Birddog's Latest

Sectionals explained for Dummies

2010-03-16T14:10:00.003-07:00

This link is an adequate explaination on reading sectionasl http://www.paradrenalin.com/sharedfiles/Reading%20sectional%20Charts.pdf

and this link will get you a .KLM file you can download and open in Google Earth with sectional overlays:
http://www.wikihow.com/Overlay-Sectional-Aeronautical-Charts-in-Google-Earth

meeting tonight, see yesterday's post

Flying access meeting

2010-03-15T13:24:00.001-07:00

Pilot get together to discuss ideas about how to secure access for the flying community at Ben's Crow Inn/ Cobb's Knob ridge soaring site. Go.

Tuesday March 16
5:30 p.m.

Hyde Park Pub
1501 North 13th Street
Boise, ID 83702
United States
(208) 336-9260

What I hope happens at this meeting:

- that we can identify 2 people that we all mutually respect to act as our point pilots

- that those 2 individuals have the most access-issue experience of the group - (preferably with free flight access experience)

- that some of us (myself included) can put aside certain personal opinions and ideas that could hurt us as a whole

- that there is enough beer on tap

Boise City now owns The Crow ridge soaring site!

2010-03-09T22:20:00.000-07:00

Boise's Crow Inn ridge soaring site is now owned by the city of Boise! http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/idaho/news.newsmain/article/1/0/1621597/Local.News/Boise.Buys.Hammer.Flat Not to be developed into houses and strip malls

I

Aaron Beck Now that it is publicly owned and not slated for development do we pilots continue the status quo or should we look into options through the foundation for free flight? Utah pilots? People with experience? Ideas?
6 minutes ago ·

2009-10-12T22:12:00.001-07:00

New activities

2009-10-11T16:41:00.003-07:00

I've been looking for new activities to take up this wintrt since I won't be able to ski, kite, or fly. Follow the link to see different ideas that I'm mulling over while I'm sitting around in my sling.

I might not push it and go for the railing walk too soon:

Seems exciting, but even so, parenting still doesn't seem like something I really want to do:

"I don't think the definition of a sport necessarily has to be based on athletic prowess it could also be just enduring a very long amount of time..."

Alfred Palmer's 4x5 Kodachromes

2009-10-08T14:22:00.003-07:00

While reading back issues of the now defunct PhotoShelter blog, Shoot! The Blog, I followed a link that took me to Shorpy (the 100 year old photo blog) and their gallery of now public domain images shot on 4x5 Kodachrome by Alfred Palmer. The Office of War Information (OWI) commissioned photographers like Mr. Palmer to produce ducumentary/propaganda material during WWII. Images produced by the OWI are archived at the Library of Congress along with the better known Farm Security Administration (FSA) images produced by the legendary Dorthea Lange, Walker Evans, and others.

4x5 Kodachromes. Beautiful I do think. And look at the use of directional lighting, these guys really actually had to understand lighting ratios and expsure - no chimping with the lcd screen as with digital.

passionate and inspired words

2009-10-06T17:44:00.001-07:00

do it, for gods sake. don't give in to your fear, don't give into the rationalizations of your mind, listen to your soul; your soul will guide you, always. leave your safe shore and go explore, bring your kids and wife with you if you have to, bring a friend or two or go by yourself. No one makes it big in their own hometown.
- Martin Prihoda

.

And here is the rest of it.

80's VHS dating

2009-10-06T16:43:00.002-07:00

Can you imagine? I thought internet dating was bad.

A

We don't pay for expenses

2009-10-06T15:57:00.000-07:00

Caution: crude laguage

i’ll do it….

Here is the beginning of my post. And here is the rest of it.

geotagging

2009-10-06T13:55:00.003-07:00

Wouldn't it be cool to draw a circle on google earth or a map, then type "kayaks" and have every image of kayaks within that circle appear? As far as I know we can't do that yet, but from a business standpoint I want to be ready for the day when geographically dynamic images searches are available.

Read on to learn more about geotagging and the tools necessary to add it to a photography workflow.

How cool would it be if someone could come to my web-site, type in the search term "bike" then draw a circle on a map and come up with all my images of bikes that were shot within that circle?

Or better yet, from a photo-editor or photo researcher's standpoint, how convenient would it be for them to do a google search for "horse" then draw a circle on a specific area of Nevada and have all the horse images from the geotagging savy photographers show up on a search?

What if you could right click an image and have an option "reveal shoot location in google maps"? Maybe I'm kidding myself, maybe outside of GE or telling your friends about your last great adventure, knowing exactly where you shot an image will never be commercially useful.
I think it will be valuable one day.

A field for GPS coordinates exists in the EXIF metadata field - a standard format for digital photography. Incredibly, the field is most often left empty - even by most professional photographers. There are a few reasons for this, the first is that right now there seems to be little value attached to the information, and secondly the information doesn't appear automatically when the image is created and it is too much extra work to add the information.

Geotagging - the process of inserting GPS data and coordinates into the metadata fields of digital images - seems to have limited value for most professional photographers. As with most processes that involve full and detailed disclosure, geotagging appears to offer the most benefit to the client or end user.

Standardized and accurate geotagging could preclude a stock photographer from adding a misleading description such as "Man releases trout on the Middle Fork of the Salmon River in Idaho's Frank Church River of no Return Wilderness" to a generic image of a fish and a net with no visual context. By looking at metadata a client might recognize a stock photographer trying to pull one over on them, or a customer or end user might more readilly recognize a corporate add trying to portray themselves as something they are not.

I wonder if standardized geotagging could help create a need for the creation of more original imagery? At the very least geotagging would confirm the claims of an honest stock photographer, and we don't know what technologies have yet to be invented that might exploit this information in ways we can't imagine.

The more immediate reason why the GPS field is often left blank is that geotagging seems like too much extra work. It is logical to assume that someday all our cameras will be gps equipped (the recently released Nikon Coolpix 6000 is the first) and all sorts of data will be written the moment the shutter is released. As of now we are forced to pack around and learn how to use either a traditional gps unit or a photographer specific "geotagging unit," then download and handle the gps data, and finally use third party software to write the coordinates to each image. What a freaking pain. There are already to many steps in most photographers' work flow. Add one more step? Plus, it sounds like something a geeky HP engineer would do after skimming the Craigslist personals on a Saturday morning.

