Atle

If the images are taken with a large aperture, f4-f5.6 , dust will show up as round splotches as you describe. Try to take a picture of blue skies with aperture f22 and see if it looks more like dust. I actually use Scotch Magic Tape to remove dust from the sensor on my camera. Works for me... Check this link before you try it! http://www.swiftgemsflame.co.uk/en-us/dept_4.html Good luck! Atle See what I'm saying? Thats what I'm saying! What am I saying? I DON'T KNOW!!

5300ft/1600m from exit to landing to be exact. Tracking with Phoenix pants or other tracking suits. This is a legal cliff in Norway. Not sure if this is the highest, the illegal cliff might even be higher. 40-60sec delay depending on tracking style. But more important(for me) about 2km tracking distance... Still waiting for exact gps data. (Julian, were are you?!) Atle See what I'm saying? Thats what I'm saying! What am I saying? I DON'T KNOW!!

Just jumping a pair of baggy pants won't really prepare you for jumping smokepants/pf pants or any other inflatable pants. Baggy pants don't fly, they are just drag. But a lot of tracking will make the transition easier. The better you track without pants, the easier it is to track good with pants. Another thing for those who already jump pants/jacket and are really getting close to a supertrack. Most jumpers are used to pull with the left hand in front of the head to get a symmetric pull. In my experience this is no longer a symmetric pull, and can make you unstable. I have experienced that I have started turning left or right as I started to pull, creating offheading openings. I now do a "wingsuitpull" combined with a slight de-arche. This workes really well for me. Atle Dahl See what I'm saying? Thats what I'm saying! What am I saying? I DON'T KNOW!!

http://www.videolan.org/vlc/ Atle See what I'm saying? Thats what I'm saying! What am I saying? I DON'T KNOW!!

Long time, Space! How are you? How about exit 4,5,6 and 7 to the landingarea(Geitaneset). Do you have them as well? Atle See what I'm saying? Thats what I'm saying! What am I saying? I DON'T KNOW!!

Good news for freefall photographers who would like to get the Nikon D70, but didn't because it didn't have a cable remote option. The D70 will be replaced by D70s, and its got cable remote! Nikon have still not released the news, but they put out the usermanual by accident on their japanese website. It has now been removed, but I found a pdf usermanual on another japanese website, and it looks real. Looks like most of the specifications are the same. Same 6Mp ccd and same shooting speed, 3fps. Some minor upgrades like 2.0 inches LCD monitor and better battery. May be more, but I haven't looked trough the whole 219 pages user manual.... Don't know when it will be for sale, but some rumors say may/june. There's also a cheaper dslr coming, the D50. Atle Dahl Here's the link to the japanese site: http://www.cnphotos.net/news/news/syqc/new/2005/03/31/200533185335.htm See what I'm saying? Thats what I'm saying! What am I saying? I DON'T KNOW!!

Well, I don't know about that... I was on my way to the dropzone a couple of years ago. Right next to the dropzone there's a golf course. I was riding a bicycle when I passed the golf course. Suddenly a golfball hit the road just three feet away from me. A golfball in the head is bad for your health... Never had a close call like that in skydiving... Smokeman See what I'm saying? Thats what I'm saying! What am I saying? I DON'T KNOW!!

The folks who pioneered the smoking pants you describe have all pretty much gone over to the Phoenix Fly gear. It's reportedly a significant improvement over the "rain suit with holes" setup. The SmokePants are good, but the Phoenix Pants are better! Smokeman See what I'm saying? Thats what I'm saying! What am I saying? I DON'T KNOW!!

Well, I have already ordered a pair... I only got to do two test jumps with them, but thats all I needed to be convinced! I'll get back with a more detailed review when I get to jump my fly pants. Can't wait! Smokeman See what I'm saying? Thats what I'm saying! What am I saying? I DON'T KNOW!!

If you bring a car,boat and driver, jumping at Kjerag is totally free! If you don't, you can hike from the camping and swim back from the landing. A bit of a hassle, but still free! But if you prefer being driven up the road and get a boat ride back from the landing, you have to pay for that... The jump is still free, but you have to pay for the transport to and from the jump.... If you, like most people, choose the last option, you also have to follow Stavanger BASE Club's rules and pay the registration fee. Any of the other options, and you can do whatever you want... Your choice Have a nice day!!!!!! Atle Dahl See what I'm saying? Thats what I'm saying! What am I saying? I DON'T KNOW!!

What about the bridge on the attached picture?? See what I'm saying? Thats what I'm saying! What am I saying? I DON'T KNOW!!

The new digital SLR Nikon D70 is being released in March. Looks like the Canon EOS 300D gets some competition. The price is going to be similar. Here is a comparison chart for the D70 and 300D (and D100) http://www.letsgodigital.org/html/firstlook/nikon/d70/nikon_D70_EN08.html Atle --------------------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.atledahl.com See what I'm saying? Thats what I'm saying! What am I saying? I DON'T KNOW!!

