Powered Parachute Photos

Last week I was asked to try and get some shots of the Lee’s SummitGreenwood area for the Green Summit Dispatch. The whole thing was put together at the last minute and I was told I would be going up in a plane for the shots. As we went out that morning I prepared myself for the challenge of getting shots from inside a plane, it turns out I should of been preparing for something totally different. It was an open powered parachute I would be going up in.

It was an amazing experience I will never forget. We were anywhere from 500-1400 ft in altitude and ended up on TV that morning. Enough talk though. You can see 60 of the photos below with more about the day after the jump. You need flash to be able to view the slide show.

Looking back at these photos makes it seem a lot scarier than it actually was. I am not some brave extreme activities type of guy but there wasn’t a moment where I felt nervous about any of it. That is a credit to my pilot Dana. He was in the front and I was right behind of him. This was the coolest rig. We both had headphones so we could communicate with the aviation channels as well as each other. He even had an iPod hooked up so we could listen to music.

The whole flight was relaxing and the experience of being under and over the cloud cover was tremendous. I just kept my shutter working trying to document everything I could remembering I was there for work. The results are fantastic.

At one point during our flight we began talking to the SkyFox helicopter from the local news station. He ended up circling around us taking video that was on the morning news. I will have video of that for the site in the coming weeks.

Over all and amazing experiences with pictures that will be a valued addition to my portfolio.

8 Comments

• 
  Meteorologist Dave Snider, KY3, Springfield, MO July 13, 2008 at 4:44 pm

  Zach… WOW! I mean WOW. So happy for you. Great job.
• 
  Tim Hibbard July 13, 2008 at 5:04 pm

  That is so cool. I’m so jealous of your photography talents!
• 
  Shelby July 13, 2008 at 6:43 pm

  Very cool! Awesome shots and experience…very jealous!
• 
  Patti July 13, 2008 at 8:47 pm

  Zach, Fog is such an amazing background for photography. I love the flag parachute. Reminds me of the black and white house with the color photo of the flag on the porch. Great work
• 
  Kaye July 16, 2008 at 8:01 pm

  Zach, your photography is beautiful – I’m really proud of you!
• Article From GreenSummit Dispatch | ZachIsHere August 21, 2008 at 5:45 pm

  [...] Also, you can check out the full collection of photos here. [...]
• 
  Carli Northcraft October 30, 2008 at 7:30 pm

  Oh wow are you acctually up on a parachute….stupid question of course you are but these pictures are amazing!!!
• 
  helicopter charter December 10, 2008 at 4:33 am

  A good and interesting read, thank you.