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Humbled….

If you ask most photographers why they are photographers they often say because they love catching that moment in time, freezing an image that when viewed evokes emotion and causes a reaction, good or bad.  Having someone see one of my photos and having them react to it is the biggest compliment I can get; it means I did my job as a photographer. 

Inspiration is often the key to getting a great shot.  I’m always pushing to take an image to the next level and my inspiration comes in all forms.  I’ve seen many other photographer’s work in the skydiving industry and aspire to be on the same level one day.  I’m still working on it, but I know with hard work I can get there.  Some of those photographers have been at it for decades longer than I have and some of them only started a few years ago. 

I’ve also been inspired over the years by sources outside of skydiving. One of those sources that has inspired several thousands of photographers around the world is National Geographic.  The magazine has some of the most consistently amazing photos I’ve ever seen.  As a kid I remember going to my grandparent’s house and flipping through one of their old Nat Geo’s from the loaded bookshelf and just being in awe of what the pages held.  So I guess from a young age, Nat Geo helped spur my love of photography.  But beyond just the love, it feeds the desire to create and capture images like those held in National Geographic.

It is because of this respect for that magazine that today I am truly honored and humbled.  I’ve been shooting in freefall for well over a decade and today is the day that I have been fortunate enough to have one of my photographs find it’s way to the pages of National Geographic. The photograph will be featured in their Visions of Earth series that selects three photos each month for double page spreads in the magazine.  My shot that was selected was from mid 2012 during the 138-Way Vertical World Record Skydive, near sunset, over Skydive Chicago in Ottawa, IL.

Not only am I honored to have my image in the magazine with the iconic yellow boarder, knowing it will be seen by thousands of people around the world, but I’m also humbled to be sharing the pages with so many great photographers that still inspire me to this day.  I only hope that somewhere, someone sees my photo and finds the same inspiration from it that I have discovered so many times over the years.

With that, please seek out a copy of the March, 2014 issue of National Geographic and enjoy.

Also take a peak at my gallery for the original image here.

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90 Percent Cover & Centerfold

Being able to film the 138-Way and the 142-Way during Summerfest at Skydive Chicago was an amazing experience.  I honestly had the best seat in the house.  Lots of people have asked how I decided where I should be when I’m capturing something like this world record.  To be honest, it varies from jump to jump, but on both the 138 and the 142, it was late in the day and closing in on that magic hour for photographers.  It wasn’t perfect light, but as close as we can get up there.  I start by framing the shot, looking at the light and getting the sun near my back.  Then I take a look at the back drop.  Clouds?  Try and get them in there so we have some contrast.  Is the sun low in the sky and illuminating the formation in that warm light?  I pop up a bit and get everyone from the side.  Sure there is the risk of having a head eclipse a grip, but it’s worth it when you see the formation at that angle in that light.

On both formations, the angle, back drop and light worked out great.  So great in fact that 90 Percent decided that it was not only their cover shot, but also their centerfold.  Please enjoy the snap shots below and click this link to download the entire magazine!

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Vertical World Record Video – Digital Download

Just an update for those interested in the Official Video from the 2012 Vertical World Record 138-Way Skydive.

You can now download an HD version of the video online for only $4.99.  Download now.  We are also shipping the first batch of DVD’s.

We wanted to tell a story, a story about making a world record skydive. We interviewed the organizers, the jumpers and the camera men. We filmed on the ground, in the planes and in the air. They talked about the energy, that good energy when people unite together to accomplish a common goal. They talked about the heartache when something you’re striving for is so close it’s within your graspe only to be denied, then how you pick yourself up and you do it again and again until you get it done. This is the story of the 138-Way through the eyes of the people on it. In this 33 minute documentary film, the curtains have been pulled back and you can see how things work behind the scenes and how skydivers triumph over the obsticles in their paths.

Watch it. If you like what you see, share this post and spread the story of an amazing accomplishment.

Thank you English Jon for doing all the hard work and making this a reality!

To order Prints, Gallery Wrapped Canvas, Gallery Float Mounts, DVD’s or to download the digital version of this video, please visit:  http://www.verticalrecord.com

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Blast from the Past…Project Horizon V

As I update my new website with galleries of events, I’m able to break out the old hard drives and upload events from the past.  Rounding out the 2007 Gallery is an event that we held for 5 years running.  2007 was the last year for Project Horizon.  Dave Donnelly, Dave Brown, Chris Salcone and Storm Dunker hosted this years event at Skydive Chicago.

At the time, Project Horizon was pushing the limits of freeflying as we knew it.  The idea was to get a bunch of the organizers and coaches from all over, some of the better fliers out there, and get them together and see what they could do.

