A small group of physicians with differing specialties gathered to provide a vast array of surgical and medical care to residents of Santa Rosa de Copan and the Western areas of Honduras. Since 1982 the "South Texas Physician Outreach" organization has made several trips to Honduras and have flown many children and adult patients to Texas for surgeries that could not be performed in Honduras. Typically, the team is composed of 25-30 people.

Photographic support in previous years had been supplied by a photojournalist whose work facilitated public relations photography for the local newspaper. In 1998, I was selected to be the team photographer with the primary responsibilities of documenting the sequence of patients’ care throughout their treatment. I exposed nearly 100 rolls of film during this trip. Donations from Kodak and others saved considerable monies with yet over a thousand dollars was spent on photographic supplies and processing.

I recognized the need to provide more economical support and decided on the use of digital imaging. My plan was to photograph using only a digital camera, thus saving monies normally spent on film, processing, duplicate slides and scans. I chose the Nikon Coolpix 950 (C950) camera with its accessory lenses, SB28 flash and Quantum battery pack. Image storage was accomplished with a Sony notebook computer while printing was performed with a Cannon BJC-80 printer (Figure 2). Since a backup system was necessary, I also took a film-based system consisting of a Nikon 8008s camera with various macro lenses, a SB-27 flash and 50 rolls of film.

Image capture using the C950 in all settings, clinics, surgery and candids, (Figures 3, 4, and 5) produced excellent image quality. The rotating lens enabled me to handhold the camera over the field, angle the lens toward the subject, compose on the LCD screen and make the exposure on the spot. The macro function was exceptional in capturing intraoral (Figure 6) and ophthalmic (Figure 7) images. The C950 can be held as close as two centimeters away from the subject.

The use of the digital system was more than ideal without a single frame of film exposed. Over 1700 images were captured without concern about film waste, damage or loss. Using a digital system provided excellent images for the team’s future use in lectures and fund raising and it also saved time and money.

This project was sponsored in part by a grant from the BioCommunications Association Endowment Fund for Education (EFFE). Without this support the project would not have been possible.