Of course you can! Its also a popular tourist spot, so its usually a few spectators on the top when we jump. The season usually starts in june. Atle See what I'm saying? Thats what I'm saying! What am I saying? I DON'T KNOW!!

Norway is known for its many bigwalls in the 3000-6000feet range. But Norway has got even more low cliffs and other low objects. These objects are jumped regularly. To this date, all of the base fatalities in Norway are from the bigwalls... Not a single fatality from an object lower than 2700feet. I think there has been 16 or 17 fatalities in Norway.(That includes the fatalities at the Trollwall in the 80´s) So, it can be dangerous to jump from a high cliff.... Smokeman See what I'm saying? Thats what I'm saying! What am I saying? I DON'T KNOW!!

I use an Epson Stylus Photo 915. I haven´t tried printing directly from a memorycard, but the print quality is outstanding if you use photo paper. Most people would not be able to separate it from a photolab print. Both Canon and Epson have some good printers that offers printing from a memory card. I haven´t tried any other brands... Atle See what I'm saying? Thats what I'm saying! What am I saying? I DON'T KNOW!!

I guess I should have been a bit more specific. I normally use Fuji Velvia 50 ASA slide film, a very sharp professional film. 6,3Mpixel is enough for most people, but if you want the best possible result it wont match the best films. I´ve seen some shots made with the 14Mpixel Kodak DCS Pro and that was impressive and can compete with the best films. Atle See what I'm saying? Thats what I'm saying! What am I saying? I DON'T KNOW!!

There are still a couple of drawbacks with digital SLR. Most digital SLR´s have an image sensor which is smaller than a single frame on film, that means you need a wider wideangle lens to get the same result as from a traditional film based SLR. Typically the "Focal Length Multiplier" is 1,5. If you use a 20mm lens on a digital SLR it would be the same as a 30mm on a film based SLR. 20mm is really wide, 30mm is not... A 14mm lens would be like a 21mm, and 14mm lenses are expensive! There are two models that offers "full frame sensor", but they are really expensive (Canon EOS-1Ds $7,999.00 & Kodak DCS Pro 14n $4,995.95), and they are big and heavy. Another drawback is image resolution. 6,3 Megapixel is enough to make 10x7inches full quality photo print. Any larger than this and you loose quality. If you need bigger prints you need one of the above models, Canon EOS1Ds 11.1Mpixel & Kodak DCS Pro 14Mpixel. Digital SLR´s are also in general slower than film based SLR´s. Personally I use a Nikon F90x (90s in US) with 15mm fisheye lens, 20mm and 24mm lenses. 5 frames per second. Very happy with that camera!! But I can´t wait until the digital SLR´s are good enough for my use! Attached are one image shot with the 15mm and one shot with the 20mm. Hope this is useful info... Atle http://www.atledahl.com See what I'm saying? Thats what I'm saying! What am I saying? I DON'T KNOW!!

Here´s a couple of pictures of it and a link to the project: http://www.enviromission.com.au/index1.htm Atle See what I'm saying? Thats what I'm saying! What am I saying? I DON'T KNOW!!

I kind of like the idea of BABE jumping... See what I'm saying? Thats what I'm saying! What am I saying? I DON'T KNOW!!

Here`s a little video clip of the SmokePants in action: http://www.atledahl.com/exit5_28sec.mpg Smokeman

I don´t mind... But I´m interested in your presentation. Can you tell me about it? mail@atledahl.com Smokeman See what I'm saying? Thats what I'm saying! What am I saying? I DON'T KNOW!!

Only got one skydive with them. A couple of unintended flips in the exit, but then a looong flight. Jumped with a ProTrack and it recorded 99sec from 13.000feet, pulling altitude 2500feet. I think the average speed was something like 74mph. Smokeman See what I'm saying? Thats what I'm saying! What am I saying? I DON'T KNOW!!

This is the best picture I could find....a video grab. Once again I have put black dots on the holes to show them better. The pants go over the leg straps. You put the rig on first, then the pants. Hope this is clear enough. Smokeman See what I'm saying? Thats what I'm saying! What am I saying? I DON'T KNOW!!

Hey, hey! Dave, YOUR the man!! Can´t wait to get the package, I think I will enjoy it very much! Thanks! Atle See what I'm saying? Thats what I'm saying! What am I saying? I DON'T KNOW!!

Well, I didn´t really practice much tracking when I was skydiving. I guess I had a pretty good track, but it was when I started basejumping I really got into tracking. I´m lucky enough to live in Stavanger, close to Kjerag, and I think a lot of bigwall jumping is what did it for me. In basejumping you got the references and by jumping the same object over and over again its easy to see when your doing good or not so good. Tracking to the water from exit 7 then from exit 6 and then from exit 5. Now the goal is the main landing area from exit 5...and the water from exit 4. Nearly there, but still room for improvement. I think that is probably the reason why there is so many good trackers in Norway, we got plenty of bigwalls to choose from. I´m heading up north to the really big walls tomorrow, can´t wait to get some really long flights!! Smokeman See what I'm saying? Thats what I'm saying! What am I saying? I DON'T KNOW!!