Or Birddog when he is high on narcotics.

In short, geotagging works like this:
1) to the second set your camera's clock to your gps clock
2) turn on and carry gps with tracklog intervals set to 5 seconds or less as you shoot
3) download gps tracklog and photos to computer
4) use 3rd party software that looks at the synched time data to match each image to gps coordinates

While flickr. google, picassa and now even iPhoto '09 offer labor intensive manuel map based solutions there are two approaches that make sense for volume geotagging. The first approach is to use pretty much any normal gps unit to create track logs, then employ third party software to sync up the time stamps, coordinates, and individual images.
The second approach is to buy a photographer specific "geotagging unit," then use included or third party software to sync images and tracklogs.
Either way, it is one more thing the photographer has to pack, travel and shoot with, more batteries to purchase, change and throw away, more software to learn and integrate into a work flow. Oh, boy I can't wait until gps units are included in Canon cameras. In the mean time Adobe engineers should include an "integrate .gpx tracklog on import" option in the import dialogue box of the next Adobe PhotoShop Lightroom update.

As of now, we got what we got.

The advantages to a photographer specific "geotagging unit" over a standard gps unit may include the following:
-lightweight
-long battery life
-relatively affordable

-nothing to learn, a dummy assistant can hit an on/off switch
-remains with camera gear at all times - you'll never forget if you left it in your car, with your flying kit, in your fishing/hunting gear, on your bike, who you lent it to,
-anything else?

Here are a few photographer specific geotagging units:
Royaltek RBT-2300
Holux M-241
Amod AGL3080
GiSTEQ PhotoTrackr CD111
JOBO photoGPS
Qstarz BT-Q1000X
Eye-Fi Pro - this is a cf card that detects local wi-fi connections to automativally geocode your images as you shoot! Super cool if you only take photos at starbucks, the mall, or the airport. Gag me now.

Until I decide which unit to go with I will make do with the Garmin GPSmap 76s gps unit that I fly with and third party software of which there are many options:
GeoSetter seems to be the most talked about on forums, but it is a windows-based program so that doesn't work for me.
In true Google form Google offers a free open sourced version called gpicsync which I overlooked before, but will try.
$30 HoudahGeo

I downloaded and tried out two pieces of software today. Jeffrey’s “GPS-Support” Geoencoding Plugin for Lightroom promised to integrate into my regular LR workflow. It was easy to use, install and it included some cool info like speed and bearing (which, come to think of it is useless unles you were to duct tape your GPS unit to your camera).
Unfortunately, the Geoencoding Plugin writes metadata as a shadow, and the data appears a made up data field - not the EXIF GPS data field. I exported a test with Jeffrey's "include shadow on export" option turned on but the GPS data was useless outside of Lightroom. So much for seamless workflow integration.

I'll give the Google software a go the next chance I get, but I might just use gpsphotolinker with a modified work flow for a while.

New workflow:
1) drag 'n drop/copy image files from card reader to folder on desktop
2) connect GPS to computer
3) import image files/folder into gpsphotolinker
4) use gpsphotolinker to access GPS and sync tracklog to images
5) import images to LR as normal

A screen capture of the GPSphotolinker interface

What I like about gpsphotolinker so far is that I don't have to download track logs separately - it can extract track logs from my gps, and it writes GPS and elevation data to the EXIF field as well as city, state, and country information to the IPTC fields. I exported a test file and the coordinates and elevation data were included in the exported file. Sweet.

In LR I can click on the GPS metadata field and a google maps page opens with the location marked on the map.

Makes me want to take a trip.

life = risk

2009-10-03T17:35:00.001-07:00

MicroStock Vs. Original Imagery

2009-10-03T17:21:00.000-07:00

And here is the rest of it.

Break Emptiness

2009-09-29T15:45:00.004-07:00

It is important to break up emptiness, to disrupt vacant spaces to, to give our visual foothold something solid to stand on.

As I studied this George Tice image today it was the broad and solid wood detailing on the wall that made this image work for me. Dad, what is this feature referred to as?

Also when I was in Telluride with Glenn Oakley I noticed a lot of the hotels and "cabins" utilize "stepped" mini roof lines that parallel the main roof line. Seems like they were used to break up the empty expanse of multi story exterior walls. Often times these min roof lines originated from a window on the side of the building. What are those features know as?

I've always appreciated wanes coating in a room, dormers in a roof, solid crown molding and blocky base board in rooms with elevated ceilings. Think about Susan Susanka's concept of dilineating different living spaces with something as simple as an exposed header or a change in the finish floor elevation. Emptiness and empty expanses must be broken. As visual creatures, as fragile humans we need something solid on which to ground ourselves. Other than the fact that they can't risk someone hurting themselves, I've never understood what good it does to put a lunatic in small, featureless, flat, white rooms. Seems like it would me more harmful than beneficial, creating a sense of panic, a sense of lost orientation and direction.

The empty canvas, the blinking cursor, an empty wall or ceiling, are all terrifying. We need visual, metaphorical, physical, ideological anchors from which we can send out skiffs, explore, create, then return to and lean on for support.

Bugger

2009-09-29T13:34:00.002-07:00

I miss my Kiwi friends and need to go back as soon as I can.

Get people to bug out, you know

2009-09-28T15:09:00.002-07:00

Remember what pays off:

2009-09-28T14:59:00.000-07:00

Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.– Calvin Coolidge

seen on aphotoeditor.com

2009-09-28T11:02:00.000-07:00

I've been keen on Dan Winter's portrait and photo illustrations for a while. It is clean and simple, tight, yet full of depth. Follow the jump for an interview with Dan.

"People aren't going to remember the things you do. They are going to remember how you made people feel. And uh, I've always tried to really adhere to that, try to be you know kind and gracious and appreciative."

Cradle Camp

2009-09-27T13:40:00.001-07:00

The New Economy

2009-09-26T13:09:00.005-07:00

Chad Case and I just read WWGD by Jeff Jarvis so I found this Charlie Rose interview with Chris Anderson about his new book Free: the Future of a Radical Price interesting.

