A jump in front of Kaimon-dake, Kagoshima. Props to Kaori Tanaka, the photographer.
Taking good jump pictures requires a few things including but not limited to a steady hand, good timing, interesting locations, and a willing partner or group. The jumper must be willing to jump off of whatever will make the picture look its best. The photographer should be ready to place themselves in the location which provides the best angle to shoot from, framing a shot so that the captured environment will complement the jump. Both of these roles can be dangerous, and in the case of the photographer the danger may come from the jumper smashing into them. The photographer and jumper should change roles occasionally, depending on whose turn it is.
A few years back, I took part in a collaborative project with Justin, Sayaka, and Taro in taking various jump pictures. On our Kyushu roadtrip we stopped at various scenic areas and shot up countless rolls of film, a good portion of which involved us jumping. We jumped off of high places, took running jumps, flip jumps, jumped into things, onto things, etc… Some of the jumps were foolish to try and invited injury, but taking chances is how one takes part in greatness.
So now I think I will try and revive the project, maybe make it an interblog project with Justin and possibly Taro (if he should ever start writing again). Of course feel free to send in your own jump pics, and I will post any good ones that I see. Just don’t cry to me if you hurt yourself or someone else in pursuit of a jump picture. That’s just part of the price for such high-stakes photography.
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Meta
The only jump photo I have (off a small boulder behind Yonsei University, Seoul, in 1995) looks completely idiotic, and at this point in my fatness I’m probably too heavy to perform a decent jump without reducing my ankles to powder. So I think I’ll look but not leap.
When you find jump spots, what do you usually land on?
Kevin
After many mistakes and lapses in good judgement resulting in various injuries, I have found that sand, water, snow, grass, (carefully selected) friends, manure piles (which is what I am jumping off of in the picture), and anything forgiving are the best things to jump on. Concrete, rocks, and any hard/dangerous/pointy objects are to be avoided if possible!
Kevin, I’m sure if Justin can still perform jumps, you can too- Next time you’re in our neck of the woods, meaning Kansai or Kyushu, give us a ring.
hey, i heard that you little shit.
ha,ha,ha,ha,ha! You’re brave from a distance, Adam. That’s a great jump photo, btw.
the reason I miss justin is #1 he took the monkey back to japan. #2 jumping on justin is almost as fun as jumping on the sta-puff marshmallow man.
Is merin@aol.com her new address, or did someone (mom) spoof her comment?
someone spoofed her comment
Think, Jus. Who built a dock house/Thai boxing ring for the dog? Not me! Come to think of it, who made up the name, “Captain Jack” and spells it “Jack”, not “Jak”? Not me.
(hint: Older than you and with the same air of superiority and uber-intelligence, like father, like son!)
Adam–
Can you get me a hard copy of this shot?
I’ve an idea…