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Nine

When I was on Team Mandrin, one of my teammates for 2 years was Mike Wittenburg.  A few years ago Mike along with his wife and 2 kids moved over to Dubai and put skydiving as their main activity.  Since the kids weren’t old enough to skydive, they were welcomed into the privately owned Wind Tunnel.  As some of you might know, the Crown Prince of Dubai is a very active skydiver and very much responsible for the surge in skydiving activity over in the U.A.E.  I was lucky enough to visit them in Dubai earlier this year and saw the kids flying, at the time they were Eight and Six.  Mike put this video together for his now Nine year old daughter.  Talented doesn’t even begin to describe it.  It just goes to show what the no fear attitude of kids coupled with family support and hard training (and a little bit of ice cream) can accomplish.

Sit back, turn up the sound, make it full screen and enjoy what the kids are up to today.  I’m really looking forward to seeing what they can do next year!


Nine. from mike

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Chicagoland Skydiving Center CSC’s Annual Independence Boogie 2013 Revisited

It was my first time up to Rochelle, IL to visit Chicagoland Skydiving Center’s new dropzone.  A few years ago they relocated from Hinkley, IL and built and entirely new facility.  I have to say that I was blown away by how nice the place was.  I guess if you already built a dropzone and had run a successful business for several years and then decided to relocated, you have the perfect opportunity to make things right and exactly how you want them and exactly how they should be.  CSC’s vision for their new home was carried out in the execution of building that dream and turning it into a reality, they hit the nail on the head.  If you have the opportunity to go for a jump and check out the next big thing in skydiving, I would highly suggest you book your tickets and make it to next year’s Annual 4th of July Independence Boogie at CSC!

To check out all of the pictures from the event click here.

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The AFF Story

A little while back I went to Elsinore and shot 2 tunnel instructors who were taking the AFF Instructor’s course.  One had about 200 jumps and the other had fewer than 50.  It was an experiment to see if hundreds of hours of tunnel time could replace hundred of skydives.  While I shot the two of the instructors teaching their students, the photos themselves tell the story.

Skydive Mag thought the same thing and create a photo tutorial of some of the shots from that session.  Here is that story for you to take in.

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Blue Skies Magazine Cover Shot

If there is one thing that I really love seeing, it’s my photos on the cover of magazines!  It doesn’t happen all the time, but when it does, there’s nothing like it!  I still remember the first time I was ON the cover and the first time my SHOT was on the cover.  Both were amazing feelings of accomplishment.

So thank you Luna and Blue Skies Mag for making it happen!  Looking forward to many, many more!

This shot was taken over Jumptown where as it turned out, was Tube Day there.  Click here for some Tube Shots from that day.  In the meantime, enjoy the cover and make sure to get your subscription to Blue Skies Mag!!!

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New online Magazine: SkydiveMag

Once upon a time, Lesley Gale was the editor at the BPA’s (British Parachute Association) publication, Skydive the Mag.  A few years ago she left there having gained many years of experience running a magazine geared towards skydivers, by skydivers and specifically for skydivers.  She had a vision of what she wanted in a magazine, but wanted a different venue, a new medium to share the stories that were happening in the industry.  As with most forms of print media, she turned to the web and has created a digital outlet for her vision. 

SkydiveMag.com was just released a week or two ago and is a new approach at story telling for skydivers.  Having had a good working relationship in the past with Lesley, she asked if she could use lots of my shots to help get her online magazine off the ground. 

So when you have a chance, take a look at a pictorial of flying over the Palm, or how to do a Wingsuit Rodeo or even how to fly with a tube for that matter.  I also have the profile shot for a story that was done on Amy Chmelecki and another story that was done on flying with cameras.  So take a look around and enjoy the new magazine.  Leave comments, share your thoughts and share some stories online with social media.  Be part of the conversation and let me know what you think of this new venture.