Re: [Leica] Ted's excellent adventure

["Ted Grant" <tedgrant@home.com>]

Emanuel Lowi wrote:
>>> Why would a supremely no-nonsense sage like yourself do anything like
jumping out of
> an airplane to "celebrate" the big 6-5??? This seems most uncharacteristic
of you. Do
> tell. I live dangerously much of the time but have absolutely no desire to
parachute
> anywhere except into my own bed at night.<<<<

Hi Emanuel,
Well I kind of fell into to it by accident. During a luncheon with a bunch
of young folks one day in '94 I only heard part of the conversation that
went... "Hey Ted are you in?"

And I responded, "Yeah sure!"  Not really knowing what I was "yeah suring"
for. ;-)    My assistant at the time almost choked on her lunch and said,
"Do you know what you just said you are going to do?"  Me, "oh play baseball
or some thing like that."

She,  " No Mr. Leica photographer, you just agreed to jump out of a plane
with a parachute!"

"Oh! "  says I.  And that's how come I had to do it.:-)

And she was not smiling! Neither was my wife as she watched me descend the
day of the jump. She of course didn't know I was doing it until a couple
hours before, when my son went to get her and take her to the jump field.
:-)

She also threatened that if I ever did it again and even though I landed
safely, she would kill me. Seemed reasonable that I not jump again. ;-)

>>>This seems most uncharacteristic of you<<<

Naw, when I was kid on the farm it was always me who jumped from the highest
part of the barn into the straw loft or off the highest point into the
swimming hole at the old quarry.  In my early days as a news photographer I
took up stock car racing after shooting an assignment about the sport. I
also drove sprints and midgets as well for a while.

So I suppose there is some kind of recklessness in there some place, besides
some of the assignments I've shot put me in rather precarious locations and
the only saving grace was.... getting a picture nobody else had shot. :-)
And that kept ones mind off,  "this could be your last picture." ;-)

Besides, after you've sat in the doorway of a helicopter umpteen dozen times
legs hanging out and shooting pictures,  a parachute jump was just like that
without sound. ;-) Until the landing!;-)

Being a photojournalist puts one in all kinds of wild and wonderful
locations and I've always felt me and my Leica's were on one great party of
life living and doing things the majority of people only dream or read
about.  Therefore live it to the best of the moment, be the best you can be
and never look back!

And thank your lucky stars you've been blessed with the opportunity to be a
successful photojournalist.
ted

Ted Grant Photography Limited
www.islandnet.com/~tedgrant