This is from the Gail Mooney’s new website, “Opening Our Eyes: Global Stories About the Power of One.” As the site explains, Mooney — an accomplished documentary photographer and filmmaker — will be heading around the world with her daughter, Erin Kelly, to gather the material they need to create a feature length film.

This is a project worth keeping tabs on. For one thing, it’s Mooney’s latest personal project, which are always impressive, as she uses them to push her photography forward, both creatively and in terms of business.

“Opening Our Eyes” is particularly interesting to those of us in the industry because Mooney will be pushing her limits in terms of working in both still and motion, employing light and affordable equipment. In short, she will be heading into waters that many of us will heading into ourselves — still & motion — and she does so with the insights of an impressive background in traditional still and motion.

Mooney is in a perfect position to show us how to capture both great stills and motion, ensuring that both get put to the best use. (To see what Mooney’s capable of, check out her shorts for “The Delta Blues Musicians” and “Freedom’s Ride.”)

Freedom’s Ride from Gail Mooney on Vimeo.

This is not to suggest that “Opening Our Eyes” will be about photography for photographers. Hardly. As always, Mooney will focus on the story — on her subjects — focusing on the task of best communicating that story to the most appropriate audience.

Nonetheless, Mooney is very interested in sharing what she learns with photographers. She has already been sharing her knowledge for photographers transitioning to video through her posts on the “ASMP’s Strictly Business Blog,” as well as by giving seminars on the topic.)

As Mooney makes clear, one main ingredient of her “Opening Our Eyes” project will be to rely on the power of serendipity. Much of this serendipity is driven by her involvement the social media of Web 2.0. Mooney has been increasingly embracing social media over the last year  — FaceBook, LinkedIn, Twitter, blogging — and much of the planning for “Opening Our Eyes” has come from the web of interconnectivity she has found in the social media realm.

In “Journeys of a Hybrid,” Mooney’s inspiring blog on photography and filmmaking, Mooney has been writing about “Opening Our Eyes.” The details of “Booking a Round the World Airline Ticket” are both daunting and inspiring. This post is also featured on the “Opening Our Eyes” site, showing that Mooney will have some blogging crossover. But not always.

Today, on “Journey’s of a Hybrid” Mooney posted  “Putting Together a DSLR Video Kit — And Why,” and it likely won’t appear on “Opening Our Eyes.” In other words, as Mooney (and partner Erin Kelly) pump up the content of “Opening Our Eyes” over the coming months, Mooney, through “Journey’s”, will be sharing insights on her photographic process for those of us who share her passion for visual storytelling. This is good news for those of us eager to expand our video knowledge.

In Mooney’s “DSLR Video Kit” post, we hear an expert photographer and filmmaker talking to us about how, at Zacuto, she “was looking for products that were designed to help with camera stability, focus aids and audio when using the Canon 5D or 7D which I will soon be purchasing. She goes into many technical details of preparing a modern-day, around-the-world still-video kit. Good stuff.

Gail Mooney and Erin Kelly will be leaving for Uganda on May 25th, returning back to the United States on August 3rd, after making loads of stops to record “global stories about the power one.” The team will then head to South America (dates not certain) to finish their coverage.

Although Mooney has nailed down most dates for “Opening Our Eyes,” she remains open to possibilities about exactly how this project might play out — and she will be posting much of her process on her blogs and other social media outlets.

All of these are major reasons to pay attention to “Opening Our Eyes.” Not only does Mooney welcome supportive fans, but she is interested in direct support and participation — from the people who have suggested story ideas to volunteers who might active participants in content creation or distribution. (”If you know an expert user experience designer who wants to volunteer for the project, let me know,” Mooney told me recently.)

This social media aspect of “Opening Our Eyes” is very new ground for Mooney. She is a pro when it comes to hectic world travel, returning home with great stories in images. But she is showing true courage in her use of social media. Not only is she reaching out for ideas and inspiration, but she is allowing the media to become part of the process, and even the message itself. As she embraces new technology, she also welcomes the powerful possibilities served up by serendipity.

No doubt Gail Mooney will open our eyes with the final products she creates with Erin Kelly for “Opening Our Eyes.” But don’t just wait for the end results. Get hooked into Mooney’s social media network by becoming her FaceBook friend, signing up for RSS feeds to her sites, and watching Mooney’s unfolding process of visual storytelling practices that embrace the power of video and social media