The111

Hey Laszlo, we've talked before. The one thing I cannot figure out is that I've done this same thing on all my past pictures, and they have looked fine. Check the gallery in my sig (www.wingsuitphotos.com) and let me know what you think. Who knows, maybe they were always out of focus and I'm just becoming a better photographer now and noticing that they suck. Or maybe I shot TV 320 before and am doing TV 250 now. I used to always get good DOF using these settings (and ISO 100), but now it is resulting in larger apertures. Maybe the light is fading as the seasons change? All the shooting I've ever done has been in the past few months. There were quite a few pictures though that ended up f/11 or so, and still looked like this. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

1/250 has always been fine for me before. I also aim for f/8-f/11, but sometimes I miss by a bit. I don't think that is the cause though. I don't see any cracks, but maybe a rough opening knocked the elements out of alignment or something. Even when focus testing on the ground I can't seem to get a really crisp shot. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I've been shooting with my XT and kit lens (18-55) for 6 months now and it's given me no problems. Always same settings: zoomed all the way out, manually focus it in on the ground to include pretty much everything from infinity into just a couple meters. Then I use gaffer's tape to tape down the zoom ring and focus ring, and the jump shots always come out in great focus. Does not seem to be working today. I only have two ways to view the shots here: on the LCD and on a cheap public computer on the dropzone (what I'm using now). I've uploaded one of the shots to my webspace if anybody wants to check it out and give any opinions. http://www.matthoover.com/blurry.jpg - file is 2.75MB, I have not even rotated it since there is no good image editing software here. It is not a great shot but it illustrates my problem... focus looks ok when zoomed out a bit, but viewing at full size it appears slightly blurry. Any ideas would be appreciated - I'm shooting an event this weekend and have one more day to get some good shots. My only guess is that the kit lens is showing its age? I've always known it wasn't the best lens, but it has worked before. Or maybe this monitor I'm looking at just really sucks, and the shots are ok after all. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Beautiful photo, Costyn. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

One religion I can think of in particular puts a very large importance on "witnessing" or "missions", which at its core is attempting to convert other people to believe in what you believe. I have never had an atheist knock on my door to explain his way of thinking. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I just got a call from a frantic Chuck Blue, who is driving back to FL as we speak. Included were instructions to beat on his RV "up near the front" (so he can hear) if he is still sleeping tomorrow morning when we start. That I can do. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Hey, my post in SC! I don't even browse this place usually, but this quote is too good. I found it on another message board. "I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours." -Stephen Roberts FWIW, I label myself agnostic rather than atheist, but I still loved the quote. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

My tried and true method. Google search for "phone is ringing" "clock is ticking" "let me out" "Let Me Out" by Dover Usually there are many more results, but apparently nobody liked this song enough to enter it on one of those lyric websites. I'm not crazy about the song myself, but I did find this video which is pretty painful to watch. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Keep in mind the price hike was delayed, since gas is purchased in advance by the DZ. Any lowering of the price (if it does happen) would likely also be delayed. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

This looks a bit ridiculous. Ad I found attached. Apparently this guy skydives, a lot (and sometimes with guns). I found a bunch of preview pics here, and it seems like about half of them have him either skydiving or BASE jumping. He also like to parasail a lot, there is one picture of him parasailing behind a helicopter? And where is his rig? I never knew skydiving was so integral to being an assassin. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I'm not sure why anybody would want to learn on a suit that the manufacturer quit making because it was unstable/twitchy. Not saying it's impossible, but there are much better options out there. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Don't forget to stitch it back together. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Hey I know that picture! www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Friday list: notsane normiss birdman mike 111 www.WingsuitPhotos.com

That sucks, Jason. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I found the weirdest thing on my rig yesterday while packing. I have close to 100 jumps on it and I don't know how I didn't notice it before. But I don't think it was put there recently, either. Either way, I'm not sure why it was there. On both of the little metal guide rings that the brake line passes through, there was a little tiny piece of Scotch tape wrapped around the ring. I would write this off as coincidence, except it was clearly wrapped, and it was on both sides. I cannot figure out who would have done this and why. If it was like this from the factory, maybe I never noticed it because it was always smooth and transparent... but now it is a bit roughed up and starting to come off, which means it has been worn on (and conversely, it has worn on my brake lines and the small bit of webbing which holds the ring in place). Even weirder, I noticed this right after getting a repack, but my rigger has no idea how it got there and recommended that I take it off and clean the residue with something appropriate. I suggested rubbing alcohol, and he said that would be ok. Can anyone else concur that the rubbing alcohol is not harmful to anything else it may come into contact with while I'm cleaning the rings? I just did it, and tried to keep it isolated to the rings, but I'm sure at least a little got on the lines. Thanks. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

And even on the beach loads, the plane will usually make a normal LZ pass too, if you want. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I agree with everything you said, which is why I pointed out that both my nose and ears were very clear before, during, and after the jump. That's what makes this so weird. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Is that beer? What was the mal? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

First let me preface this by saying that I am going to my doctor tomorrow. But I'm curious what anyone else thinks of this based on their experiences with anything similar. I've always read about sinus problems and freefall being a bad mix. Whenever I've had problems clearing my ears on a jump, I've sat out for the rest of the day. Today I had a sinus problem that had nothing to do with my ears at all, both were completely clear the whole time. And there were no sinus problems before the jump, I am healthy. But under canopy I noticed an intense pressure in my forehead, right above my eyes (I know there are sinus cavities here). Right after landing, I heard some air moving through my sinuses and out of my nose, and after that I cleared my throat (sinuses) and spit, and some blood came out. I was also able to blow a little blood out of my nose, but most came from my throat. Three hours after the jump, my head does not hurt now, and nothing feels damaged or under pressure, but there is still a little blood coming out if I spit. Again, I am seeing a medical professional tomorrow, but I am curious, for those of you who have had sinus problems (rupture, explosions, or whatever this may be), assuming that this was something bad, how long have you had to wait before you can be back in the air again? Days? Weeks? Months? We'll see what the doc says tomorrow. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Ted is good at flying circles. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

It was in the UK mag at least (with a "Purple Mike" caption even), and maybe a few others... I'll check when I get home and let you know which ones. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

He's not just moving his mouth, if you read his lips you can clearly see he's saying something. It is: "ARE YOU TAKING MY PICTURE?!" Here's that face. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I read this somewhere a long time ago, just did a Google search and found it again since I couldn't remember it perfectly. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

How many (any) reserve rides? www.WingsuitPhotos.com