Author Archives: Rob

An A-4 Pacific in the Neighbourhood

The Watercress Line had a steam gala in the autumn and, while I was planning on going there for the event, I did end up with a little spare time at the end of Saturday and decided to nip across the see if I could see the trains – specifically one of their headline attractions.They had many locos taking part but the Sir Nigel Gresley was probably the one that attracted a lot of attention and was probably why I was there. I hadn’t seen an A-4 Pacific in motion (although I did recently post about Mallard in my visit to the National Railway Museum).

There is a footpath that crosses the line between Alresford and Ropley and I thought I would try this out. When I walked there, I found a few other people that had shared the idea. It wasn’t crowded so we could all have space from which to shoot. Because we were right by the track (although behind a fence), I decided that going for a low angle would be best. Earlier in the day, the light would have been more favourable but, the day had been quite overcast so I wasn’t so worried. As it was, the sun did pop out at the right time and provided a little extra pop to the paint.

This crossing is just around the curve from a section of track through trees and a cutting. It is a climb from Alresford towards Ropley so the loco is working hard. Consequently, you get a lot of smoke/steam from the smokestack. That also means that you can hear it coming before you see it. When the train came around the corner, it was framed nicely by the trees and embankment. I was able to get a few different types of shot as it approached.

I had decided to go with a longer zoom when I walked up to the crossing. This meant that I wasn’t going to get a wide shot as the train passed me, but this avoided any fumbling to change cameras at the last moment. Instead, I just shot tighter and tighter as it approached until it was too large to get it in frame. Staying low to the ground gave a more dramatic look to the train is it steamed towards me. Having a cloudy background was not ideal because I would have liked more distinction between the smoke from the loco and the background but a bit of work in processing helped sort that out.

Having had some success with this, I did try heading to a bridge further down the track later in the afternoon when it was due back. It made the return journey in reverse as it pulled the train back to Alresford. I had anticipated that it would then run around to the front of the train so you can image I was a bit annoyed to find that they put another loco on the front and left the A-4 on the back. Not so photogenic.

Despite this, I did think that the bridge might be a good spot in the morning and, while Nancy and I had plans to head out on Sunday, I did zip back early to see what there was to see. Again, I was not alone. Quite a few photographers and videographers had come out. This time the conditions were really lovely with the low sun angle providing great illumination. This spot provides a long shot towards Alresford which means you see the train as it starts its climb before it comes around onto a straight section heading to the bridge. The sun really picked out the blue of the loco while it was clearly pulling hard on the climb. A few shots grabbed and then time to head home for the the rest of our day.

Portugal’s Merlins Just Look Better

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The AW101 is a great looking helicopter. I saw the original prototypes fly in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s including one that was configured as a civilian passenger type (sadly never to have the demand to make it to production). Since that time, I have liked to get photos of them wherever possible. The Canadian Cormorants look great in their yellow paint, and I finally got shots of them last year. Normally they are not painted in a very exciting way.

However, the Portuguese Merlin came to display at RIAT this year and it was way better looking than the average. It has a camouflage finish which seems to be a rarity these days. The colours of the camo were also quite vibrant, and it made for a striking subject. It certainly helped that the crew were throwing it around quite energetically and performed on more than one occasion, so I got plenty of shots of it.

An air show is an opportunity to see an airframe performing in ways that you wouldn’t normally get but it is also a rather sterile environment. These helicopters are used for search and rescue along the coastline of Portugal, and I imagine it would be really nice to get to photograph them in their “natural habitat” with cliffs and the see behind them. Maybe I might find myself out there one day.

Staying 50m Away

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We took a walk through the grounds at Tatton Park while on our way to the Lake District. The park is known for its herds of deer, and we wanted to see some – well, I was particularly keen to see some and get some photos! It was the time for the rut and so it is wise to be more careful than usual around the deer. Signs warned everyone to stay at least 50m away from the deer. Sometimes that was harder than you might think.

Some of the males were off doing their own thing. That might include being on the ground watching things around you and, as you walk along, you didn’t always spot them quickly. Finding a large beast with extensive antlers staring at you can be quite startling. We did manage to stay out of the way, but it required attention.

When we came to the larger herds, the males were more active. As they asserted their dominance, there was much bellowing and pacing plus the occasional chase after a male that got too close. They would then start wandering towards us. I don’t think that they had read the signs about keeping a distance. We consequently were making an effort to keep our distance. I don’t know what the best behaviour is with deer. I’ve seen plenty about what to do with bears, but I don’t know what works for a deer. Fortunately, we didn’t have to find out. Our distance was sufficient.

Taking a Chance With the T-38 Landing

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The T-38 chase planes that Boeing operates from Boeing Field did not fly as often as I would have liked. I’m sure they got plenty of use out of them, but it seemed to be a lucky break if one was up – particularly if I was in any place to see them. Consequently, I was always wondering whether I should make sure to get a sharp shot or take a chance on getting a more interesting look to the image. On this occasion, I decided to go with the latter. I dropped the shutter speed down to 1/100th of a second and hoped. A few came out okay. The cluttered background at Boeing Field is always a problem so a bit of blur helps put the focus on the plane.