The Big Question: What is the pet for our penguin?

Upcoming Shoulder surgery

2009-09-24T10:18:00.002-07:00

My CT showed that I have a Hill-Sachs lesion (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hill-Sachs_lesion) as well as a Bankart lesion (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bankart_lesion). Basically I have a divot in the ball of my shoulder and have fractured the anterior portion of my shoulder socket which hasn't healed on it's own. Dr. Michael Curtin (http://www.intermountainortho.com/physicians.php) will perform a Bristow-Latarjet procedure (http://www.shoulderdoc.co.uk/article.asp?article=912) on the 30th of Sept.

And here is the rest of it.

2009-09-14T12:30:00.000-07:00

The Unexpected Image

2009-09-05T19:30:00.002-07:00

In an effort to push myself this winter I want to start making images less of people doing things like paragliding or skiing and more in the direction of conveying ideas.

I'm probably the sort of person that would benefit from direction and structure so I'm going to try and give myself guidelines to follow. If you have ideas that you think would be interesting guide lines, send them along as well. There might be a series of different guidelines separate, distinct ideas/projects or all the guidelines might meld into a long string of guidelines that end in a single series of images with a single cohesive idea. I'm not sure yet.

To kick things off here are the first three guidelines for the first image we make together:

The image must:

1) Identify a simple and central message to communicate.

2) illustrate what is counterintuitive and unexpected about that message

3) have a sense of mystery in the sense that it provides a question without an obvious answer

So here is my first image idea, following these guide lines: A homeless bum opening and peering into a BFI dumpster in a grimy dirty back ally only to find a white linen table and an elaborate Chef Mortimer style meal laid out before him.

The image of a fancy smancy meal all in a garbage can jumped into my head during a brainstorming session about things that seemed counterintuitive, it further developed into the image of a bum looking into a trash heap and finding a full meal. In my head the image fills requirements 2 and 3, but I don't yet know what the central message is that I'm trying to communicate. Leave a comment and help me figure that out.

I hadn't thought much about the Chef Mortimer name I used until now that I'm going back and reading this post. Hmm... it was a complete accident that I offered up that image alongside his name. Maybe somewhere in the intersection of that image and his name is the answer to guideline #1.

Let me know what you think. Leave a comment, write me an email, FB me. Do you have a set of guidelines to follow when trying to come up with a new image? Do you have an image idea that would fill the three guidelines above? Do you have the answer to how my image idea and guideline #1 work together?

Aug. 26 Rocky Trip

2009-08-30T20:36:00.009-07:00

First post in a long while.

And here is the rest of it.

2009-08-24T11:34:00.002-07:00

My river/photographer friend Teresa Tamura recently lent me her copy of "the ongoing moment" by Geoff Dyer. The next couple posts will most likely be reflections and observations as I make my way through the book. If you are in Missoula Mt. this fall be sure and visit Teresa's show on the Minidoka Internment camps, titled "Minidoka Memories."

"Explaining her working methods (Dorothea) Lange commented that there are 'people who are garrulous and wear their heart on their sleeve and tell you everything, that's one kind of person; but the fellow who's hiding behind a tree, and hoping you don't see him, is the fellow you'd better find out about.' The most eloquent testimony, in other words, may come from those most reluctant to give it."

And here is the rest of it.

Pu Er Tea-drinking in Big Sky Country

2009-06-11T15:56:00.007-07:00

When Todd Jackson's wife Tao Ling receives her green card (hopefully by this fall) the couple plans to open a tea import and yoga studio in Big Sky Mt. Click for more photos.

Another evening at the crow

2009-05-20T23:10:00.005-07:00

I had invited the Ybarrondos and Justin out for an evening at the Crow. They were game, but conditions were building from 4 until 6:30 so I decided to have them wait for a more promising evening. Parawaiting is not much fun. After much waiting I did end up with a very short sunset flight around 8:30.

After a near flawless first run with the new camera angle at Melba ridge last week I struggled this evening to get the camera to fly straight. I think a longer retrieve string will solve the problem. Here is the only picture that sort of worked from the evening:

Sunset over the Boise River, smooth, light, steady lift band tonight.

My timing was a little off on the spiral landing. I left a big skid mark in the green spring grass.

Shoshone for Monster

2009-05-18T22:29:00.011-07:00

Nic held onto his motivation to complete a spring desert trip with his new boat despite having to push through his 21,583rd cold of the season. Thanks Nic for putting together a fun trip.

I had forgotten how incredibly mind blowing and beautiful..., er, uh, I mean don't ever do the Jarbridge Bruneau River system in southern Idaho! It is dirty, small, log infested, has a brutal portage, the canyon is so narrow that you come home with a kink in your neck from looking up, it is chock full of buzz worms, you won't see any bald eagles or turkey vultures, there are absolutely no good side canyons to hike, you won't see any sheep, it is all flat water, and there is no good wood to burn. Why would you want to do a dirty desert river anyway? Stay home and watch a reality t.v. show, that's what I should have done.

What?

Just outside the Mtn. Home (Sullen Creek?) bombing range Shannon made us get out of the car to check out a post rain-storm desert rainbow.

I would like to do a 3 boat trip next time. More people, more fun, plus it would be nice to have some photos with some boats in them to lend a little perspective and illustrate just how amazing our otherworldly Mini-Grand Canyon of Idaho really is.

Melba Ridge Glass Off

2009-05-13T23:29:00.006-07:00

Clancy must be doing something right with his life. After the last final of the 09 BSU spring semester he ridge soared and kited some smooth air out at Melba ridge this evening.

Have a fun summer motoring and soaring Indian Head near Weiser, see you in September.

Team USA X-Alps 2009 - Honza Rejmanek/Dave Hanning

2009-05-11T12:10:00.009-07:00

The sole 2009 US Red Bull X-Alps team is pilot Honza Rejmanek and ground support / logistical organizer Dave Hanning. Support team U.S.A. with a donation and be entered to win products from Suunto Watches, Smith Optics, Hammer Nutrition, and others.

The 2009 X-Alps course is a grueling 813K paragliding race. Honza battled a G.I. bug in 2007 that put him more or less out of the race for four days. Once back on his feet Honza had an incredible push, placing in the top 10. Watch the race this summer via live tracking and cheer on team USA.

