:- Goodbye Summer
Saturday, November 07, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
Flying High
After a false start (turning up too late back in April) I had my long awaited flying lesson on Saturday afternoon. It was a present for my 40th birthday from some wonderful friends in Australia. It had taken me an age to get round to booking it, I suppose I was a little bit nervous about the whole thing. These aircraft are very small, the cockpit is cramped and they fly very slowly. I was allowed to bring a passenger so I took my Dad along with me. Being an ex RAF war veteran this would be a walk in the park for him. I'm sure he had worse days in Kenya back in 60's. Dad was a great passenger and took some brilliant photographs, especially when you consider the circumstances he was working under.
My instructor for the flight was Ian, a nice guy who was a very enthusiastic and entertaining
pilot. He walked us out to the aircraft and we performed a pre flight check. Dad and I were wearing fetching high visibility jackets - the photo on the left shows Dad after the flight. Click on it to check out the logo on the back. He took us through the flying surfaces and gave us a brief lesson. in teh theory of flight. Then we clambered into the aircraft and buckled up. Not a great deal of space, especially for Dad who had to sit in the back but as it was only for an hour it wasn't a problem. Ian took me through the instruments and started the engine. We taxied out to the end of the runway and received clearance to depart. So it was throttles to the stops andIan pulled back at 60 knots. Then, all of a sudden we were in the air and heading towards the coast. We banked to the right as we climbed and headed north west. Ian gave me the controls and apart from 10 minutes I was flew the aircraft for the whole trip.
We picked up the A24 just north of Worthing and followed it to Horsham before turning south west towards Billingshurst. Circling the village I dipped the wing a few times so Dad could take some photos. What we didn’t realise was Abi was taking photographs of us at the same time.
Judging by Abi’s pictures I think we were too far away, I should have come closer to the A29 and flew parallel to the house. However, you have to remember I’m only a trainee, so what do I know about flying? At this point we were just under Gatwick's controlled airspace. We'd been in contact with them and were told to stay south and not to climb about 1,500 feet. Unfortunately I climbed to 1,600 feet and we were told to go back to 1,400 feet. I’m sure everything was fine as the very professional young lady at the end of the radio didn’t sound too annoyed.
After a couple of circuits we headed west towards Dunsfold and flew over what most people know as the ‘Top Gear’ studio. Once again the camera operator in the back got some great photographs. Dad should see if the RAF has any openings. I could just see him in the back of a Tornado screaming across Afghanistan snapping away. Although he can't ask the pilot to hang aroung if there are missles flying all over the place. Flying makes you realise what a green and pleasant land West Sussex is. It has to be the most picturesque county in the England. While flying back I did notice a number of light aircraft in the vicinity. Flying under visual flight rules means that you are reliant on the mark 1 eyeball and not some high tech anti collision system. We passed underneath a glider, shot past a very surprised seagull and I saw several light aircraft pass underneath and over us.
From there we turned south east towards Shoreham and climbed to 3,000 feet. Ian took over and performed some hard turns through the clouds. He’d asked me to do it but I was too nervous so he showed us what the aircraft could do. I don’t think Dad enjoyed it as much as I did. Sitting in the back and not having a great view he told me he didn’t look down as we banked. It was at this point I reminded Dad I was sitting in front of him and I didn’t want to see what he had for breakfast.
We continued towards Shoreham, performed a circuit and under Ian’s supervision I landed the aircraft. I can remember him telling me to keep the nose down and watch the speed because if I flew
too fast I’d rip the flaps off!!!!! I can imagine that wouldn't be good. We had a great view of Steyning College as we approached the runway and flew right over a busy A27. The landing was perfect although I had problems keeping the aircraft right in the middle of the runway. From here it was a quick taxi to the stand and a short walk back to the terminal (a fantastic 1930’s Art Deco building). I was presented with a certificate and then Dad and I then retired to the bar for a beer and post flight debrief.
I really did get the bug and I’m keen to take it further, the only problem is £££££. To get the necessary hours and tuition I would need to find over £6000. Once qualified the costs wouldn’t be too prohibitive, around £90/hour plus landing fees, so not cheap but affordable providing I didn’t fly that often. It was a fantastic experience, one that I will remember for a long, long time. I’d like to say thanks to Jules, Murray, Alexandra and Neve for a wonderful present.
