed firsthand the mayhem and chaos that ensued, saw some of the best and some of the worst humanity can do; that was a brief if strong hit; this is totally different; this is an economic and cultural hit that will echo for decades; these are things that change the demographics and the social dynamics of the regions they affect; truly the gulf will never be the same. Politics aside, preferences aside, this may become the greatest long-term issue the gulf bordering countries have to deal with, period.
Panagiotis Raris
AKA
Zissou
My budget is basically $1500, which is nothing. I have some gear, and some experience, and yes this is a naive endeavor, but i have a direct correlation and experience to this tragedy. I am not asking for anything besides contact and a bit of help whilst in New Orleans. I have a camera, i have skills, i have a Letus (lol), but i have no mics, no mobile crew, and no contacts.
Frankly, i have very few posts on here, so i expect to encounter a lot of criticism and skepticism; i am no vetted or respected or even long term member here. I understand and respect that. For those skimming, skip the next section, as it is irrelevant.
Introductions aside, i will tacitly lay out my credentials and reasons as succinctly and briefly as possible. In 1989, the Exxon-Valdez oil spill devastated a very small bay in Alaska. Without getting into unnecessary details, i wound up in Valdez, and attended kindergarten there, while my parents worked Pool Camp and the distribution/pump station in Valdez; i do not remember nearly as much as i wish i do, but there are certain elements that stand out in my memories. A tsunami warning, from south in the Pacific, expected to hit Prince William Sound, while my mother and father and I were perched on a seaside cliff camping, and chaotic scrambling for the passes ensuing. this is the first time i remember the word 'tsunami' and 'warning', and the first time i remember seeing people panic. A ship miles ashore, stranded amongst the evergreens, victim of a previous tsunami. A boardwalk and fisheries, shut down due to the spill, animals slathered in crude oil, shorelines i was not allowed to go near, and that is about it really. Sadly i do not remember nearly as much as i wish i could. I am a college graduate with a bachelors in International Studies, and associates degrees in both Physics and Philosophy. Since Valdez i had wanted to be a marine biologist; since then, and since college i have worked in photography and videography, and successfully started and sold 2 businesses completely unrelated to my degrees or interests.
This hits very close to my heart; so much so i have decided to walk away from business as usual in the hope of making some sort of difference with respect to the gulf spill. Pictures and video ive seen depict devastation worse than what i remember, wider spread, and in a much more sensitive area than simply one sound in one part of a distant state, not to downplay Valdez; but the gulf is SO much more vital and vivacious, and that was a $2 billion plus cleanup cost, after Exxon squirmed out of paying full cleanup and restoration costs; this recent BP incident, considering its breadth and (literally) depth, as well as economic inflation factors, should WELL exceed the bill of Exxon for their cleanup.
What i am looking for is members here, friends, family, anyone i can be directed to for assistance shooting, be it an interview or an opinion, direction or help filming, and especially audio equipment and assistance utilizing it. Any help from users here, family/friends, small businesses, and constituents directly affected is precisely what i need; monetary concerns are secondary at best. This is, as best as i can correlate it, a far worse disaster to the US than the Exxon-Valdez spill was, by a great order of magnitude.
I can be contacted at p_raris@hotmail.com or 570-617-9353; and i will respond as soon as i am able, usually within 4 hours. Emails please put 'GULF' or 'BP' in the header and i will prioritize responses.
Again i would prefer direct assistance to monetary donations; i really have no idea how to accept them legally anyways; if you have information as to how to properly accept donations, i welcome the information.
I apologize to the admins for multiposting this, but it is very important to me that i reach the largest audience i can. I will keep this thread updated as much as i can. I volunteered back during the disaster that was Katrina, and witnessed firsthand the mayhem and chaos that ensued, saw some of the best and some of the worst humanity can do; that was a brief if strong hit; this is totally different; this is an economic and cultural hit that will echo for decades; these are things that change the demographics and the social dynamics of the regions they affect; truly the gulf will never be the same. Politics aside, preferences aside, this may become the greatest long-term issue the gulf bordering countries have to deal with, period.
Panagiotis Raris
AKA
Zissou
Last edited:
