28 August 2015

Alpine Hyperlapse




Paragliding hyperlapse along the Swiss Alps.

Change happens as I fancy, or not, as I expect, or not, but happens nonetheless. The choice is only to lament what did not happen or take in fully what is happening right in front of me, now.

Filmed during the Swiss Paragliding Open in Fiesch, Switzerland and the Paragliding World Cup in Disentis, Switzerland.

05 July 2015

///A:GAIN




Nine months ago, in September 2014, I was lying on the side of a ten-thousand-foot desert mountain in Turkey, unable to move, struggling to breath. People rescued me, people I knew, people I didn’t. Alone in a Turkish hospital, watching the shadows of objects in my room arc across the floor from dawn to dusk, each day, for weeks, in agony and gratitude, I thought about how death is easy, surviving is difficult. One morning, a bird landed on my window sill, sang for a few moments, then flew away. From that moment, I felt an intense resolve.

For five months, I was unable to walk. Each day, hours of excruciating physiotherapy and training. Pain was my shadow. When I was alone at night, I cried. Then, slowly, steps. Gently. Inside I screamed in rage. More months, winter passed.

I started flying again. Tentatively. Many flights later, on this day, I realized that I was physically and mentally ready to compete again. It was a simple flight with friends: a bright blue sky, beautiful mountains, and rough thermals. With new next-level flying and filming gear, for the first time in over a year, I felt motivated to film again.