I'll leave you with a picture Dad took over Billingshurst at 1,300 feet flying south towards the coast. It was a great day and I'm glad that Dad could come with me. I look forward to picking him up at Shuttleworth in the not too distant future.
My instructor for the flight was Ian, a nice guy who was a very enthusiastic and entertaining
pilot. He walked us out to the aircraft and we performed a pre flight check. Dad and I were wearing fetching high visibility jackets - the photo on the left shows Dad after the flight. Click on it to check out the logo on the back. He took us through the flying surfaces and gave us a brief lesson. in teh theory of flight. Then we clambered into the aircraft and buckled up. Not a great deal of space, especially for Dad who had to sit in the back but as it was only for an hour it wasn't a problem. Ian took me through the instruments and started the engine. We taxied out to the end of the runway and received clearance to depart. So it was throttles to the stops andIan pulled back at 60 knots. Then, all of a sudden we were in the air and heading towards the coast. We banked to the right as we climbed and headed north west. Ian gave me the controls and apart from 10 minutes I was flew the aircraft for the whole trip.We picked up the A24 just north of Worthing and followed it to Horsham before turning south west towards Billingshurst. Circling the village I dipped the wing a few times so Dad could take some photos. What we didn’t realise was Abi was taking photographs of us at the same time.
Judging by Abi’s pictures I think we were too far away, I should have come closer to the A29 and flew parallel to the house. However, you have to remember I’m only a trainee, so what do I know about flying? At this point we were just under Gatwick's controlled airspace. We'd been in contact with them and were told to stay south and not to climb about 1,500 feet. Unfortunately I climbed to 1,600 feet and we were told to go back to 1,400 feet. I’m sure everything was fine as the very professional young lady at the end of the radio didn’t sound too annoyed.After a couple of circuits we headed west towards Dunsfold and flew over what most people know as the ‘Top Gear’ studio. Once again the camera operator in the back got some great photographs. Dad should see if the RAF has any openings. I could just see him in the back of a Tornado screaming across Afghanistan snapping away. Although he can't ask the pilot to hang aroung if there are missles flying all over the place. Flying makes you realise what a green and pleasant land West Sussex is. It has to be the most picturesque county in the England. While flying back I did notice a number of light aircraft in the vicinity. Flying under visual flight rules means that you are reliant on the mark 1 eyeball and not some high tech anti collision system. We passed underneath a glider, shot past a very surprised seagull and I saw several light aircraft pass underneath and over us.
From there we turned south east towards Shoreham and climbed to 3,000 feet. Ian took over and performed some hard turns through the clouds. He’d asked me to do it but I was too nervous so he showed us what the aircraft could do. I don’t think Dad enjoyed it as much as I did. Sitting in the back and not having a great view he told me he didn’t look down as we banked. It was at this point I reminded Dad I was sitting in front of him and I didn’t want to see what he had for breakfast.
We continued towards Shoreham, performed a circuit and under Ian’s supervision I landed the aircraft. I can remember him telling me to keep the nose down and watch the speed because if I flew
too fast I’d rip the flaps off!!!!! I can imagine that wouldn't be good. We had a great view of Steyning College as we approached the runway and flew right over a busy A27. The landing was perfect although I had problems keeping the aircraft right in the middle of the runway. From here it was a quick taxi to the stand and a short walk back to the terminal (a fantastic 1930’s Art Deco building). I was presented with a certificate and then Dad and I then retired to the bar for a beer and post flight debrief.I really did get the bug and I’m keen to take it further, the only problem is £££££. To get the necessary hours and tuition I would need to find over £6000. Once qualified the costs wouldn’t be too prohibitive, around £90/hour plus landing fees, so not cheap but affordable providing I didn’t fly that often. It was a fantastic experience, one that I will remember for a long, long time. I’d like to say thanks to Jules, Murray, Alexandra and Neve for a wonderful present.
I'll leave you with a picture Dad took over Billingshurst at 1,300 feet flying south towards the coast. It was a great day and I'm glad that Dad could come with me. I look forward to picking him up at Shuttleworth in the not too distant future.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Profile of a rose
Taken at my mums flat on Thursday evening. Very pleased with this. Only editing was to crop it slightly.