Honza on Mt. Borah, ID. 2006:

Task 6 - last day

2009-05-02T18:47:00.000-07:00

After the tour of the Greek Orthodox Monestary we spent about 3 hours on launch waiting for the low cloud base to lift. Many of us thought that the day would be called, and it would have been a fun day to go slack-line with the Jackson boys on some gigantic old growth trees. Eventually base lifted just barely enough to allow pilots to launch and the task committee called a task.

Pretty much everyone struggled all afternoon to stay in the air. Back at the ranch in the evening Nate told stories of flying super light ridge lift for large distances followed by frisbeeing zeros for even longer distances. Translation: Nate is an incredible pilot and managed to turn circles in zero lift that just barely allowed him to coast like a Frisbee, neither sinking nor climbing, to within a few kilometers of goal. Nate's patience won him the task for the day, and certainly the most difficult 300 points of the entire comp.

I landed back at the ranch. Here is my track log.
Ajay and Little Pete waiting for base to lift:

Launch director John Ivey:
Retrieve driver Forrest:
Paragliding's storyteller, Billy:
Paragliding's er, uh, animated party monitor, Patrick:
Meredyth Malocsay:
Hayden:
Jack:
Little Pete:

Greek Othodox Tour

2009-05-02T11:45:00.000-07:00

Super low cloud-base today and it doesn't look like we'll get to fly. While we waited to decide whether or not we would drive to launch our hosts from the St. Nicholas Ranch and Retreat Center where kind enough to give us a tour of their cathedral.

Rain Party

2009-05-01T18:34:00.000-07:00

After task 5 was called for rain the pilots huddled under the porch where the internet signal was the strongest and the momentum rolled into beer drinking, margaritas and an eventual late night extreme table tennis match.

.

Tim, what did you say?Everybody at the playground made up.

Hanning on the table tennis court:

Day 5 US PG Ntls.

2009-05-01T17:46:00.000-07:00

Today's task was eventually called because of rain. Most pilots had dirted when the task was called. Once again I was confined to the valley. I broke my second speed bar line of the week today. Follow the jump for more images and a track log you can open with Google Earth.

The Flying Scotsman:

Pine's mother must have had a gut feeling that he would grow into his given name:

Oh, I finally got to use the condom catheter system that Nic Allen helped me put together. I still get stage fright and it takes a little bit to get things flowing, but talk about relief. This new device has made flying more than a couple hours very very enjoyable. I'll admit it is a weird request, but if you want an idea for when July 16 rolls around here you are.

My track log.

Hayden entering the day's task:
Stratergerizing:
Entering routes into the electronics:

Day 4 - Reserve Toss Day

2009-04-30T15:23:00.000-07:00

No pictures again today. My focus remained on actually getting out of the valley and on to the second way point again. The start of the races was not a lot of fun. Flying in gaggles of 60+ people is hectic but doable, but flying in gaggles where everyone is scraaaatching the trees, rocks, and hills just to stay in the air is not fun at all. Before the window opened half the field moved away from launch and part way down the hillside. Pilots were hanging onto the lift like it was some 5.14b slab with fingernail holds. Even a few established comp pilots fell off the wall and bombed out in the valley.

Somehow I managed to maintain just above launch, and was completely blown away when I saw Nate return from the lead gaggle to climb out again from launch. Nate was all smiles, gave me a whoop and told me to follow him. Of course I left lower than Nate, my glide is about 7500 times worse than his new comp glider and I was 5 times as slow through the air. I arrived super super low, repeating the internal mantra of "patience patience patience." Half a dozen slow and low figure 8's later I somehow managed to gain enough to start making circles again. I climbed up above the ridge with three other pilots and as I made slow turns trying to top out before heading out to the first way-point I heard a pilot shouting and the sudden rustling of fabric.

I looked over to see 1/4 of an orange and gray UP glider wrapped around another pilot's pod harness. As soon as the mid-air collision occured the pilots turned away from one another. The UP re-inflated and flew away, but the pilot in the pod took what he later described to be 4 riser twists. The glider was inflated and flying but with that many riser twists there was no way for the pilot to weight shift or put in any brake inputs. We were relatively low (500 feet) off the deck and the pilot did the right thing and yanked his reserve and drifted down under his reserve parachute. His reserve hooked up in one tree, and his glider got tangled up in a second tree leaving the pilot suspended in his pod harness about 90 feet off the ground and 20 feet from one tree trunk and 40 feet from the second tree trunk.

I likened the whole event to a boat getting pinned. Fortunately the pilot had a tree extraction kit (100 feet of p-chord, two floss boxes, some slings and carabiners) and a rescue crew had him out of the tree 4 hours later. His glider, harness, and reserve spent the night in the tree. I don't know how that extraction will work.

After I radioed about the downed pilot I topped out as much as the thermal allowed, headed for the end of the ridge, tanked up again and had an incredible glide across the valley, arriving high I worked up the ridge, luckily found a good tight core, glided to Bald Mtn., got a fantastic final climb and I was out of the valley for the first time since last Saturday!

I thought I could clip the corner of the second waypoint, but pushed it too far and lost a bunch of altitude when I had to make a 90 degree turn and tag the cylindar. I made it a few miles further. Here is my track log.

Looks like bad weather for the next couple day. The event might be over.

Day 3

2009-04-29T07:05:00.000-07:00

No photos today as I wanted to get off the ground, establish myself in the air, and actually get a flight that would take me out of the valley and on to at least the second waypoint. None of which happened. I couldn't climb out of the first waypoint. Here is my track log.

Day 2

2009-04-28T15:32:00.000-07:00

Day 2:

So the spots arrived in time for the second day, but they still did not have the live tracking feature functioning. Bummer, sorry gang. Maybe you have picked one of the other pilots to follow. Sorry gang.

I launched dead last today because I was taking photos at launch. Bad mistake as far as the flying goes. The advantage to launching early is that you can get up with the best pilots, then watch the lines they take, and get a feel where the up air is and where the the sink resides.

