Newcomerstown native Lonnie Kirk fearless in air, in the seas
Newcomerstown native Lonnie Kirk travels every chance he gets, and his trips include movement on land and sea.
The 1980 graduate of Newcomerstown High School is a professional skydiving instructor and photographer who says night photography is his favorite.
He said photography while scuba diving has become a passion, too.
Kirk’s career path has shifted from his schooling years when he attended Buckeye Joint Vocational School, now known as Buckeye Career Center. He spent his final two years of high school there as part of the auto body shop program.
After high school, Kirk moved to West Lafayette, where he lived during his 17-year employment at Longaberger Co. While working there, he met Sandra Weltman, and the pair has been together ever since. Sandra learned about photography from Kirk, but also maintained her career as a registered nurse.
In his spare time, Kirk enjoys shooting and reloading ammunition. He spends winters riding his Harley around Florida in the Springs area with his snorkeling gear in tow.
Kirk said underwater photography is a new animal, all about white balance and lighting techniques under water in addition to being in the right spot at the right time for a “killer” shot. Shark photography has taken Kirk on amazing adventures with his skydiving and scuba diving friends. He said the group likes nothing more than being surrounded by 50 or 60 bull and lemon sharks.
Kirk said he loves hiking trips to Red River Gorge, Kentucky, a hiking area that provides many opportunities for panoramic landscape photography.
WHAT WOULD READERS BE SURPRISED TO KNOW ABOUT YOU? – I’m actually terrified of heights as I get motion sickness! I worried about becoming ill in the plane when I made my first skydive 30 years ago, and I went prepared. After about 4,000 feet up I began to focus on the task at hand and was totally over the thought of sickness.
HOW DID YOU GET INTERESTED IN SKYDIVING? – I remember as a kid I saw the movie “Gypsy Moths,” and then “Point Break” took me over the edge. I was only going to jump once. The next thing I know my instructor was briefing me for my second jump. By the time I made my third jump, I threw down the credit card and bought a license package and purchased the gear too. Skydiving is a lifestyle change for sure. Things really started getting exciting when I started BASE jumping in 1994. BASE jumping is anextreme sport that involves the act of leaping from a fixed structure or cliff and parachuting to the ground. The jumper wears a specially designed BASE-jumping parachute, which helps them steer away from obstacles as they descend. BASE jumpers must be experienced skydivers before attempting this dangerous sport. I bought my first camera for BASE jumping. I had always been into photography, but never found a use for it other than family photos. About 300 skydives into it, I was strapping cameras to my head and filming people. I now have a real purpose for being at a drop zone besides having fun. A drop zone is a place where parachutists or parachuted supplies land. It can be an area targeted for landing by paratroopers, or a base from which recreational parachutists and skydivers take off in aircraft and land under parachutes. In the latter case, it is often beside a small airport, frequently sharing the facility with other general aviation. I have around 14,600 jumps myself to date. About 10,000 are with students and the rest for my photography business.
DESCRIBE YOUR WORK AS AN INSTRUCTOR AND PHOTOGRAPHER – I have worked at multiple drop zones over the years and still come back to visit and help at a few when needed. One of the most memorable events I worked for was the World Freefall Convention in Rantoul, Illinois. I was on the film crew “Martini and Shot films” the single largest skydiving event in the world. Thousands of jumpers from all over the world participated in the event. I have served as an organizer and photographer on some of the finest aircraft in the sport. I have also had the opportunity to travel internationally, and China was definitely an eye opener when I did an airshow there few years back with Team Fastrax. People always ask for the best place I ever jumped, and my response has always has been the north shore of Oahu, Hawaii. Working there was so awesome, I had to remind myself everyday they were paying me to live and work in paradise. Landing next to the ocean was unreal. I have been at Start Skydiving in Middletown, Ohio, since 2011, so If anyone wants to jump with me, I’m easy to find on Facebook and I do often come closer to Newcomerstown and can take you up for the thrill of a lifetime. I can talk anyone thru the experience, and I feed off of my student’s energy. If the person has jumped a few times; it takes away some of the thrill, so give me the most terrified student and we’re going have a blast. I remember taking some of my Newcomerstown friends up over the years including Tim and Karen Mathews and Jim Mahaffey. I’ll never forget Tim telling me there’s no way your ever getting me in a plane. One day he was here watching me work and asked how long it would take to get him on a load. I ran to the office fast as I could. The rest was nothing short of spectacular. Tim was just a touch teary-eyed afterward from the excitement. I think he was in shock trying to describe his overwhelming feeling of joy. My daughter made her first jump at a young age, and I can’t wait until my grandkids are old enough to go up with me.
DESCRIBE GROWING UP IN NEWCOMERSTOWN. DO YOU GET BACK OFTEN? – I come back to town to visit family and friends some when I can and on holidays. My mom, Pat Irons, is in assisted living at Riverside Manor. My brother Johnnie and I spend a good bit of time together every chance we get. I also have a sister, Betty Wright, living in Coshocton. My daughter Areon lives in Coshocton. I have two grandkids, Zac Dodd of Mansfield and J-Lynn Hardesty of Coshocton. My other sister, Corinna, resides in Florida. I love reliving all the great memories of Newcomerstown through William Casteel’s Facebook posts. He always has such cool memories I forget about until his images come up. Life was so simple back then. I could run a tab at Watt’s True Value for my ammo. I stopped many times while delivering the Times-Reporter uptown to look at all the neat stuff Pappy, Tom and Dave had to offer.
WHAT ELSE WOULD YOU LIKE TO HIGHLIGHT? – Find something you love to do then find a way to make people pay you to do it and you’ll never work a day in your life! I have the greatest job on the planet. Skydiving has been my career for 30 years now.
This article originally appeared on The Times-Reporter: Newcomerstown native Lonnie Kirk fearless in air, in the seas