New photography project underway. Details to come shortly.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
New Buffalo Michigan
Another photo is published. This is going to be used on an American Travel site, Radius6 TV. Should be up there very soon. With all the high tech camera gear I have they pick a photo taken with my iPhone :-)
Monday, May 18, 2009
The unexplored....
I thought I'd start the post holiday update with my favourite shot from the 'vacation'. I know we are back and the holiday is over but keep reading as updates will continue to be posted on a very regular basis.
This photo was take on US 54 just south of Valley Of The Fires, State Park in New Mexico. I'd seen a very similar photo on Flickr a few days before and attempted to take my own version. So I got Abi to stop and watch my back while I stood in the middle of the road and took god knows how many shots. Ive produced three versions for FLickr - colour, a washed out colour and then this. I used Photoshop to convert it to monochrome they played around with it to rough it up a little. I wanted a grainy, gritty photo to reflect the area. Even though haven't got the look I wanted (I'll keep on trying) I like the photo. My eyes follow the road to the sky and I'm thinking 'what's around the corner'? More of the same actually but I have to say that we really like Northen New Mexico. Very different from the south (lots of desert) with some lovely small towns. We had once of the nicest road trips in New Mexico - from Santa Fe to Durango, Colorado which took us up into the Rockies.
More to come....
FYI - US 54 runs from Texas for 1,197 miles to Illinois (almost to Chicago) and was constructed in 1926.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Monday, May 11, 2009
See you again real soon
I'm writing this entry by the pool in our hotel as Abi catches some last minute rays. We've finally made it back to Phoenix after an epic 19 day tour around the Four Corners. We took Winnie back to the rental depot at 10:30 this morning and apart from the extra mileage charges everything was OK. It's be a remarkable holiday, up there with the best of them. We seen and done so much and the time has flown by.
It's the people that have made the holiday and I'd just like to say thank you to everyone we've met. From Jessa & James in Tucson, to John and Jan in Alamogordo, Jerry in Durango, the motorcyclist we bumped into at Monument Valley and the Dutch couple that helped us get back into our RV. Thanks to all of you.
For me the highlight has to be White Sands National Monument. An amazing place that has to be seen to be believed. I know Abi loved the Desert Museum in Tucson, especially the big cats and the humming birds. Silverton was fantastic and we'll always have the photos we took at Monument Valley.
So here's looking forward to next year....Abi & Rob x
p.s. One final note. After two weeks in an RV I'm sooooo looking forward to my bed :-)
Monument Valley
Please have a look at our photos on Flickr. We spent a lot of time at trying to get the perfect photo at Monument Valley yesterday. I still have some work to do with iPhoto and Photoshop but we're very pleased with the results. Click here for Flickr. In the meantime here is a taste of what we managed to take.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Great days photographing
Yesterday we left Moab (I love that place) at around 10:30 and drove south on route 191 towards Monument Valley. This part of the Southwest is known as the Four Corners. Probably because the four corners of Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico meet. A very arid part of the country but it has some amazing rock formations.
We stopped for coffee just south of Blanding, UT (can't remember the town, it was a blink and miss it sort of place) and chatted to a couple from Durango before continuing our journey (they were proper hardy campers with a tent and a car and that was it! There 3 kids have left home and they're 'touring' ... real style!) We then continued south on route 163 which goes right through Monument Valley.
We stopped short of Monument Valley and spent an hour taking photos. At home in our kitchen we have a large print on the wall of some lovely rock formations and I was trying to take my interpretation of that print. This involved us finding the right bit of road and then waiting for all the cars to disappear while I crouched in the middle of the road to take 100+ pictures. Abi was watching my back and getting a great sun tan at the same time. This area has been made famous by all the movies that were shot here. Just google 'monument valley and movies' to see what I mean. I think I got some pretty good shots but it took some time to get them right. The light is so strong I had to go fully manual and I discovered that playing around with the ISO (film speed) and White Balance helped a lot. Then I was able to fine turn the shots around in iPhoto and Photoshop. I can't upload photos where I am as the internet is so slow. I'll upload them tonight when we arrive at our last destination.
While we were taking photos a motor cyclist stopped to take the same shot. We got chatting and it turns out he lost his job late last year and decided to take a road trip from Detroit to the Southwest (2100 miles). Interesting guy. He had a lovely Honda tourer with all the mod cons. Sat Nav, Radio and a fixed camera to take video of his trip. We all had a drink (it was soo hot) before continuing our respective journeys.
