Freefall photography the hard way

While every second jumper these days seems to carry a video camera or a GoPro, freefall photography in the 1970s was a rarity. And those shooting movies were in a distinct minority.

One of the few Australian jumpers shooting 16 mm film and the only SA jumper making movies of any kind in those days was SASPC's Bernie Keenan. Most amateurs were limited to the lower resolution 8 mm home movie format but Bernie, a television news cameraman with Adelaide's ADS7, could access state-of-the-art equipment through his work.
Bernie is pictured (above) outside the Lower Light packing shed after a jump with his neck-stretching helmet camera rig, a 16mm Beaulieu news camera with hand held bulb release and Newton ring sight. 


Opening under a high performance Paracommander roundie with something of this weight attached was a challenge and Bernie habitually braced his head with his right hand after pulling the ripcord. 

After moving to Sydney Bernie put his aerial camera skills to good use at work, often climbing out onto the skid of the Channel 7 chopper, secured by a harness he had made by Parachutes Australia, and shooting great, unimpeded views of the daily news. 

He's pictured here (above),  hand nonchalantly on hip, recording the action at a waterski speed record attempt, and (left) in a feature spread from a professional cinematographers' magazine.

Unfortunately, none of Bernie's black and white or colour skydiving film survives ( that we know of ) except for this one of rel work at Lower Light out of the old Dornier 27 in 1973.
Bernie died in 2011.






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