Tag Archives: photo

Paint Shows the History of This Unit

A work trip took me to one of our partners involved in overhauling a train for us. No need to identify the train or who was working on it. However, part o the scope is a repaint and the vehicle I was looking at had undergone surface preparation before going to the paint booth. The thing that caught my eye was the different layers that had been abraded as the team prepared it. The train is over 20 years old, and you could see the various different liveries that it had been given in the changes of colours cutting down towards the underlying metal. In close up, I liked the abstract nature o the patterns and colour combinations. For those that know the unit, they could probably identify the history of its various liveries.

Hampshire Police’s Helicopter

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Late one afternoon, while getting ready to leave the Bournemouth Aviation Museum, I saw a helicopter flying some pattern work across at the airport. Given that it was painted black, I assumed it was a police helicopter. I took some distant shots of it and then continued with wrapping up my museum visit. When I was done, they were still flying around the pattern, and I figured I would head to the other side to see if a better shot would be possible.

As it turned out, they were flying almost over the road on the other side of the runway. I ended up shooting almost straight up which was not the ideal angle. Still, it was a chance to shoot slightly different shots than I might have normally gone for. As it turned out, they landed after this approach, so I had only just got there in time. After running on the ground for a while, they departed off to the east.

Time for Some Local Cricket

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The onset of summer in the UK got me thinking of cricket. It is true that the Pacific Northwest has quite a cricket scene that has developed – principally as a result of the many people that have moved there from countries where cricket is a big deal. However, I never really spent any time checking it out while we were there. However, village cricket is a quintessential element of the UK and I thought I should go and see one of the local clubs in Winchester.

I went to see St Cross Symondians First XI play. Even the name seems suitable for an English country game. I didn’t time it very well as I wandered up just as they were breaking for tea. Fortunately, there was a second game on the adjoining pitch, so I watched that for a bit from the other side of the hedge. Those players were in traditional whites, which fitted the traditional image I had in mind. When the main game resumed, they were playing in dark colours with a white ball. I have no idea how the decision gets made. With a lot of trees around the ground, maybe the visibility is an issue. If anyone knows, please let me know.

I walked around the pitch to watch the play from various angles for a while. I ended up experimenting with some different photo techniques while I was there because it was a sunny weekend afternoon and I was in no hurry. I will post separately about some of what I tried. For today, I just wanted to share some shots of the larger scene. Maybe next time I’ll take a chair, get a pint from the clubhouse and sit watching the game for longer. It has also got me thinking about going to watch some professional games, but we shall see.

What a Difference the Angle Makes

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I shared some shots from a brief visit I made to Feltham to get some airliner departures from Heathrow when they were on an easterly flow. Some of the planes turn to the south shortly after takeoff giving you a view that is not quite a topside but is close to it. When photographing them, you are naturally shooting them at an angle as they are climbing quite steeply. However, if you want to play around with the shot afterwards, you can change the impression of the shot quite a lot. Rotate the fuselage until it appears horizontal in the shot and now it looks a lot more like you are flying alongside the aircraft. This is cheaper than sorting out and air to air sortie! Here are a couple of before and after shots to show what I mean.

Disused Platforms

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I was walking back into Crewe Station on my way home after a work visit. Crewe was a major part of the UK rail industry at its peak and it still has many rail businesses. The station is sized for the significance that it once held. There are plenty of platforms. What I hadn’t noticed before is that there used to be more. As I approached the station, I saw these extra platforms that are now disused. Standing on what would be track level looking up at them, I wondered what things might have looked like when they were in use and things were really buzzing at this station.

Bembridge Post Lunch Departures

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While visiting the Island, we had gone to our hotel to check in. Earlier in the day, we had seen a few planes climbing out of the airport at Bembridge off in the distance. As Nancy was getting settled in, I made the short trip across to the airport to see if anything was still around. There were a few planes taxiing out. My guess is that people fly into Bembridge, walk across to The Propeller Inn for a spot of lunch and then head home again. Given the time, I suspect I was at the back end of the post lunch crews. Nothing seemed to be arriving. The wind meant the runway in use wasn’t so favourable for photos but some of them had gradual climb outs, so it wasn’t so bad. A few light aircraft shots before returning to the hotel!

Walk the Wight (A Bit Anyway)

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Walk to Wight is a charity fundraising event on the Isle of Wight that, if you do the whole thing, involves a 26 mile walk from Bembridge to the Needles. My mum has done the walk at various times in the past and this year she was interested in just doing the final five miles which takes you from Freshwater Bay, up the climb on to Tennyson Down and then on to the Needles. I asked if she would like some company, so I went along.

The climb up out of Freshwater Bay is initially quite steep and then gradually eases out until you are up at the Tennyson monument. Then it is a lovely stroll along the spine of the Island until you get to the Needles. The weather was lovely, and the wind was from the east so pushing us along our way. Freshwater Bay is a pretty spot on its own but the whole walk is lovely. We started pretty early in the day so it wasn’t too busy yet. As the majority of the walkers got to the final part of the crossing or those doing our section started later, the climb would have been very busy. We were back home for lunch! I might have more shots to share soon.

Alpine Helicopters – Alberta Edition

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In a previous post, I had shared some images of Alpine Helicopters from when we were in Kelowna. Our trip to Canmore in Alberta brought me close to another base for the company (assuming it is the same company rather than just a common name for operators). This base was providing pleasure flights for visitors heading up in to the mountains. The base was about a mile down the road from where we were staying so, one afternoon, after we had finished our plans for the day, I popped down to see if anything was moving.

The location is not ideal for photography. The base is on the side of a hill and the parking lot is quite a way below the area from which they operate. There is a viewing area for those that are waiting to go flying but I was outside the fence so had to see what shots I could get. There was a movement of a helicopter from a parking space to the pick up zone and then there was the departure of a flight. Things were not great for getting shots but they did curve around on takeoff giving me some views of the climb out. I needed to head back so I didn’t wait for the return.

Out at Sea with Your Horses

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Every once in a while, when I am going through images to review what I have, I come across something I didn’t expect. While making the crossing back from the Isle of Wight, I was up on deck taking some shots and one of the catamarans that makes the crossing to Ryde was coming off Ryde Pier Head, so I took a few shots. When I go through the shots, I zoom in to check which images are sharp and which are not. In this case, I noticed that some people were out in the water with some horses. There are sand flats out a long way at Ryde so, the water can be close to the shore while it is shallow a long way out. These guys were obviously enjoying being out some distance from the shore. For reference, the pier is about half a mile long.

Canadian Hornet Visits BFI

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Digging back through some stuff from last year and I came back across a surprise that I got at BFI. A Canadian Hornet had been visiting – presumably an overnight stop. It was heading off to its next stop and I have no idea whether that was back over the border or further into the US. Its presence had clearly attracted a fair bit of attention. There were loads of people out on the Modern ramp when it taxied out.

Hornets can get off the ground pretty quickly and I was hoping that the pilot would not be very high by the time he came by. With all of those people on the ramp, it would be nice of him to keep it low and he didn’t stay on the deck but still made a good effort. As he passed the perimeter fence, he pulled up a bit harder and was a bit too distant for a good shot of the vortices forming on the LERX, but I managed a hint of it.