The111

I watched 21 Grams immediately after Babel, because I wanted to see something else Iñárritu had done. They were both enjoyable, although I enjoyed 21 Grams more. I am not sure why people try to compare every new ensemble film to Crash. Although Robert Altman introduced the ensemble film decades ago, I still think it was most fully realized in PTA's Magnolia. Crash is not really deserving of being a "benchmark" althought it was a decent film. The one striking similarity between Crash and Iñárritu's films, to me, is the heavy-handed "character links" that are enforced through rigid physical connections. I.e. the gun that travels around the world and links everybody as it changes hands. I think this "connect-the-dots" approach spoils the ensemble film a bit, and I prefer the more generalized emotional connections that can be enforced by showing different people in different locations experiencing similar, but not necessarily literally connected, experiences. Another similarity to Crash is that two out of Iñárritu's three big films feature actual car crashes as one of the "heavy-handed connections" I mentioned earlier. Babel had a nice score though, and some amazing musical moments, I particularly remember the scene at the end with the helicopter, even though it's been some time since I saw this movie in theaters. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

You mean like THIS? I call this type of photo the "outside outside shot", I've always liked it a lot. It's nice for the "less outside" photographer too, as he gets to see a shot of himself at work. THIS one actually shows three other cameramen - Norm Kent upper left (shooting from the HAND), Scary Perry lower right, and Avery Badenhop top center in pink. When whuffos ask how I operate the camera on my head, I simply start flicking my tongue at them like a snake. Some get it right away, some are very slow. It can be quite odd in an office situation when I have to flick my tongue for 30 seconds before they figure out what I'm trying to say. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Thread revive! Two funny stories on this topic. 1) My old roommate once had a female friend visit him for a few days. She was an artist, and a bit quirky, and after she found out I was a skydiver, I came home one day to a weird piece of artwork on our fridge. It was colored with fluorescent markers on a piece of "magnet paper" (magnet sheet with white surface for drawing/writing), and the picture showed a plane dumping out guys under rounds, and Godzilla was sitting on the ground pulverizing every jumper (and the plane) with his fire breath. There was a caption reading "Now that's what I call FUNKY!!!" I wasn't sure whether or not I should be offended, but I couldn't help laughing. In fact, I still have that thing on my fridge. 2) I have no photos of me skydiving at work, but on my computer wallpaper is a photo I took of two wingsuits flying over the Puerto Rican coast. Someone always walks by and says "cool, you skydive?!" I respond with, "yes, I took that picture." They always come back with "cool, which one is you?" (... the one behind the lens, genius!) Whuffos say the darndest things... www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I use TY too, from am-dig.com, and I use the Sony's from Wal-Mart for less important stuff. Funny thing is I've had two TY's fail (out of a few hundred), and none of the Sony's. Good thing I back up the really important stuff TWICE. Another weird thing, back in the days of CD-R everybody swore by Mitsui (gold) and I remember qualititative destructive tests being done to prove that Mitsui had the greatest longevity. I bought Mitsui DVD-R's for a while too but then read that they had sold out and become very low quality. Ritek CD-R's were always supposed to be crap (and they supplied virtually every brand being sold at chain stores), but now I've also read Ritek DVD-R's are fairly decent. What is the world coming to? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

1) They're "illusionists", not apneists (otherwise known as a freediver). 2) They breathed pure oxygen before the breath-hold. I've never tried this, but I've spoken to an accomplished freediver who did, and he stated that after 20 minutes he got bored and quit trying. Note that you can NOT actually dive with pure oxygen, but you can use it for surface/static breath-holds. (The article states they were at the bottom of a pool, which for all intents and purposes - compared to a real freedive - is a surface static). As skydivers, we should know how unreliable the media is: broke the record set in 1959 by Canadian Robert Foster. I'm not sure who this guy is but he does not have any long standing apnea records (nor is there any organization I am aware of that keeps records for something as silly as a pure oxygen breath-hold). Tom Sietas has held the record for a while, just over 9 minutes for a static breath-hold. And that's the real deal (in other words, he breathed AIR). FWIW, I've held my breath for 4 minutes. (again, AIR) www.WingsuitPhotos.com

If I mis-interpreted, I apologize. I've just never heard anyone use the word "Monster" when not referring to the brand. I agree that depending on the signal and the length of wire, the wire gauge does matter. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

CLICKY Ok, after shipping it's $10. Also check monoprice.com, partsexpress.com, and pccables.com. All 3 sites are well reviewed by many audio enthusiasts. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

