Servicing the Giant

A scene enacted countless times since the dawn of commercial aviation, ground crews prepare an airliner for its next flight. Machines have their own innate appeal, and when juxtaposed with the natural world are a poignant metaphor for humans cutting their own furrow alongside, or at right angles to, nature. I took this frame as part of a series at Singapore’s Changi International Airport in November 2011, on my way back from my fourth UK expedition. This was an equatorial evening, and home beckoned at the end of one more long leg in the air. The sun is not quite gone—there was some gold about sixty degrees of arc to the left, but “blue hour” was certainly arriving. This is the Qantas Airbus A-380 Reginald Ansett, named for one of Australia’s commercial aviation pioneers. The photo was taken through plate glass from the terminal, with the usual gymnastics to keep the interior lights from reflecting in the frame. Minor adjustments to colour, contrast and sharpness in Irfanview; Fuji FinePix S5600. Image by Mike.

 

The First Step

Beginning a journey to the UK from Australia is always a momentous occasion—there and back, one is essentially travelling the equivalent of all the way round the world, more or less. This was only the second frame I grabbed on my second trip to the UK, in November 2007, while waiting for the first leg, a domestic short-haul from Adelaide to Melbourne to connect with the international flight there. What makes this picture interesting is the two lighting conditions captured. The POV is from the interior of the terminal, thus artificial lighting in the foreground or framing elements, against the natural daylight outside. I also did a fair job of framing the subject, getting the picture level—this is not angle-corrected but just as it came off the camera. The moody, blue-grey toned sky over the Adelaide Hills contrasts interestingly with the warm toned interior, diagonally across the frame. Minor adjustments to colour, contrast and sharpness in Irfanview; Fuji FinePix S5600. Image by Mike.

Holding it Just Right

Here’s an exercise in placing the camera right against a plate glass window with darkness outside and light behind you. Under these conditions, losing reflections is always the big thing, and here I’m happy to say I excluded them completely. I let the chip handle the dark conditions, and held the camera rock steady against the glass. This is the A380 that is about to bring me back to Australia on April 21^st, 2014—unfortunately the very last time I was on a plane. (It was a fast three-day trip away from teaching, to take in a pop culture convention in London.) I love to watch the activity “air-side” as the technicians and handlers service the big planes, a ballet of vehicles and supplies to turn the plane around for its next flight. This is almost exactly as the chip recorded the image—there was nothing to do baring introduce a dash of extra contrast and a ghost of sharpening. Fuji FinePix S5600. Image by Mike.

Giant Plane, Dense Crowd

I love airshows—so photogenic, so much to see, all manner of weather conditions and lighting angles. I’ve shot in everything from dust storms to overcast, and soaring temperatures too. But there’s nothing like the smell of burning kerosine when vintage planes are on the move! I took this shot at the RAAF Edinburgh Airshow on the 10^th of November 2019, my last airshow before the viral apocalypse took hold, and had the fun of airing two cameras on the day. The resolution is of course higher than the old S-5600, and the chip handles bight light very well, but I’m not sure this unit handles low light better than the older model. Here is a view from the stands across the apron to the RAAF C-17 Globemaster III transport plane, which I first photographed at Avalon Airshow in 1997. They’re gigantic and always very attractive for their dynamic appeal. The day was hot, dusty (very dusty) and quite taxing, but an unforgettable experience. Minor tweaks in Irfanview only. Fuji HS-10. Image by Mike.

Fun with Low Light

This is another of the group I took when leaving England in 2010. This is at the very doors of the Heathrow Terminal, looking across the arrivals area, and just before they turned on the purple neon (find that in an older post). Notice the steel anti-ram-raider bollards—I think I rested the camera on top of one of them to stabilise it. In the previous frame a moving vehicle is blurred, telling you how long the shutter was open, while in this one nothing was moving, creating this beautifully textured, nuanced image. The only adjustment I made is a tiny touch of sharpening, otherwise this is exactly as the chip read the moment. This was November 16^th, 2010, and I was glad to be heading home, as I had been quite unwell on this expedition. Fuji FinePix S5600. Image by Mike.

 

Changeing Skies

 

The title of this post has two meanings. I took this frame on my way to the UK on November 8^th, 2012, so I was changing skies between hemispheres, early spring to autumn; but a storm was moving in at the time and the local sky was thus changing rapidly. I had a brief, unplanned stopover in Kuala Lumpur when the Air Malaysia A380 had a technical problem, and the flight resumed in the early afternoon the following day. This frame was taken from the height of the lower deck, a sweet view of an AM 747 as the A380 taxied out. The sky was interesting, quite dramatic in its way, though the foreground had full sun. Coming up behind the POV was a tick weather front, and we took off into a storm. The pic was squared up very slightly with fine rotation, and colour, contrast, brightness and sharpness were marginally adjusted in Irfanview. Fuji FinePix S5600. Image by Mike.

