Photographer and photography professor Kerry Skarbakka photographs himself falling. The concept sounds simple and straightforward enough, but when you lay eyes on the photographs themselves, you find yourself worrying about Skarbakka health… and sanity.
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On its own, the video above is horribly filmed and some of the most difficult-to-watch footage you’ll ever see, but what it shows makes it fascinating. It’s a point-of-view look at what it’s like to fall 12,500 feet without a parachute… and survive. Skydiver Lucas Damm was jumping out of a plane over British Columbia recently when his helmet-mounted GoPro camera smacked against the plane door and fell out of its holder. The camera, still rolling, fell the entire way down and miraculously escaped without any damage.
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If you’re ever photographing a baby that’s sitting on anything above ground level, make sure you have a spotter near the baby at all times. This video shows why.

Yesterday Kodak’s stock fell 64 cents, or 26.9%, to close at $1.74 — the lowest the stock price has been in 38 years. Investors were reacting to news that the company (which hasn’t netted a profit since 2007) had taken out a new $160 million loan. The plummeting value of the company is bad news for the photography pioneer but good news for companies that might be interested in buying it — a list that is rumored to include Google and Microsoft.

Kodak shares hit 38-year low on borrowing concerns [Reuters]

Update: Reader Christian Rudman points out that the reason for the loan wasn’t because Kodak’s cash reserves had run out. They last reported having nearly $1 billion on hand on June 30th.

When the leaves on trees are just starting to change color in the Autumn, try collecting them and arranging them into shapes with a spectrum of colors! The above example was created with Maples leaves by Flickr user Mr. dale.

(via Laughing Squid)

Image credit: Autumn Spectrum 10/10/10 by Mr. dale