That's one of the funniest things I've read all day. Monster cables can be upwards of 50X the price of non-branded cables. I'm using HDMI as a price-point since I was shopping for one recently. A 6' Monster HDMI cable can be well over $100 (for a length of copper wire?) while a non-branded quality one can obtained for $3. Now, even if there is somehow a small difference (which my eyes and ears have never been able to detect), does it really warrant paying $150 instead of $3? That's like going to the store to buy a loaf of bread for $2, and the "premium bread" is $100. I've spoken to people before who have worked in the industries that supply raw copper wire to the "speaker wire" companies, and it's mostly the same. Granted, there is some poor stuff in existence, but there is also stuff "as good as Monster" (which just means it works as it should) for much, much cheaper. On topic: speakers are indeed the most critical part of system, followed by receiver/amp. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Excellent editing James. Nice cloud shots, especially the cloud pass from underneath. Nice perspective on the camera step where you turn your head backwards and watch them fly away. Also, did the guy at 3:28 fire his still cam/flash (on his head) with his hand? www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Legal requirement does not equal physiological requirement. Hence my statement that it depends on what you mean by "require"... www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I am not very experienced with RAW, but I wonder if that could help you revert to a lower ISO? Though you might get just as much grain with the RAW post-processing as you would with the high ISO. TANSTAAFL. I would not think you could practically get lower than 1/60, heck I can't even get a steady hand-held 1/40 shot on the ground, probably. But as another poster said it's worth a shot. I know you said you wanted to preserve the canopy illumination... I wonder if a weak flash would provide a compromise between giving you more light to work with, but not destroying the lighting contrast from the jumpers' lights. Maybe you could carry a really bright spotlight yourself? I used my Sun D8 dive light once to take a picture of something in the dark, I forget exactly what, but it was very small and it was against a solid backdrop. I really have no experience with this, so those are all wild guesses. I do know that CS2's "Shadows and Highlights" feature, IMO, can recover dark areas much better than I was ever able to do with just levels/curves. Though I do feel a bit dirty using it as it's so easy and automated. You could also get (invent) an inverse neutral density filter. Btw, those pictures are very grainy. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Ok, you caught me there. I equated "oxygen" in that context with "supplemental oxygen". www.WingsuitPhotos.com

It does. Depends on your definition of "require". I've jumped from 18k with no oxygen, won't mention where though. But it was a fast plane... www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I'm about the same, except I do still have pictures on my computer, and people always notice them and ask. Maybe it's the engineering environment, but most people have been incredibly receptive and even interested, and don't treat me differently. There was one guy a few years ago who really thought it was crazy and was even rude about it, and I still see him from time to time, but he was the exeception. I even got my picture in the company newsletter in the "what I do on the weekends" sections. That was back when I was more gung-ho about spreading the skydiving gospel. Even with people being receptive to it, I just honestly get tired of answering the same questions over and over. Whether they're ridiculing you or admiring you, it's going to be a long conversation either way. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

This is incorrect. Unless you start your deployment while in a vertical position (not recommended), your body will pivot around the attachment point. You are right, I over-simplified. But I agree with Dave that the initial force is minimal compared to what you feel once you're already vertical. In my experience (wingsuit deployments with a Pilot), the hardest part comes near the very end of the deployment, and by that point I am literally holding my helmet in my hands and my arms are taking most of the load, not my neck. I wouldn't recommend this to everybody but it works for me. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

To understand this you need to know the difference between bending and compression. With the weight directly on top of your head, and the proper head position during deployment (eyes on horizon), the only force transmitted will be compression, through your neck and spine. If the vertical load is directly in line with your neck, there is no "leverage" at all, as you speak of. You can get undesirable bending load on your neck if you allow your neck to bend, looking downward. With the weight on the side of your head, no matter how you position your head during deployment, you will get a bending load on your neck. For that matter, it will be a sideways bending load which means you'll be stressing your neck asymmetrically which does not sound desirable to me. I've never once jumped a sidemount but I'm sure with a light camera, a strong neck, and a nice canopy it can be done no problem, I know many people who do just that. But it's not my preference and I see no reason for it. Get yourself an old pro-tec helmet and duct tape a 5lb weight to it. Try two configurations: (1) weight on top and (2) weight on the side. Walk around your house all day and see which you prefer in the end. Disclaimer: I just pulled this idea out of thin air... use good duct tape or you'll be dropping that weight on your toe. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I have to disagree Jeff, the few times I've flown my Mach One and tried to max it out, I've been VERY exhuasted after only two minutes. Of course, the same thing happens with my S3. I'm out of shape too, but even when I was in better shape my S3 wore me out. But I will agree that you drink lots of . www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Read Ed's post just a few above yours. Jeff had been flocking all day. All week, for that matter. And he was also on all the max competition dives. I am not for one second going to join any "best suit" argument, but I will stand up for Jeff and say that as far as I know he had no unfair advantage - except for possibly being more accustomed to long skydives in general, which is not the same as what you were claiming (short-term fatigue based on the day's activities). www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Well you can throw your wingsuits out of a plane pilot-less if you'd like... my wingsuit will retain its pilot.

I described my method in this post. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

The verdict is... there was too much RAIN. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

I only wish I had been there with my camera. Awesome story, thanks. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Nice heli exit shot... looks like somebody is getting decapitated. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

Like I said, the new version looks much better. Tony, the new cutaway sounds intriguing too... cya on Sunday. www.WingsuitPhotos.com

That is indeed very nice looking, much more clean than all the other pictures I have of Jeff backflying.