By the time I got off the ground all the good pilots had busted out of the valley and I was left to grovel around on my own. I had a good boost to a low cloud base and stepped on the speed bar to try and make the jump out of the valley. I scratched in crummy lift for a while, then sank out and watched the fiery 112 lb. 5 foot nothing French-Canadian babe boost up and kick my butt out of the Valley. Good work Megs. My track log.

Loading up the vans to head up to launch:

We had fog, low clouds and discouraging conditions on launch. Eventually the fog and base lifted, and the skies cleared enough to start a task. 40 pilots ended up in goal after a 50 + kilometer task.
Some of the pilots put in some labor removing branches and roots on launch as we waited for the skies to clear.
The land owner showed us how to use a shovel, and told us his stories of his days in the hi Sierras:

Meredyth on launch:

Nate Scales:
Andy McReae:
Bill Hughes and Kieth:

Ajay:
Megs and others:
Connie checking in pilots:

I went up in the evening and had an amazing glass-off with Jon, Natalia, and Martin:

Life is Grand!

Day 1 US PG Ntls. Dunlap CA

2009-04-27T01:00:00.000-07:00

Monday was the first day of competition. We had great conditions and about 14 pilots made it to goal. I launched close to last as I was taking photos on launch. Once in the air I had a good climb but my GPS ruined an otherwise potentially enjoyable flight. I spent the entire flight staring at the grey screen trying to figure out where I was in relation to the turn points.

My flight ended as I searched for light afternoon lift and instead found a bush. It took me 45 minutes to fish my wing out the thorny branches. All the while it sounded like the neighbors were strangling cats. On my hike out I passed a cock-fighting farm. If you have google earth download my track log and see the bush I picked as an LZ

There have been a few glitches in the event organization and the spot tracking device that I had rented hasn't yet arrived. When it does arrive I should be listed as pilot 35.

On launch:

. On launch Connie, the co-meet director describes where we can't land. For such a large valley there are very few options according to Connie.
"See the first pond on the left? Ok, don't land to the left of the pond, that is Dan's LZ, we are NOT ALLOWED to land at Dan's LZ. Clear? Ok, good. See the dirt road with the dog-leg? You can land to the left of that road, but not to the right. See the rectangular dirt patch? That land owner has arabian horses, we can land there, but if you see horse or people riding horses warn them that you are coming in to land. Clear? Ok. See the school across the valley? DO NOT LAND at the school. They WILL call the Sheriff. Clear? Ok, good. See the red barn? Ok between the red barn and the dog leg road, all the way out to the main road and over to the next pond is a DO NOT LAND ZONE! Clear? See the dump? It looks like there are a lot of trees there, but we can land there. That is a designated landing zone, in fact I land my hang glider there. Ok, see the next valley over? That valley is ok, but the next valley beyond that is not. Clear? Ok, see the .....":
pre flight game faces

GOAL!
Hayden:
Bradley:
Greecie:
Josh?

Pete:

Nate Scales:

Andy:

Mook:

-2 Days

2009-04-26T16:16:00.000-07:00

Friday night we camped near launch at what looked like an old boy scout compound. "Smokey," a flannel wearing, rotund individual with a greasy Hoyt bow hunting cap ran the joint. Smokey was keen to watch some live concert DVD's of Genesis, John Fogerty, AC/DC, and the Eagles but we opted for spaghetti and the sleeping bag.

After a surprisingly cold night sleep (launch is at 4500') we woke to clear skies.

We launched a little after noon. Smooth, widespread lift allowed some of us to directly cross the valley, ignoring any terrain thermal generating rules. I had a great little out and back. Here is my track log.

Broken Speed Bar

2009-04-25T18:10:00.000-07:00

Sunday was another incredible day of flying. The energy was mellow and positive, the last day of free flying before the comp starts. I was hoping to fly a route similar to a general task route, but broke my speed bar shortly after launching. The winds were light, and I could have continued flying, but I was near a designated L.Z., so I drifted out over the valley, took a few pictures from the air and landed with some other pilots.

Another good warm-up day.

At launch:

Nate Scales directly in front of launch:

Do you see the P.G. dots?
Looking SE back towards launch:
South:
West:
North:
Nick Greece coming into the L.Z.:

On the road again

2009-04-24T23:24:00.000-07:00

After a three hour thermostat fix in Mtn. Home Nate Scales left me this voice mail on my phone:

We left Boise around five and crashed somewhere just before Reno.

On Friday we drove through a winter-like snowstorm on Donner Summit before dropping into the Central Valley, stopping for an In and Out Burger and a beer run at the grocery store.

We arrived at the Dunlap launch with overcast skies and winds over the back, but a great forecast for the following day.

Paragliding Links

2009-04-22T22:40:00.003-07:00

I would love to see more people become paraglider pilots in Boise, and well, anywhere for that matter. Feel free to pass this message on to everyone and anyone that you think might be at all interested or even curious about free flight.

While paragliding is growing and even considered a family activity in Europe, the pilot population in the United States is actually shrinking. The more pilots in the air, the more fun for all of us.

The first part of a two part US Paragliding National Competition begins this April 27th in Dunlap California.

Here are some links where you can learn more:

Official web-site for the event

Watch live tracking of the event, watch pilot progress in real time over the internet starting April 27!

My personal blog where I will try to post blog entries and my personal track log from my gps of each flight which you can view on Google Earth.

Tim O'Neill, an active pilot and blogger involved in the competition scene.

USHPA - the united state hang gliding and paragliding association, the national governing body for non-motorized foot launched free flight

The user group for Idaho paragliding pilots

Take a tandem flight in Idaho, just ask my dad if it is any fun.

any questions?

Live Tracking

2009-04-22T22:01:00.004-07:00

So here is what I know so far about the live tracking feature for next week:

Step 1: Go to santacruzparagliding.com and click the Live Tracking link on the left side of the screen, just click Live Tracking from here.

Step 2: Scroll over the pilot whose track you wish to view. In the example below that would be the event organizer, pilot 6, Jugdeep Aggarwal, circled in black.

Step 3: Click the " Link to Shared Page " link in the lower left hand corner to view Jugdeep's live tracking track log.

I will let everyone know my pilot number after I register.

I believe I will have internet access so hopefully I will be able to make blog entries and post my personal track logs.