Thank you guys for pushing the sport!  So glad I could be a part of it.  Here are a few teaser shots.  If you’d like to visit the entire gallery, please click here.

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The Vertical World Record 138-Way, or was that a 142-Way?

It’s been 3 years since freefliers from around the world gathered together to hold hands and create the 108-Way Vertical World Record back in 2009.  So this year it was time to see what we could do.  With 6 planes, 142 skydivers and a bench FULL of jumpers just itching to get on, we set out on August 1, 2012 at Skydive Chicago to smash the old record.

On Day 1 of the event (that was happening during Skydive Chicago’s annual Summerfest Boogie) we started off by building formations with over 130 jumpers linked up.  Since we were trying something completely new, we decided to try exits that we had never tried before.  The lead plane (a sherpa) put out a super floater.  When that floater exited, so did the back 3 aircraft.  As the last jumpers were exiting the back 3 planes, the front 3 planes began to exit.  The idea was to have the back 3 planes worth of jumpers Float Up to the formation, while the front 3 planes worth would Dive Down.

Day 1 was a good day. We got in some amazing jumps, learned a lot about over floating and blowing past the formation and by the end of that day, most of the kinks were ironed out.

Day 2.  The day started out great.  The clouds rolled in for a few jumps, but were high enough that they only made the camera fliers sad to be shooting into a large white backdrop.  The formations were taking shape and we were getting to the point where everyone on the skydive was docking on the formation, just not at the same time.  That is until the 5th jump of the day.  That’s when the magic happened.  We built a beautiful 142-Way formation.  Everyone was on.  It looked good.  We landed, the photographers pulled up the pictures and scrutinized the images.  It still looked good.  Time to submit to the judges.  Within just a few minutes, the judges were calling us over.  They started asking me questions and I simply called over and deferred to Rook.  All the organizers and the judges chatted for what seemed like an eternity and then the news.  There was no 142-Way.
When attempting an official World Record Skydive, the organizers of the jump must declare the exact formation that they are intending to build.  They draw it out on paper and submit it to the judges prior to taking off.  Then, if the formation completes and is judge-able, the judges compare the drawing to the picture or video and declare a record or not.
In the rush that happens at events like this, minor details were over looked and the formation that was submitted had 2 stingers with incorrect grips.  It was a huge blow.  The 142-Way formation that was indeed complete, and might count in the Guinness Books, would not be an FAI official World Record.  The only thing left to do was to keep the energy up and move forward, and that meant more jumps.

Here is Jump 9 from Day 2, an amazing 142-Way formation.  The UnOfficial Vertical World Record:
Day 3.  With all of the paperwork now in order, the entire group was striving to recapture that magic moment of the 142-Way.  Several jumps were going on and the energy was good, but starting to fade.  Many times there was just 1 jumper off and as they got on, break off was happening.  The group was starting to get frustrated, but the jumps were still amazing and nearly everyone was so close to re-creating that record to make it official.
It was getting towards the end of the day and the organizers were going to have to do what they had been avoiding all along.  Cut down the jump from 142 to 138.  One of the pods that was causing issues just had to go.  This was going to be the 15th jump of the attempts and people were getting tired.  It was going to be one of the last jumps of the day and the next day was our last day to go for a record.  It was now or never.  With 138 skydivers (16 of which were women) from 17 nations and 4 cameramen we boarded 6 aircraft and headed to 18,500 feet.  Break off was 7,000 feet.  We went up and did what we had to do.  When that last jumper picked up their grips, everything smoothed out.  You could feel it, see it, sense it.  It was flying as smooth as the organizers had hoped it would.  There were no stragglers on the outside, just cameramen trying to get that nice angle and take as many pictures as possible, since after all, this is what we are here for.  It flew for nearly 4 seconds, but that seems like an eternity at 165 m.p.h.  The end result was this shot of the Official Vertical World Record 138-Way.
Congratulations to all 138 Skydivers on this record!  It was an amazing experience and I can’t wait for the next one.
The OFFICIAL VERTICAL WORLD RECORD DVD is now available.  English Jon and Brian Buckland are putting together the DVD and stepping it up a notch this year.  It will be a 25-30 minute long feature with multiple outside angles and inside angles as well as a lot of ground footage, interviews, bonus material, etc…  Please visit verticalrecord.com to place your order.
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Vertical World Record Shots

Hey All!

Just wanted to let you know that the Vertical World Record is happening at Skydive Chicago right now from August 1 – 4. So far we have 2 jumps complete. If all goes well I will be posting each jump right after it happens in my Gallery, link is below.

Please forward this link along to anyone who would like to check it out:

http://gallery.brianbuckland.com/p352003387 

Here are a few teasers from the first couple of jumps! Current attempts are going for a 142-Way.