While we were at the camp we went outside, shut the door and for some unknown reason the catch on the back door slipped and locked us out. All the windows were closed except for the very small one above the cab. Abi spoke to some other Cruise America travellers to see if their keys would fit but no luck. Fortunatly a dutch couple helped. Using a broom and the picnic table I was able to put my arm through the small window and flick the latch on a larger window. Then ever so elegantly I hoisted myself through the larger window and unlocked the door. Another lesson learnt!!!
From Monument Valley (Gouldings Lodge) we drive south for about 5 1/2 hours to Camp Verde, AZ. This is our last stop before Phoenix and home. Tonight we'll be clearing out and cleaning the RV and then packing. Not the most exciting of days.
I'll publish the remaining photos tonight and finish up the blog.
p.s. While I'm blogging I wanted to let you all know that I've already planned our next holiday!!!!! Regalrdless of redundancies and work we're going to RV from Seattle to San Francisco next September. Neither of us have been to the Northwest so it should be fun. However, we won't be renting from Cruise America again. Although everything has been OK their RV's are old, ours was built in 2005, dirty and not that up to date (we have a cassette player in the cab for gods sake!!!), Next year it's probably going to be Moutris or El Monte. How are we going to pay for this I hear you say? Stop smoking from next week and cancel sky. That will be more than enough to cover the rental, flights, money, food, gas and plenty of excusrsions. As a plus we'll also be fit and healthy.
We stopped for coffee just south of Blanding, UT (can't remember the town, it was a blink and miss it sort of place) and chatted to a couple from Durango before continuing our journey (they were proper hardy campers with a tent and a car and that was it! There 3 kids have left home and they're 'touring' ... real style!) We then continued south on route 163 which goes right through Monument Valley.
We stopped short of Monument Valley and spent an hour taking photos. At home in our kitchen we have a large print on the wall of some lovely rock formations and I was trying to take my interpretation of that print. This involved us finding the right bit of road and then waiting for all the cars to disappear while I crouched in the middle of the road to take 100+ pictures. Abi was watching my back and getting a great sun tan at the same time. This area has been made famous by all the movies that were shot here. Just google 'monument valley and movies' to see what I mean. I think I got some pretty good shots but it took some time to get them right. The light is so strong I had to go fully manual and I discovered that playing around with the ISO (film speed) and White Balance helped a lot. Then I was able to fine turn the shots around in iPhoto and Photoshop. I can't upload photos where I am as the internet is so slow. I'll upload them tonight when we arrive at our last destination.
While we were taking photos a motor cyclist stopped to take the same shot. We got chatting and it turns out he lost his job late last year and decided to take a road trip from Detroit to the Southwest (2100 miles). Interesting guy. He had a lovely Honda tourer with all the mod cons. Sat Nav, Radio and a fixed camera to take video of his trip. We all had a drink (it was soo hot) before continuing our respective journeys.
While we were at the camp we went outside, shut the door and for some unknown reason the catch on the back door slipped and locked us out. All the windows were closed except for the very small one above the cab. Abi spoke to some other Cruise America travellers to see if their keys would fit but no luck. Fortunatly a dutch couple helped. Using a broom and the picnic table I was able to put my arm through the small window and flick the latch on a larger window. Then ever so elegantly I hoisted myself through the larger window and unlocked the door. Another lesson learnt!!!
From Monument Valley (Gouldings Lodge) we drive south for about 5 1/2 hours to Camp Verde, AZ. This is our last stop before Phoenix and home. Tonight we'll be clearing out and cleaning the RV and then packing. Not the most exciting of days.
I'll publish the remaining photos tonight and finish up the blog.
p.s. While I'm blogging I wanted to let you all know that I've already planned our next holiday!!!!! Regalrdless of redundancies and work we're going to RV from Seattle to San Francisco next September. Neither of us have been to the Northwest so it should be fun. However, we won't be renting from Cruise America again. Although everything has been OK their RV's are old, ours was built in 2005, dirty and not that up to date (we have a cassette player in the cab for gods sake!!!), Next year it's probably going to be Moutris or El Monte. How are we going to pay for this I hear you say? Stop smoking from next week and cancel sky. That will be more than enough to cover the rental, flights, money, food, gas and plenty of excusrsions. As a plus we'll also be fit and healthy.
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