Pass this on to as many friends as you know, it should be a great way to get people interested in free flight. Let's watch paragliding grow, just as paddling and kiteboarding did in the last 5-10 years.

War Photography

2009-04-22T11:01:00.000-07:00

A New York Times Story.

New Launch

2009-04-20T20:03:00.006-07:00

Last Friday Patrick and Tyler pioneered a new flying site in Horse Shoe Bend. They still need to come up with a name but I'll call it Runaway Ridge because the launch is situated between two runaway truck ramps on the "new" Horse Shoe Bend grade.

Clancy and Tyler at the Runaway Ridge L.Z.

Hiking through sage brush on the approach.

Monday's forecast looked lame with a discouraging positive number on the thermal index chart, and high pressure. John Todd, Clancy, Tyler and I were willing to risk a sled ride however and we made the steep hot trudge from the last truck ramp up the north face to the new launch.

"Yea, I would like to sell all those Kyrgastani Som's I purchased two years ago and buy back my American dollars. Oh, really? I made that much?" - Tyler placing currency orders on the hike:

John Todd killing the kids on the hike:

On the hike up we observed one Red-Tail climbing out in light lift from the parking lot, and one crow playing in equally light lift just below launch.

John Todd's second launch attempt worked out well, and as he flew towards the highway we watched him fly through two small speed bump pockets of up before flying out over Horse Shoe view subdivision and drifting down to the rig.

Soon after Tyler cleaned some sticks from his lines and made a few boaty turns before heading to the l.z.

Clancy nailed his launch during a fairly decent cycle, but rolled unlucky dice flying into sink and bombing out.

I clipped in for a sledder, launched in a near calm lull, flew out over the road-cut and found some very slow rising air. I barely climbed above the ridge, took in some view of Bogus, scarred up a couple deer, had a look at a sheepherder's wall tent, and tried to fly to the gutter to see if I could convince any paddlers to learn how to fly. I didn't make it that far. If you have Google Earth you can download my track log.

Thanks to Patrick and Tyler for finding a new launch, and Clancy for driving. Hope to see you in the air more often John.

Whatever you do have fun.

Like Cream and Butter

2009-04-18T23:06:00.006-07:00

Another incredible glass-off tonight. Incredibly, I was once again the only person in the air. Actually, I got a phone call from Clancy just as I landed. He flew his paramotor this afternoon, spent the evening searching out ridge lift on obscure ridges south of Kuna, then climbed to 6,000 for the sunset. Makes a fella want to get a motor. Hmmm....

I'm not complaining however. Thanks to my cousin Ryan for giving me the first set of images I've had of myself in the air in a long time:

The sunset was great again tonight. Let me know if you ever want to go for a hike in the foothills and watch the sunset over the Boise river together. Aren't we lucky?

I'm not anywhere near "that."

2009-04-15T23:52:00.007-07:00

Not yet.
I mean with my images, and my image making capabilities of course. I am not yet anywhere near "that." The truth is, as a photographer I suck. I'm not supposed to be any good right now. The long term vision and ideal is rolling around somewhere in my head. I know I will gravitate in the right direction.

As I watched Zach Arias critique the work of aspiring photographers this evening, I was reminded of an interview I saw about a year ago in which Ira Glass* addressed the enormous gap between an individual's taste and their capabilities. Ira suggests that anyone who sets off down a creative path will most likely have good taste, but will inevitably not yet have the skills and experience required to execute their creative vision.

I think this could be said about anyone who sets out to learn anything new, whether creative or not. Everyone has enough good taste and understanding to recognize that Shane McConkey ripped, or that Sheila Mills knows what to do with duck cumin sausage, but rail sliding an Alaska ridge line on a pair of water skis or publishing a fourth cook book are not things most of us could pull off in the next year.

I looked up the Ira Glass interviews on youtube tonight. He also offers some great insight into the dual requirements of good story telling which he identifies as the anecdote followed by a moment of reflection.

From the first moment I picked up a camera with the intention of consciously creating I have struggled to understand how to execute something meaningful. The fact is, it's difficult to articulate what is in my head, what it is that I'm trying to do with images. I suppose what I'm trying to do is produce engaging images, as Ira said "you don't want to make mediocre stuff." No I don't.

Ira's toolkit for great story telling reminded me of a conversation I had with Glenn Oakley and a creative director while on a shoot this past winter. All three of us agreed that one element of a great image is that the image not be too literal. Great images lead the viewer down a path, but allow the viewer to complete his or her own version of the story based on personal perceptions, conceptions, and ideas. THAT is the whole idea, to ENGAGE the viewer.

While I have juggled and played with these ideas internally, and even verbally articulated them to friends, this is the first time that I have and publicly stated the weakest element of my images and pointed to one of my personal goals, which is to be less literal and more suggestive with the images that I produce. An Alec Soth quote hangs over my desk and stares me down every day, "Photography tells a story. But more often Photography suggests a story." Yeah, "that" is the direction I want to head with my images.

My creative future must lie in the power of suggestion. Oh, and in perseverance, a "F*** you" attitude in the face of failure, the ability to abandon crap then find a good story, and as Ira says to continue to kill it, to be ruthless every day in the pursuit of "that."

*If you live in a cave that blocks the reception of all NPR frequencies and you don't know who Ira Glass is, do yourself a favor and spend a Sunday afternoon with a garden trowel in your hand, and tune the radio tuned to This American Life. I guess it is 2009, you could also just download or podcast the episodes.

Life is Grand!

If you Love 'em

2009-04-14T17:20:00.004-07:00

Think of someone you care about. Call them. Tell them how much you love them.

Then go have fun. Fly a kite, throw a double haul cast, make some turns, play a round, surf a wave.

That's what we got and it goes fast. Live it and be good.

Sunset watching

2009-04-13T22:23:00.009-07:00

I've decided to stop encouraging people to check out what an evening of paragliding at the crow is all about.

For some reason people can't relate to, or don't understand that an evening flight is a mellow, peaceful, and relaxing activity. When I tell people that I'm going to go fly, their faces often scrunch up and they usually say something lame and cliche like, "you are really crazy, do you know that?"