NB: Tomorrow will mark two years since I resurrected this photo blog, and this is my 107^th post in that time.

Down the Tube to Lanantarn

Yes, I’m a sucker for vanishing point symmetry, it catches my eye and I’ll shoot it whenever I find it! This is the Heathrow Express terminal deep under Heathrow Airport, at 5.33 and 54 seconds (by the electronic signage) on the morning of Sunday, October 31^st, 2010. My plane had just got into Blighty, Customs was a quick process (I remember we were the very first plane load fronting up to the desks for the day!) and I was eastbound for London Town with my luggage. I travelled with the camera round my neck and shot as I went, and all sorts of interesting things appear as one goes. The light was low, of course, so non-moving subjects were preferred (cameras were less fancy in those days, and soaring ISO speeds were a thing of the future). Fuji FinePix S5600. Image by Mike.

New For Old

An interesting and unusual composition—a close up from dead astern of the Waco biplane operated by Adelaide Biplanes, from Aldinga Aerodrome, South Australia. The Waco is a modern-build of a classic 1930’s patent, this particular aircraft dating from 1992. The lines are most engaging, and this unusual aspect presented itself from the way the aircraft was parked near the airfield cafe! I grabbed this frame on January 11^th, 2023, and would love to go see the planes coming and going again! Image was minimally enhanced—contrast, colour and sharpness only. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike. (As it’s been two weeks since I posted, I’ll get something else up tomorrow, as well.)

Busy Airport

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This was a simple enough shot, but compsition was the object, looking for a frame filled with machines and the implicit action of people interacting with them. Flights were arriving and deplaning at Newcastle Aiport, UK, this evening in November, 2007, and while I waited for my own connection to London I amused myself shooting through plate glass, defeating reflections by easing behind a standing display of some sort, and using telephoto to close on the subject matter. As evening drew toward night I held the lens surround hard against the glass to control shake. Here a row of Boeing 737s was marshalled at the arrival terminals, and handlers were busy with their offloading and replenishment. The usual enhancements were done; Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic, telephoto. Image by Mike.

Soft Dusk Light

This is one of my Newcastle Airport shots from November, 2007, taken with the camera held firmly against plate glass and with the benefit of a piece of furniture blocking reflections. The sun was down, leaving the world in indirect, long-frequency light, and so long as the camera was steady the chip translated the conditions remarkably well. I framed the standing aircraft and waited for the taxying aircraft to reach the right point in the composition before releasing the shutter, compensating also for the timelag in that operation. Sharpened and contrast-balanced. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic, telephoto. Image by Mike.

Lens Flare by Night

Given that this image was also taken through a window, it turned out very well. After several hours delay for weather, my plane finally backed away from the terminal at London Heathrow bound for Australia, in the third week of November, 2007. I had photographed the aircraft from the terminal, and at last got some shots through the window as she started to move. Here the massive flood lights burn out in lens flare, and reflect from the wing. The shot was cropped down to better focus on the area of interest, then sharpened. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Hong Kong Smog

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This photo was taken shortly after dawn from the international terminal at Kai Tak Airport, Hong Kong, at the end of October, 2007. I didn't even try to beat the reflections in the plate glass, but just recorded exactly what met the eye: the reflections of the terminal lighting overlie a scene of industry, the fascinating array of cargo-handling systems serving the 747, against the backdrop of dense smog through which the hills are ghostly suggestions of themselves. Sharpened, and colour- and contrast-balanced. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Hong Kong Dawn

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The plane from Australia got into Hong Kong around sunrise and the smog made for strange lighting conditions, like this purple twilight. This shot was taken at the end of October 2007, over the wing of a taxying Qantas 747, and was the clearest of a batch of frames. The duplication effect around the lights was an artifact of the plane window. The frame was cropped down to a panoramic view on the subject matter, and colour, sharpness and contrast were enhanced slightly. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

White on White

Shooting interiors can be difficult, artificial lighting is always an interesting exercise, but here a white subject is seen against white lighting, and that is a recipe for burnout. But the chip compensated amazingly, as the shadow areas and the yellow parts can be seen to be properly exposed. This is an old British Bloodhound surface to air missile, photographed at the Fast Jets Fighter Museum, Parafield Airport, north of Adelaide, in January 2007. Only sharpness and colour were enhanced. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

