karenmeal

Thursday I'll be flying back from California.. Maybe we could do it on Friday? I definitely want to get some jumps on the setup on Friday so that on Saturday when I'm doing tandem videos I'll be all ready. "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

I've got one of those plates already. Any tips on lining that up with my video camera? "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

Just got a still camera that I need to mount. Already have my video camera sidemounted on my hawkeye. I will be mostly taking pictures of tandems with this still camera.. Any tips? (Besides "don't drill through your hand") "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

:1:almost Graduation was on Saturday and after recovering from my family I got one jump in on Sunday. Did a jump with a buddy who is just learning head-down. He did awesome! When we landed he told me it was one of his best skydives ever. That really made my day that he had such a good time jumping with me.

Picked up my graduation present last night compliments of my parents and my boyfriend... Digital Canon Rebel EOS with mount and tongue switch. Oh hell yes. I can't wait till I get to go jump this thing! "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

Ooooh! I am so jealous. My boyfriend and I are talking about buying a tandem sea kayak in a couple months. We're moving up to Bellingham, WA and since my knee is still healing we want a nice outdoors activity that we can both enjoy. Any gear tips? "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

Magna Cum Laude. I'm pretty proud of that. Especially considering since my first try at college I dropped out with straight F's. (And I was soooo close to Suma Cum Laude..) "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

Well, I've been in the real world before and I miss it. I'm really looking forward to going back to a solid 40 and a paycheck. Unfortunately, I'm not quite there yet, I start grad school in the fall. I should get my Master's within 2 years and then it will be on to the real world as a speech language pathologist. "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

Yesterday I graduated with a B.S. in Speech and Hearing Sciences from the University of Washington. Now I need to figure out how to safely do some head-down in my cap and gown. "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

I got a zero too! I think that is just cause I'm scared of confrontation. Deep down, I'm an asshole. "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

If I were you I would try to get in contact with a doctor who is knowledgeable about skydiving. Hopefully one will chime in on here, because I don't know which skydiving docs would be knowledgeable of your specific issues. I'm wondering if the skydive you made caused an injury, or just temporarily aggravated your problems? I know that when I was hurt and on a hiatus from the sport doing observer rides was actually really fun! That's where you don a rig and ride the plane up and watch all the jumpers get out. The ride down can be amazing. If you're interested in doing that, talk to a dropzone with a fast plane and a fun pilot. I did a whole bunch of observer rides in a porter with huge doors on either side. After the jumpers got out, the pilot started flying upsidedown for a bit and spiraling down, keeping up with the people in freefall. He even did some of the weightless stuff with me. (My favorite.) I have no clue how much of that was legal, but it really made me not miss skydiving so much, and watching people jump out is still a pretty cool thing to do. Also, maybe tunnel time could be something to satisfy you. Have you thought about doing tunnel time with extra assistance from the tunnel coaches? I'm definitely not even remotely close to an expert in this, but maybe you could call up a windtunnel and ask their advice. There is also tandem paragliding that you could look into.. yeah, it's different. But I would think that without that opening shock it could potentially be a way for you to enjoy the freedom of flight. Not to mention it lasts longer than a skydive. I wish you luck with finding a way to enjoy this sport despite all the crap that you're having to deal with. Folks like you who roll with the punches and keep on adapting to everything absolutely amaze me! "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

"Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

10 jumps! I did 7 video jumps and 3 freeflys. It was my first day on the schedule as a videographer. However, I've already bought probably 3 cases (that's 24 beers per case, not 12!) for this tandem video stuff.. so I have decided that I don't really owe. Doing tandem videos ROCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love watching those guys in freefall, they turn into little kids up there! The videos that I did this weekend were my best yet. "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

Jeff is such a great tandem master to film! (And not just cause he's my boyfriend.) He holds still for most of the skydive, and does a sweet gainer on exit. "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

yeah.. gotta look higher!! Arrr... it's getting a lot better though. Subsequent videos in that day were much better - lower position and better at looking waaaay up. "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

Thank-you for your feedback. You've given me a number of helpful suggestions regarding video. You're probably right about the music being too loud, I could scale that back a bit next time. Now I'm having trouble getting my firewire to work and the 'puter won't recognize the camera!! ARrrrggghh. That part of things is certainly frustrating. "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

I actually didn't slow-mo the entire jump, just the good parts. This isn't my first edit.. I used the editing machines at the DZ in the past.. this is my first time doing an edit on my computer with software that I just got. As far as the interviews go.. this was a freebie for my good friend.. that is why there is a little extra cheese. I didn't have time to take the camera off my helmet to film the landing.. we had a reaaaaallly long spot. (Which is why you saw me do a double take towards the end of the video.) Normally I do that. "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

I don't know why I'm so dern excited about being able to do this. I just got adobe elements yesterday and figgered it out! Editing videos is really fun stuff. If you're bored and want to check out a silly tandem video here ya go. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y51itNDbYnE "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

Dude.. You need to brush up on the beer rules. Hopefully this link will help. http://www.skydiving.org.vt.edu/goodstuff/beer.htm "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

I posted my first video to youtube!!! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y51itNDbYnE It's my friend Nicole making a jump after two years of talking about it. Video is sooo much fun. "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

I thought my computer had one of these.. but I guess it is just a DVD player and a CD burner. Oh poo. How much does it cost to add one of these to my computer? This video thing is a slippery slope... "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

http://www.skydivesnohomish.com/skycam.htm What's missing in that picture? Me. "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

"Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

Take the nitrous option! "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham

I still get those thoughts.. But I jump anyways. Channel your nervous energy into something productive - learn as much as you can about the sport!! "Life is a temporary victory over the causes which induce death." - Sylvester Graham