Any Night at an Airport

Simple but effective—the lens flare of the lighting tower is what makes the shot, plus the hard contrast between the background darkness and the illuminated areas of the apron. The ;lineup of the aircraft and the tower is appealing composition, and the scene was static, enabling a long exposure. This is Newcastle Airport in the November of 2007, as I began my homeward journey after my second UK excursion. I’ve posted some shots from this point before—taken through the terminal plate glass windows, juggling my own shadow against the glass and the camera often flat to the window to exclude reflections of the brightly lit interior. The old chip handled the low light nicely, and with the camera held rock-solid, there’s no motion blur. Minor adjustments to colour, contrast and sharpness in Irfanview; Fuji FinePix S5600. Image by Mike.

 

Panorama from Altitude

Here’s an interesting shot—one of the many that presented themselves as I kept my camera pointed out the window during approach to Newcastle Airport on my first UK trip. This was the 9^th of November, 2006, and I was about to reach my landfall in the north after changing planes in London. This is the Royal Quays Marina, on the north side of the River Tyne, and the morning sun was at just the right angle to illuminate things nicely. You can see how early it is from the length of the shadows. I was shooting telephoto, so altitude must still have been some thousands of feet. No cleverness here, just point and shoot. Minor adjustments to colour, contrast and sharpness in Irfanview; Fuji FinePix S5600. Image by Mike.

 

Flaps Down!

The last time I ran a frame from the approach to Singapore in November 2007 (my second UK trip) was October of ‘24, and there are still some great frames to consider. This is quite late in the approach to Changi Airport—the the flaps are fully deployed and the ground is not far away. It’s interesting how the eye cannot decide which focal point to go to—the sunset colours at top left, or the dirt and oil on the normally obscured portions of the flaps.. Looking at this picture, I can feel the motion of the plane like it was yesterday, am awaiting the sensation of main gear contact, then reverse thrust... Ah, those were the days! Minor adjustments to colour, contrast and sharpness in Irfanview; Fuji FinePix S5600. Image by Mike.