If you’re a blogger, do you find that if you don’t write a post right away, when the idea is fresh in your head that you evenutally loose the momentium on that particular post? I tend to, and I sometimes forget to continue to write things such as this post. The event happened last Sunday, and uploaded the photos yesterday to Flickr, and then I am writing it today but cannot remember what I was going to say about them, so I will wing it from this point!
A few weeks (or perhaps months ago) my Dad called me up asking if I would be willing to take photos of his girlfriend, her friend and her son skydiving over Pitt Meadows. I said sure, thinking I was not sure how much of it I could capture with the gear I had, but was willing to try it anyway.
The plan: Tandem Skydive with Pacific Skydiver in Pitt Meadows.
The Issue: Not much of an issue, but with my longest focal length being 200mm and them jumping from 12,000 feet, it sure doesn’t give me much reach!
The Result: A fun few hours of watching them suit up, load up and jump out!
At 9:00AM they arrived at the hangers at Pitt Meadows airport for their instructions. When my Dad and I showed up later they were going over some of the basics on the ground, such as moving around the airplane, preparing for the jump and then the position they should keep while free falling. They were all pretty anxious, especially while they were suiting up.
Now if I was to jump with them and take photos (is that even possible?) I am sure I could of got some wicked looking shots, but being on the ground and looking up, what else could I have done? In total there were 9 people jumping and Janice, Bev and Gary were tandem with 3 of them. When their chutes deployed it took a while until I could see them with my 200mm focal length to tell the others who to watch. Though it looked like all 3 of them were having a great time up in the sky.
Overall they all really enjoyed it. They also said it wasn’t as scary once they jumped out of the plane. They couldn’t really express how far they free falled for but they all enjoyed the experience and would all do it again. Gary even said that he liked it more than bungee jumping, though that was supposedly a sketchy experience he had in Thailand.
KimmOct 02, 2009 at 11:22:38
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Glad to hear that they had a blast.. You can see their smiles go from ear to ear
used tiresOct 03, 2009 at 00:00:57
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Great photos you took, looked like they had alot of fun judging from the photos and the emotions that I can see =D
Till then,
Jean
Dan DoanOct 03, 2009 at 14:55:42
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Tyler, it’s possible to jump with camera gear but not in the traditional sense. There are trained jumpers who are also photographers and use a remote shutter release that is placed in their mouths and activated when they bite down on it. The SLRS are mounted on a helmet and as a professional jumper, they are able to capture video/stills of the subject at any angle!
PSP GoOct 08, 2009 at 11:26:54
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Looks like they had a lot fun. Did you have a blue filter on the sky looks amazing.