Juan Mayer: A professional skydive photographer in Dubai with new Nikon D5300

To most of us, skydiving is a once in a lifetime event -- Juan Mayer does it everyday. Whereas we could only include skydiving in our bucketlists, Juan Mayer has it in his daily calendar.

A skydiver and aerial photographer by trade, Juan dons a wingsuit and a parachute in lieu of coat and tie. While most of us spend the day sitting in front of office desks, he jumps off planes and takes pictures of other skydivers on freefall.

Photo credit: Juan Mayer / Skydive Dubai athlete

The job description may seem radical to most people, but Juan takes great pride in his unique profession. As a professional skydive photographer in Dubai, Juan Mayer jumps up to 15 times a day, and works with the UAE National Team Assar, UAE's award-winning representatives to the world's most famous parachuting competitions.

Photo credit: Juan Mayer / Skydive Dubai athlete

"Some people say I'm crazy, but only because they don't know our kind of sport," says Juan Mayer, who remains one of the scant few professional skydive photographers in the Middle East. In addition to continuous study and research to keep his photography skills honed to a fine edge, Juan undergoes rigorous physical conditioning on a regular basis to ensure that his physique is in top form. He considers himself as both an athlete and an artist.

Juan Mayer

When asked about the most challenging part of his job, he professes that while photographers on ground have plenty of time to adjust their equipment and work with their subjects, aerial photographers only have a maximum of one minute to take the perfect shot. "It's more exciting, more challenging," says Juan. "It took me many years to start doing [skydive] photography, because it's not easy." He adds that having the best and most trustworthy camera equipment in the market is a crucial part of the job, as aerial photographers do not have the luxury of time to fiddle with gears and settings in the mid-fall. To get the job done, Juan Mayer wears a high-impact top mount camera helmet equipped with two Nikon DSLR's -- his preferred brand for capturing clear, precise images at breakneck speeds. A blowswitch acts as trigger for shutter release.

Nikon Middle East recently documented a typical day in Juan Mayer's life as a skydive photographer, with a video that was shot entirely with the newly launched Nikon D5300 DSLR.

Video and text via Jason Carrera and Nikon Asia

More inspiration: JuanMayerProductions