Through the Lens

Grindelwald, Switzerland - Flying the Eiger

Theres something about this photograph that captivates me.  The clouds?  The majesty that is the mountain in the background? or the fact that I still have a hard time believing that it's me in the photo?  


The experience, extremely exciting and fun, seems to have been amplified due to the awesomeness of the photos taken by Mandy.  A total stranger, Mandy, who we met on the side of the mountain sent me these photographs upon her return from vacation.  Viewing Mandy's experience through her lens is so different than my experience flying through the air.  She captures the beauty that is paragliding, the majesty of the Swiss Alps and the sharing of good times among the group of friends living life and sharing experiences only those who participate within can appreciate.

Experiencing the Swiss Alps for the first time is breath-taking.  Flying them & watching your friends BASE jump them within 24 hours of that first experience is mind-numbing.  The world of high action sports like paragliding, hanggliding, skydiving and BASE jumping is small.  The mixture of people who participate in two or more is smaller & it's much smaller among those who cross-over to all of the sports.  Many people who participate in one of the sports would love to cross over to the others but there are many reasons for not following through.  Money, life's obligations, proximity & training availability are just a few.  We in the San Francisco Bay Area are extremely fortunate to have all of those reasons obliterated.  We have some of the best paragliding & hang gliding sites within a 20 minute drive of the city.  There are three major dropzones located within a 1-2 hour drive and the Bay Area has one of the largest BASE communities in the world.  There are an abundant of schools to learn any of the sports & the community of cross-over pilots is rampantly exploding.  The explosive growth makes it easy for anyone who commits themselves to learn any and/or all of these sports from some of the best pilots in the world.


Friends from within the Bay Area free flight community share these experiences with anyone who expresses a sincere interest in any form of free flight & we ask for only one thing in return - that you pass on the experience when you become the big pimp.  It's this sense of community and sharing the experience of life among friends who share a common interest that took me to Switzerland and led to these photographs.

Erik flying the Eiger.

Dave Flying the Eiger

Jose flying the Eiger.

Lala flying the Eiger.

Flying the Eiger!

A Long Time in the Making

Learning to Fly - Hang Gliding from Jose Pruneda on Vimeo.

2010 NorCal Free Flight Film Festival

PPA 2010 from Jose Pruneda on Vimeo.


Here's my entry for the 2010 NorCal Free Flight Film Festival.

The NorCal Free Flight Film Festival was held on December 9th, 2010 at the Roxie Theater in the Mission district of San Francisco.  Over 300 skydivers, BASE jumpers, paraglider & hangglider pilots showed up for the event & quickly overcrowded the 230 seat theater.  Unfortunately the theater staff closed the doors & 20 - 30 people remained outside until the last quarter of the show.

Nineteen films were entered this year and the quality of films blew everyones expectations.  The films may be viewed at;

http://vimeo.com/channels/norcalfreeflightfilmfest

Enjoy.

Wing Walking

Wing Walking from Jose Pruneda on Vimeo.

AirSharks

AirSharks from Jose Pruneda on Vimeo.

Sunscreen

Sunscreen Redux from Jose Pruneda on Vimeo.

Chasing Nova

Chasing Nova from Jose Pruneda on Vimeo.

MRB Triple Play from Jose Pruneda on Vimeo.

Home

Tiger

PPA Hang Gliding Division

PPA Hang Gliding Division from Jose Pruneda on Vimeo.

Back on the horse and it feels good!

This past weekend I got back on the horse not only in hang gliding which I hadn't done since 2005 but also in skydiving which I had not done in 9 months.  It felt great to jump all day Saturday & then hang glide Sunday morning followed by paragliding Sunday afternoon.  It made for a great weekend but I've spent the entire day Monday soar & achy.  It was well worth it & once again, I look forward to future weekends.

Keith Yoakum

Keith Yoakum - KIA, Taji, Iraq - Feb 2, 2007

NorCal FreeFlight Film Festival

NorCal FreeFlight Film Festival from Jose Pruneda on Vimeo.

Air

Air from Jose Pruneda on Vimeo.



a film by me.

snowkite-made in alpes 2010- from simoneborgi on Vimeo.