Battersea Power Station

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When I was a kid, Battersea Power Station was still an active power station. It ceased to generate a long time ago and then there were endless proposals as to what it could be converted into. I remember one discussion of an amusement park being built within the main hall but this, along with all the others, came to nought. Finally, a plan was developed that did get traction and the building was gutted to create a shopping centre, flats and office space.

The four iconic chimneys were removed and rebuilt to look identical but to be safe for the long term while also providing a viewing space at the top of one – something I will need to try at some point. The surrounding area has also seen a lot of residential development assisted by the arrival of a tube station. We were up in town for a day and had a little time on our hands so decided to pay it a visit.

The building is very imposing, and a lot of the architectural features have been preserved well. The halls that now hold the shops still include features like cranes and control consoles to show a bit of the heritage of the building. What is original and what is a replica I don’t know but I like the effort.

When it comes down to it, this is really just another shopping mall so, unless there is something specific that you want there, I suspect there is no real need to make a regular visit. However, as a once off thing, I enjoyed taking a look around. I have no objection to going back and might do so just to go up the chimney.

Super Bugs at Bremerton

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One of the last air shows I attended before we left the Pacific Northwest was at Bremerton. The unusual thing about this air show was that I didn’t head there alone. Instead, Nancy came along with me. It is a long time since she last came to a show with me, but the good news was that she enjoyed it! One of the parts of the show that she found the best was the US Navy’s Super Hornet display. They ripped up the sky for a while. Their blast across the field from crowd rear particularly amused her!

The conditions not ideal from a lighting point of view but there was humidity in the air with the upside that the jet was created plenty of spluff. One of the passes in particular created a lot of cloud activity. It made for a difficult image to process given the contrast with the cloudy background and that its own clouds needed not to be over exposed. I suspect I shall probably try reprocessing this again in the future as either my techniques improve, or the software gets more advanced. I did have a bit too much lens for the closest part of the pass – oh well…

Hurst Castle and the Needles

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I don’t know for certain whether I have ever previously taken the ferry from Lymington to Yarmouth. Something tells me I might have done so at one point, but I have no idea why I would have done so. Anyway, I definitely have made the crossing now because we took a trip across to Yarmouth. As we were crossing the Solent, there were some interesting views down the water towards the Needles. Hurst Castle marks the narrowest point between the mainland and the Isle of Wight. Getting both the castle and the Needles in view was possible. The distance difference meant a little careful processing was necessary to have clarity of both elements, but I loved the compression a long lens provided of this view.

Apparently, This Helicopter is Very Rare

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While the majority of aircraft that appear at RIAT are military, you do get some civilian types that show up as well. This year, one of these was a Canadian registered Bell 47. This airframe is a Bell 47H-1 which I am informed is a pretty rare member of the larger family. No idea whether this is true or whether these things are common as muck. I certainly haven’t got a pile of shots of similar airframes but that is hardly proof. Given that it is registered in Canada, I am not sure how much time it is spending in the UK, but it was here and flying so that’ll do!

Yarmouth Mill

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Being in Hampshire makes a day trip to the Isle of Wight a simple option. We decided to go to Yarmouth for the day. Despite having lived on the Island for many years, Yarmouth is a place in which I spent remarkably little time. I would usually pass through, but it is a place with a bit to offer for a day trip. We walked around the harbour and out towards the marshes to head to a lunch spot. This took us passed the old mill building. It is an imposing structure and a sign of what might have been a busy place in days past. Here are a couple of shots of this cool looking place.

Stormy Sunday Atlas 777F

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A stormy sky doesn’t immediately inspire you when going for some aircraft photography but, if the light on the subject can end up being okay, a dark background can suddenly seem like a great option. One Sunday an Atlas 777F was up on test at Paine Field. The sky was dark and gloomy but not a solid cloud background. Instead, the clouds were stratified so there was more detail and texture to see.

As the 777 came down the approach, it was not brightly illuminated but it was picking up a good amount of light compared to what I had expected to be the case. This did require some thought about the camera settings. When the sky is dark, I often significantly over-expose. This is because the clouds will dominate the metering response and the subject – which is usually quite dark – really disappears. In post processing I can then bring the exposure back down but there is sufficient light on the subject to get a good image of it against the sky.

In this case, I had to be more careful. With good light on the subject, the dark sky would result in blowing out the plane. Therefore, I had to keep the exposure compensation off to allow the subject to not get too overexposed and not leave enough latitude for processing it to where I wanted it to be. The results came out okay. This was more important for the longer shots. Once the plane was close in, it started to dominate the metering response and, once on the ground, the illumination was more balanced.

Once they touched down and brought in the reversers, you could see that the conditions had not long ago been wet as the runway still had plenty of water on the surface and the reversers kicked it up in the air.