Author Archives: Rob

Processing With Masks – A Video

Every once in a while, I post about some change I have made to my processing techniques for my images. I have posted in the past about how I have been using the masking tools in Lightroom to work on images – particularly those with poor lighting conditions where the background and the subject need significantly different edits.

I have recently tweaked my approach to improve it. This involves an extra step to try and get a better selection of the subject and the background. This also addresses some of the issues I find with Lightroom’s selection algorithms. Sometimes it picks things that just don’t make sense. Anyway, I did a full process of an image and recorded the whole thing with my explanation as to why I was doing what I was doing. It is not a short video so only for those with a serious interest. However, if you want to check it out, here it is.

Koalas Are Too Coy

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Over the years, I have been to plenty of zoos. As a result, I would have thought I had seen koalas at some point but, as I write this, I am struggling to think when I might have done so. Marwell has some koalas so, maybe they were the first I had encountered in person. I am not sure whether they recognised the potential significance of this moment. While there were a few of them in the enclosure, they didn’t seem that bothered about our presence.

I understand that they have a reputation for being sleepy (and bad tempered) so having to wait for open eyes was going to be a problem, but they also seemed to want to have their heads turned away from everyone. I waited a bit to get something, but it wasn’t going to be worth holding everything up. This was the best I could manage.

American’s Retro 777 Catches the Sun

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A friend of mine in Fort Worth had shared some images of the latest American Airlines plane to be painted in a special livery. This was a 777-300ER that was aiming to replicate their old paint scheme although it was grey rather than polished aluminium. It is a livery that seems to have divided opinion. I was kind of curious as to whether it would show up in the UK at some point and put a trace on the tail number in case it came to Heathrow.

I hadn’t anticipated that it would get a hit almost immediately. It was scheduled on the DFW to Heathrow run on Sunday. Add to that, the weather was looking great. The only downside is that they were due to be arriving on the north runway, and I had not ever shot there. However, I decided to give it a go. I went a bit early to find out if my plan for where to shoot would work. Parking was a bit of an adventure, but the location was a good one, so I waited and chatted to some guys from Gloucestershire that had turned up for the same reason.

I don’t think it is a great paint job. The red nose does have a bit of a Comic Relief feel about it and grey is fine in good light but will be dull on other days. Then again, I do complain about boring liveries, and this is something else. It also got me out and shooting on a day when otherwise I might not have done so glad it all worked out. I am also told this was its first commercial run post repaint so that is something I suppose!

Lining the Shore to Await the Returning Strike Group

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I persuaded Nancy and Liese to join me on a Sunday lunchtime jaunt to Portsmouth to see the return of the HMS Prince of Wales from the carrier strike group cruise to the far east. They had left in April and were coming back on the last day of November. Talking to some around us, they had originally been planning to return the following day, but the forecast was not so good, and things came forward a day. I was also suspicious that they were more interested in getting the coverage that a weekend return would provide.

Originally, I had figured we would try and find a spot on the shore on the Portsmouth side. This seemed like somewhere that would be rather busy and Liese suggested that, maybe Gosport would make more sense. Not only did this have parking options and the potential to not be as busy, but it also meant the light would be on our side and it would provide Portsmouth as a backdrop to any photos. A wise suggestion.

We got there early and went out on a fishing pier that provided a great spot. Originally, I had intended to go for a wander and return closer to the time but, in the end, we found ourselves chatting to people around us that had family members on the returning carrier. It was so much fun chatting with them, so we ended up just hanging around.

As I looked across to the Portsmouth side, the crowds were building up. The Round Tower is a popular spot, and it had filled up first. Camera crews were up there too. As the arrival got closer, there were people all along the shore, near our favourite pub and down on the shingle by the water. It was a chilly day where we were, and I imagine it was even colder down on the water’s edge. Everyone was waiting for one thing. The arrival of a big boat!

Types I’ve Never Seen Before

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I am going back to a previous fly in at Concrete for today’s post. I am not a specialist when it comes to the wide variety of light aircraft that are out there. I have friends that know them all really well, but my knowledge is more limited. It is fair to say that, over the 20 years I was in the US, I became a lot more familiar with some of the types. Probably true to say that about warbirds too. However, an event like Concrete would often bring in planes I knew nothing about.

In this selection of shots, there is a Dart and a pair of Highlanders. Probably some others that were a bit of an unknown for me. It still amazes me to go to an event and see an aircraft that I had no idea existed.

Hockley Viaduct

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In the days before the M3 around Winchester was built, you used to come off the motorway on to an A road that took you past Winchester before you then rejoined the motorway north of the city. My recollection of this road was that it ran alongside some brick arches. At the time, I had no idea what it was and, once the motorway was built, I couldn’t be sure whether my memory was accurate. Since we moved here, I have ridden on the trails south of the city and one of them takes you over the Hockley Viaduct. This is a disused railway viaduct which is now a trail. Once I saw it, I knew this must have been what I remembered.

Surprised by a Balloon in the Morning

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My morning walks from the house are usually focused on trying to spot wildlife. I was a bit surprised one morning as I walked towards the tunnel under the railway to see a balloon just above the tree line in front of me. I was slow to get a shot, and the pilot was burning to climb back up. It was a misty morning, and I watched the balloon head off to the north before continuing on my walk. No idea whether it landed soon afterwards or not.

Ferry Across Windermere

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Our Lake District trip included reliving some of the things we used to do a lot when we lived up that way. After lunch at an old haunt, we headed to Hawkshead. One way to get there is to take the ferry across Lake Windermere. I have many happy memories of making this crossing in the past and was glad to do it again. The ferry is connected to a cable that spans the lake. It is a bit like the chain ferry between Cowes and East Cowes on the Isle of Wight, but I don’t know whether the cable is just a guide or used to pull the ferry across. It is certainly smoother than a chain!

I had hoped to get some photos of the ferry coming in but, it was already approaching when we pulled up so a quick grab of a shot was all I could manage. Then the short crossing meant time to take some more photos of the area and the ferry before we arrived on the other shore to see the many people waiting to make the opposite journey. Fun to check off another one of those memory items.

Chinooks Use Our Area for ILS Training

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The RAF’s base at Odiham is not too far from where we live and it has been home to Chinook operations since the type was first introduced to service. I guess that there are training requirements for instrument approaches for the crews because it is not uncommon for them to show up over our house as they head to Southampton Airport. They will fly a few patterns which can include coming over the house.

Usually, they are a bit offset from us if established on the localiser and, while the Chinook is a large airframe, they are a bit distant for a good shot. However, I have managed to get a few when the light was more favourable. At some point I will get a closer encounter with them.

Cattle Waiting at the Feed Stop

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The final day of the charity bike ride had me suffering from the previous two days and with enough knee pain to make another 76 miles seem like a bad plan. Instead, I spent the day in a support vehicle moving from rest stop to rest stop helping out the riders that weren’t as feeble as me. At one of these stops, I went up the access road to await the riders. A herd of cows were lying in the field by the road, and they looked so tranquil, I couldn’t help but grab a few photos.