I'm changing my tactic. From now on, I will ask "Do you want to go for a mellow hike in the foothills and watch the sunset together?" Who doesn't like a warm gentle breeze, and a great view of the Boise river heading west as the sun sinks into the Oregon horizon? Seems like anyone could enjoy that sort of evening.

Even so, I'm convinced that I'm the only one in the entire valley that really actually enjoyed watching the sun sink into the horizon and the sky turning blaze orange this evening.

Me, two red-tails, and four vultures anyway...

Lisa Tate at her Studio

2009-04-09T22:56:00.005-07:00

I hung out with my friend Lisa Tate this afternoon. See more of her beautiful work here.

Still thinking about Traffic

2009-04-05T21:04:00.004-07:00

This video hasn't helped any either. 100 meter start cylinders?!!

Nervous for Nationals

2009-04-02T17:47:00.001-07:00

I just watched this video from PG worlds and got really nervous about flying in gaggles that large at Nationals.

Peparing for US PG Nationals

2009-04-01T17:51:00.003-07:00

I know that I'm not going to have much of a chance to fly this summer so I signed up to fly in the US paragliding nationals in Dunlap California the end of April. I've only flown in one other comp - the Chilean Nationals in Santiago Chile a few years back. I'm not too much into the comp scene, but I did log one of my best flights while there. At nationals I will share airspace with the best pilots in the nation. I think this will be a great learning opportunity. I am a little nervous about flying in big gaggles and heavy traffic, but I'm excited and I think it will be a great learning experience, not to mention fun. Look for photos from the event at the end of April or the begginning of May.

Racing paragliders is silly. Racing the slowest aircraft available? Does that make any sense at all?

Comp pilots fly with GPS units which are loaded with waypionts for each day of competition. Race organizers call different "tasks" each day. For example, the first day the organizers might call a task that has the pilots racing from way-point 1 to way-point 2 then to way-point 3 and finally to goal. The second day's task might be way-point 2 to way-point 5, back to way-point 2, way-point 1, back to the start way-point, then to goal. Each way-point is associated with "cylindar" of varying radiuses. The pilot's track log must record within the cylindar in order to "tag" the waypoint. The scoring systems are complicated (a combination of German engineering/anal retentivness, French emotions, Swiss clockmakers accuracy, and Ukrainian wild streaks perhaps?), but take into account the number of way-points tagged, flight time (speed), whether or not the pilot reaches goal, and if so how far behind the task winner the pilot arrived at goal.

In an effort to become more familiar with an expensive paperweight (I purchased used for 1/2 price on ebay) I recorded a track log on my gps today and used LoadMyTracks to download the track log from my GPSmap 76s to my macbook and convert the file to a google earth .kml file. I then opened the file in GE, and saved it as a compressed .kmz file. Click to see the track log I recorded on the drive up Bogus Basin Road.

2009-03-28T19:22:00.002-07:00

African-American Boycott of L.L. Bean Enters 80th Year

Hiking with Em

2009-03-28T19:09:00.007-07:00

Em took me to Kootanei Falls for my last day in Libby.

What it looks like

2009-03-28T11:59:00.003-07:00

when Emily studies.

School Pride

2009-03-27T21:06:00.008-07:00

School Pride. The Libby Loggers and the Troy Trojans.

I think both towns really really wanted to go with the logging theme for their mascot. Libby must have beat Troy to the punch. That or it was the alliteration requirement.

The Troy Trojans? Seems odd to me. Take a look at the set-jaw line and side-burns on the Trojan mascot, he looks less Grecian than North-Woods lumberjack to me. Why not the Troy Timbermen? They would have set themselves up for a more heated rivalry with Libby and fulfilled the alliteration requirement.

They also sell Carhartts, Filson ("may as well have the best"), guns, plush toys, and skateboards.

Blacktail Resort

2009-03-26T23:23:00.006-07:00

"Blacktail? Why would you ski Blacktail? Nobody skis Blacktail." -Brad Ludden

"Oh, that. Well, that is really just a commuter lift." - Some random local

"Well, we still had fun." -Birddog

"And the views were great." -Em

Em cutting some cord with a great view:

Fernie B.C.

2009-03-24T18:19:00.005-07:00

Em drove me up to Fernie, B.C. I want to go back. Amazing scenery. Great terrain. Down home people. Canadian prices (one of the best burgers I've ever eaten, Canadian cheap). Comfortable - unlike Jackson, S.V., or Aspen. And cute Kiwi lifties willing to explain New Zealand terms like Moose Knuckle. Mooose Knuuuuckle!

Troy Montana: Roosevelt Park

2009-03-24T18:05:00.005-07:00

I went for a drive during the only day of sunshine last week. The High School Seniors were stomping it at the local skate park.

Flat Iron Mountain

2009-03-24T17:52:00.004-07:00

Emily and the torpedo dog took me to Flat Iron Mountain last week. Flat Iron is a short drive from LIbby, a short skin in, and short and sweet runs on the way down. Spring is here. Warming temperatures kept us at two runs for the day.

Torpedo Dog:

Looking north to the Yaak River Valley, and Canada beyond:
Rippin' skins
Hell, yes!
All the extra curricular exploration on the way up tuckered Annie out. She decided to follow Em's cut tracks on the way down.

Turner Mountaim

2009-03-24T17:48:00.002-07:00

Turner Mountain only has one lift. Turner has plenty of vertical descent. Turner is steep.

2009-03-24T16:44:00.006-07:00

An overview of Libby Mt.

Above: The Kootenai River with the Cabinet Mountains beyond the town of Libby.

Below: Libby and the Cabinet Mountains. Since the mining has shut down (due to a slow down in Vermiculite demand, not health concerns) and logging has gone away Libby doesn't have much going on. It appears to be a turning into a gas stop and casino stop between Washington and Kalispell.

Even in a dying town you can still find nice things...

A rural village's secret stash

2009-03-24T16:23:00.008-07:00

I was pretty much blindfolded and sworn to secrecy by the locals who took me skiing a week ago. Not that I would tell anyone about this place anyway, I mean it was flat, the snow was crap, it was a really long difficult skin in, and the terrain that was steep enough to actually ski was all skied out, and the locals are rude. You don't believe me? Look for yourself:

Hi-Fives for flat terrain and crummy snow conditions!

