A Mermaid's Tale

How to become a mermaid (in 10 easy steps!): 

1. Assess the tail:

2. Condition legs:

Note: although it helps to be in good shape, conditioning here refers to actual conditioner that goes in your hair... it's needed to allow the tail to slide on more easily.

3. Shimmy your way into the tail:

4. Struggle / do abs for a few minutes (while getting laughed at of course):

Note: do not get discouraged during this step... being a mermaid is not natural for humans and takes a lot of practice (which I do not yet have). Perhaps I should have asked the 3 professional mermaids for more tips...

5. Figure out how to get in the water with feet strapped together.

6. JUMP!

7. Dive

8. Don't lose your tail!

9. Find mermaid (or merman) friends 

10. Take the camera for a swim

You are now a mermaid!!

I suppose the first step should be something more along the lines of "show up for work." It's week 3 on the job and David and I were getting some underwater shots for The Daily, a news app for ipads and (very recently) iphones. We were filming in a part of Rainbow Springs State Park where people are not allowed to swim - this was supposed to keep clueless or curious people from swimming through our shots. The mermaids and mermen spent the morning doing topside interviews and spent the afternoon in the water with us. David had the big camera and was free-diving while I dove with nitrox nearby and took some video with the GoPro. It was not only my favorite Monday of all time but also one of my favorite days EVER. It was beautiful how the mermaids swam effortlessly through the water and turned the already magical spring into a fairytale. It was more amazing than I ever imagined in my craziest dreams. When we were done with the shot list, the producer from The Daily was trying on a fin and I couldn't resist... ultimate dream come true :)

All of these pictures are frame grabs from the GoPro camera which The Daily may end up using in their little news video focused on Eric (the awesome guy who designs the fins) and his professional mermaids. He actually designed and crafted a tail for Lady Gaga!! https://themertailor.com/boutique/index.php?route=information/information&information_id=10. I'll post the link to the video when they finish in a week or two.

Despite the fact that it doesn't relate to mermaids, this video sums up my new philosophy on life. And it directly applies to today... the happiest Monday ever!!  http://vimeo.com/43691296