{"id":25451,"date":"2020-06-30T13:20:44","date_gmt":"2020-06-30T13:20:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skydivemag.com\/new\/?p=25451"},"modified":"2020-08-04T09:41:50","modified_gmt":"2020-08-04T09:41:50","slug":"catching-up-with-tom-sanders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.skydivemag.com\/new\/catching-up-with-tom-sanders\/","title":{"rendered":"Catching up with… Tom Sanders"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Tom has been a legend in skydiving photography since he started jumping in 1978, and started taking photos of the sport the same year.<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Tom Sanders jumping with a 35mm movie camera during the filming of the feature film Stealth, near Kaena Point on the North Shore of Oahu Island.
Photo by Dave ‘Clem’ Major
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His lengthy career involving the stunt coordination and filming of skydiving, BASE jumping and hang-gliding has included four James Bond movie sequences, Point Break, the Rise of the Silver Surfer, George Bush’s AFF, and countless commercials such as Sony, Mountain Dew and Burger King. Tom produced, directed and filmed a movie called ‘Over The Edge’ about skydiving, BASE jumping and hang-gliding, which won first place in every category entered and many additional awards. <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Tom was one of the first skydivers to jump with video equipment (it was a 22 lb chest mounted VCR and a separate camera), and the first to transmit a live skydiving video at the iconic demonstration jump at the Opening Ceremonies of the 1988 Seoul Olympics.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

National Geographic TV has done three shows featuring Tom\u2019s work. He was awarded the Gold Medal for Meritorious Service from the United States Parachute Association and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2019. 
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Tom being inducted in the Skydiving Hall of Fame, Skydive Perris, 2019
Photo by Dennis Sattler <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Being inducted in the Skydiving Hall of Fame is only the last in a long list of awards that you received over the years for your work, but it\u2019s a very important one. How do you feel about it?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It is a very big honor to be inducted into the International Skydiving Hall of Fame. There are many I believe that belong in there before me but hopefully we can get them in soon. I am thrilled that my contributions to skydiving were deemed important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Example of Tom’s first skydiving photography \u2013 from a plane- mounted camera<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You started your company, Aerial Focus, 40 years ago, specializing in aerial photography. How challenging was it to start a business in such a field? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I was pretty much inventing a business so everything was new but there was also no competition like you find in most professions. I was fortunate that I had a good idea and was able to make it work. Getting permission to mount cameras on the aircraft to take photos was all new to me and fortunately the photos were a big hit. The parachute centers loved it because I paid them a commission but that was our Facebook back then. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Students would take their photos and show them to their friends and many decided to make a jump. The photos were a great promotion for the DZ, and the income allowed me to quit my job as a carpenter and work full time as a skydiving photographer, which was pretty non-existent in 1978. Some guys like Carl Boenish or Rande Deluca could survive on high-end skydiving jobs but the student and recreational skydivers had not been a reliable source of income until I started Sport Shots, which I soon changed to Aerial Focus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

1988 Olympic Skydiving Exhibition Jump<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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