There must be something in the town's water. Even when we got back in bounds the ski resort was doing all it could to prevent further generations from enjoying this beautiful activity:

Even the beer was no good. Don't ski this mountain.

Wildlife

2009-03-24T10:22:00.011-07:00

I've seen a fair number of elk (we saw a ton on our way to Fernie B.C.) but mostly I've seen an incredible number of Bald Eagles, mostly around town.

Aside from Elk and eagles I've also seen some other more random critters such as mule deer, rainbows, cardinals, bear (shouldn't you still be hibernating?) and my first wolf sighting!

Murals per Capita

2009-03-24T10:04:00.012-07:00

Welcome to Libby Montana, pride of the Kootenai Valley and home of the highest murals per capita in the nation. Ok, I made that up, but with only 3,000 people and approximately 15 murals (I still have a few more to shoot) that is 1 mural per 200 residents.

To put this in perspective, imagine over 1,014 murals in downtown Boise - I'm not sure if we have enough brick and cinder block buildings to keep pace.

On the side of the Mexican joint:
The backside of the video store:

The main supermarket:

Libby Magic

2009-03-24T08:58:00.008-07:00

A handful of Libby businesses include Magic as a critical component to their business plans.

Maybe magic isn't real after all. It seems like there are more empty than occupied buildings in Libby. Along with the magic concept you see a lot of these signs in building storefronts.

Camas Winter

2009-03-09T23:20:00.005-07:00

2009-02-24T11:02:00.003-07:00

Derek Kellenbeck

2009-02-24T00:11:00.003-07:00

SnowKite Soldier

2009-02-22T00:56:00.003-07:00

T-1

2009-02-11T00:33:00.004-07:00

Patrick's first of five flights needed for his T-1 rating. Swann Falls.

Day 2, Part 2

2009-01-29T11:02:00.020-07:00

Tour

2009-01-28T00:53:00.017-07:00

A crystal clear sunrise on day two prepared us for an enjoyable tour. Following the ridge up provided views of the Teton Range. GE track here.

When I got back from the yurt trip, I dusted off the hardcover Encyclopedia Britannica for some casual fire-side reading. Somehow I wasn't surprised when I happened across the profile of the often overlooked Norse God Wood - the ass-kicking Norse God of Endurance.
Jeremy Wood prancing his way up the ridge:

I brought up the tail-end of the mortals all weekend:

Getting everyone together for a group photo:

J and J Wood, thanks for walking back and forth for goofy looking stock images.

Soul Shine

2009-01-25T11:49:00.004-07:00

A reminder:

SOUL SHINE

IS BETTER THAN SUNSHINE
IT'S BETTER THAN MOON SHINE

IT'S DAMN SURE BETTER THAN RAIN

Baldy Knoll Yurt at Sunset

2009-01-24T22:35:00.004-07:00

Baldy Knoll Crew

2009-01-24T22:11:00.010-07:00

Jeremy

Angie

Paul

Hamilton

Jaimie

Sean

David

2009-01-24T01:53:00.000-07:00

2009-01-22T23:36:00.000-07:00

Baldy Knoll Yurt Day-1

2009-01-22T11:05:00.025-07:00

Click on the links for Google Earth tracks:

The skin in from Fox Creek Trail Head to the Baldy Knoll Yurt.

Our first run on evening one and the uptrack out.

Weir Crossing:

Huge Hoar Frost Crystals:

Looking back on the valley North of Victor:

Are you sure, you're not crossing into the wilderness area?

Noisy two strokes and Jeremy, Jaime and Paul had to dig one of the less experienced riders out, but I have to admit that they sure look fun, and could access some great skiing.

As we're settling into the yurt a snowmobiler rides up and asks us if we can loan him duct tape to repair a tear in his seat. I tell him we'll trade him duct tape for a tow up the hill.

"I'd love a toke, do you got one?" the beeler-dude asks as he slugs back his tall-boy.

Headed back to the yurt after dark:

Stouts Mountain

2009-01-22T00:44:00.012-07:00

After horse riding we drove up Swan Valley and up Pine Creek Road where we skied Stouts Mountain.

If you use google earth see our uptrack in red and our line back down in blue.

Stouts Mountain in background:

Ripping skins with views of the Canyon section of the South Fork of the Snake River:

The Woods with the Grand Teton in the background:

Parkwood

2009-01-21T19:19:00.012-07:00

We crashed at Jeremy Wood's aunt and uncle's house on our way through Idaho Falls.

Jeremy's uncle, Tom, showed us his incredible collection of African game mounts and Sally let us each have a go on a horse.

Sally owns and runs the Parkwood Equestrian Center in I.F. - an incredible facility.

Thanks to assistant trainer Mallory Edinborough and a gentle, perfectly trained horse I even jumped a cross bar - very fun. I wish I could ride again and work up to a vertical. Thanks Tom, Sally, and Mallory.

New Images for Lisa Tate

2009-01-15T02:46:00.007-07:00

Image capture and layers combined, just need to add some localized re-touching for dust, dirt, and local contrast/color control and they'll be ready for Lisa.

Yea, its late. I should have been in bed two hours ago, but Jeremy and Jamie Wood turned me on to emusic.com., it's like the royalty free version of music. Ok, not really you still can only use the music for personal use, no commercial use, but it's cheap, like 30 cents a song cheap!

Check out Lisa's beautiful new work:

Salvelinus confluentus is an endangered Species in Idaho

2009-01-11T22:19:00.010-07:00

Skiers are not. Bull Trout Point:

Monty Goldman

2009-01-10T11:33:00.008-07:00

Kiting

2009-01-10T00:46:00.001-07:00

Toll Gate Morning Light

2009-01-09T20:39:00.002-07:00

Backwards night

2009-01-04T01:55:00.011-07:00

The snowboarders skied.
The skiers snowboarded.

bacon

2009-01-03T12:37:00.008-07:00

Bacon dropped by this morning while we were all hanging around the kitchen. He's a really laid by fella' and it sounds like everything is going pretty well in his life.

Here are a couple pics of him chillin' with one of his best buds.

The Girls

2009-01-02T11:17:00.008-07:00