737 Ground Handling

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Getting to watch the coming and going of aircraft alleviates the boredom of waiting in airport lounges for your flight to be called, and you can see some interesting things. In addition to watching the often ingenious baggage-handling systems at various airports, the huge tow-tugs that move fully-laden aircraft are always impressive. Here a tug backs the greater weight of a fully-laden Boeing 737 off the airbridge position onto the taxiway at Adelaide International Airport in November, 2006, before I departed on my first UK expedition. I found it ironic at the time that I was loading Australian photographs onto the flashcard and they would travel right round the world with me back to their place of origin. Technically, the biggest problem was finding a spot to get a clear angle on the plane with the lens right against the plate glass to exclude reflections. Then I zoomed in on the subject matter and waited till the tug moved the plane to just the right angle, and exposed the shot. The picture was sharpened and the colour and contrast adjusted for publication. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic, telephoto. Image by Mike.

Trucks by Night

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This was one of the set I did at Newcastle Airport, England, in November 2007, shooting through plate glass as evening deepened. It was an experiment in exposure latitude and shutter speed, and especially in holding the camera steady actually against the glass. This was a long telephoto shot after full dark looking into the light pool of major floods. Though the tanker was moving, the shutter speed was sufficient to freeze the action. The composition is an interesting industrial scene and the contrast of the white vehicles against the night is quite striking. Sharpness and colour were enhanced. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Speedbird by Dawn Light

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I was very tired after three connections so far, but on my final leg from London to Newcastle I still had the energy to keep the camera clapped to the window. It was dawn over London when the domestic left Heathrow, and by the pink light (the first light I'd seen in 21 hours) what should I see but a Concorde! This was years after they were retired from service. If I remember correctly, 'Speedbird' was Concorde's generic radio callsign. I took a series of frames, needing maximum telephoto to catch her properly. The morning was cold, you can see condensation streaming across the wing. Luckily the window was clean. The image was cropped and enhanced (colour, sharpness and contrast). November, 2006. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.

Aspects of the Journey

"Inward, Looking Outward" could have been the title of this post. This was one of a batch of frames I took late one evening in November, 2007, at Heathrow Airport, London, while waiting for my outbound flight, a Qantas Boeing 747-600, the Longreach, named for the original headquarters of the company in Queensland. It was delayed four hours due to weather on the flightpath, a great many disgruntled people could only sit around and wait. At least I had photography to help pass the time! Had lighting been less bright maybe shots through the plate glass could have been managed to create an outside perspective such as with my shots at Newcastle Airport earlier the same evening, but that was never going to be possible here, and this time the reflections tell their own story: two images, superimposed, the travellers in the lounge and the plane they are about to board, interleaved, thus two aspects of the journey. Sharpened and colour-saturated for publication; Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic exposure. Image by Mike.

Through a Plate Glass, Sharply

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One thing about travel, you spend ridiculous amounts of time waiting for transport. It all starts at the airport of departure, and if you're careful you can get in some practice at aviation photography. It's not as easy as in the physical photography days, or unless you're using a digital SLR, as the sonic focusing system has the greatest difficulty getting hold of aircraft in flight (well duhh!) This Boeing 767 had just left the runway at Adelaide International Airport in November, 2006, and I shot quite a few arrivals and departures before getting this one, clear and sharp. I was shooting through the plate glass wall of the lounge, which makes me wonder how the chip can process the information generated by the acoustic focusing beam, passing through the attenuation factor of the glass on both pulse and echo, but it does. This is necessarily a telephoto image and that also makes focus more difficult. The image was sharpened, colour-tweaked and cropped for publication. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic exposure, maximum optical zoom. Image by Mike.

One Big Building

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Though the effect of "recede to infinity" is not particularly visible in this image, the place preserves that impression most strongly in my memory, for its sheer size. This is Changi International Airport, Singapore, and is surely the single largest building I have ever been inside. The concourses run on and on and on, with long people-mover floorways to get you from A to B on tired legs. The building is truly vast, with glass-walled lounges looking out over the aircraft parking areas on both sides. This was mid-November, 2007, a brief stopover on the way back to Australia. The lighting conditions were deceptive, the place seemed brightly lit but it was barely sunrise and the camera needed a solid footing for a clear shot (in this case, a chair arm). It's also worth noting that the digital system processes the various frequencies of light generated by artificial sources equally well, obviating the need for the old corrective filters. Fuji FinePix S5600, automatic. Image by Mike.