London from the Air

I count myself extremely lucky. I recently helped an aerial photographer with his Lightroom and Photoshop workflow, and he generously offered a spare seat when he next flew over London in a Twin Squirrel helicopter; one of the few makes allowed over central London.

That opportunity was to arrive far sooner than expected, and even more fortunate was that I had made up my mind to purchase an 85mm prime lens, which arrived on the Thursday and on Friday, David was on the phone to ask whether I fancied an early start on Saturday morning. Hesitation was measured in fractions of a nanosecond!

We met at Denham Airfield at around 5-30, with low lying mist coming in patches. This was almost ideal for more atmospheric shots of the capital, and we set off at around an hour later. My side of the helicopter had a very small window for me to shoot from, but to shoot at all was a privilege, and we took off over Merchant Taylor's school with wisps of cotton wool shrouding the grounds, heading first for Tower Bridge. I was too reticent to ask for a viewpoint at this stage, so contented myself with contre-jour shots of it in the distance.

David was very generous with offering me some time over other areas, and the gallery that accompanies this piece is testament to the opportunities I had over the next forty minutes to capture various landmarks.

After landing and a drink and a chat with the pilot we stopped off in Denham village where I had a second, this time, cooked breakfast. When we parted, I phoned Nick and Patricia Rayner to see whether they minded my calling in. Both were happy to see me and it was good to catch up and Nick kindly plugged my iPod Touch into his HiFi, so we had a quick blast of 'Ca plane pour moi', and 'From Now on' - both of which Patricia appreciated as much as me!

I am not sure I have quite landed yet!