Photography: Recent Photographs
These are some of my favorite photographs from the past several months.
Archive for October, 2007
Life as an “experienced-newbie” skydiver
I started skydiving on September 9th, 2006. It has been an adventure. One which could not be surpassed even by all the great theme parks in the world when we are a child. I have not only found excitement in this sport, but I’ve also learned plenty about myself; what is important to me in my life and who I want to be.
I’m near my 100th skydive. It feels like gaining skydiver rank. First, you’re no longer considered a kind of “one-hit wonder”. You sort of “earn your wings”, much like a rock group with their second hit.
If anyone notices, odds are I will get a surprise pie in the face after my 100th skydive. It’s a sort of tradition and a lot of us try to avoid it. I probably will to, but it is all in fun. I just hope they wait till the end of the day so I don’t have to jump wearing a pie. Then again, us skydivers do like to make a statement.
Update: They didn’t get me with a pie. Sweet.
What makes your 100th skydive very interesting is you now have the option of hot air balloon and helicopter jumps or jumping with a wing suit. I don’t think I have any business jumping with a wing suit anytime soon, but I’m all for jumping out of a hot air balloon! Who isn’t?
Do I plan to stick with the sport? I was determined after the first jump and knew I would be sticking with the sport for a really long time. I don’t ever plan to quit, but regretfully one day I will have to. Hopefully I can retire around about the same time my bones get fragile at an old age.
You get to know the usuals at the drop zone and meet a lot of visitors. You see that the sport isn’t just about what happens on the skydive. From the occasional, but rare, boring day in the heart of winter, to the flourishing boogies in the middle of summer; it’s a great, changing, spontaneous atmosphere with many influential and good hearted people. You see a lot of interesting things.
For example, I was at the DZ to see the Fantastic Four 2 team practice for the demonstration jump into Lowes’ Motor Speedway in Charlotte. I’ve flown around large white puffy clouds and touched them, which might not seem like much, but to me it’s something special. Only in the last hundred years have we been able to reach the sky and I actually get to float in a cloud, with no cockpit blocking the view around me, long enough to experience the moment. Can you actually imagine looking up, down, to your left and right and seeing a cloud touch you? How many people get to do that?
It has been a great ride and I’m nowhere near ready to get off. I have a kid on the way and am moving into a house with my girlfriend this weekend, but hopefully that doesn’t change anything. I hope I never miss a Saturday at the drop zone. I’ve learned a lot, not just about skydiving, but about myself.
Whuffos (you non-skydivers) wonder why we do it and plenty of us probably ask ourselves the same question all the time. There isn’t a single answer that you will hear. I could tell you that skydiving makes me feel like I am actually in control of my life. It’s something about putting yourself in charge of falling through the sky where no one can save you, but yourself and your decisions. Though we all have our own reasons.
I hope I see plenty more blue skies.
Link: Skydive Carolina!
Skydive Video Compilation
I imported several DVD videos of skydives over the past year into Premiere and edited them into one video with new music. The video footage of free fall is from my 13th skydive. The parachute landing footage is from Scott Miller’s canopy course.